Recently, I met with Rachel of Ora Mer where we dove into an incredible psychic reading. I call it a psychic reading, but instead of the fortune teller with a crystal ball images you might be conjuring, instead imagine a best friend who has her intuitive gifts honed + is ready to chat about whatever comes up, taking in information she receives from your spirit team.
From the moment Rachel met me in the lobby of her pop-up space, I felt her radiate such a warm, safe energy. This is a must for people working in the healing space!
As we began my reading, she made sure to note that anything that came up that didn’t serve me could go right out the window and that, ultimately, I was my own best healer — a notion I find incredibly vital. After all, we’re all intuitive beings.
Upon starting the session, I felt she was deeply connected to my angels and that what came through was such a beautiful transmission of guidance in the realm of my career while acknowledging the work I’ve been doing. It felt like a hug! Near the end, she mentioned something that I hadn’t mentioned to her but have my whole life felt deeply drawn to + I could have cried then and there.
What a beautiful exchange of energy.
Rachel is so gifted at holding a safe space, making people feel seen, and using her gifts for the greater good of all involved, that I just knew I had to share her magic with The Intentional Muse community.
I hope you enjoy our conversation. 🤍
Kayli: Rachel, I’m so excited to be able to sit down with you today. We just had such a beautiful reading that I’m so, so thrilled about. I’d first like to ask, how did you first feel your intuitive gifts surface. What was that experience like for you?
Rachel: Oh, this is such a good question. It’s interesting because I don’t know that I felt my intuitive gifts first as much as I felt my psychic and mediumship abilities first. So, I feel like my entry into this world was pretty intense. I first became aware of these gifts after my grandma passed away when I was five. It was really rooted in grief and trauma for me and my family. It was a very intense entry into the world of intuition, and more intensely into mediumship and psychic abilities.
Wow. So, at five years old, that’s a lot to take in. What did you do with that? Did you really accept that? Did you even know what to call that? Those feelings and knowing that you have these gifts are such a big thing to hold.
Yeah, it, it, it is. It was the biggest, and it’s interesting because, reflecting back, it feels like the biggest thing, but I think the beautiful part about kids is that they are just highly intuitive, and they’re still finding their way in the world. At five years old, I was still making sense of who I was in the world and just taking in so many sensory and life experiences at that point.
I just felt like it wasn’t weird to me because I didn’t know anything else. I thought it was normal. And I would just talk to my grandma, or I would say things to my dad or my parents about their childhoods, or I think I would just know things or dream things. I think my parents handled it as best they could, but I think it was a shock to them. It was just like, “Oh, grandma’s here, I’m talking to grandma,” or she says this, or she says that, or like, she told me about this. It was just, it was normal for me because I didn’t know, I didn’t know that it wasn’t abnormal.
Adults and society tell us experiences like this aren’t normal. Kids just think everything is normal because it’s their first experience with themselves and the world.
I feel like, too, at such a young age, you are more connected to the other side, and everybody has this within them. As you grew older, did you ever feel like tamping down those gifts or like you couldn’t share them freely?
Yeah, I did. I dampened the gifts as much as I could. A huge part of how I was introduced to these abilities was so much rooted in grief. Part of being a kid, too, and making sense of the world is also recognizing and learning about emotions. My parents and my family, in general, were really supportive of, you know, when I would say things or even encouraged me.
As a kid, I just started to recognize that, oh, when I talk about grandma, it makes people happy. And when I don’t, they’re sad. And so I think that that started to really play into my sense of worth. Now, kind of looking back and taking a lot of responsibility in the realm of wanting to be a person that makes people happy— it definitely took a toll on me.
My mom reminded me of this, but I ended up developing a perfectly circular bald spot on the crown of my head when I was a kid, around this time, because I was just forcing a connection so much at a certain point. If you know anything about chakras, the crown of your head is a divine connection, a connection to spirits and guides. I was like a perfectly circular spot. It really started to take a physical and energetic toll on me, to the point where it started to feel bad. I think from then on, probably from about seven years old, I completely shut it down as much as I could. But even then, I would have certain moments throughout my childhood and teenage years that I just, like, couldn’t keep it down.
I would just feel things or know things or have dreams of being places where I would end up or things that would end up happening.
I tried to do as much as I could. I became really secretive and really private about it. And so it’s been quite the journey since then.
How did you find that balance? What age were you? Take us through that a little bit. Was there a situation that made you want to tap back into these gifts in a more aligned, healthier way?
I feel like I’m starting to take notice of these things, connecting a little bit more to my intuition after forcing and feeling disconnected for so long. Of course, there’s other mental health stuff that happened that kind of disconnects us from ourselves, and so I think as I started moving through therapy, especially in middle school / high school.
That opened a huge door for me, showing me what it felt like to connect with myself, especially after shutting down for so many years in every way, including these gifts and spirituality. Early in college, I worked at a grief center, which was right next door to this Reiki healer. I was really familiar with Eastern medicine and had done Reiki, gone to an herbalist as a kid, and done acupuncture and all these things. My parents are immigrants from Eastern Europe, so it wasn’t foreign to me. It was something that I just felt myself getting kind of curious about, and I feel like I was always just naturally drawn to spiritual things, but it was something I still kept super private, and I just remember this woman who had just opened up a Reiki studio next to where I was working, she walked up and introduced herself to a few people and just looked at me and winked at me and just gave me this knowing nod. I just felt like, “This means something,” and I ended up booking a session with her… That opened a huge door for me.
Astrology was another door. It felt like these doors opened in a very short period of time, early on in college, basically throughout college for me. That kind of allowed me to reenter more firmly into spiritual things, which is such a home space for me, and I think it’s where my soul was just so naturally drawn, and that’s kind of where I’ve been ever since.
I love that. I definitely feel the same way. I’m so connected to spirituality and feel a pull toward Eastern medicine. You keep bringing up your parents and how much they loved hearing about stories of your grandma and introduced you to more Eastern medicine tactics, acupuncture, and herbalism. What are some of the best things they’ve done for you in terms of making you feel comfortable with your gifts instead of wanting to tamper with them and hide them?
I love that; that’s such a good question. I feel like my parents are just really open people and really curious.
Growing up, maybe more than even introducing me to a particular type of modality, I felt like we were always having really deep and intentional conversations, and there was nothing that was really off-limits to discuss growing up. And that, in and of itself, created an environment of safety.
I think, especially with these gifts and abilities or with emotions or mental health, it really created an open environment for us to communicate about things that normally are pretty taboo to talk about. It just kind of was kind of how I grew up. I guess I don’t know anything different, so I’m really grateful for that.
Yeah, that in and of itself is such a gift to have a family where you can talk openly about like you said, topics that are more taboo. I definitely resonate with that. I think as you grow older, you especially feel so grateful for growing up in a supportive family environment.
Yeah, it all added just so much depth. I am very, very grateful for that. I love that.
I truly believe that we all have intuitive gifts, and our answers are always within us. Nobody can take our sovereignty away from us. Everything’s just waiting to be revealed, worked with, and played with.
I was wondering if you have any advice for people looking to get to know themselves in this way.
I really do firmly believe that we’re all intuitive, magical, powerful, gifted, and amazing in our own unique ways.
I think the first place that I would always recommend people start is just to listen to themselves. While this may be easy for some, depending on where you are in your journey, it can also be one of the hardest things that you can do.
If you’ve ever struggled with mental health and you are familiar with what it feels like to feel numb and disconnected from yourself, allowing yourself even some space to listen and to feel like you’re worthy of being listened to by yourself, I feel like is one of the, simplest, biggest, most important things you can do, because no matter what you go through in life — and we all go through so many ebbs and flows and so many transformations — that’s always the thing to come back to.
Just to listen and to feel like you’re worthy of being listened to… That’s beautiful.
I think, especially in our society today, women are told to be the good girl, sit down, and be quiet— you know, stick to our societal structure.
Slowly but surely, change is being made… in some areas more than others. How are you at such an evolved, lovely stage? You’re such an incredible person to get to know. How are you even still working through this feeling of knowing your own worthiness and living in that space and living in a place, especially like New York City, where there’s so much urge to go go go? Living in your femininity, knowing your worth, and believing in yourself in that way is such a gift.
It has been a really long journey, and it’s still ongoing. I think I’m in a really, really great space right now, and I think that there’s always more to grow and evolve into. And, I think in low moments, I kind of allow myself to sit in that, and hold myself through that because I think that how we move through those moments is more telling than when things are like all sunshine and roses and great and so expansive…
We all go through that, and we all go through those spaces of abundance and momentum and that feels so good, but I feel like what’s most important for me is how I hold myself when things are shit, when things are not great, when things are really hard and just allowing myself to feel that, rather than pushing that down, rather than invalidating myself and forcing myself to try to feel something that I genuinely don’t feel. I just allow myself not to feel good.
I allow myself to feel insecure if that’s how I’m feeling. I allow myself to have those moments because I know that they’ll pass. I think holding myself through them, validating the fears and insecurities, and asking where they’re coming from and why they’re coming up is more important than a huge chapter, like momentum flow, huge opportunity.
