Today we’d like to introduce you to Kat Harrison.
Hi Kat, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We’re diving deep already – I like your style.
I started in the womb of my mother. She carried my egg in her body throughout her whole life. Everything she witnessed, endured, and overcame, I was with her the whole time. Witnessing it as a little egg, with no clue how life was going to treat me once I came out of my cocoon. But while I was inside, my mother was living through unbelievable abuse. That’s what my nervous system and DNA were encoded with.
Then she went on to marry my father, and had two children, my brother and I. Inside of her womb, I heard every conversation, every argument, and felt every time she showed me love, or cried over the ways she was afraid she couldn’t love me. This is how I learned how to process my emotions… How safe my mother felt in her environment is how I learned how to feel safe in the world.
From there, I was born into a chaotic, traumatic, and illusory world. I was born into generational patterns of deep childhood abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, addiction, and most of all, anger and shame developed primarily from the lack of understanding of neurological disorders and mental illness. Through this, I learned to sit down and shut up, not speak up, not show anger, and not question authority. I’m sure many who are reading this can relate to at least one, if not all of those things.
I’ve learned in my time of sharing my story that it is not unlike many others. A lot of us have experienced disconnection, neglect, and deep feelings of being unseen, unheard, or unloved. It has become socially appropriate for parents to use the cry-it-out method, leaving infants to regulate alone. It’s normal to avoid hard conversations or to steer away from seeking healthier ways of coping in our society. It’s perfectly acceptable to undermine a child’s voice to protect the adult. Many of us have been taught these are the “correct” way to handle things. Especially for the generations before us.
I’m sharing this because in my work, I break down everything I see to be a part of “human conditioning,” and I ask the really hard questions. “How did we get this way?” “Why do we show judgment before compassion?” “Why do we fear before trusting?” “Why do we divide before we connect?” It all starts from the day our mother is born, but here’s the kicker… A lot of us don’t understand how deep our experiences go, and we avoid the past, pretending like it hasn’t shaped everything about who we are. Who we are goes even further beyond the point of when we first opened our eyes… Our physical existence begins the day our mother is conceived, but why don’t we know more about this? Maybe if we did, women would have much more support in this world. Maybe people would consider the mother’s well-being before the child, knowing that the child can only experience love to the extent their mother felt throughout her life.
Women have been suppressed for thousands of years. Stories have been told of women being made from the rib of a man, and virgins giving birth. Completely eliminating the power that exists within the womb of a woman, and how all life starts with her. Women have been made to feel ashamed of their cycles and believe they are “gross” or “disgusting” instead of embodying the powerful creators they are. We have been broken from the natural rhythms of life, the shifting of the tides, the changing of the seasons, and as a woman, it feels personal, because half of the population (women) operate based on these shifts. Our biology is quite literally linked to the stars and drives all creation on this planet.
It is my purpose and mission to bring empowerment back to humanity. I speak of women now, but I could continue about people of color and how the melanin in their skin connects them straight to the power of the Sun – What brings us all life on this planet, but none of us are taught that either. People of color have been marginalized and scrutinized for thousands of years. I could also discuss how men have been made to constrict instead of relax, suppressing their emotions, and only measuring their success based on their paychecks or being CEO of their company. Not measured in how much he’s present for his family or community, and what his essence brings to the table outside of monetary means. This suppression is not limited to gender. It’s not limited to color. It’s not limited to a belief system. It is systemic suppression across all generations, colors, sexes, and belief systems. Our societal structure supports suppression and demonizes expression.
By now, the greater population recognizes these things and is truly waking up to the ways in which our society has worked against us in achieving true success, freedom, and peace. We have all played the victim at one point or another in our lives, and now it’s time to take our power back. So many people are stuck in jobs they despise, dynamics that are unhealthy, or patterns that keep them sick and/or addicted to substances or stimuli. Our planet is ready to heal from all of this, and I think we are too. We can take a quick look at our friends and family systems, our working systems, our educational systems, and know we are all crying out for help in one way or another. We have been stripped of our connection, and we are yearning to gain it back.
I do what I can to help people connect with each other, with our planet, with ourselves, and with our humanity because I need this too. I recognize the void I feel also exists within many people, and I take my own yearning for connection and I turn it into something other people can get on board with, too. I don’t call what I do a “business.” I’m more of a free-flowing entrepreneur and humanitarian.
During some cycles, I’m just creating art and processing my emotions via a paintbrush. In other cycles, I’m teaching classes to people who are ready to learn more about what it is to be human, accepting themselves instead of shaming, and embodying a more whole version of themselves. Then in my “day job,” I’m working alongside strong women who are dedicated to helping people take control of their health. Offering full integrative medicine to those who are ready to seek support outside of the current medical system that is dominating everything. Then underneath all those layers, I’m a mom, a wife, a sister, a daughter, and a regular human being just trying to do what I feel is right.
I feel it’s time to learn more about our biology and the effects generational and societal trauma have on all of us. I also feel it’s time to learn more about natural healing, and supporting the mind and our emotions instead of disregarding our thoughts as imaginary. Our thoughts are a reflection of our emotions, and our emotions influence every decision we make as humans. If we are making our decisions based on unhealed trauma, we are keeping ourselves confined within cycles of trauma that have more than likely traveled within our family for generations. I find no coincidence in the similarities of a neurodivergent brain and the brain of a person who has experienced severe PTSD type trauma… Coming from a neurodivergent myself, I have spent significant time analyzing and assessing these crossovers. I do not doubt for a bit that those on the spectrum are here to create an entirely new way of living on this planet that allows space for compassion, empathy, and slowing down – Because we’ve come here to break these cycles of trauma held within our collective.
