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So what’s all this Energy business you keep talking about?
Anybody who knows me knows I’m all about learning, extending the edges of what I think I know and exploring the world around me. It just so happens that I’ve struck up an affinity for learning as much as I can about the ‘invisible’ world, which some may also refer to as the spiritual world or the realm of energy. In a nutshell, energy is everywhere and is everything. It’s not a matter of believing in it either. To some extent, I liken it to air. Fortunately for us, air is everywhere without us having to believe in it. But in the case of energy, it’s different because some people call this omnipresent force God, Goddess, Love, Christ Consciousness, Universe, Buddha and a whole host of other names.I was raised in the Southern Baptist tradition, which refers to the energy I’m talking about here as the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. I never fully warmed to the organized Church, however. Mainly because I didn’t believe entire groups of people were automatically doomed to hell for not personally knowing or being saved by one guy they might not have heard about or believed in. I also had a problem with a God who evoked more fear in me than a genuine spirit of kindness or a desire to simply be good for goodness’ sake. All the same, though, I like to think JC and I would be great friends if he’d lived in my ‘hood because, I happen to think he was a radical type who was all about unconditional love, good energy, and Self-help, honey!
To make a long story less long, energy works its magic beyond the confines of time and space, religion and race, and we can work with it, against it or ignore it if we choose to. That’s the cool thing about free will: it gives us options.
What can I expect in one of your readings?
Doing readings is a huge deal for me because not only are people openly entrusting themselves to the reader (me), but they are also more often than not inclined to trust the reader’s experience over their own. To which I say, ‘Slow your roll!’Just look around; I don’t have to tell you there’s no governing board of Energetic Oversight Specialists or Holistic Common Sense Committees out there to make sure everyone’s operating according to high ethical standards. And if there is such an organization, a.) they’re falling down on the job and b.) I never got the memo.
The closest way I can describe an energy reading is to say that it’s like a psychic reading. But, I don’t predict the future, and I don’t issue any mandates. I simply look at what You (your deeper/higher Self) want me to see and relay that information to you in a way that validates you and doesn’t blow smoke up your ass. Naturally, because I’m just that kind of person.
Here’s how an hour-long energy reading works: I ask for your full name, tune into You and spend the next half hour or so telling you what I see. Lots of the time my information arrives in the form of metaphors or pictures. And being a singer, I also might hear lyrics contain a message as well. At this point I’ve done hundreds of readings and don’t question how it comes through anymore; I just relay it to you. I don’t do 30-minute sessions because we’re just getting cooking by then! Plus, I don’t like to rush this stuff. After that point, I invite you ask me questions and to share any feedback about your experience. The reason I hold questions until the end is because I prefer my readings ‘clean’ or unbiased as much as possible.
NOTE: The mark of a good reading leaves you feeling better than when you started. It also tells you what you already know on some level. A good reader will also be able to address at least the gist of your questions without ever having to pump you for any information. Always remember that your authority is your own—you are always the world’s foremost authority on you, whether or not you choose to act accordingly—so there’s no reason to ever give that authority to anyone else. And if any kind of reading leaves you feeling fearful or obliged to pay an additional fee to remove a curse, hex or bad luck . . . run!
As with any information you receive, weigh what feels right for you in the reading. Never try to force anything to fit, but do keep an open mind during the process. Doing so will help the reader (me) do her (my) work that much better. Keep in mind that nobody’s going to have 100% accuracy all the time, and don’t leave your common sense at the door. Another word to the wise: use what’s useful from the reading and leave the rest. My cousin Marlene says it best: “Take the meat and spit out the bone!” (This is purely metaphorical, since I know some of you don’t eat meat just as some of you fancy eating bones.)
Oh, and you can also expect a complimentary recording of our session.
What does it mean to read energy?
To read energy the way I do is to bring into focus what we’re all doing throughout the day without necessarily knowing it. Let’s say you hang around a friend who happens to be such a royal pain in the ass that you wind up with a massive headache when you finally part company. It’s not that headaches are contagious per se, but it’s entirely possible that you were absorbing that negative energy, which consequently made you feel yucky too. Or how about when you get a call from someone you were just thinking of? The next time it happens, and someone says to you, ‘That’s crazy. I was just thinking of you, isn’t that funny,’ tell them, ‘No, it’s not funny. It’s energy, dude.’Those are just a couple of simple examples, but like any kind of decent practitioner or professional worth her rock salt, I’ve spent the past few years developing my awareness to it. And I’ve been awed to learn that there are myriad ways to interact with and interpret it. I’ve always had more than a passing interest in metaphysics and the unseen world, and what I considered to be my own ‘good horse sense’ has unfolded into something much deeper and real than I could have ever anticipated. My training has ultimately enabled me work with energy by way of the body’s chakra system.
What’s a chakra?
Straight up, I’m going to give credit where it’s due, people. I snagged this definition from Wikipedia (thanks guys!) because it covers the basics of what I’ve come to believe without having to gag on the task of articulating half as clearly.Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric double of man. The Chakras are said to be “force centres” or whorls of energy permeating, from a point on the physical body, the layers of the subtle bodies in an ever-increasing fan-shaped formation (the fans make the shape of a love heart). Rotating vortices of subtle matter, they are considered the focal points for the reception and transmission of energies. Seven major chakras or energy centres (also understood as wheels of light) are generally believed to exist, located within the subtle body.
As far as the terms, etheric double, subtle bodies—well, that’s for another day. However, suffice it to say that when energy is received through the chakra system, we might recognize it as ‘vibes’ and ‘gut feelings.’ Consider it our (etheric) body’s way of telling us to pay attention. You can click on the image below to see these energy centers up close.
How come you focus on the chakra system? I happen to focus on this energy system these days because: 1.) I’m fascinated by it. 2.) It’s full of information. 3.) Everybody has one and it’s a good entry point for the work I do. 4.) It’s easy to read. Why make things difficult for myself?
5.) I’ve gotten–and continue to get–seriously good training and information by working with this system, so I’m sticking with it.
So, what, you’re psychic now?
Well, yeah. Everybody is. One of the things I like most about this work is I realized I’ve got a knack for helping people take a look at what they already know but might not be looking at fully. Sometimes it’s hard to see what we’re dealing with when we’re in the thick of it. And, on occasion, we all need a little help to pull out of the emotionality of situations that prevent us from seeing clearly. That’s where someone with my skills comes in.Back in 2007 I entered an energy healing studies program in Chicago. Among the many skills I acquired was the ability to read energy well. Since then I have continued my training in different areas of energy work and wellness, and I’m always strengthening—and applying!—what I learn. As a result, my readings continue to evolve, as does the depth of information received.
So, again, you’re all psychic now?
Well, no. Not if by that you mean I’m the mustachioed fortune-telling lady sitting in the storefront with her cat, a lit cigarette dangling from my mouth bedecked in colorful scarves and clunky jewelry, professing to know the every damn thing. That’s not me at all. And yet . . . lest I get too high up on my horse—I’m not hating on anybody, y’all!—I do love my bright scarves and big jewelry! Oh, and my cat!Is this some kind of occult devil worship or thing you’re doing?
Uh, no.If you’re not going to tell my future, why bother?
Because the future—along with everything else in you life—is yours to deal with as you choose. I personally don’t see any point in going there since I find it most useful to get a handle on what’s going on here and now. Besides, here and now’s where everything happens and it’s the only show in town—present time!How can I get a reading?
To book a reading with me, head over to theShop page and submit the fee that way. You can also take a minute to read what some past clients have had to say about their sesions. -
Hi, and thank you for stopping by. I’m Kriste, the creator of Honey Help YourSelf and The Honeycast. This labor of love began in the spring of 2008 as a blog of the same name. Around that time I’d decided I needed something to take my life up a few notches or to least nudge it in a different direction. I also wanted results, something to show for my efforts. Since then I haven’t looked back once—unless you count how I look back in each of my posts to tell you how I learned, grew, changed, struggled, or applied this or that life-changing technique to my own life.
I was both chronically overworked and underemployed, on top of feeling panicked by recurring questions that had everything to do with uncovering my purpose and the larger point of it all. How did I wind up alone again? How come I’m totally lacking in inspiration? and Am I ultimately going to die unfulfilled, alone, and uninspired in a ditch because WTF? Those were the kinds of questions that woke me up in the mornings, rode shotgun through my days, and didn’t rest until I bedded down in the wee hours.
Since that time a lot has changed for me: I moved across the country and went on to work I enjoy, I turned forty, and plunged into a depth of fulfillment and joy that has been all but elusive before I got busy on me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not implying I’ve reached nirvana or taken up residence on Easy Street. What I am saying, though, is that somewhere along the way, I began to realize that the more I committed to helping my Self, the more help I actually got. Yay/Voilà/Duh!
As for the things that have not changed: I’ve still got a passion for the word, be it written, sung, spoken, or otherwise considered and delivered in ways that make a positive difference. I’ve also got the same desire to keep improving the quality of my life, my relationships and anything remotely related to my experience.
Part of that experience includes sharing what I’ve learned in years of training, working, and teaching people about Energy—that unseen force that connects us, creates us, and walks in the door long before we ever arrive on the scene. And if there’s one thing I aim to do in my writing—and my readings—it’s to take the old rigid stic(k) out of mystic because being sensitive or receptive to our innate Energy and intuition is neither devilry nor is it an out there sort of magic; and it most certainly isn’t a parlor trick. I’ve learned that honoring my own intuition, sensitivity, and divine guidance is an invaluable, ongoing, every day, in-house affair. And it’s only as available to us as we give it permission to be.
If I may rip a few lines from our celebrated Queen of Soul, I ain’t no psychiatrist, I ain’t no doctor with degrees. However, I do hold a master’s degree of fine arts along with various certifications in clairvoyant training and energy healing in addition to years of mediumship study and hands-on work with hundreds of clients. Oh, and let’s not forget a lifetime rich with related experience. I’m an avid student of spirituality, transpersonal psychology, metaphysics, good food and writing, and I’m all about understanding the inner workings of the outer world, which all means I’ve got lots of ideas to share and stories to tell—just like the Queen. And they’re simply too good to keep to myself!
In the event that I offend or frustrate you, intrigue or ignite your sensibilities, good! And, if you happen upon information in these pages that helps you feel better about You, makes you laugh—whether or not it’s at my expense—or inspires you to push past your old self-imposed limitations, great! Feel free to share it with someone else who might find it useful.
Want to keep in touch? Better yet, want to spread the news about what a bang-on job I’m doing? There are so many ways to share! For starters, you can click the birdie icon at the top of the page to share any post you like. You can also like Honey Help YourSelf in Facebook, you can get each new post sent to you in email form, you can subscribe to The Honeycast in iTunes and leave a glowing review, you can comment on my posts and tweet, link, pin, buzz, squawk, tumble and take it to the streets if you’ve got the notion. Then again, word of mouth works just fine. In other words Honey, Help YourSelf!