That’s the most important thing I can do for myself because I think that’s kind of that feeling of home, of being able to hold yourself through anything and kind of coming back to that.
Oh my God. Yes, that was incredibly beautiful, and I completely agree. I just feel being able to find home within ourselves also makes those rockier pieces so much easier. Yes, it has to do with the work and asking yourself those difficult questions, and I can go on and on, but it’s also so much about age and that natural maturation process. At least, I think so.
Kind of pivoting. One thing that really stuck out to me when I first started seeing Ora Mer pop up on my Instagram and my local spaces was how approachable I found you and your work. Your approach to the divine and your work are so accessible to everyone in a way that I don’t think people see a lot. Maybe they’re used to like the more mystical spaces and the pictures with like the sound bath, which are so beautiful, and we both relate to liking those, but Ora Mer feels so down to Earth + relatable. Was that an intentional choice on your part to create such an approachable space, or was that just part of who you were and how you’re showing up?
I think it’s a little bit of both. I think that I am somebody who loves the woo-woo. I love the spiritual, love the divine, ethereal energy. It’s incredible. It’s amazing. I love to be in those spaces, but I’m also somebody who deeply connects to the human experience and emotions in depth, and what it is to be human and to have trauma and triggers and go through ups and downs. For me, a real struggle that I have or that I see in people or in clients is that all-or-nothing mentality.
We’re so rooted in the human, the physical, and we’re completely disconnected from intuition, spirituality, or any of those pieces of who we are. Or, you know, it’s the complete other way around, where we’re so rooted and so tapped into the spiritual divine energy that we sometimes deny our own humanity and our own humanness.
It’s really hard to be in an all-or-nothing space. The nature of the work that I do and that I want to do and the space that I want to reinforce in the community that I hold and in one-on-one spaces and anything that I do or create is honoring all that we are.
That includes being spiritual, being intuitive, being magical, being like the most incredible person. It also includes being human and having the experiences we’ve had, holding ourselves through it all, and seeing all that we are rather than just these parts and pieces of our existence.
Yeah, that is so vital today. I think we all contain multitudes in us, and we’re quick to want to put ourselves in a box. We talked a bit about this in my reading. It’s so important for people to know that you can be spiritual and really ambitious, that you can be in tune with your spiritual gifts, and that you can also be really practical.
What is something easy someone can do right now to start to grow that relationship with their intuition and really trust their intuition?
I think it goes back to that earlier point of listening because I feel like intuition is just listening.
I don’t think it’s anything deeper than that, and depending on where you are in your journey, listening can feel hard or maybe even impossible right now.
The next step beyond that would be trusting that.
I love that. I think that’s so important because we’re just marketed everything right now, like, oh, to do that, like start working with angel cards, pull a card a day, or start going to an energy healer and clearing your chakras. And those things are all fine and great. But I love that what you said is completely free and accessible.
I also think gathering in community is just so important. Back in the day, women were gathering under the red tent. We were raising children in these communities, helping one another through big life transitions. Unfortunately, in our American culture today, that’s something that isn’t quite as valued.
I know community is such a big part of Ora Mer’s mission. I would love to ask you what you would say are the most important aspects of creating a safe, loving space where people feel both held and able to tackle whatever they’d like to within the space of your gathering?
A big part of it is how we each show up individually and recognize our experiences, our lived experiences, and our identities. And that’s a huge part of the work that I do: recognizing those pieces of who we are that are inextricably linked to our identity, to our soul, to our being.
I think any room or space we enter into, having that awareness of this space that you’re coming from, allows us to hold one another so much more and so much better because I think when we see ourselves, it’s much easier to see others and to see others in the way that they want to be seen and connected to and felt.
That’s why I think that interpersonal work is just the most important thing. Not only does it inform how we hold and see ourselves, but it also informs how we move through the world. It also informs how capable we are of holding and seeing others rather than sort of maybe projecting what we want or how we want to be seen onto someone else.
I always love to ask, what are three things you’re loving right now?
Since moving to NYC, I’ve had so many incredible opportunities. I quickly realized I wasn’t living or ‘playing the part’ of the Empire Building/Boss CEO that I am and desire to be.
I quickly invested in these things that are so simple but are those very things that make me feel most confident when doing readings, going out, working at events, meeting new people, etc.!
1. My Drybar Double Shot Oval Brush *for the most gorgeous at-home blowout*
2. My Saie ‘Dip’ Lip Oil & Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Combo (it’s either this or a red lip for me!)
3. My business cards & my bright red card holder (gifted by my best friend) that I always have on me! I actually placed a business card order in December and already had to restock which was the most INCREDIBLE FEELING!
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