Laura Antonia Abbott - Healing with Photography (#031)

Laura Antonia Abbott brings her unique perspective as a fine art photographer, Reiki master, and poet to discuss the intersection of healing and visual storytelling. Through her surrealist photography, Laura creates magical worlds that reflect profound personal experiences and universal human emotions.

Laura shares how her journey began with traditional photography before evolving into creating immersive, conceptual pieces that blend reality with whimsical elements. Each image serves as a visual poem, layered with symbolism and meaning that speaks to both personal healing journeys and collective experiences of transformation.

The conversation delves into specific works, including her award-winning "Nature Unmasked" series and "The Healing Pool," revealing how personal stories and intuitive guidance shape her creative process. Laura discusses how her Reiki practice enhanced her artistic work, allowing her to more deeply understand and capture the subtle energies and emotions of her subjects.

Through her work, Laura demonstrates how art can serve as both a catalyst for personal healing and a bridge to collective understanding, creating spaces for dialogue around sensitive themes such as mental health, grief, and natural healing.

How to Get in Touch:

Website: https://www.lauraaphotography.com/

Website: https://www.soulcalma.com/

Instagram: @lauraantoniaphotography

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Transcript

Laura Antonia Abbott: [00:00:00] At the same time I created it, the girl that was in the, in the photograph actually contacted me and said, I really need to speak to you. And I said, Oh, that's great timing because I've just started doing something with that image that I've sat on for six months and it's now taken another turn. And I think you're going to love it.

And when I got on the conversation with her, she said, Oh my goodness, I had a dream last night. I was floating in water. You were there as well. And then I, you know, and then you appeared and I said, Livvy. Wait till you see the image I have created and it was her floating in water and it was like, you know, the timing was amazing.

Amanda Parker: Welcome to Don't Step on the Blue Bells, the podcast where personal healing and transformation takes center stage. I'm your host. Amanda Parker, and I'm a fellow seeker on the journey of personal growth. Join me as I delve into the stories of gifted healers, guides, and everyday [00:01:00] people who have experienced remarkable transformations.

Listen in as they share their practical wisdom to enrich your everyday life. And don't forget to hit subscribe and never miss a new episode. Welcome to today's episode of Don't Step on the Blue Bells. I'm here with the incredibly talented Laura Antonia Abbott. Today we're going to be speaking all about healing with photography and I'm I'm super excited to have this conversation.

Laura is a British fine art and conceptual photographer. She's also a certified Reiki master and a poet. And she has this incredible surrealist art that just completely captures your imagination. So Laura, I'm so excited to have you here on the podcast today. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: Thank you. Thank you for having me. I'm thrilled to be here.

Excited to have this conversation. Feel very honored as well to be invited on here [00:02:00] as well. So thank 

Amanda Parker: you. Thank you so much. Um, I have to say I have your, uh, Instagram page open on the side here because I just love looking at these fantastical creations that you make and just this Like the slightest hint of seeing the world through your eyes.

So I'm really excited to just dive in a bit, um, to understand how you even get the inspiration to do that kind of work. But I know that that's a big question, so we can ease in a little bit. Um, I'd love to just hear, have you always been a photographer? Is this something you've been doing your whole life?

I've always 

Laura Antonia Abbott: been involved creatively. It began with art, um, from a very young age, from the age of eight at boarding school. Um, when I couldn't go home, I just spent every weekend creating, painting, [00:03:00] enjoying the outdoors and. Yeah, that's really, I loved it. I could just immerse myself, you know, my parents would pick me up and I'd be covered in paint all over my face.

And, um, so it stemmed from there. And then as I went on, you know, there was a point when I got to selecting subjects later in the middle of like age 15. Um, where I nearly dropped it, which would have been really strange. I don't know why, but, um, I continued with it and, you know, from anything from art and then later it became textiles and photography and just anything I could get my hands on.

But. For me, photography was the one that was the most real, um, you know, people could see it and it felt, you know, back in those days it was, uh, not putting the age on it, but it was, uh, negative films and, you know, it was the whole process of. Working with black and white, not knowing what you're going to get, [00:04:00] um, when you're taking things.

And yeah, it was, yeah. And it was just the most, for me, it was more instant than doing a painting. 

Amanda Parker: I love that you're talking about what, like the realism of photography and yet. You build worlds when you put your work out there into the world. So how did it come that you started to see, you know, what more could actually be in an image than just the photo that you would shoot, for example, in black and white?

Laura Antonia Abbott: Well, I would definitely say a lot of it came from, you know, looking at the images that I'd say churned out a lot. Today, you know, everyone is, thinks they're a photographer today. They've got their phone, they've got their camera and because it's digital, it's instamatic and so they, it's like a sort of, you know, claiming it rightfully yours.

Um, so I had to sort of start to think differently because, you know, I don't think reality was being [00:05:00] contrived, you know, just from normal pictures. So what looks like a simple thing from social media became very much something that You know, you didn't know, was that the moment or was that, you know, put together to contrive it, to make it look good, um, for the audience.

So I started to think about how I created my work and then creating worlds, which are based on reality, but they are immersed into magical worlds. So therefore I'm, you know, going out there and I'm deliberately saying this. It's whimsical, it's magical, but this is actually a true story. There's something in there.

