"WE DO NOT NEED TO LEARN TO TRUST, WE NEED TO LEARN NOT TO DOUBT."
Mira Kelley is an internationally-recognized past life regressionist and the author of Beyond Past Lives: What Parallel Realities Can Teach Us About Relationships, Healing, and Transformation. Her story has been featured on Oprah.com and she has trained with some of the most renowned leaders in her field, including Dr. Brian Weiss and Dolores Cannon. Mira has also worked with acclaimed self-development author and speaker Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and their session together is included in his book Wishes Fulfilled.
I first came across Mira through a program I watched on Gaia.com where she discussed her new book and her work as a regressionist. Intrigued by her story, I purchased a copy of Beyond Past Lives and quickly found myself immersed in the subject, dog-earing and underlining every other page. I was floored by what she was describing – how past life regression therapy was able to miraculously heal people from severe physical ailments, addictions, and phobias all by addressing the emotional issue in the subconscious mind. In it, she also detailed her personal story from corporate lawyer to past life regressionist.
All of this combined led me to seek Mira out and ask if I could share her story. I’m so glad she agreed, as it’s such a unique one to share and a great example of what this site is all about – women using their careers to “be the change.” I hope this interview encourages you to expand your vision of what’s possible for yourself and break through any fears that may be holding you back.
I first came across Mira through a program I watched on Gaia.com where she discussed her new book and her work as a regressionist. Intrigued by her story, I purchased a copy of Beyond Past Lives and quickly found myself immersed in the subject, dog-earing and underlining every other page. I was floored by what she was describing – how past life regression therapy was able to miraculously heal people from severe physical ailments, addictions, and phobias all by addressing the emotional issue in the subconscious mind. In it, she also detailed her personal story from corporate lawyer to past life regressionist.
All of this combined led me to seek Mira out and ask if I could share her story. I’m so glad she agreed, as it’s such a unique one to share and a great example of what this site is all about – women using their careers to “be the change.” I hope this interview encourages you to expand your vision of what’s possible for yourself and break through any fears that may be holding you back.
- Your career path from New York lawyer to past life regressionist is an untraditional transition to say the least! What can you tell readers about how you came to find yourself where you are today?
I was a young attorney working in the corporate legal department of my New York City law firm when I began to have very intense jaw pain. It started shortly after getting a dental filling in one of my teeth – nothing major, nothing special – but when the work was done it brought an imbalance in the jaw. As a result of that the muscles got inflamed and I developed a very painful TMJ condition. I spent the next year trying everything, everything I could to get rid of the pain. I tried all the suggestions my dentist gave me, I tried everything money could buy, but nothing was working. It was a very emotionally and financially exhausting experience, a truly challenging time for me. At the end of that year my dentist said to me, “Well, you have two options,” – because we had truly tried everything – “you can either have your jaw broken and reattached with wires or you can learn to live with chronic pain for the rest of your life.”
Neither of those was an option I could live with. And so in my desperation I remembered a past life regression book I had read as a kid. I remembered reading back then how people could heal themselves just by something they experienced in their minds. Whether the past life they experienced was real or not was not the point, the point was that whatever emotionally connected with them in that experience was enough to heal them on both an emotional and physical level. That was the kind of change I wanted.
And so I found a practitioner very quickly and in my session with her I experienced myself as a slave who had this big metal collar around his neck. I was a very strong, tall and powerful man who had a very broken personality; his soul was broken. I could feel his sense of powerlessness, of being completely not in charge of my own destiny. That sense of being chained and completely limited was so strong and so palpable and so at contrast with what I knew to be his strong physical powers, that all I could do was just cry tears of disbelief, sadness, and grief.
And here’s the extraordinary part – that I’ve come to find is actually very normal – the next day I woke up and the pain was gone. Not partially, completely gone. I realized that because the emotional healing took place, the physical healing was able to follow. And so what may seem like an extraordinary thing is actually very normal and rational you know? And that truly is the beauty of it. It’s something I witness in my clients every day. My jaw pain has never returned, the emotional issue has never returned, and that’s the kind of healing that past life regression offers. That’s the personal experience that opened me up to this world of past life regression, to the greater awareness of the multi-dimensional reality of our existence.
