When you can’t explain what you do in 30 seconds or less…

And don’t actually want to

Meg Gibbs
Meg Gibbs
Aug 9, 2017 · 9 min read

I just got off the phone with a client talking with her support network. The only thing is, the other people on the call are all deceased. Both people and animals who loved her and wanted to offer their support came to be a part of her council. She called them into the space to hold her, love her and give guidance during a challenging time.

The thing is, this isn’t that unusual for me… I talk intuitively with people’s souls and spirit guides. I listen deeply to who wants to show up, and the wisdom they have to pass on when a client can’t yet hear them. I work with clients to develop that muscle so they can access the wisdom themselves — I’m not a medium. Most of the time it’s just listening deeply to someone’s feelings and unexpressed emotions.

Meg (left) working with a client

When I listen this way, sometimes I feel things in my body, a sense of tension or warmth. It’s not my job to make sense of it, just to feel into it. So when I’m with a client (I work with most people over the phone) I hear more than the words they’re telling me. Their heart, body and energy are also speaking.

I worked with a woman whose child was having difficulty in school. He had some anger issues and ADHD. He was struggling to sit still in class and his teachers called home often. As we talked through her experience of wanting the best for her child, I could feel my chest tighten. “What else are you feeling?” I asked. There was more there than just wanting the best for her son. She felt frustrated and like a failure as a parent. She wanted to fix it for her son, but wasn’t dealing with her own anger around the situation. Energetically, her anger was leaking onto her children. And because she had unresolved anger issues, her son was acting out in school. Once we got there, it’s like taking the Starship Enterprise into warp speed. Spirit sort of takes over and there’s more than the two of us having the conversation.

I used to not mention this to people, and have struggled with what to call myself or the work I do. I’m not great at 3o second elevator pitches and truthfully am not interested in shoving all of this into 2–3 manicured sentences.

My family and I started studying with a Lakota Shaman when I was eleven. Over time I started working with other teachers and healers from the US and South America. I am a cis-gendered white woman, and have struggled with sharing my spiritual journey because I didn’t want to be misread or misrepresented. I have great respect for the indigenous teachers I’ve worked with and trust my heart’s path.

One of my teachers is Don Mariano Quispe Flores, a Q’ero Shaman from the Andes of Peru. Several years ago, he told me “Tú eres una curandera” You are a healer, his translator said in Spanish. I’d been walking a healer’s path for many years, but fighting truly owning that identity as it was something that made me weird and stand out. People made fun of me for it because they didn’t understand. Now this path serves as the foundation of my work and the way I interact with the world.

As someone whose insides don’t necessarily match my outsides, I have great empathy for people who grow up with “a foot in both worlds” whether that’s being multi-cultural, bilingual, or spiritually diverse. When we don’t fit in, we inherently become “bridge builders,” because we’ve had to internally bridge the gap the world doesn’t see to be able to survive. For me, my spiritual path is a way of life. It is not a separate thing I do on a retreat up a mountain. It’s how I see the world.

One of my spiritual teachers, Don Mariano Quispe Flores (right) and his translator Odon Medina Calsin (left)

Most people who are spiritually gifted were ostracized, shamed and told to basically “shut it down” by their families and peers. I grew up in an incredibly loving and nurturing household where my gifts were called forth and encouraged. This makes a huge difference and is part of WHY I am called to do this work. I want people to experience love, nurturing and understanding… because being loved creates love. It’s a vulnerable piece of my story, but the reason I do what I do, is simply because I was loved and want to share that.

I work with clients who believe all sorts of things. I don’t know that I’d be the best match for a staunch atheist to work with, but if you have some inkling of belief in something bigger than you… we can work with that. Some people believe in connection, energy, the Universe, God, the power of community, or tapping into the collective knowing. It doesn’t matter to me so much what you believe, as long as you’re willing to engage with your own beliefs and find the ones that support you in working with life’s challenges.

I am a Certified Professional Life Coach, but the title seems fluffy and inaccurate. In a world where anyone can make a business card and call themselves a coach because they think they give good life advice… is total crap for those of us who go through in depth training. Because truthfully, if a coach is trying to solve your problem or telling you what to do… they’re doing it wrong. A coach’s job is to help clients find their own answers… not solve their problems for them… that’s more of a consultant or mentor role.

It also feels dumb to call myself a Life Coach when what I really do is so much more. When I was in training, people would look at me a little funny and say, “You’re not actually a coach. You’re doing something else.” I would nod and smile knowingly, since I access so much more than just the tools we were taught. My spiritual path is integrated into every aspect of my life and highly influences the work I do.

