After rereading this story, which I wrote years ago, I almost decided not to publish it, but decided it was still an interesting story... and a little entertaining. It really goes to show you that blocks can show up in the most unexpected ways... even when trying to name your business. As you will see at the end of the post, I changed it once again... :)

Kristin

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I started painting healing symbols around 2002 which I used to heal my emotional baggage. Little did I know that I’d be offering it to the world. God has such a good sense of humour.

Let me explain.

I’ve always been highly intuitive but never understood who I was until I had a ‘wake up call’ in my 20’s.

I don’t know how best to describe it, other than that I woke up. I remember consuming every new age/spiritual book I could get my hands on that was available at my library or bookstore.

My life took on new meaning and I was never the same again.

Frankly, I knew I was different when I was a child. I felt different than other kids around me. I had the ability to feel other people’s feelings… like big time. Little did I know there was a term for that. I was ‘clairsentient’. I just walked around knowing how others felt intuitively. To me, it was how I was, though incredibly difficult at times and overwhelming. I always knew how people felt about me. When kids were mean, and they were. It hurt me very deeply. Eventually, I shut down, became defensive and… sarcastic. As my parents told me ‘I had a sharp tongue’. I used it as protection. In retrospect, it did nothing to protect me, it just pushed people away. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a dumping ground for other people’s emotional baggage. I thought I would help them if I took their pain away. They gladly gave me their ‘stuff’. Little did I know how emotionally draining this would be (and how negative I would become…). It was only until I met a spiritual healer who told me how much ‘stuff’ I was carrying that did not belong to me! She quickly removed all of it and sent it back to their rightful owners! I felt 100 lbs. lighter! I was literally joyful! We celebrated after and we quickly became friends. The strange thing was that early the next morning a close friend of mine called me crying their eyes out. He never cried. I asked what was wrong and he said he had no idea. He said he just started feeling really sad. I told my healer friend and we both figured that he got his ‘emotional baggage’ back.

My spiritual understanding truly accelerated at this time. I was a sponge for spiritual truth… I became a spiritual book junkie. I was born Catholic, so I’m not referring to fundamental Religion here. I also developed the ability to heal myself and others energetically. My friends and I would have healing ‘sessions’ (we would call them) and practice channeling healing energy and spiritual guidance. Around that time I started painting very simple paintings that looked like symbols. I painted intuitively, so I didn’t really have a plan once I had a brush or palette in hand. I just followed my inner guidance and voila, the symbols just appeared. They were always the same (boring) shape, an arc. Different colours, but always an arc. I threw the original paintings away as they served their purpose. The shape was like this:

Whenever I felt down or had an issue, I intuitively allowed those feelings to surface and I would paint the arcs. There would always be two. One to bring my issue to the surface, the other to heal it. Always that way. This would become my emotional therapy. I would still have healing sessions with my friend, but I also continued ‘painting out’ my emotional issues. Now, to be clear, this was not conventional art therapy where you felt better after you painted intuitively… this had one more element to it. I had to meditate on the top/middle area of each symbol for a few minutes, to allow the energy to do the work. Painting the arc did not process my negative emotions, it was only when I meditated upon it (focusing with my 3rd eye chakra, which is in the middle of your forehead), that the healing took place. It was very cool. But I kept it quiet.

I was a closet healer, spiritualist and intuitive painter… and I was (am) happy with that. My healer friend was the only one who knew about my unique ability to paint symbols that healed. Occasionally my kids and my (now ex) husband would see these arc’s lying around. I would tell them they were my energy paintings and left it at that.

Soon the arc’s turned into rectangles that were curved and inverted…

I would never need to paint another arc again, the new shape took over. This shape would be carried forward into 3 Keys Visionary Art.

Just to reiterate, I had no intention or even a single notion about creating a business where I would offer my paintings (symbols) to the public. Not a one.

It’s also important to add here that I’ve always felt deep inside that I would have my own business, I’ve always been entrepreneurial and knew I was here to do something else. Several years ago, I tried launching a kind of networking platform for women entrepreneurs to do business together called Hubster. I was so psyched about the possibilities to help women become successful on their own terms (without having to place their dreams on the shelf their whole life to support their families), but it never went anywhere and left me depressed and in huge debt.

So I dragged my tail back to the corporate world for another couple of years. My corporate job allowed me to work from home as much as possible as my teams were in different cities, I was a digital strategist. Most of my jobs in my digital career had this type of flexibility built in, thankfully. Internally, there was a lot of shuffling going on and consequently my job changed… as well as my boss. I had a decision to make… stay or go. My spidey sense was telling me that whatever decision I made would determine my path for several years to come. If you knew me, you’d know that I don’t tend to stick around jobs too long.

Then, one morning, I had the dream.

I knew it was important because I don’t often have lucid dreams (dreams that seem real life). They usually come with important messages from your guides. This is how it went.

I was with Danielle LaPorte and Marie Forleo (two of my uber entrepreneurial mentors, who provide sage advice on how to live and work soulfully, doing what you love to do, creating the life you love). I don’t remember the details too much, just one thing.

Danielle held out her hand and in it was a greenish-blue crystal. As she handed it to me, she mentally told me that I had a very important decision to make.

That was it. I awoke at that time, and knew in my heart, my decision was made. It was time to leave my corporate job and begin a new path. At that point in my life, I started developing 6th sensory abilities… I could ‘hear’ and ‘see’ my angels more clearly. My smell even changed… 6th sensory smelling abilities is weird. I won’t go into that here, but I had my second lucid dream shortly around that time. I was told very clearly that I was given a ‘blessed assignment’

I felt exhilarated when I awoke. Wow. A blessed assignment… I wondered what it would be?

Stay with me here… it gets funny.

As mentioned, I knew it was time to leave my corporate job, but I really didn’t want to get fired. Slowly and surely, in two short months I was ‘packaged’.

While conceiving my new business, I was provided information by my Angels/Guides. The name 3 Keys to the Kingdom came up very clearly. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, so I decided to just go with it and ‘conceived’ 3 special keys that if humanity followed them, they would be liberated… yes, that’s what I thought my new path was. The ‘keys’ were integrity, generosity and collaboration with new cool, tweaked definitions… I was on fire! Though I still wondered how I could market these awesome ‘keys’ to the public…I even created a webpage for them, just to give it life. Around this time, I was also guided to enroll in Marie Forleo’s internationally renowned B-School (online business school for entrepreneurs), which really helped lay the groundwork for 3 Keys.

When I came to realize that my ‘keys to change humanity’ idea wasn’t going to fly, I let that dream die and played with the idea of creating a “Kingdom” of affiliates… dropping ‘3 Keys’ entirely. Brilliant! This must be it! I made a logo and researched the hell out of affiliate marketing. I was going to create an affiliate network just for women to do business together and make money! Sound familiar?

At around the same time, I noticed my intuitive paintings were changing… I started painting other shapes. Two paintings per series turned into 3 paintings… The first one to allow the emotional issue or block to surface (from the subconscious), the second to heal or release the block and the third painting or symbol would allow your spirit to reconnect to your soul’s path… Interesting.

I finally connected the dots.

I was to provide this new art therapy to others and sell them via a website! I wasn’t completely convinced as my whole intuitive art talent was not supposed to be ‘out there’. I started thinking about a suitable business name… Let’s see, 3 symbols that heal and release emotional issues just by meditating upon them. I came up with

Angel Art Therapy…

Yep. That was it! After a while I felt it was too close to Doreen Virtue’s Angel Therapy website plus I really didn’t feel comfortable placing Angel in the title. Then it hit me!

Art and Soul, Art that heals your soul! Good ring, makes sense. Nailed it.

I started painting different healing series. My first healing series was ‘Open Your Heart’, this would help those who had a closed heart, was afraid to love, etc. I quickly followed with ‘Getting Unstuck’, ‘Self-Doubt’ and ‘Fear of Commitment’. Those were my first set of Keys.

The first Keys ‘self-doubt’ and ‘fear of commitment’ are below. If you recall, the first Key surfaces the issue (brings it up from your subconscious to deal with). Just meditate on the top, middle area of each Key for a little while. If you feel an emotional response like anger, sadness or resistance, you may have a buried emotional issue associated with that Key.

I launched my website under my name, kristinmorris.life, not artandsoul.com etc. as most of those names were taken. I was also having doubts about the name, it did not feel right.

Wait for it.

It was almost 1 year until I got the AHA moment… (or as I call it the ‘Ohh Duhhh’ moment), I realized that when my guides gave me the idea of 3 Keys to the Kingdom, they meant, my art business. Can you imagine? OMG… I’m not too quick sometimes. Hilarious right? Did you connect the dots earlier…? Ok, so… brilliant. Perfect name for my art symbols which features 3 symbols (aptly called ‘Keys’) that open doors and heal your inner Kingdom… it all became crystal clear. Kicking myself and laughing hysterically. Good times. 

Don’t judge too harshly. :) This will always make me laugh when I reflect back.

So, finally… I give you 3 Keys Therapy. At the time of writing this, I have 15 series available (and more to come).

XO

Kristin