I have to tell you that looking back at what I went through with my jaw now feels like a story to me. It doesn’t feel like that was me, because I’m not that woman anymore. As anybody who has ever had a life-changing experience or overcome a life-threatening condition or serious physical ailment will tell you: When I tell you the story of my life back then, it feels like a story. I’m a different person. The people in my life are different, the circumstances in my life are different, so honestly it seems like a story. It’s not like it didn’t happen, it happened. But now it’s just a story I tell and I have no emotional attachment to it. And here’s the interesting thing, once you overcome the limitations that create a certain circumstance in your life, once you overcome that emotional attachment, it becomes wisdom. And that is where I am with what happened to my jaw back then – it feels like wisdom I get to share.
- How did you proceed with “life as usual” after such a powerful experience? Did you just quit your job and say I’m going to pursue past life regression for a living?!
No, the transition with my career happened later. At first I was just intrigued by my experience and wanted to learn more. I started going to as many workshops as I could, reading as much as I could, having conversations with those who were interested. It wasn’t until the financial crisis of 2008 that I began to consider it as an alternative career for me. Back then, every day I would go into work and hear the news that lawyers in this and that firm were being downsized and let go. I had all this fear about how my life would continue if I got laid off. And then one day the idea popped in my mind of, “You know what? If I get laid off I have this other thing I can do with my life – I can do regression.” And of course the thought that immediately followed it was, “Well, wait a minute, how am I going to pay the bills?” But that was the first step, it was that slow building up, the understanding of “Oh, maybe I can do this” to then the bigger step of “Okay, let’s figure out the financial and worthiness piece of it all.”
The transition took a few years for me before it fully blossomed and materialized. During that time, I needed to overcome my own limiting beliefs about what was possible for me. I didn’t think that healers – people who were involved in the spiritual arts and who were looking to make the world a better place – could actually pay their bills. I had student loans, I had bills, I had rent … things everybody else has, you know? So the financial piece of it was a question I needed to overcome. On the face of it, it seemed like a financial question. But in reality I began to see that it was a much deeper question, because anything that ever has to do with money always has to do with how you value yourself, because money is all about value – it’s about worth. So in the years that I was preparing myself to step into this work, I was really looking to see the value of what I was offering to people and to trust and believe that it could really serve them and change their lives. I had to start to believe that I could actually be supported for being who I am, rather than what I “should be” according to commonly held beliefs about how you normally make money and earn a living.
So I worked through those limiting beliefs, and then I surrendered. I said to the universe, I’m letting go, you show me the way! I cannot figure out on my own how I am going to gain clients, I cannot figure out on my own how I’m going to reach people, I’m just going to show up and be eager and excited and I’m going to remove from my inner consciousness the beliefs and the expectations that it’s not going to work out for me. And sure enough, once I did that the universe showed up and provided me with extraordinary events that I could have never planned myself. I was able to work with Wayne Dyer who became the greatest advocate of my work and connected me with the opportunity to help millions of people all over the world. The universe knows the best possible way for it all to come together. My job was simply to remove the doubts and to show up and say, “This is my passion – I’m willing, here I am.”
- I think that’s so important for readers to hear. It can be daunting to think of your “career plan” as something you have to map out and follow, because it implies that you know what the future holds and what is best for you. But as your story shows us, it’s more about showing up and following the signs rather than “figuring out” a plan.
