Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Katelyn Poland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Katelyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with inspirations and heroes. Are there any historical figures you look up to?

Since I was young I have been inspired by Maya Angelou. My paternal grandmother had several of her books and I remember hearings stories about her from a young age. I would hear beautiful quotes and people would give credit to Maya. I remember a story of my aunt saying that Maya spoke at her college graduation and how special that was. I have very clear memories of the people around me being inspired by her and her words too. My favorite quote of hers is, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” That is the inspiration for all my sessions with clients. Whether it is a psychic guidance for help and direction or if it is a mediumship session where I am channeling their loved ones messages directly. I try to leave my clients with not just a session but an experience. I have combined my love of helping people in my education and with my channeling abilities in my business. Being able to hold a safe space for people to feel and heal the real and raw emotions that come with life and death – it is humbling and a huge honor. Maya Angelou’s quotes, books, and poetry have inspired me in a lot of ways. My favorite book of hers is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. My favorite poem of hers is Still I Rise. Owning copies of Maya’s books that were my paternal grandmother’s is also very special to me. When my grandmother passed, and I was given choice of some of her belongings, books are what I cherished most. In 2019, I gave birth to my own daughter. When picking her name I wanted her to have a strong name. One that represented her and the energy I felt that day she was born. I picked Mya. There were other reasons to pick this name as well, but the main reason after Maya Angelou. I wanted it to just be with one “a”, I wanted my Mya to have it a little different for herself but know where the inspiration came from. I have learned a lot of life lessons through Maya’s writing and it has influenced me in the way I treat people in my professional life but also in my personal life and naming my own daughter.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Since I was young I have always known I could communicate with Spirit and those who have passed away but I never honored those gifts. I didn’t always know how to use them or to channel the energy to interpret the messages I was receiving. I had been communicating with my own four grandparents who are passed away – seeing and interpreting the signs they were sending me- but did not realize I could channel for others. As my connections and relationships deepened with them, so did my gifts- and I soon began reading for others. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Child, Adult, and Family Services, back in 2016, from Iowa State University. Now I currently am enrolled in my Master’s program. I have one semester left and will graduate with a Master’s in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Youth Development. Healing and helping others has always been a passion of mine. Helping others express and process their pain, grief, anger, depression, or more difficult emotions. So in 2016 after graduation and certain life events that challenged my own emotions I found myself turning to guidance from my ancestors again. I wanted to learn more about psychology, spirituality, and astrology. I spent the next few years learning to read tarot cards, working with mentors/coaches/readers, and learning about my gifts. I started doing readings for friends, family, and others here or there – channeling and working on using my gifts. After a while I decided it was time to trust Spirit fully and combine my skills to help others heal in a different way. In 2021 I took a leap of faith and left my “9-5” job in human services and started this business. As a psychic medium, I feel very humbled to be the interpreter and express what I am seeing/hearing/feeling from the client’s passed loved ones. The emotions are real and raw. My psychic mediumship channeling abilities and my literal education are meant to provide a healing space to help others manage and process just that- the real and raw emotions. I offer a variety of one on one sessions for clients. It makes me excited to connect others to their passed loved ones. I have learned a lot of lessons along the way, but the biggest one is that our passed loved ones and ancestors really do want to communicate with us!

As a Psychic Medium, I feel very humbled to be able to channel and express what I am seeing/hearing/feeling from the client’s passed loved ones in sessions. The emotions are real and raw and are truly life changing. The meaning behind my business name, Soulful Expressions, is to relate to me channeling and expressing their passed loved ones Souls. When communicating with them they don’t just share their messages or facts about themselves, their passed loved ones are also sharing their Soul and Spirit with me. I wanted the name of my business to reflect that Soul connection. Our passed loved ones and ancestors still have feelings and can still express the full range of emotions- and often times that is what their messages are about. Trying to express their own feelings, or that they know how you feel, or sometimes what has occurred since their passing. They express their personalities and the true essence of their Soul. It makes me happy to be able to connect people to the “unseen” and to help them validate that their loved ones are still with them! I am happy to provide a safe and healing space to be able to have people connect to their loved ones again. It brings me joy to heal others and teach them how to connect to their own ancestors too. Teaching them how to do it in their own everyday life so they can feel their loved ones around them more. Our ancestors and passed loved ones are all around and want to communicate. Those relationships are still there and can still grow. Working with my own ancestors and communicating with them has changed my life personally and professionally. It makes me so happy to be able to use my channeling gifts to help others change their lives too. I have seen Spirit change lives in the most amazing and healing ways for my clients! It makes me happy to help heal other’s souls, the living and the dead. There is healing on both ends in my sessions- for the client and the passed loved ones giving the messages. It is a beautiful thing when we realize there is more to life, and death does not truly separate us from our loved ones!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for my business is word of mouth! I have a spot when booking with me to answer “how did you hear about Soulful Expressions?” I love reading the answers. So many of my bookings come from client’s recommendations or reviews. They have a session and then go tell their friends and family – or they share my posts and offerings on social media and encourage others to book. That has been really humbling for me to see. For some families I have read for all members – reaching extended family members and being able to channel for them. It is like a beautiful family reunion. Being able to connect them to their passed loved ones and channel the messages to show them they are all still connected. The memories and the healing it brings up is generational and just beautiful. I could share client stories or experiences and talk about my gifts all day, but when clients share their experiences and validate that I “couldn’t have known those things”, that is what helps my business. My business is built on faith and the belief in the “unseen”. It operates different than a lot of businesses. As a spiritual business it is crucial for others to speak or share their experiences. It helps others who want to book to not fear it as much. I think of it like – seeing is believing. When they see and hear about the experience that others had from a session with me, they are inspired to have that healing for themselves. As a business owner I personally see each time who shares, likes, or comments on my social media posts. Who leaves reviews or shares stories from their sessions and tag me. That is what I love and what helps my business and for me to be able to reach more people and clients. Word of mouth and other’s sharing their experience with me is the best marketing.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I actually have the word “resilient” tattooed on my left hand. In 2016 I graduated from college with my Bachelor’s degree in Child, Adult, and Family Services. I was working as a supervisor and counselor with troubled youth at a treatment facility. I had a number of things occur in my personal life and that led me to not processing or handling my own deep emotions correctly. I found myself turning to alcohol to cope. This led me down a self destruction path. I had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and I was in denial about it. I had been prescribed medicine and was taking it and started to feel “good again”. This tricked me and I was like “psh, I don’t need this”. So I stopped taking it and did not tell anyone, I just wanted to go back to life. I wanted to “be like everyone else” and “just have fun”. My behavior became erratic and it eventually led me to getting arrested and having an OWI (Operating while intoxicated) on my record. I had never so much as got a detention in school, I graduated college with a degree helping others and counseling but yet there I was running from my own emotions and mental health. Something inside me changed that day in the cell. I finally had to stop telling everyone “I’m fine”. I would put everyone else before myself and I was burnt out working so much and not caring for myself. After that arrest and experience I sought out therapy, reiki (energy healing), yoga, and various other healing methods. That was the start of my spiritual journey. I was on a mission to find myself back and to heal. That is what led me to admit I had my gifts and connection to my own ancestors, that I had been running from so long. It all caught up with me. I dove deep into learning about astrology and spirituality. I was determined to figure out why I felt emotions so deeply and what was “missing” inside me. Fast forward to 2023 and I look at this beautiful business I have built on my gifts and abilities – with God and my ancestors help – and I’m in awe.

Having resilient tattooed on my hand is a gentle reminder that I’ve been through things that most people don’t realize but that I carry with me. It is right above my other tattoo 777. The number 7 has a lot of significance for me but the biggest connection is 7 is my life path number. In numerology your life path number can show what your soul is here to do, your mission in life, and who you are at the core. One piece of advice I can give people – Google and look up your life path number. It will help click a lot of things for you and why you experience a lot of what you do in this lifetime. As a life path 7 I am meant to use my spiritual knowledge and wisdom to help others. As a psychic medium some people can put me on a pedestal and think I have all the answers or “life must be so easy for me”. While my gifts and abilities do have their advantage, it actually comes as a lot of life lessons. A lot of times that have called me to be resilient so I can take my story and share with others. Help others to heal. My own resiliency in my life is what has kept me going. It is what has allowed me to open this business. To keep going and trust in myself and the visions I see and the feelings I feel. I took that experience in 2016 and faced the denial, the anger, the grief. I took that heavy energy and emotions and channeled it to fuel my passion for healing and facing myself. To me that is resiliency – coming back and rising from something that could keep you down. Coming back better and with a story to tell others to help them. Let them know how and why you did it and didn’t give up. Astrology and spirituality helped me to give deeper meaning to it all and draw out the life lessons from the experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.soulfulexpressionstarot.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulfulexpressionstarot/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulfulexpressionstarot/

Image Credits
Haleigh Wehr – Canyon Spirit Collective https://www.instagram.com/canyonspiritcollective/