There's, there's layered meanings, there's symbolism. Um, and also I think growing up, I wasn't actually never into Disney. I was never into, um, you know, actually not, I always wanted to read books that were real stories [00:06:00] about real scenarios, real experiences that people had. And so I think the lack of not having that, although I lived in my imagination, um, made me want to create these images, which maybe is part that I missed out on the imaginative side of it.

Um, but creating it in a different light so that you really are taken out of, you can't question, is this, was a staged or not? Yes, it is staged, but it is actually full of facts and real stories and real images. 

Amanda Parker: It's such a powerful way of expressing that, you know, we think we have this idea of what's true and what's not true, but even that is not a fact.

Even that is not a hundred percent true. So you're actually just, you know, lifting the veil off of that false belief that reality is exactly as we see it [00:07:00] and pulling and weaving together these elements that are all true and real, but. It's almost like if I were to tell a story of something that happened to me when I was 10 years old, the way that I would piece together the elements would be probably very different than the reality of what was actually happening at that time.

And it's like taking these snapshots of a moment and then pulling it together into the way that I observe or feel or experience reality. Looking at that moment in time. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: And I also feel that, you know, a lot of the work is also about the things that we don't necessarily see instantly. So it's bringing to life, um, elements that we can't necessarily explain, but are also part of the person and the subject within the image, um, and our experiences of.

Our inner worlds and the outer world and how that is reflected. Um, so I think, you know, [00:08:00] creating something that's more magical, it captures people's attention instantly, rather than creating a real scenario or documentary style image, um, which, you know, obviously is very telling, but I just feel like we're just inundated with so many images these days that you actually, everything becomes blurred.

Yet we no longer know what is actually real and what isn't, what has been staged and what isn't. So I'm just putting the real into the staged if you like. 

Amanda Parker: Well maybe um, since most people will be listening, maybe you could walk us through if there's An image that speaks to you or comes to mind in particular that you've created and just what were the elements that brought that together?

Laura Antonia Abbott: Okay. So I think for me, one of the first things that I think of is the series I did called Nature Unmasked and that is a personal story about [00:09:00] myself and my connection, my healing through nature and being connected with nature. And, um, it kind of came about during the pandemic. When everything became quiet, we know we all went inwards and actually the only thing that I think brought us peace was taking ourselves into nature.

If we were allowed to leave our house and walking around, you know, and, and engaging that and that made us feel, you know, embrace freedom. And you know, I've always been very passionate about the environment and about healing power of nature. So, um, the image I created. Was a series of three, but the one in particular I'll talk about is called bird.

And this image, um, also came about at the same time when my aunt was in a hospice. Um, she was suddenly put in a hospice. She had breast cancer and she was a big fan of birds. And I had been creating this image at the same time that I heard this news. [00:10:00] So it was one of the last conversations I had with her and the whole image is created from, it's a landscape created from bird wings.

But the bird wings are like the waves or the rolling hills. It's you know, people read it differently. And I love the fact that, you know, everyone else sees it slightly differently, but also what I enjoyed about putting this piece together is I had the vision, but I hadn't quite fully formalized how it was going to work out.

We were very restricted. I was living in Asia at the time, in Singapore, and I went to Jurong Bird Park because I was It was totally empty. There was no one there. And I just walked into this birdcage of Victorian crowned pigeons and I thought, Oh my God, why am I here? What am I going to do? How am I going to take these, these birds and all the birds, all the Victorian crown pigeons, they all started to gather around me.

And within a moment, it was like they were [00:11:00] bowing and they all spread their wings out in this formation. And I was like, this is the moment. This is it. I can see it now. And I was just quick, quick, like, you know, handshaking, taking the pictures, all these different angles of the birds. And that is how the landscape.

Became the landscape and the image, but for me, it was almost, you know, for me, the sort of spiritual meaning of the Victorian crown pigeon, which has a lot of symbolism in different countries. Um, but the one that resonates for me is the native American one. And, um, in some tribes it was considered a sacred messenger between this world and the next.

So it was a symbol of wisdom and divine guidance. And for me, it really felt in the moment what I was experiencing with my aunt in the hospice in the UK, not being able to see her and being able to share that element with her of [00:12:00] the bird. Sadly, I thought she would live to see the final piece. So I never shared the full.

Image, but this image has subsequently last year, it was actually, um, awarded and put up in Siena in, um, Italy on one of the walls. So I love to think that it was my aunt that helped this bird fly and take off and land on in the middle of Italy. And sort of showcase the power of nature and healing and, and, you know, feel connected with her as well in a different way.

So that for me was like a really special piece and, you know, and people look at it and they feel their own thing, but I like a lot of my pieces and a lot of the subjects within the piece. A lot of the stories are our personal stories and connections, and then people. See something else from it or, you know, they see the story, but [00:13:00] then they resonate or they connect with it.

Um, but they don't necessarily know the full ins and outs, but you know, it's more than just a pretty picture. 

Amanda Parker: Well, we are getting the inside scoop here. So I've heard you in, in our previous conversation sharing, you know, stories of different images that you've created. And it's really. I mean I have goosebumps as you're speaking because it's every single image that you create has such a depth of story and there's a depth of like healing and wisdom and intuition and just inspiration that comes into each piece that it's mesmerizing even just to hear you describe a piece that I'm not even looking at.

So it's, it's, I can just feel the energy of what it is that you're putting out there even before I've seen the image, or maybe I have seen the [00:14:00] image, I have to look back at your, uh, at all the images that I've seen of yours, but I love that there's so much, yeah, depth and as you said healing, so I'd love to hear just in this moment, you know, what does healing it.

Well, you know, 

Laura Antonia Abbott: healing, I, I feel healing's incredibly powerful because I think some people feel that they don't have the right to claim that they need healing, you know, because they might think that they only have small things in their life or, you know, small stresses or things which are overwhelming for them, but they don't feel that that translates as enough to need.

help, you know, it's the intricate mosaic of who we are within us and what we, you know, internally go through. The idea of healing is really putting yourself out there, digging deep, going within yourself, [00:15:00] reaching to depths that maybe we haven't reached before. And in going through those processes, we eventually rise and, you know, we go through that cycle, we go through our ups and downs and they're all part of our growth and transformation.

I 

Amanda Parker: think that's really powerful. Um, I hear a lot of definitions of healing, which Yeah, come back to maybe coming back home to yourself, but I think you're bringing in a totally different element that some people feel like you have to be privileged or damaged enough or something to deserve healing, and the reality is that All of us have different elements of who we are, our lived experiences, physical, emotional, mental, whatever it is, that are worthy of healing, that we're worthy of receiving healing, that it's not something you have to deserve, it's not [00:16:00] something just for a special few, it's, it's really for all of us to claim that right to be well, to be, well, I guess there's no such thing as being fully healed.

No, exactly. To be on that journey. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: And it is a journey. And I think, you know, for me, healing bridges, the inner world with our outer world. And, um, that's a lot of, you know, the work that I do with my photography is going into that inner world and then bringing it to the surface, um, and bringing it out to, you know, You know, to unfold to other people, to, to see in a different light that they don't feel alone, that they, there are other people out there going through similar things, you know, whether they connect entirely to the story within the image, um, is not necessarily the point of it.

It's actually. what they take away, what resonates with their own experiences, with their [00:17:00] emotions, with their own experiences, um, in life and, uh, and what it can add to them. So that's, 

Amanda Parker: um, I mean, really as a method of healing, that's incredibly powerful. The ability to visually showcase Elements of a person and in a beautiful and whimsical way, but also in a way that really brings it up to the surface so that someone could really see or touch or tangibly engage with those images.

Is this something that you? Like offer as a healing service that you work with people and create these beautiful images as a healing? 

Laura Antonia Abbott: Yes. So there's, there's two ways that I work, you know, um, one, I might have a client that comes in, say for a Reiki session and something is triggered. in the session that is [00:18:00] healing for them, but also I see it in a creative way of how this could also be valuable, not only for the healing of themselves, but for other people who have, you know, have been through something similar.

You know, I will then maybe do the Reiki session and then maybe. You know, give them some time I might propose, look, whilst you were having this experience, I had a vision of how I saw you in that moment and how that moment could be useful if, if you were able to, um, share that with me and share that moment.

And you know, for me, it's like a, you know, they have a. Reiki session, or it's a conversation. And within that conversation, things start to come up. You know, I have a concept in my mind of how I see it working. And then we talk about it and the deeper we go into it, you know, that whole process on an intuitive level is like part of the unwrapping part of the unlayering.

And then those [00:19:00] layers get added. Back into the image itself and it's like a form of like release, you know, like a letting go when you, when you talk about, you know, sometimes I give, um, Reiki clients the, the idea of, you know, they've got something on their mind or something needing to let go that they write it, they write it down, or maybe they, you know, Burn it in a fire or something just to release that energy.

And so that's the same kind of concept that I use in creating these images. It's like a release so that they can hopefully get to a place. where they have transformed and they've grown beyond that position. And then when they look, if they want to have the image or the images then used for, you know, exhibitions in other ways, um, it's like a reminder of that's where I was and this is how far I've come, you know, and not like a negative connotation.

So I think that's the idea of it being slightly magical and whimsical at the [00:20:00] same time. Is it becomes this, although it was a painful moment or, you know, traumatic or whatever, it can be seen as part of the growth and the beauty in, you know, sometimes the things we go through, we don't realize at time that actually there is the other side.

To some of this as well. You know, it's part of our journey. It's part of who we become builds resilience and strength within us. As I talk about this, I'm thinking about one particular piece I created with a client who came in for a session and then I proposed. This image, because she'd gone through a lot of ups and downs, like being a little bit lost in where she was going with her career, with her relationships, you know, it was that stage of life, which way am I going?

Where's life taking me? And we had the session, which she found really helped her. I brought up things that, you know, I pulled out things intuitively that she was struggling with and I said, look, I [00:21:00] think if you were open to this, um, this could also create a wonderful piece of art, you know. It's about stripping.

So the, the piece is called the healing pool. She actually was the one who said, I'll be fine to strip down because it was like getting back to the bear, the bareness of rawness, like, you know, being totally naked and vulnerable, bearing all, and then rising from this healing pool in the image is. Um, a butterfly above her.

She's crouched on the ground in the middle of this beautiful landscape, again, bringing in the nature and the environment for healing and. The pool of water has a reflection of herself. So it's also, she's curled up. She's looking into this pool of water. It's, she's going inward. She's looking at the reflection of how she sees herself, the vulnerability of this bare landscape, the vulnerability of the nudity.

In the [00:22:00] picture, and then the rise of transformation with this butterfly hovering, because I knew that she would eventually get to that place. If she stripped back everything and almost began again, which I would say as one of my success stories, cause I feel that I've seen the transformation. She's gone on this massive journey since, and, you know, that's been a couple of years, it has, I've, I've sensed that she has.

She's still on that journey, I think, even today. Um, so yeah, that was powerful. And there's a little, you know, pool of water as well, there that's the sort of the, the last of the residual of the emotion coming, you know, on, on her back surface, and then the fact that this butterfly is slightly reflected and, you know, it's all these tiny details, slightly reflected into that pool of water, the potential of.

Something else beyond the inner world, you know, 

Amanda Parker: yeah, that's I was [00:23:00] gonna ask and you've just touched on it a bit But do you know do you ever get to hear a follow up or understand how either the image or the healing process? Transforms after the piece is created, 

Laura Antonia Abbott: you know, it's wonderful because I do you know, there's moments I create The pieces, maybe the person doesn't actually necessarily notice that maybe that was the catalyst in getting to the final end.

But I have certainly noticed that that might've been the starting point then has led them on a journey. Of healing and going to other, you know, practitioners or, um, going to different steps and, and finding their own way along the journey of really confronting, um, maybe something that they feared or something that they've held within them for so long, but it's that little doorway that opens, you know, just going into the [00:24:00] possibility of creating something, you know, it can, it can be emotional as well.

Um, I did do a series with a girl who had gone through a lot of grief and loss in those moments when we're actually creating the image as well, as much as, you know, it's about grief and everything, as much as there is a moment, there is also the rawness still within that person, which, you know, you can.

You can capture and it's, it's really actually, I think that's part of the healing is that the person, if I ask them, are they willing for, for this to be a creative project, you know, this, this one was to do with suicide. So it was kind of like, for me, I feel this is something, a lot of the impact from suicide.

Is the fact that people, you know, are suffering and they don't feel that they can talk. They don't have that person they can talk to. So if the person is willing from having that experience of losing someone to that, to be able to raise more awareness about it and [00:25:00] the impact, you know, I feel there's the personal healing for them and it doesn't have to be so intimate, but then what we create puts on that ripple effect of reaching out into communities.

Um, to people and it takes on its own form of, of healing, you know, so it begins with one person, but then we are reaching, we're vibrating and reaching further out into communities. 

Amanda Parker: It makes me think of in coaching, I mean, in many healing professions, but I'll speak from coaching specifically, sometimes just.

Witnessing, like witnessing, listening, allowing someone to just share what that experience is can so often be the healing on its own. And then this is actually like the witnessing and creating something that can also have that ripple effect outwards at a bigger scale. I guess that would be, um, has the potential to touch people because the energy of what you've created is, is there.[00:26:00] 

It's a part of the piece. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: And I think sometimes, you know, the ones that resonate are the ones that aren't loaded with so much stuff, you know, even when I'm creating it, you know, I go through the process of the planning, the conversation with the subject, and then, you know, we shoot it, but then it, you know, when it comes to the editing, that becomes also another process.

You know, and I can actually sometimes feel the vibration. I get to a point and I know that this image feels like one that's going to be traveling many places, you know, and it sounds like, you know, it's not to be cocky. I mean, it's like a sort of vibration that comes out of it in the same way that you have in a healing session.

You know, you get that energetic vibration from, from people as they're, as you can feel the release. Of something that's been stored in there, you know, it's the same with the art pieces and then the colors that get put into it and there's other layers as well. [00:27:00] Um, and they take on different stages, you know, 

Amanda Parker: well, um, Elizabeth Gilbert, I'm not sure if you're familiar with her work.

Uh, she wrote, well, she wrote big magic and she wrote eat, pray, love one time. So in Big Magic, um, one of the concepts that she brings up is that the work wants to be created. So she has no idea what it wants to become. It knows, and it's gonna, it's gonna become that. You can either choose to take that project on and help it come to life, or it's gonna find someone who will.

But what I'm hearing is that You're really co creating with the piece what it wants to be as well as you're feeling that energy as it's coming in there's this dance together of like helping it come to life because it has a message itself. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: That's exactly how it feels you know it might start for something.

And I [00:28:00] have had that experience where I, you know, I set out, I had this idea and I actually approached, um, someone to participate in this, in this piece and, um, and it took on another life. Like I envisioned this thing, I went to this whole. Set up and, you know, I even was going to Lapland and I'd put half of it together.

And I thought, yeah, this is going to be in the snow. And, you know, I shot the whole thing. I had it all formulated and it just would not go and it sat. on my hard drive for about six months. And then suddenly I decided this is not what it's about. It's about this. And I started adding in all these other elements to it.

At the same time, I created it. Um, the girl that was in the, in the photograph actually contacted me and said, I really need to speak to you. I'm in Mexico city. Let's have a [00:29:00] call. And I said, Oh, that's great timing because I've just started doing something with that image that I've sat on for six months and it's now taken another turn and I think you're going to love it.

And when I got on the conversation with her, she said, Oh my goodness, I had a dream last night. I was floating in water. You were there as well. And then I, you know, and then you appeared and when I said, Livvy, wait till you see the image I have created. And it was her floating in water. And it was like, you know, the timing.

Was amazing, you know, we hadn't seen each other for over a year or something and, you know, and I was like, this is what the piece was about, you know, it was about this and you know, she's, she works as a dream worker and, um, and subconscious and here she was having a dream about the image that I had then transformed into something else.

And it was amazing because the water was very symbolic, you know, she's a scorpion as well. So we, you know, I had added that element [00:30:00] in and the scorpion is also about, you know, darker self and the internal stuff that we go through. And it was the multiple versions of herself and how she sees herself in the waking world, in the subconscious.

And, you know, being sort of the healer through dreamworking for all people. And, and I thought, you know, sometimes you think, well, I've gone off pieced with this, I haven't stuck to the plot, but actually this is what it was supposed to be. This is how it was supposed to, to, to evolve. And that's why I was so stuck because it.

That wasn't the vibration it was supposed to send out. And it has traveled, this one, you know. 

Amanda Parker: I've had many teachers in like psychic development courses that I've taken share that you never question the information that you're receiving, even if it doesn't make sense to you, share it with whoever the person is maybe that you're [00:31:00] reading for, because you never know what that symbolism is going to be for them.

So if an image comes to mind for me, I, I was in a course once and I, I don't normally smell things, but in this moment it was like this whiff of, I think it was oleander. I wouldn't know what oleander smells like on an average day, you know, it's not a plant or a flower that would come to mind, I mean, ever.

And I was in the reading, I said, yeah, I'm, I started to smell oleander. And the woman was like, Oh my God, my mom had this plant in front of the house. And it was an oleander. It was her favorite. And my stepdaughter just gifted me the same plant for my birthday. And I was just like, Oh my God. So even though it doesn't, Seem to make sense or resonate.

You know, on a conscious intellectual level, you're actually, in a way, an open channel that you're allowing that to come in and getting your head out of the way [00:32:00] so that it can really translate and become what it wants to be and that those ideas can come through in the way they're meant to. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: A hundred percent.

And that's, over time, that is what I've learned. You know, I, a lot of the time, you know, I've created things in the past and I couldn't necessarily, I knew I could see it, I could feel it, but I couldn't necessarily fully explain to people what exactly I was doing. And, you know, and you always feel that you have to have everything lined up, sketched up, aligned.

This is the plan. You've got to stick to every angle. But you know, I, I've learned over time that that is not necessarily what it's about, we have to be in flow, we have to be fluid. And you have to follow what comes, what comes, you know, sometimes you set out for something else, but actually this other story is more important and this is the one that needs to be told.

Um, and even like you mentioning the flowers now, even when I use flowers in my work, every flower [00:33:00] is used because of it's the meaning of that flower and the resonance that it adds that picture. So everyone doesn't have to be an expert looking at the flower, you know, looking at the photos with the flowers, but there is the hidden there meaning.

And maybe that energy attracts people or draws people in to the work as well, you know. 

Amanda Parker: I just have this feeling or this sense of you just building worlds. You're just creating these like magnificent worlds that we, we get to touch on and. You know, no one could ever understand the full nuance of your, of your creative process of how all that comes in, of the client situation and everything, but you're really entering, it's like entering a fantasy world and just exploring all these elements that are there beyond a beautiful image, beyond something that you could just see and go, wow, that's pretty, I'd like to hang that up.

There's so much layer and nuance. In each piece that I [00:34:00] can imagine will touch people, they'll have no idea why, but the energy and resonance will be there. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: And you know, and I love asking people, you know, what do they see in that piece or, or what resonates? Why do they like that particular piece? Because it's, you know, it's so subjective sometimes and sometimes, you know, it's the, they're drawn to the emotion.

Sometimes they maybe just see it as a, as an image that they just like. Um, but there is always, it's so fascinating because what you think people are like as well is not necessarily what they do like. So it's, um, and I think it's a great teller and it's almost like a kind of, it's another thing to look at, you know, how, how is it enjoyed or, or what reactions people get from it and how it makes them feel, you know, the emotion for a lot of the pieces, there is emotion because I don't think everything I create, you know, they are shot.

I'm used to take them more in [00:35:00] locations and the world is created in a real location, but then maybe the sky doesn't quite look right. So I use a sky from, you know, another location or something, but everything is really put into place. It's only as time evolves and the deeper I go into people's healing journeys that the world almost can't be one that is necessarily recognizable.

Because it isn't necessarily easy to kind of understand, you know, so I like the idea of making it more magical and, and whimsical because it also takes away a little bit from too much of the, you know, the suffering 

Amanda Parker: within it as well. So how is it that you began to weave the Reiki and the photography together?

Was that Was that natural? Was that intentional? What did that process look like? It's 

Laura Antonia Abbott: it's fascinating because, um, I think subconsciously I had been doing it before I discovered [00:36:00] Reiki and then Reiki made me realize, Oh my goodness, this is what I've been doing all this time, um, is, you know, it's, and again, it's that sort of guidance that you can't explain.

So in the, you know, in the past, you know, I always found I was, I used to attract people that were, you know, had a lot of issues or had problems, or they always wanted to tell me their stories, whether it was on a night out or in the student bar or, you know, arrived in the airport and someone's telling me something random, but it, you know, I was to think it was quite funny.