Yes, your career plan, your life path – this is not something you can “figure out.” That I guarantee you. Believe me, I tried. I had all these inner conversations with God like, “Okay, give me a wait list of two years – not one, but two years – so I can feel safe and trust this is my path.” … “Oh, and how about letting me win the lottery? So I can have money in the bank, so I can actually trust you and trust in my path.” … “Oh, I need an office so that I look valid in front of the world.” … In other words, I was constantly trying to figure it out and negotiate a way to make things work, but it doesn’t work that way. You’ll never be able to figure it out like that. Because the figuring it out part is based on experience, it’s based on what other people have done or what you have done previously. And both of those points of view are limiting. When you understand that the universe is unlimited and full of possibilities, that it doesn’t follow linear logic, and that it’s just our thoughts that are limiting, you realize that it is able to organize people, circumstances and events in ways that are better than you could ever, ever plan yourself.
I mean, years ago I could have never fathomed that I would work with Wayne Dyer and that he would become one of my closest friends. I could have never fathomed that Hay House would offer me a contract to write a book. I could have never fathomed that I would share the stage with some of the biggest names in the self-help industry – people whose books I used to read and people whose work I love and admire. I could have never imagined that. You cannot figure it out until you give up trying to figure it out. You do that by clearing the blocks within you. And then you surrender. You say, “Okay universe, show it to me in the most amazing, extraordinary way because I trust that you’re going to support me, I trust that I’m here to live my purpose.”
- I really appreciate how your book Beyond Past Lives talks a bit about the science behind past life regression work. I think it’s a great way to ground information that some might have a hard time believing. For readers who aren’t familiar, what can you tell them about the science behind past life regression and how it applies to all our lives on a quantum level?
In my book I give examples of quantum physics experiments that show how a particle or object can exist in two places at once in the same moment. Quantum physics has been telling us for a while now that we live in a non-linear universe, there is no real order of “past, present, future” as we think of it, that actually everything is happening simultaneously – it’s just a matter of where we are placing our focus and attention. So one of the things I discovered very early on in my regression practice was that there are actually no “past” lives, as they are all happening now in this moment. That’s why correcting something from the “past” actually corrects your current experience. So that’s the scientific proof if you will of everything spiritual mystics have been teaching us for a very long time – that everything exists right now and that everything is unfolding simultaneously.
- I wanted to go a bit deeper into what you were saying before about the fears you faced when you began your transition into this new career path. I think this is so important to discuss, as it’s always fear in some form that prevents us from taking the next step. Can you expand more on your experience with that and your advice to readers?
The most important thing I want to share with those who are reading this is that fear is not bigger than you. Fear is a messenger. It’s telling you where you need to go and then telling you what you need to overcome. If you think about it, biologically in your body, fear and excitement are felt in much the same way. It is only when that energy is filtered through your limiting beliefs that it appears to you as fear – when it feels uneasy, when it feels like anxiousness, when it feels like uncertainty and doubt. Fear, in a way, is the energy of your soul leading you or pulling you in a specific direction, and it’s not necessarily about leading you away from something. Often what fear is doing is acting as an indicator of the limitation you need to overcome, because behind every fear there is a limiting belief, behind every emotion there’s a thought. If you can get to the root cause, if you can overcome and change that thought, then you can turn it around and it’s going to lead you into an amazing place.
So don’t think fear is bigger than you, it’s not. And whatever your fear is – whether if it’s if people will accept you for who you are, whether you have what it takes, whether you can be financially supported by your work … whatever the fill-in-the-blank fear is for you, acknowledge it and work through it. And know that on the other side of it you’re going to be so grateful to yourself and to your higher self who tells you to actually sit down, do the work and know that you’ve got this. And I guarantee you, you have got this, you can do it. Your soul is always guiding you, you’re not alone.
- I’d love to hear your take on the big question we all ask ourselves at some point - that is, “What is my life purpose and why am I here?” Many women read these interviews and feel inspired and empowered to transform their careers and their lives, but then feel unsure of what direction to move forward in. What is your advice on the best way to answer that question?
Well, I have two answers to that – one is the inner answer, and the other is the outer answer. The inner answer is what propels the outer one, what gives it meaning; the inner answer is the soul’s answer. Each one of us at our core all share the same purpose, and that purpose is to learn to handle our mental energy so that we are working in harmony with the creative force of the universe. This mental energy is what is expressed in our thoughts and emotions, it’s the energy that creates your experiences – every conversation, every situation. Your body, your health, your finances, the state of your love relationship … that’s at the core for each and every one of us. We have got to become awake at the wheel, to become the captain of our own ship.