When I talk to people I connect with their energy and find how to help them as we go. It’s improvisational and truly magical. I’ve learned how to support people as they navigate their greatest dreams and deepest fears. The problem is, I have difficulty putting words to the work I do because it’s experiential (which simply means it’s something to be experienced rather than talked about). The work I do is also extremely personal and tailored to each client.

I recognize that what I do is more than coaching… every time I work with someone I’m pulling from every piece of my training, identity and spiritual knowledge. It amazes me what shows up in a session. I never know what someone is going to talk about, and we just roll with it. It’s like a dance. And as a modern dancer, I love the metaphor. Then you add the energetic piece, and connecting the body, emotions, and non-physical layer…

Magic!

This is not a word most people want to see in their branding, or welcome in the realm of “serious” adulting. But when you change people’s lives for a living… magic is the only word that feels adequate.

It’s not new agey b.s. It’s a real felt experience of Spirit. Of experiencing your own magic and owning your power. It changes things when you feel it and ground the experience in your body.

Our bodies are both tools of integration and sources of great wisdom. My body is my biggest ally in the work I do.

When you feel in your bones what you were made for… when you know the essence of your purpose lives in you always… and can come out when you’re talking to someone at the grocery store or leading a movement… you know viscerally what it feels like to be on purpose. I can feel it in my body as I type this, a light buzzing and excitement all over.

“Let me help people find that” I whisper to Spirit.

“Why would you want to do that?” I hear internally.

“Because it feels good to help. People are in pain. And they all have a calling. If they’re searching for it, let me walk beside them so they don’t have to do it alone.”

I help people connect deeper to themselves, their spirit, and the people who matter most in their lives. My way of helping, is through connection. I see connection as three concentric circles:

Personal/inner connection to your wisdom and your core. Communal/collective connection to the people you’re present with. Global/energetic connection that contributes to the healing of the planet. You know, small potatoes.

We all get so freaked out about purpose because it feels so huge… but when you break it down, purpose is a feeling that tells us when we’re on or off our path. I see purpose as that part of us that’s deep, passionate, wonderful and accessible. It doesn’t need to be complicated or outcome based.

For me it’s taking people into deep places. I thrive there. It feels like home. I love it. It wakes me up inside and reminds me why I’m alive.

Someone once told me, “Meg you are like a crystal — amplifying and channeling connection in the world.” It really floored me because I felt really seen. When someone sees us, it’s sort of like taking a muscle relaxer when you’re in pain… we’re finally able to breathe and just be for a minute. We’re ALL craving to be truly seen and heard. I would also add, we want to know we’re going to be safe. If we drop the presentation and people pleasing, will we truly be loved for who we are?

Yes! You were not put here on Earth to hide and cover up who you are with a fancy costume (which is what most work, relationships, lipstick, and cars serve as).

In other words, I help people see themselves.

Sometimes the goal is to see themselves the way Spirit sees them. Or their dog, or best friend (whoever you can visualize who looks back at you with unconditional forgiveness and love). All the weirdness, quirks, and “unlovability” you think you have… is just a cover up for the powerful resourceful wisdom within; beyond all the anxiety, fear and insecurity.

I share this hoping that this story resonates with someone else who feels like they don’t fit in and never will. I call my people “underwater breathers.” We’re like amphibians that jump between the depths of the spirit realm and back on land to have this fun and complicated human experience.

When I couldn’t find my place in the world {because it didn’t exist} I realized I had to create it. So like any good artist who doesn’t get cast because they don’t fit the mold, I learned I had to make my own space, write my story, choreograph work, and use my voice. That’s why I created this business/practice. If you’d like to breathe underwater, reach out. I’m always looking for clients and others to play with in that magical space between worlds.


Now before you go, let’s have a quick experience:

Will you take a deep breath with me?

Really, take a breath in and exhale fully. Don’t force yourself to sit still, go ahead and get comfortable. Move your body how it needs to move, and ask yourself, “What am I wanting right now? In this moment?”

And let the answer come. Is it a cheeseburger? A different type of relationship? Clarity? All is perfect. Just breathe and ask again,

“What am I wanting right now?”

What would happen if you gave yourself permission?

If you opened your heart…

To be that?

To do that?

To come back to the true essence of who you are?

What would be different?

What is inside you, longing to come out?

What are you being pulled towards?

Now pause and listen to your body. Is it tense? Awake? Relaxed?

What are you willing to do in this moment to honor where you are?

Take one more deep breath.

You are safe.

You are loved.

You are ok right where you are.

I know this to be true.

Meg Gibbs

Written by

Meg Gibbs

Meg is an Intuition and Embodiment Expert. Certified Coach, experiential speaker. She loves to dance and writes about feelings on the internet. www.meggibbs.com

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