I didn't understand why everyone wants to tell me these things, but I also enjoyed. The communication, and I think it's also almost part of the preparation for being prepared to the variety of different scenarios that people go through and experiences, and then you can add it. So for me, then finding Reiki made me understand deeper, maybe why I attracted these people before.

And, um, it gave a bit [00:37:00] more power to the, to the work as well, even though I feel that the work subconsciously had that element to it. And I think it's also that I am drawn to understanding deeply. I think, you know, even when I was younger, that's where the poetry came in for me as well. I'd put everything into writing and I would.

Put it in symbolism and metaphors to hide so people, if anyone found it, they wouldn't necessarily know exactly what I was talking about, but they would get something else from it. And that led into my photography. And then with Reiki, it's a similar thing, how I intuitively read the energies of people's bodies.

It comes through in the same symbols and ways that I've been using in my photography. So it's all, it's like these little languages that I've been using throughout a lifetime. That all get woven together and kind of complete the circle. I love to call it like the fifth element, you know, the fifth, Reiki was like the fifth element, the fifth language that came [00:38:00] together and everything became clear.

I was like, Oh my goodness, this is what I'm doing. 

Amanda Parker: So Reiki was something that you, you did a formal training in then later on. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: I did. And I actually did it with one of the people I think you've had on your podcast, Danny Vandiver. Yes. The amazing Danny. Hi Danny. Um, yeah, I actually went to Danny for Reiki sessions myself.

And again, that's, you know, why I thought I don't have anything to really unwrap. And then I was like, Oh, hell yeah, there's a whole road to unwrap. I don't need to be healed, but I'm fine. Um, so those sessions took me on a long journey and then led me back to her. And she said, I think you're going to be going deep into studying something.

And I was like, actually this study, this is what I want to come and do, teach me. Um, so that's how it, that's how it started. And, um, [00:39:00] yeah, and it's just taken me places as well. It's taken me further. It's given more depth, I think, to my work, um, with new, new ideas that I've got that I'm working on at the moment.

That sort of weaving more of, um, Reiki and creativity. And spirituality all together and, and sort of more of an offering, but also an impact of a healing way as well, but a different form because it won't necessarily be someone's personal subject, but it'll be reaching out to inspire people into transformation into growth and, um, you know, and, and looking at it in a slightly different way.

Amanda Parker: What have been some of the. Yeah, challenges that you faced in doing this work. So what obstacles have you come against along the way? 

Laura Antonia Abbott: So I think it's, you know, it's being able to read people to know [00:40:00] the right moment. I think a lot of people are willing, but I do, I think being very intuitive, I think I read who's the right person to approach and who's not.

So I guess that that makes less stumbling blocks. Um, but I'd say. In my, um, pathway of photography, a stumbling block for me at the very beginning was being a woman in the industry that was mainly men. And, you know, I worked first at the beginning as, you know, photographer's assistant, and I'd be literally.

I, you know, I was always, I'll do anything, help me carry this wrought iron gate. And it literally was this giant wrought iron gate and I'd be lugging it with all the men because there's no one else there. And I was thinking, what am I doing? This is like the limit, but it was the way, you know, you had to, in that time it was work with [00:41:00] someone to learn the ropes and then go out on your own.

And all the work that I loved doing was, you know, the fashion photographers and a lot of them. Uh, who I encountered with the men and then it was, it was harder to sort of break in. So creating what I create now is actually always been my passion, but I'd say that was really a stumbling block because I kind of thought I don't need to prove how strong I have or whatever.

I just need to do it. Oh. 

Amanda Parker: Yeah, that's I just really want to like hone in on that because I think so many of us face that that we We already know what we want to do. And I think especially in modern times with So much accessibility online to like teachers and experts and whatever I'm, like I really want to write I need to find a teacher or a course or this or that like no Actually, you just need to sit down and write like you need to sit down and do the thing.

It's okay To also have teachers and learn from people, but that [00:42:00] cannot be the obstacle that stands in the way of doing the thing that you're called to do. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: Yeah. A hundred percent. And I think for a long time that did stand the way I was like, this is the, this is what I was saying. Like I firmly believe in breaking rules.

You don't have to go down this process of, you know, I have to study at university. You know, when you're doing something creative, you could actually, and even now. The door is open for people just to launch themself and create, you know, create a project, whatever it is, go out there and, you know, you can get on social media, you can build your own network and you can just go straight out there.

But when I was studying, it was more like, Oh, this is the way you do it. This is how you get into the industry. And then I was like, maybe I don't want to be in this industry. You know, I always want to do fashion actually. And it was like, well, everyone's bitchy or bickering. And so maybe I will just step out of that and do my own thing.

And, you know, and I love it because there's more meaning. I'm creating something for myself, but I'm creating something for someone else. [00:43:00] And. That is also being shared and giving joy or, or healing to other people as well. So it doesn't just begin with myself, it begin with someone's story. It, you know, it becomes something else.

Amanda Parker: Hmm. Was there ever any, like self-doubt about your abilities or like, was there anything tied up in that, or did you feel. Really just motivated by creating, 

Laura Antonia Abbott: you know, I definitely, there's always doubt. There's always fear. I mean, I'd love to know that person that this works out and like, I've got it all.

I'm going to do it. You know, I tell myself I can do it. Um, but you know, I've always been passionate. I think, you know, art, you know, I started it for so long when I was very small. So it's always been my, my pathway, uh, or part of my pathway. [00:44:00] Um, but there have definitely been steps and hurdles and moments of like, can I do this?

But I've kind of. I've stuck with it. I'd actually say that actually Reiki gave me confidence because I've been doing photography for my lifetime, but I was always very cautious. But when I started Reiki, I was like, open the door, come in clients, in you come, everyone's knocking. And I'm like, my goodness, if I can do this with Reiki, I can do this with photography.

This is ridiculous. You know, why did it take me? Let's not number the years of stalling and like, Oh, can I do it? Oh, almost, maybe this is not the right moment. Maybe I should wait a bit longer. And Reiki, it was just like, boom, open the doors straight in. And, um, and I was like, Oh, I'll do this with photography as well.

So it's given me the courage that has given me the courage. And I think more belief in, [00:45:00] you know, you, you kind of know what you're, unless you're totally lost, you kind of know. It's just having the confidence and the faith that, you know, what can go wrong? You fail and you don't achieve it. But if you don't even have a go at it, you, you, you'll never know.

And I always have firmly believed in just, just do it and see what happens. If it fails, it fails, you know, as long as, you know, it doesn't, you don't leave a trail of disaster, 

Amanda Parker: it's okay. My coach said to me the other day, as an encouragement, because there's a few different things that I'm in the process of like building, launching, creating, and.

They all scare me as they always do. So I go into fear, you know, like why am I doing this? Am I the right person? All these people have more experience. All these like doubts come to the [00:46:00] surface, my own doubts. And his advice was to just take the next step. Whatever it is that you want to do or that you're afraid of or that you're nervous about, just take one more step forward.

That's it. You'll have more information then. And of course that's like a slippery slope. One step leads to the next, the next, but rather than looking at like that whole big picture, like I'm going to be a photographer now or something that might really intimidate you. It's like, well, what if you just take photos tomorrow?

What could happen? 

Laura Antonia Abbott: I think it should always be, you know, baby steps. So that's what I'm telling myself. Cause I'm about to launch my online photography store and I've been stalling for about sort of four months. Oh no, I can't quite find that printer. Okay. I'll just take a breather. And I'm like, no, if I just do a little something, contact someone else, just a little extra, like you were saying, those little steps, they're taking you there rather than Backing [00:47:00] down with so much fear that you feel like you can't lift yourself beyond that.

Um, it, you know, and it is a challenge because it is. I think fear is one of our greatest challenges. I wouldn't say something deeper than that, but I've lost it. So 

Amanda Parker: good. It's good. It is a big challenge. It's also a motivator. So I tend to think that the things that I'm most afraid of, or if I have a client, the things they're really afraid of, that's usually like the catalyst for what's really going to open up.

So in a way, the fear is almost like, Unknowing, because you know that everything that comes on the other side of that is gonna change your life 

Laura Antonia Abbott: potentially. A hundred percent, you know, actually, cause I, that's exactly what I would say because that, that has always, fear has actually always been my stumbling block, fear and, you know, then it builds into anxiety and.

Potential breakdown, but you know, in the past, I'll never forget. I had, I had, I was asked [00:48:00] spur of the moment, can you photograph 300 extras from a casting agency? And, um, here's a camera, digital camera, which I hadn't used before in my life. So that's been really daunting when you can just twiddle lots of knobs and take a picture rather than just, you know, connect it to your lights.

And I got, I felt so sick. I remember calling my sister and saying, I can't do this. I feel so sick. And she's like, Laura, you'll probably always feel like that. And if you don't take this step, you'll never do it. And, you know, a hundred percent, I, I feel fear. And every time, even when I'm doing a personal project, I feel fear and I get anxious, but also that's part of it.

Like you just said, it is that the boost, it's the passion that's actually blended with that fear that actually is the, you know, the catalyst and the drive that excels us to get where we want to get. So it's kind of ignoring that [00:49:00] and trying not to cave in. Too much to those emotions and excelling and, and actually using it as the power to push you forward.

You know? 

Amanda Parker: Yes. So people are going to be listening. Now I know you're launching your photography store. So by the time this episode is launched, we're going to have that URL out in the world. Maybe. Well, 

Laura Antonia Abbott: no, I love it because I only say something because then that also is. the drive forward, it has to be done now because I've said it.

And actually I was communicating with someone, um, yesterday about using their, their printer yesterday and I nearly cancelled it because I had 

Amanda Parker: so much prep. Please do, please do because I'm ready to browse your store. Fantastic. So how, how else can people get in touch with you and for what should they get in touch with you?

Laura Antonia Abbott: So, yeah, well you can get in touch with me if you're, If [00:50:00] you want to collaborate on a photo shoot, maybe you have, um, your own healing journey you would like to share with me, um, that you think would help others out there. Um, and you know, we could collaborate and, and, and put it into something because when I do create these things, it is part of, you know, I communicate with the sitter and, you know, it's a collaboration on how they want to do, and then it evolves as we go.

But I, if it evolves, I always share, this is how I see it. Do you think that reflects well and with the experience and whether it help others? So that's what I would advise. Um, and what was the other question? 

Amanda Parker: Well, so that's one thing that you do is the photography. You also do the Reiki session. So people that's in person, is that online?

Laura Antonia Abbott: I do distance healing, um, you know, I have clients scattered everywhere from Romania or, you know, Kenya or Singapore, wherever it is. Um, and I do [00:51:00] in person, I have a studio that I do it in my own little healing room, which I have. So people come in and it also involves, you know, intuitive reading and a little bit of coaching and guidance.

So I do that as well. 

Amanda Parker: And that's in Lisbon? 

Laura Antonia Abbott: In Lisbon. Yes. 

Amanda Parker: Yes. Very nice. All right. That's worth a trip over to Lisbon. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: Exactly. Use it as an excuse or just stay in the safety of your home and I'll do a distance.

Amanda Parker: So aside from the website, which we're excited to see, what else are you looking forward to in the future? 

Laura Antonia Abbott: I'm working on a new photo series. Which is actually about elements, uh, earth, air, water, fire, um, ether. So it's also a kind of journey, no earth. Not necessarily our usual things, not just plants and whatever.

It's also ancestral and our connection to the [00:52:00] past and the healing that comes from our ancestors as well and fire transformation and growth. So I'm really excited because I'm working on fire and I found my, this time I approached a lady and I've got my fire woman who's, who I feel is fire. So I'm really excited because I know.

There's a reason I've picked her, you know, we've, I've got Maya angles and twists and I know when we get into the process of shooting it. It's going to be adding elements of actually her, I think, as well. Um, and that sort of work working towards an Oracle deck that I'd like to, to create. So that will probably take a lot longer, but this is the start, this is the catalyst and the starter, um, for the, for the ideas.

So I'm excited about that and I did have a nice proposal yesterday from someone, but I don't know how, if I'm allowed to discuss that yet. So that involves, that involves art and something for new year, helping getting involved with other [00:53:00] artists. So I'm excited about that one as well. 

Amanda Parker: That is exciting.

And as you said, the elementals, I'm like, I know a number of shamanic practitioners who are going to be very excited about the series. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: Well, I'd be 

Amanda Parker: happy 

Laura Antonia Abbott: if anyone wants to give any of their own feedback or, you know, insight into what those elements mean to them, that would be really powerful as a. as a request to any listeners.

Amanda Parker: Yeah. And so definitely if you want to give that feedback and you're listening, then you can get in touch with Laura on her Instagram as well. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: On my Instagram, and I have my website, laura. a. photography. I'll, I'll link to it all in the show notes. I'm going to read it, get it mixed up. It's lauraafotography.

com and you can connect with me through there and you can also actually connect to my Reiki, which is Sol Calma or Calma because I'm in Portugal, solcalma. com and you can book. Um, sessions through that as well. 

Amanda Parker: If someone is just [00:54:00] starting out on their own journey, what advice would you give to them as they're beginning this journey forward?

Laura Antonia Abbott: Well, definitely break all the rules and just get out there. Just pick up a camera, just experiment, just go with what you feel drawn to. Um, you know, I think you feel this need to, that has to be. You know, perfect, but you know, experimenting a lot of my stuff, I'd say, even though I did a whole degree in photography, I studied part of it in Spain, you know, a lot of my process has been self taught as well, because there's only so much the thing that I think is harder.

It's not being the photographer. It's the ideas. And the ideas of what you need to grow and that, you know, I love to brain, you know, brainstorm and, you know, you know, research into books or ideas, go to exhibitions and galleries and, um, talk to people and find [00:55:00] out what, what's new in their life. Cause this is, it's hard finding something that hasn't been done and that isn't different.

And I don't think anything is entirely unique. But, um, you can certainly add elements, but I think if you really go within yourself and take a more personal touch, that is where you really, um, get the pleasure and that's when you start to attract people because people can feel that passion and that emotion.

Amanda Parker: Beautiful closing words. I'm so pleased that we could have this conversation. I'm really. Everyone who's listening, please do go check out Laura's work. It is absolutely inspiring and dreamy and just builds such gorgeous visions of, yeah, of the world in a way you've never seen it before. So I'm so grateful that you've been here to share your work and your healing power with us.

[00:56:00] And cannot wait to see all of these projects that are building in the future. 

Laura Antonia Abbott: Thank you. And actually, there was one thing I, if you would allow me to share, I had a poem that I've, I've written, pre written, not just for this, but I think it's very relevant to the conversation. If it inspires people, if I can read that, um, we are everything and nothing weightless in the dark, patiently waiting our place in time.

We sink, we float, we crumble, we stall, we breathe, we weep, rewire, rise. We saw a billion atoms cascading into stars, tiny grains in search of light. We are nothing and everything. And so much more, so that's my little inspiration for [00:57:00] people out there needing some light. 

Amanda Parker: Thank you so much. That's beautiful.

And yeah, I'm feeling very inspired as we're closing. I'm even losing my voice now. So thank you so much for joining us. And to everyone who has tuned in, thank you for listening to this episode of Don't Step on the Blue Bells, and I will see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of Don't Step on the Blue Bells.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please give the podcast a 5 star rating wherever you listen. And don't forget to hit subscribe and follow along so you never miss a new episode.