When people talk about Karma, I always tell them, you know, Karma is not about punishment. Karma is about you being awake in the moment of making the choice, so that you don’t make the same choice as before. Because the same choice is going to lead to the same situation, the same people, the same outcome. You want to be awake at that moment of using your mental energy, of using your thoughts, your beliefs, your emotions and your expectations to turn that around and be willing to make the uncomfortable choice sometimes just so that you get a different result. And this feeds into what we spoke about earlier with fear, about overcoming fear and making choices out of a vision of the future, not out of the weakness of the past. So that’s the first answer, that’s the inner answer, the inner mystery of why we’re here. We’re here to handle and manipulate our creative energy.
The second answer is to apply that creative energy, that mental energy, and to filter it through the prism of our gifts and talents. It’s about the true essence of who we are in the world. In other words, it’s the application of that energy to the physical. Each one of us has different gifts and talents, each one of us is blessed with different ways we make the world a better place. And that’s really why this is the most important question we can ask, because the answer is the fulfillment of the value of our soul. Each one of us is here to use our creative energy to express and impact and create, and so the best way to answer that for yourself is to ask yourself, “What am I good at?” “What do people appreciate about me?” “What is it that I do with my time that when I do it all of a sudden three hours have passed and I didn’t even realize it because I was so engaged?”
It can be hard to answer these questions if we’ve been detached from ourselves for a while. Especially as women, we can get on this path of nurturing everyone else and thinking the best way we can serve, or validate our existence, or deserve to be loved, is by nurturing and being responsible for everybody else and taking care of everybody else, at the expense of our own well-being. So for a lot of women there comes a time in life where they say, “You know what? I don’t even know who I am anymore. I don’t even know what I like, I’ve been so thinly spread in serving everyone else.” And so I tell them, if you cannot even fathom what makes you feel good, just start playing and pretending. Honestly, start being like a kid and explore. What truly makes you feel alive? At first it might be simple choices, like what makes me feel more excited – is it having a cup of coffee or is it having a cup of tea? Should I study Italian or should I go taking a cooking class? In other words, at first it will be small choices like that. Don’t think that connecting with your purpose is going to come in one big swoop.
Another question that people can ask themselves is what are my biggest challenges? For some people, their biggest challenge is where their biggest purpose and biggest reward is. All these things are questions people can ask themselves in order to start coming into alignment with their purpose. It’s about following where those questions lead and doing it without expectation. That is truly the path of living your purpose – everyday show up, follow your excitement, do it to the best of your ability, and do it without knowing where it needs to take you. Because again, remember the unknown will guide you better than what you can create for yourself.
- One of my favorite quotes is, “Work smarter, not harder.” I love your work because I feel it’s a real testament to that – by addressing the root cause of an issue on the quantum level, you show how to eliminate unnecessary time and effort on the physical level. Can you tell readers a little bit more about how they can apply your technique to obstacles in their own lives?
The idea of working smarter versus working harder is so important to apply, because when you do the inner work – when you remove the blocks, when you actually build up a positive expectation – you’re really working with the energy of the universe. And when you do that, there’s no way you’re not going to win, it’s a guaranteed thing. When you realize you have this capability, this partner that you’re working with, then it’s not about struggling – it’s not about pushing physical matter, it’s not about trying to expend matter using matter – it’s about going above it and impacting energy with energy. It’s about working with, not against, the energy of the universe. In doing so you become the vortex that it all comes to, and the means to make it happen.