I’m here for change, evolution, and learning, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt there are many others like me out there, who are ready to see the world develop into a place of community and refuge, feeling more like a home in our bodies instead of wishing to be in some place far, far away in the stars (lost in our minds)… Embodying our authentic expression, integrating what we’ve learned, and moving forward with wisdom.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Hell no! I trigger people every single time I open my mouth; it seems some days. My very brain chemistry forces me to go against the grain, and that alone has its own set of challenges. The overstimulation caused by a sensory processing disorder, along with the rumination, looping, and rejection sensitivity, are by far my biggest personal challenges. Releasing the judgment of others and focusing on my own health, success, and peace is something I have to be mindful of every day.
Developing and maintaining relationships while balancing the demands of everyday life is by far is, and always has been my biggest challenge. Aligning with my purpose, finding peace, and living a conscious life requires a different kind of patience and compassion, especially in the world we live in, where chaos seems to be deemed ordinary.
I could speak of times where I had to overcome hurdles, face my fears, and do things that made me crazy uncomfortable, but to me, those things inspire me and bring me deep fulfillment. The hardest thing for me in my journey has to be seeing people from all perspectives, and setting boundaries instead of taking the easy way out (letting things go, and ultimately consenting to abuse by staying silent).
Using my voice to express my feelings is going to be a lifelong journey for me because throughout my life so far, I’ve felt more comfortable not speaking up for what I think is wrong or right, because I have an unmatched level of empathy for people that sometimes makes it very difficult to see them for who they truly are, instead of only seeing what they are capable of being in my eyes (to me, everyone is capable of love and kindness). Currently, I’m releasing expectations of them as well as freeing myself from any expectations they may have of me, because at the end of the day, we are all human, and surprisingly, all feeling the exact same way deep down inside.
I’m realizing now it takes a lot of energy to defend myself, or to make people understand what love can look like without the defenses. So I’m releasing it all, and focusing on what brings me up instead of weighing me down, and moving forward with finding strength in loving myself fully. To me, this is harder than any physical challenge you can present me with.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a creator and teacher. I create works of art using paints, textures, and natural items from the Earth, and I teach classes on the mind, body, and spirit – all revolving around recognizing and listening to the signals of the body. I teach others how to find the root of their disease or pain by connecting the pain with the emotion that is causing it.
This is what I believe sets me apart from others – Not many people see the mind, body, and spirit as I do. A lot of us were taught to believe physical pain is only caused by one-off injuries, the food we’re eating, lack of exercise, etc, and while these things play an integral part in our health, I am convinced that no illness, disease, or pain happens without an emotional component at its core, because at the end of the day (and the beginning of our existence), we are all made of energy. If there are energetic blockages caused by unexpressed emotions, there will always be a signal sent by the body to alert you.
When the body signals you, it will always start with a quiet tap, then it will grow louder and louder if we suppress the pain and the emotion attached to it. This is where I come in – I take all the knowledge I have, and I present it to my students to give them the tools to decipher what stage the signal is in, and what they can do to honor it. Because ultimately, giving them their power back will, in turn, give them more control of their health, and make them feel more confident in their body, trusting themselves instead of turning away from a truth they already know.
At the end of each class, I do an art project to help my students integrate the information they have learned and create a work of art from it. Art to me is an essential part of my livelihood. I’m not sure I could survive without it, and because of this love I have for art, I can see how many people are yearning for art and creation in their lives. As humans, we are powerful creators, and I’m here to remind people of that.
Finally, I’m most proud of my dedication to this work. Every day, I’m learning something new or observing specific patterns in human behavior to help me understand deeper how we got to this point in our humanity, and where we may be going in the future. Right now, our world is split, and I think it’s up to us to heal those wounds and unite. The Earth could shake us off like fleas if she wanted to, but instead, she’s giving us opportunities to heal alongside her. I think it’s past time for humans to feel free and at home in their skin, and on this planet.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
As a Cancer zodiac, this lesson is another big challenge for me. One of the biggest life lessons (I think) is to release attachment. The more attached I seem to get to things or people, the higher the expectation becomes (because I am afraid of being hurt or losing them/it), and the more disappointed I become.
I know as a parent, releasing attachment is by far the hardest part of the role. We all have hopes and dreams for our children, but they are OUR hopes and dreams. Sometimes it isn’t theirs. We have the choice of releasing expectations that they will fulfill our hopes and dreams, and be confident in their ability to know what path to follow in life, or we can choose to force them into boxes they were never meant to fit into because we refuse to release the attachment to what it is we want.
9 times out of 10, our kids don’t follow the paths we carve for them. and our energy is wasted trying to get them to go our way. I’ve seen many parents fall into having resentment for their adult children, or worse, jealousy towards their kids, because the parent(s) worked so hard to “set them up for success” in the ways they feel are suitable. Just to later have the child take another road.
This applies to everyone, I think. Not just parents. These stories could hold true for siblings, friends, spouses, etc… Releasing the attachment to any specific outcomes will always allow us more peace, and creates a protective bubble around ourselves that holds our energy in, instead of it always leaking out. This helps us show up more as our true selves instead of showing up in a form that doesn’t show our best colors.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.soulful-expressions.org/
- Instagram: @soulfulexpressionsbykat
