56. Coming Out as a Witch: Intuition, Energetic Boundaries, & Sexual Psychic Gifts with Helena Herndon

Helena Herndon is a trauma-informed intuitive reader, teacher, and spiritual consultant. In her sessions, she combines psychic reading, human design, evolutionary astrology, past lives, psychosynthesis, the law of attraction, masculine/feminine polarity work, and more.

Watch the full episode here.

We explore…
— Discovering, claiming, & growing intuitive gifts
— Coming out as a psychic or witch
— How she shifted from being a skeptic atheist to a spiritual consultant
— Setting energetic boundaries
— Everyday practices to grow intuition
— Living life as an experiment

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⁠Website⁠

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Transcript

Kristin: 0:00

I'm Kristen Birdwell and this is Sax Drugs and Sol. Just last year I had the discovery, I was like, oh my god, I'm a witch. Duh, it makes sense. But I and I'm like, I've been in the closet. But I don't know if I've ever come out even on my podcast and said, I I'm a witch. I do a lot of witchy shit. But I don't know if I've ever claimed, you know, said those words verbatim. All right, so a little backstory for you guys. I met Helena Herndon at a frame shop in Austin. And I had a rather negative experience at this frame shop. And so I feel like it speaks to life that sometimes we go through shitty shit to find the right people. Because yours, because we met at that frame shop, I'm like, that's why I was, that's why I went there. Like, that's like the pearl of some of the stuff that we that I go through that we go through in life. Um, and I brought her on today. I'm so excited to like talk about her gifts and her talents and really just share her story with the world too. Um, so thank you and Malcolm for accepting the invite.

Helena: 1:07

Yeah, thank you. And it's funny because I had almost, I mean, I had a good experience with the framing. They frame my picture well, but it's interesting because even that day was kind of like a spiritual lesson for me because I remember I had just gotten back from a trip that day, and I had this long to-do list, and normally I'm like, okay, like let me do all these things I have to do for the week, like meal prep and clean my apartment and unpack. And I just had this like intuitive feeling. I was like, you know, I just, I really just want to like not do my to-do list and go and get my beautiful new art frame and just like make my house pretty and just do something for me and focus on something that brings me pleasure and joy. And I swallowed that urge, and then I met you, and like we just ended up having this great conversation, and so I feel like like for me, the lesson is like, you know, prioritizing your pleasure and what feels good, and then everything else falls into place, and you have time to do your to-do list, but like life is about those moments of like following what you feel you're doing.

Kristin: 2:10

Yeah, I feel like that's like right on point with like the intuition. I was gonna say that's a teaching in and of itself, guys. Listen, listen to yourself. How many times have I not listened to myself and had to been like hit over the head by certain life circumstances, right? Um, so I would love to then just go right into like um how you discovered or claimed, or yeah, let's go start with discovering and claiming your intuitive intuitive gifts.

Helena: 2:37

Yeah, yeah. Well, um, I think I think we all have intuitive gifts. I think some people um are more open than others or might have a more intuitive disposition than others. And it's something you can see in astrological charts or human design charts, or you know, looking at the energy of someone, but we all have the capacity to tune into that side of ourselves, the more yin side of ourselves, um, and just and uh not be so caught up in the logical mind. Um and but most people who are very intuitive, um it it you can see it when they're a child. Um and so you know, I was I always say, people say, Oh, how you know, when yeah, when did you discover this? And I always say, Well, I was very intuitive as a child. But what I experienced that as was being hypersensitive and not really um you know, having moments where I didn't fit in, or being told that I was too much. Um, and so I think a lot of like people will usually relate to this where you know, like I would, or sometimes people say a child is they're they're too uh emotional, they're so empathetic, they're feeling the energy of everyone around them, um, or they cry too much, or they just have these feelings, and they're you know, telling adults that something's wrong, or that they don't want to do something, and it feels like the adults aren't listening to them. Um and I also experienced for me personally, like I think I now I feel now that I'm standing in my power, I feel so powerful. But as a child, I think a lot of the adults in my life sensed how powerful I was, and they wanted to protect me from the world or protect me from people who would be afraid of that, and so they sort of shut it down and told me to keep things to myself or to be smaller. Um, and I grew up in the south, and I think it's like you know, they wanted me to be a nice, sweet southern girl, and a lot of deconditioning around that for me, where like I am not a nice sweet southern girl. I can be, but I that's not who I am all the time. Yeah, and so I think that like that that's my experience is like, and so yeah, I mean it's things like I I saw when people walked around, I saw the field of energy around them. Um I would go to certain places, like for example, I remember we went to um the the these parks in New Mexico where they had um petroglyphs on the walls. And I remember I stood there and like I just cried, like I I was a I would stand there and I would just cry and cry because I was feeling the energy and seeing and feeling all of these people that had been there. Um yeah, and I would just like be picking up on so much energy all the time and feeling it in my body, but I didn't know what it was and I didn't know how to express it. So I think it just came across as I was like um yeah, too emotional or not in control of myself. Um and then as I got older, you know, in like high school, college, I was very interested in astrology, very interested in the soul and spirituality, but I really identified as an atheist. I I didn't really I didn't really believe in a God. And um, but it's interesting because I always I was so I trusted my intuition so much, and I made all my major life decisions from my gut, or now I know my sacral. Um and you know, I would make these long pro-con lists of these logical reasons of things, like where I should go to college, or should I, you know, where I should live, or what what I should do. And and I just would have this feeling, like this feeling of coming back to myself every time where I was like, I don't know, none of this matters, but I just know what I'm gonna do. And it was like that was me making a decision with my body, with my intuition, rather, with the mind. And I had so much trust that I was always right, and I just would see evidence, I'd be like, I'm always right when I trust myself like that. I'm I'm never wrong. And then when things would happen, like eclipses or major energetic events, I didn't even understand what that was at the time, but I knew I could feel the collective energy around me heightened and so strong, I knew something was going on. And so now I have the language and the teachings, the knowledge to understand what all of this is and how to use it in an empowering way, and how to have energetic boundaries and how to serve others and grow in myself. But all those years I didn't have any of that, and so I just was feeling so much. Um, and I really believe like we need to teach this kind of thing to children in schools. Oh, yes, and we yeah, and we need to learn how to parent children with these kind of gifts because I really believe as the world evolves and heals into the new world that we're moving into, that this more feminine yen, or just yeah, more esoteric, subtle body energy is the medicine for so much of the um imbalance. For sure, yeah, energy in this world.

Kristin: 8:20

Yeah, you know, there's so much that you said that's resonated with me. First off, like whenever you're talking about being an emotional kid, like I had this image of uh me, it brought tears to my eyes because like I had this image of like five-year-old me sensing my dad's energy and feeling it in like the moment that they told me they were gonna get a divorce. And I was like, wow, okay, yeah, so confirmation. I I do it identify as like a hypersensitive person and stuff now, too. So it's interesting. Um, you know, those things, and I totally agree with you about like teaching the kids and to not stifle those emotions because I feel like whenever that emotion doesn't have the movement or expression, it gets stuck or stored in the body. And then I feel like that's what also leads to a lot of imbalances, diseases of the mind or dis- eases of the body um and stuff like that as well. I've seen it manifest in my life, and and then you know, I believe that it a lot of the unexpressed anger with my dad um or expressions and stuff also probably contributed to his liver cancer. And so I don't just resonated it with it on so many levels. And you said something about um energetic boundaries too. So I will definitely want to touch on that at some point, but so at what point though in your life um did you start to grow the intuitive gifts or like okay, or like have that reson or aha moment that I'm like, okay, you know what I mean about the yeah, yeah.

Helena: 9:48

So um I I was studying, I was really intrigued in these different systems, astrology. Um, I was starting to hear about human design, and um, I was I had done a yoga training, um, I had studied Buddhism, Taoism, like all these, I was always studying. I remember I would spend like Friday and Saturday nights in college, like I went out, I went out, but but I would also spend hours alone in my apartment skipping class and reading these books. And um, you know, I it was uh I think 2019, and I had a I have a best, best childhood friend. Um, and she was always telling me about this friend she had who was an Akashic records reader. And I was like, Oh, I want to try that, but I was a skeptic. Like I I was like, I really wasn't uh I didn't just want to go to anyone and pay money. And I'm really like, I really believe in science. And I was like, astrology feels real to me because planets are real, it feels like a concrete thing that we can track the planets' transits, but something about like seeing a psychic just seems like what? Like anyone can be a psychic. There's no, it's not grounded. I don't and so I was looking for a really good astrologist to give me a really good life reading. Um, and I went down this rabbit hole of kind of I I asked Miss my friend who was my friend's friend who was an Akashic records reader, and it was one of those things where I had this email chain, like 10 people on this email chain keep kept referring to me and referring to me, uh, me to someone. And then um finally I found someone um who was who now is one of my teachers who is phenomenal, like a master teacher. And we did this astrology reading, but she is also a psychic. And in the uh reading, she like did a little bit of a psychic reading. And I remember I was like, oh, well, let's skip this part because this isn't like this isn't what I'm paying for. And then we ended up like we kept doing sessions together and we would do these meditations. And she said, she's like, Helena, you know, when you meditate, you go really deep. Like most people don't have these visualizations and have these, they don't drop in like the way that you're doing. And she's like, I teach this class for intuitives, like psychics and training, and I'd like to invite you to take the class. And I was like, Oh no, no, no, no, I'm not doing that. Like, I was very resistant, and it honestly was two years later. I was living in Austin, and I had really plugged into another really uh spiritual community in my group of friends who would change my life, and I felt more open, and something just came over me, and I was like, you know, I'm gonna take that class just for fun, just for fun. Like, I don't have an outcome, I'm just curious, like what it would be like. And I took one class with her and I realized, oh my god, like this is me. I am one of these people. I am, I don't even like I like I prefer to use the word intuitive, I am psychic or whatever. And I ended up studying with this teacher and doing other trainings around it for about a year and a half, and then I came out as a psychic, and I remember I posted this story on my Instagram, and I was like, I'm like, because you because you really want to practice with as many people as possible, give me readings, and I was like, I'm studying to, you know, studying as a psychic to practice my gifts, and like if anyone wants to do like a 15-minute reading, I think I charge like $15. Like, I was like afraid to charge money. I was like, who would who would pay money for this? And and I was blown away. I had so many people respond, people that I hadn't talked to in years that followed me, and they were like, Oh my gosh, like this is so you, like, yes, like you're someone who I would want to get a reading from. And I realized it's just this constant validation of like this is who I am, and this is the energy that I've given off my whole life. People who have seen this in me, that I didn't see it in myself. Wow. Um, and yeah, and now I give readings like almost every week, and I charge away more money, and it's like a real business, and I still am studying as well as practicing. But yeah, I mean, I was a I was in denial. Like I was I was resistant, and I think the thing that the ex people are always like, well, what do you mean? Like, you how did you figure it out? Like the experience is it's not about learning new things or learning how to read people or learning um, you know, like how to do it, how to be a psychic. It's it's a deconditioning process of the fact that as a child I had these gifts. As I grew up and was in survival mode and was conditioned to hold things, I built layers of distrust in myself. And so returning to your power as an intuitive is about saying the thoughts in my head that I think I can't trust and are intrusive thoughts and are silly and are invalid, are actually the truth. Those are the things I should be listening to. And I thought, I truly thought, up until a couple years ago, that everyone was walking around with the same perspective that I was about seeing everyone else's energy and picking up on everything. I thought everyone was. And so for me, it's been this realization of like, no, Helena, you're not normal. Not everyone sees the energy around everyone else. Not everyone can tell what you're about to say. And you're making a lot of assumptions about the way you relate to people in the world that's actually hurting you and depleting you because you're just assuming everyone else is operating in this intuitive way that you are, and they're not. And so it's more about learning how to relate to others in the world as a unique energetic being, and how you're gonna fit in with your gifts and just like we talked about, and have energetic boundaries to protect yourself because you can be so sensitive and vulnerable, and so that you're empowered rather than like overwhelmed all the time.

Kristin: 16:10

Yeah. I mean, I even in this podcast, I find myself, so I have some questions like, oh, she's she's answering that one. So that's what's kind of funny. Um but I'm I jotted down. I was like, oh, I want to jot down something real quick, so I don't forget it. Yeah. Um, but yeah, because I think it's it's potent to mention too, like how how you helped or you shifted from being a skeptic or being for atheist or agnostic to believing in spirit or to and like leaning into intuitive gifts. And I loved the phrase you said about coming out as a psychic because I feel like I'm coming out as a witch. And because I think I share with I know I shared this with you before we started the podcast, but just for listeners' sake, that was only like a year ago in Austin where I had the epiphany was like, oh my god, I'm a witch. And there was just so much fear like the coughing right now, as I even say it, it's like coming up and out of even claiming that and stepping into it. You know, I identify as a mystic and I have which intuitive gifts and powers, but there's a fear there, and I don't know if it's like the burning at the stake or like um the people that have been censored and that sort of thing. Or I for me, it was like I don't want people to think I'm crazy. Yeah. Because in my lineage, too, I know my grandfather like went to a psychiatric facility, and so who know who knows now? What if he was just having some gifts that that was labeled as something else and like given shock treatments for? Um yeah, and so it's like okay, no wonder I had a freaking fear, you know.

Helena: 17:43

Um and all of my work is rooted in past life theory. So when you're speaking, so I have you know, we talked about this, I have the same fear. Like I was saying, like for people listening, like this podcast is edgy for me because it's part of this speaking about this stuff I wasn't able to do in the past, and because yeah, it's like this energy of the witch burnt at the stake. Um, and I I know um and I believe that a lot of the women who feel this, not just women, but there is a there is a collective group of people who in past lives were in women bot female bodies and were persecuted for being a witch. And in this life, we've been reincarnated in a soul family where we're finding each other again, and we can remind we can tell ourselves that is a past life, this is this life, and in this life I am safe and free. But it's hard. There's definitely and of course, like there are some parts of the world where it's not safe, so it is also picking up on that collective fear.

Kristin: 18:48

Um thank you for acknowledging that too. Um, I'd love to speak into the energetic boundaries. It's only recently that I have um started working with someone who's like kind of helping me craft energetic boundaries because I would I was feeling so much anxiety and overwhelm, but it didn't feel like it was all mine. Um and so I would love to speak into or ask you about like what how do you establish those energetic boundaries for yourself or or um something in that realm?

Helena: 19:15

Yeah, it's a great topic, it's so important. Um and I I'll acknowledge it's a it's a psychic practice, energetic practice. And for me, it's also um part of my work and readings involves human design. And in human design, like in a nutshell, you know, you have certain energetic centers that are open or closed. And if you have more open centers, you're also more open and vulnerable to taking in energy of others that can be draining or can be a challenge. And so I think about it from that mechanical point of view of like the centers being open closed, it's an electromagnetic energetic exchange, and I think of it from the Subtle body, the um more mystical, energetic um side. And so when you are a sensitive, empathetic, open, intuitive person, or if you have a lot of open centers, again, energy in the chart, you know, you're it is, I think, I I would say it is objectively more difficult for you to move through the world because you are so open to picking up energy of people around you. And there is a lot of suffering out there, and there is a lot of um, there are a lot of unconscious people who are projecting themselves or sending out um energy that can be challenging. And there's also really healthy conditioning out there that feels beautiful to receive from a partner or a friend, and there's so much collective love and joy that can feel really good to receive if you're open too. So you have the gift of being able to receive, I think, an experience more joy and happiness and love if you're more open. I always think about the phrase um, those who experience the greatest suffering are able to experience the greatest joy, um, which is kind of a more eastern Buddhist theory. And so I love that. Yeah, yeah. So when it comes to it, it's like, okay, um, you know, there's there's a lot of practices around it. It's like it's energy hygiene. Like I, you know, we take a shower every day, hopefully. And in the summer in Texas, I might take one two or three times a day. Yeah. And so it's like you want to do the same thing for your energy. Um, and so there's so many ways, you know, it's like picking practices that resonate for you that you'll actually do. And so, first of all, I mean, I love, I'm I'm a water sign, um, a Scorpio, but you know, all of us, um, when we return to being submerged in water, it's like we're going back to the womb. And so it's really healing when you're in taking a shower, when if you're taking a bath, if you're swimming in natural water, to imagine that the energy is just like being washed off of everyone that you've um come in contact with, even if it's someone who's a wonderful person that makes you happy. You need to return back to your energy. Um, and so also I there's a lot of energy we hold in our hair. Um, and so I, you know, most women like most women aren't gonna wash their hair every day, but like I like to spray um maybe some sage or like some kind of um, you know, apothecary, like natural um something in my hair to kind of cleanse it out. It's about the ritual. Um I wear a lot of black tourmaline jewelry um, and I've got one, a little one here, um, but it's that's called impus raincoat. Um, and it's like, or the umbrella of the empath, and it's kind of like there's different stones that can protect you that way. I really like that. Um I love that phrase you know, earthing the empath. Oh yeah, earthing, like putting your bare feet in the earth on the earth to reground, to connect to the earth's core. We're just some I love to go to Barton Springs or when I'm at the beach and like lay face down in like a star shape, like hugging the ground and just like let all of my shit just like melt into the earth and give it back to Mother Earth, like let her take it. Um, I mean, I could go on and on, but there's just these different practices that should be a part of our daily hygiene, our daily routine. Um, and then truly, ultimately, you know, when you're in a process of deconditioning, healing, coming home to really who you really are, what you have to realize is that you cannot have people in your life who are draining to your energy or who take from you. And sometimes that's a season, but ultimately I think what we realize is that certain people just don't last. And it can be painful, and we like feel that and acknowledge that. But I've just noticed like a lot of the people that have exited my life in the last couple years are people who were not healthy emotionally, and I always felt like when I was around them, I was walking on eggshells. I like didn't want to upset them or I didn't want to upset myself. I couldn't have a mature like conversation about conflict, and they're not in my life anymore.

Kristin: 24:23

And I'm like, well, like that's you know, I I feel I need to be around people where I feel like my energy is kept to myself, like protect you know, protected, respected, and yeah, and um, yeah. I mean, that just that's been a harder one for me. I mean, uh it takes definitely a level of discernment, but and because I am so I love, you know, for some of the past memories that I have with certain people, but I know ultimately it's for my highest good that we're not in contact today. I still love them, but I can love them from afar. And then, you know, even like in my I noticed I was like, okay, why there's like a certain sense of like either negativity or just like a kind of sense around someone recently. And I just I had to express them like I have to be very conscious about either what we're gonna be communicating or talking about. Like I only want to absorb or hear certain things. Like I believe our words are spelled. So I'm like, I don't want to absorb that. I'm like, nope, nothing in that in my sphere, especially about money or all those things. I'm like, I don't want to hear about your money problems. I love you. I'll help you when I can. But but if I if that's all you've got to talk about, I it's just it's a no for me. Yeah, and uh, and I understand too that you know there are a lot of people suffering in that space too. I've had my own moments of insecurity or doubt. I'm like, I'm getting ready to go all in on like all my story, doula, weight, you know, and offerings. And so it's like, yes, I but I'm like, I don't need anything to amplify my own, like as I'm continuing to build like my trust and um and my faith. And so, yeah, that's a powerful one. And so I appreciate you speaking into that one too. Um I'd love to like what does a reading even look like with you?

Helena: 26:11

Like yeah, thanks for asking. Um, so my uh my company is called Intuitive Insights. Um and uh I I think of myself, it's funny. Um if if anyone knows human design, they'll resonate with this, but I have a completely open G center, which is the center of um identity. And people who have that open G often like have struggle to they the conditioning is they think they need to figure out who they are and they need to label themselves with a certain job title or a certain career, or like they have to have their elevator pitch set. And the reality is uh it will never you you'll never be able to do that because you're you can be so many things and you're constantly changing. And I also have a channel of mutation, so I'm constantly evolving. And so so what my my response to that is yeah, the business is called intuitive insights, and some people call me a reader, some people have called it counseling, some people have um, you know, say as a teacher or a guide, whatever. I think of myself as a consultant. Um I've been a consultant in my corporate life for a while, and I I feel I'm a consultant because it's like I'm getting to the root of the problem, and then I'm offering a lot of different tools and information and kind of helping people to integrate that information and use that information in a way that's accessible and helpful to them so that they can feel more empowered and more aligned with who they really are. Um and so I um my current offering, right, because I know it will always evolve, but my current offering as an intuitive insight reading is it's it's an hour, 60 minutes, um, and it's a blend. It's a blend of a psychic reading where I go into a meditative state and read people psychically, call in sphere guides. I might get messages from their angels, ancestors, I might scan their body, they can ask me questions and I'll um give them the answers. Um, and then also a blend of an uh a little bit of evolutionary astrology, particularly past life um work. So talking about how the moon and different planets in the natal, the birth chart tell me possible stories about who you were in your past life. Um, and we talk about how that is influencing your experience in this life. Yeah, I really into it. And then um, and then a human design uh reading as well. Um, and so I read human design charts and I practice a method of human design, uh a method of a style called Zen human design, and it's much, much different than what's out there. Um with the evolutionary astrology, it's it's not pop astrology, it's different. Um, and so I have found that these three systems of information, of esoteric information, resonate with me so much, and my it is so authentic to me to blend things together because of my own personal experience. I used to put things on pedestals and I used to say, This is the way, this is gonna give me the answers. I need to study this and become an expert and a master in this. And I've learned for me that is the most powerful thing is where I can pick and choose and put it together and create something with all of the different gifts that I have. And so that's my favorite kind of reading to do. Um, I shouldn't say my favorite, but you know, the the what I offer right now. And I also will do just a psychic reading for some people. Some people are like, I just have questions. I just want to talk to you for an hour, and you sit there and you channel and you tell me like what you're getting, and I'm happy to do that too. And those can be super powerful. Um yeah, and and then I um I also uh I identify as a sexual psychic. So a lot of psychics, they get their power from the solar plexus, the third eye, and I'm very connected to those, but I get most, I I channel, I my gifts come from a place of the sacral, from the sexual energy center. And so I found that um a lot of clients who I attract are people who are on a place of exploration with their with healing or um stepping into their power and their sexual energy. And so I do a lot of guidance and coaching and you know, I hate the word coaching because I don't feel that I do too.

Kristin: 30:35

Like that there's a certain there's just the word coaching.

Helena: 30:39

Yeah. And someone said to me once, they were like, a coach holds people accountable. And I don't do that. Like I'm not gonna text you two weeks later and be like, did you do those things? Like I don't really care, like that's up to you. So that's why I keep coming back to like consultant reader. But yeah, it's like I a teacher, I teach a lot about the healthy sacral energy. And um, that's a that almost always sort of comes up somehow in the reading because I feel that's a big part of um the direction of where my work is is headed as a focus point.

Kristin: 31:11

Beautiful. Yeah, yeah, no, I can't wait to book a reading with you. I like what you said about that, kind of like lightened my um resistance to the word coach. I just oh I love the word teacher because I I love to be a teacher and a student, like you mentioned earlier, like you're always learning and studying, but you're also offering things and in the world. And so I'd like, but I do hold people accountable in like their writing journeys and stuff. So I'm like, okay, but just the word, I don't know, just there's a deeper resonance with the term teacher guide. I like a consultant as well. Yeah, um, but yeah, it's so I'm curious, do you have a certain ritual or anything that you do before going into a session? Um, does that look different, you know, day to day, or if you have a certain like practice that gets you in that um like state, I guess, to be able to offer?

Helena: 32:01

It's a good question. Um, a huge, huge part of my journey um coming home to who I am has been working to co-create uh a life that is supportive and has the infrastructure that I need to be in my most feeling my best and most empowered in my gifts. And so constantly, constantly working to regulate my nervous system in the world that we live in. Um, I live like in downtown Austin and I love it, but there's a part of me that is aware of the truth that I need to be spending. Um, I'd love to spend three to six months of the year living in nature and come back to the city. Like there's certain truths that I that are becoming really clear for me about the life that I'm designing for myself. But in the meantime, um I always say everything, my medium is my body. So so many people like I love, I read cards for myself personally, but I don't offer that as a reading. But like there's so you know, there's so many ways to do this work. But for me, like everything comes from my body. So I need to be physically like feeling like I can perform almost like an athlete, like I feel that way. And so I eat a really, really um I you know, I hate the word clean because it's like I I just but I eat um in a way that feels spiritual to me. Like with like really, really high quality um food that is from the earth and grounding. You know, I eat meat, I love meat, but you know, I I just eat in a way that feels like I'm just putting earth into my body. Um uh so you know, fresh produce and juices and hydration. And I love, I love, love, love the power of nutrition as medicine. And and then I move my body every day. Sometimes I work out twice a day. I'm always I'm like very active, which this isn't like no one needs to do these things to have these gifts. It's just what I need for what works for you, yeah. Yeah. Um, and I take an Espim salt bath several times a week. Love it. Um, I get I try to get massages and cuppings, so I'm just always turning inward. Like my priority is the physical body. Um and yeah, and then if on the day of a reading, I really try to schedule them um in a way where I have time to shift gears into because I because of my corporate job and my life, like I am often in a very masculine energy throughout the day, which I love that part of myself, but uh for a reading to be successful, I need to be in my feminine. And so I I make sure that I have this time to transition before the reading, whether it's walking in nature, yes, sitting in meditation is very important. I light candles all over my apartment, I put on clothes that make me feel beautiful. I just like slow down, it's slowing down, even now as I'm thinking about it. I'm like, I need to speak slower. Um, and I might make some cacao or something, and then I I shift my energetic body so I'm in a place of receptivity in the sacral so I can begin to receive what my guides, what the angels, and they are leading the reading because I'm just listening and intuiting of what needs to be said next and where we're gonna go next. Like I am a witness to that.

Kristin: 35:28

Beautiful.

Helena: 35:29

Yeah. Oh yes.

Kristin: 35:31

Yes, I love it. Well, because I know I told you, I'm like, we're I'm gonna book a reading. Yeah, yeah. And then um, and then either add it to this episode or make it stand alone because I think it'd be really freaking cool. Um, either like I don't know if I'll uh add the recording part of it. Who knows? We'll see. I'll I might record it if you're open to that. Um, or I'll just like come back maybe with my insights uh after. I don't know. We'll see how it what feels best. Um but I'm curious if there are any um everyday practices to uh besides or in addition to what you all you just mentioned to like prep for a session, like if someone wants to grow their intuition or if they're just getting started on the journey, like where's a good place to start?

Helena: 36:15

It's a good question. Um so I I really struggle with sleep, but I would offer to start if you are a big dreamer, dream journal and start noticing what you're dreaming. Um I feel hypocritical saying that because I take a lot of sleeping meds a lot of nights, so I don't dream, but I know I mean that is something that um is is a great place to start. Um, and then another thing I'll offer is so I um I I trained in vipassana meditation, which is what most people are it's it's just the mindfulness of the breath, right? Just it's that coming back to the breath, being in the present moment. And a lot of people think it's about clearing your mind, but that's impossible. It's just like noticing the thoughts, letting them go. It's what most like meditation classes practices kind of are rooted in. But what I actually um will offer is that that is a great, great kind of practice to help calm the mind, to be more present, to help us function in our day, our in our work. But um, there's a a psychic meditation is you know, there's a lot of guided visualizations of energy, blah blah, but it's actually about letting your mind wander. Um, and it's kind of counterintuitive. Um, even if you're not sitting in a meditation pillow upright, but it's like when you just taking a moment out of your day to sit outside or lay on your bed and just see where your imagination goes, see where your mind goes, and and let it let it be really outrageous, let it be dreamy. And a lot of times the places we go, the little fantasies in our mind, I mean, the the stories, fantasies I had, you know, all throughout my childhood, I I know now that those are past life stories. And those are versions of me that are alive in other dimensions and other right now. And um if you talk to them and if you're open to them, there's a lot we can learn from them. And so I think it's a deconditioning where we're told, you know, that stuff is make-believe, it's just you're not paying attention, you know, your people are like, Oh, you have ADD, you can't concentrate, like you're not focusing on your work or the task. Well, sometimes our mind is going in those directions because again, that's the truth. Like that's the reality, the information that is actually what wants to come through and what wants to be lived. Um yeah.

Kristin: 38:49

I love that I I'm a very visionary type of person. I always have been. Um, with like imaginative scenarios, like in childhood, to reading books and then to visualizing my future. And so I think, and my fingers kind of feel a little tingly as even I'm talking about it. But yeah, I kind of sometimes I will visualize things and I'm like, okay, and then some of that happens. So it's like an interesting, like meet I'm meeting that person too, or that person has already exists as an as either a possibility, or if you think about like the quantum, like and everything existing in this moment, then yeah, I think that there's a lot of um credibility in what you just spoke to and all of that. Um and yeah, and just I actually was chatting with someone uh was it yesterday? Yeah, I think yesterday, about how I think that maybe people that are neurodivergent are ADHD or autistic or something. And I've took taken a quiz and it said I exhibit characteristics slightly above the average for autism, and then like ADHD. I think that maybe that is also a superpower where you're tuned in and tapped into certain things, are able to see like. certain patterns or be synchronicities and um and see it as a gift versus like a label or some kind of diagnosis to completely identify with maybe sure maybe it offers help in a lot of different realms and opportunities but I think it also now that I'm like come to terms like I think I might be a little neurospicy that yeah I'm like it helps me embrace it a little more having that language around it um and being like okay that's just how like the unique lens of which I'm looking at through the world and so yeah I love like the idea it just makes me want to go out of my porch and kind of like daydream or like see where I go past or future.

Helena: 40:43

It's like it's just again like going back to kind of what I was saying at the beginning it's not about you know having an intuitive practice isn't about adding things to your life. It's about taking away the layers of that we've all received that we should think a certain way or be a certain way or be so much in our mind rather than in our bodies. It's like dropping into our bodies and it's like yeah it's like if you have this urge within you or a feeling like you should do something like live an experiment. That's what we say in human design life experiment. So you say okay like I'm so you know I would encourage someone come to me and because I also do just human design readings. So I do um my blend psychic and human design three different offerings and so I'm like come come get a human design reading and then what happens is you start to take take 30 days 60 days and begin to live that experiment like and it's it's not black and it's not black and white it's like try something. Try living this way try living that way you can always come back to how you were before yeah and so it's like as an being intuitive try waking up every day and asking your body just one you know being like what's one thing I should do today you know that you feel like you just have that feeling or if you get a hit of intuition just like writing it down and I would just again I would describe intuition as like something that comes from an inner knowing the body the soul that cannot be explained or articulated or rationalized in the mind. It's bigger than the mind it's it's in a language that the mind can't understand. It's in coming from here. And so it's like try you know doing it for a month or that day or whatever and just see what happens. It's like nothing bad is hopefully going to happen. And it's an experiment.

Kristin: 42:32

I love that word experiment and it because it to me that helps and do uh incite curiosity and a little more placefulness. Yeah um and so yeah it does like because like I've been so many times in my life okay the where's my path where's what's the right path for me but I love um the yeah just introducing like the living as an experiment and giving ourselves freaking permission to change. It's okay to change our minds. It's okay to change shift and evolve and like in fact we do that and we change regardless of whether we want to or not right so thank you that's awesome. And so okay so how do people find you or connect with you and then I will talk to you after this about like booking our session because I definitely want to do the blend.

Helena: 43:15

Yeah for sure. Yeah um okay find me um I have a website um it's helenaherndon.com um my Instagram is just at Helena Herden it's not that exciting easy peasy um and yeah simple so I do one-on-one readings um and I also uh every other month do a group event in Austin um an in-person workshop class it's either a human design class or for example I just did one on the eclipse we had on September 17th in Pisces um and so we do we like learn about the astrology the human design going on the energy I read psychically we meditate we did a little bit of um like sexual energy meditation and that's a great way I think just to kind of feel out me and my work and then a lot of times people will book one on ones after that because it's just kind of a safe way to come very casual and people always ask they're like I don't do I need to know any of this stuff no like you you can come and have never seen your charts in your life you don't have to know anything um I used to teach seventh grade and so my so that's why I'm also always referring back to thinking about children and young people because they taught us so much but I've when I have classes and when I do readings like I've I step into that role of like teaching my seventh grade class and I'm like okay everyone comes in a circle and like does everyone have a snack and like does anyone have any questions like that's what lights me up and so I want people to feel like that when they come like that it's I love that it's fully accessible for everyone like a lot of men come like it's just very it's a great group um yeah and so um I know I've been I've been out of town for the last couple that you've all heard I'm like I'm so excited to finally like after October 7th I'm in Austin more and so I'm like I'm so excited to come to one of your in person will be December 11th I know it's okay cool. Yeah no I'm gonna write that down. And I also and to your point I'm actually hiring an assistant who we can get it like so that we can stream it on Zoom so that cool okay cool awesome well good because I don't know exactly when this will drop so you got time folks awesome thank you so much oh thank you