Of course you still need to take action – that part is a given, I cannot stop acting and doing. But it’s going to be inspired action. Rather than first acting and then getting in alignment, I’m going to reverse the order – first, I’m going to get aligned, then I’m going to act. Once you put that intention out there, the universe will start matching it and it will begin to accelerate and expand. That is when your life truly becomes an astounding explosion of synchronicities that show up to support you in everything that you’re looking to create. Truly, that’s the magical approach to life – that’s the way to be a modern day sorceress if you will. It’s about interacting with life in a way that’s fun and playful and creative and exciting, one that allows you to receive the support that is there for you. You don’t need to carry the whole world on your shoulders, you don’t need to have adrenal exhaustion and fatigue. You don’t have to do it that way, there’s another way.
And that doesn’t mean that once you are living your purpose you will be working less, it just means you will be doing it happily. Because when you’re living your purpose, you’re living as your true self. So everywhere you go, your passion, your mission, goes with you. I used to be the attorney who would work the most hours, I was always at the office … now I am the regressionist who is always working too, but you see my work doesn’t feel like the struggle it did before. Sometimes I work more than twelve hours a day and I still love it, because in truth it’s me. I cannot stop being me.
I’m more in love with life today than I’ve ever been before. I truly want to see everyone reading this to have that same experience, to feel that trust, that same kind of openness, that same kind of flexibility, and that same kind of joy that I’m discovering for myself every day. And I trust that tomorrow they’ll be even more of it, and more of it the day after. I hope that this interview inspires readers to open up more to who they are, open up more to trusting their path and their journey, and open up more to the greatness of their multidimensional selves and our connection to the universe.
- What can you tell other women about the importance of reaching out to those who inspire you, as you did with Dr. Wayne Dyer?
First of all, I think it’s important not to put anybody on a pedestal. Don’t over-idealize anyone, because we are all human and we all have our struggles. If they inspire you, simply reach out to them. Whenever you reach out from a place of sincerity people can tell, people are impressed with that and will open up to you in a very personal and human way – because each and every one of us wants to help, wants to serve, wants to make a difference. So I truly encourage everybody, like I said at first, not to idealize anybody because we’re all here going through the same motions of becoming more of our true selves every day, but also don’t let that stop you from reaching out and saying let’s create and let’s share and I feel connected to you, let’s see where this takes us.
- One of my favorite quotes from you is about trust where you say, “We do not need to learn to trust, we need to learn not to doubt.” Can you expand on what you mean by this and how we can apply when doubts come up?
Trust is a natural mechanism we have built in. But often we put our trust in doubt instead of faith. So it’s not trust we have a problem with, it’s how we apply it. It’s about choosing to trust in faith over fear. It’s like what I said before about mental energy – you have to become in charge of your thoughts. Don’t let a thought slip by without saying, “Is this the experience I want to create for myself right now?” That’s what I mean by being in charge of your mental energy. The moment doubt creeps in, say to yourself, “You know what is this really where I want to invest my creative power as the creator of my experience?” And of course the answer is no, and then you go to the question of, “Well what do I want to think? What do I want to feel?” And that truly is the way.
- As a woman whose career is immersed in healing others, how do you heal and care for yourself? What can you tell other women about the importance of prioritizing self-care?
It’s really about you discovering your own worth, that’s where it all starts. Because the more you value yourself, the more you’re going to take care of yourself, that’s just a given. But, if you think that everyone else is more worthy than you, then no matter how much I talk to you about prioritizing self-care you won’t do it, because you don’t think you’re worthy of it. Or you always will put it last on your list and never attend to it. So my encouragement for those reading is to own your worth. Own it, baby! That’s why God put you on the earth, because he already sees you as worthy and deserving. So all you’ve got to do is really just claim it and own it and live it. And then the self-work becomes very easy. Then it’s no longer this big hoopla of negotiation, it just becomes a natural adjustment.
LEARN MORE: THIS INTERVIEW IS JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF THE WISDOM MIRA HAS TO OFFER. CHECK OUT HER BOOK BEYOND PAST LIVES AND SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS, WORKSHOPS, AND CLASSES WITH MIRA ON HER WEBSITE HERE. STAY INSPIRED: FOLLOW MIRA ON INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK.