What would it feel like to lean into your passion for life? How would it feel to have clarity and confidence as you take the next step on your path? Do you seek connection with your higher self, the divine, your spirit, the universe to know that the answers are within you, waiting to be unlocked at the perfect time?
So many of us, at one point (or many points) in our lives, feel lost or unmoored. This is natural in the cycle of our lives and when we feel that way, connecting with our inner knowing we can help guide us through the fog. I like to use the analogy of an onion: our life is a series of cycles in which we peel back the layers as we get closer to our true, divine, authentic self.
The Story of Alice
I would like to share with you the story of a client, Alice, who came to me a few years ago knowing she needed a change in her life. While not unhappy, nor was she feeling fulfilled. She was recovering from a recent passing in her extended family, a grandfather, and that led her to consider where she was on her life journey. I spent time listening to her describe a longing to hear what her spirit was trying to tell her, but unable to gain clarity on just what that message was.
I am not a medium nor am I psychic, but I am highly intuitive—meaning my soul, my spirit, whispers to me. I believe we all have this voice inside of us and our life is a journey to open to it, to become open to hearing it, feeling it, sensing it. My work as a spiritual counselor and through my other modalities allows me to accompany my clients as they seek their own inner truth. We decide together the path our companionship will take and the modalities we will incorporate.
Find Your Joy and Passion
After spending time with Alice, we decided that a Crystal Dreaming session could help her connect with that part of her conscious that has messages for her. As a guided meditation, accompanied by a powerful grid of crystals, Alice experienced a journey that connected her back to her childhood. She recalled drawings she had made as a child, and even a book she had written. Recalling these memories brought her immense joy! These recollections were a sign to her that these practices of creating, which she had long put aside, were waiting for her to pick up. As we sat for a while after her session, she journaled. She felt she was being called to write and illustrate a children’s book and she left my office buoyant, feeling she had unlocked the door that now presented her with the next step on her path. She has since gone on to pursue this passion, as well as other creative and artistic pursuits.
Embarking on the path of spiritual discovery, accompanied by a spiritual counselor, director, or companion, is one that continues to unfold in front of us. My work typically evolves over a period of time. While Alice came to me with a specific curiosity about crystals, our work took on a very different path after that session. I have learned that when clients reach out to me, they are already heeding that nudge they need to continue on their spiritual path.
Spiritual Counseling to Connect and Grow
Spiritual counseling is one way we can connect with a life in which we are thriving, where we connect with what makes our heart sing and gain a deeper understanding of our own spirituality. Our sessions are fluid; we allow spirit to guide us. As spiritual counselors we often say there is a “third chair” in our session—that chair belonging to spirit, the universe, the creator, God…whatever term resonates with you.
I pursued this practice because of the deep and profound change it made in my personal life. I have been blessed with connecting with the perfect spiritual director at the moment in my life when I most needed them. I love how the universe works! Sometimes we just need reminders to watch for the messages and the signs, and to listen. Learning how to be in the in-between points in our lives while spirit is at work is a practice, and one that can be a recurring theme with my clients.
Maintaining client confidentiality, I have changed the name and some of the details of Alice’s journey. But her experience is not unusual; those who seek out spiritual counseling are often looking for something deeper, something beneath the surface—that desire to seek for something more is spirit whispering to them, ever so gently.
Lauri Ingram is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister from One Spirit Seminary in New York City. Based on Hamden, Lauri is a certified Interspiritual Counselor (May 2021), Crystal Dreaming practitioner, certified color therapist, and Tibetan Bowl sound healer as well as the co-founder of Etheric Elements, offering crystal, light, and color therapy products to practitioners. She offers sessions virtually or in-person in North Haven, following all recommended COVID guidelines. You can learn more about Lauri at: www.lauriingram.com and schedule a complementary exploratory virtual call, or contact her at: lauri@lauriingram.com.