We were lucky to catch up with Kathleen Berry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathleen, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

My business is unconventional.

First, some background on me. I’d once belonged to a fear-based church that put the Most Divine in a small box. It never spoke to my heart or matched the intense love that had unexpectedly rained upon me during childhood. Having a college degree and an interest in paleontology, I was closed to the idea of the supernatural, like ghosts and psychic abilities.

It all started through my job as a marketing manager for the non-credit division at a community college. Our office started presenting popular ghost hunting classes before the cable TV shows made paranormal investigations a hot topic. Six years into this programming, the news anchor of the local CBS affiliate asked me to arrange for an overnight investigation at a supposedly haunted location. Through the help of our instructors, I was able to arrange a night in the shuttered Goldfield Hotel in Central Nevada. This hotel, which had been closed as a business since World War II, had been featured the year before on Ghost Adventures.

Fulfilling media requests wasn’t new for me. Usually, I’d make the arrangements and send them off with our instructors. This time, though, the news anchor insisted I join them as the team’s impartial observer.

Over the course of that night, I encountered many spirits It shattered my views on reality, religion/spirituality, and psychic abilities. Those 12 hours profoundly reshaped my view that the Supreme Being was not vengeful, but the source of unconditional love.

When I started blogging, I received emails from people who felt marginalized by organized religion. This broke my heart.

My business is a calling. I’m driven to show people how to explore spiritual aspects and build their unique relationship with the Most Divine. I encourage them to develop their intuitive abilities so they can more readily recognize Divine Guidance. I wrote the book, “A Reluctant Spirit: A True Tale of God, Ghosts and a Skeptical Christian,” about my experience in the Goldfield Hotel;” and I create original content (memes, blog posts) on my website, Kathleenberry.com, and on social media.

My success is not driven by profit. My satisfaction comes when readers tell me they now feel worthy of God’s attention and love.

Kathleen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’ve addressed some of this in the previous question.

I also teach classes at the local community college and have given presentations in Nevada and California. One of my more popular classes is Attract Positive Energy.

In today’s divisive environment, I work to foster understanding and acceptance of all people, regardless of political affiliation, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and religious/spiritual affiliation. Each one of us has been created by the Divine spark of Creation. We are here to expand our souls and help others on their journeys. I teach people how to stop feeding the negativity within themselves and diffuse difficult situations.

An example of how I helped a client: A teenager from Romania wrote me about his recent revelation that he was gay. He belonged to the Christian Orthodox Church and his priest told him he was condemned to hell. He was suicidal. It devastated him that God did not love him the way he was. He couldn’t tell his family as he was ashamed of what he had become. Over the course of a year, we exchanged emails. I listened to him without judgment. I shared my views of the Most Divine and how It created us all to be individuals. How the Creator loves us all without condition. After our year’s conversation, this young man found the courage to confide in his sister and enrolled in college. He’d learned to accept his sexual orientation and to feel that God hadn’t deserted him. He no longer wanted to end his life.

I do not tell anyone what to believe. I have my own truths that speak to my heart. My spiritual truths may not be anyone else’s spiritual truths and that is fine. After my night in the Goldfield Hotel, my beliefs morphed into my unique brand of Christian Mysticism. I have studied Jesus’ teachings gleaned from his original Aramaic. I have taken classes from Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz, who has dedicated his life to taking ancient Aramaic to breathe a more expansive view on Jesus’ teachings. I believe the Holy Spirit comes to us through intuition/psychic nudges and that this much maligned sense is meant to be used to deepen our relationship with the Most Divine.

We are all unique creations built upon our upbringing, experiences and cultures. A cookie cutter approach to communing with God isn’t possible. We must bring our authentic selves to this most precious of relationships.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

My authenticity is my brand. I believe that people want to know who stands behind the art/writing/creation. While I maintain a positive presence on social media, I do publicly admit that I have struggled at times to relearn behaviors and actions that I present. No one is perfect. No one is above anyone else. We are comprised of both light and dark. The trick is to spend more time in the light and to learn from the darkness.

It can be challenging to be true to yourself and your vision. Especially when others are critical of what you stand for. I strive not to take the bait of those who work to provoke me. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. I treat those who aren’t kind to me with the same respect that I treat those who are.

I believe it is important to meet people where they are. I am on six social channels (Facebook, BlueSky, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube). Each channel has a different demographic, a different vibe. For social posts, I’ll use the same meme, but tailor the message to the demographic that the social channel attracts.

I monitor most social media channels once a day so that I can respond to messages and comments. My blog posts push out both to social media and email (for those who don’t participate in social media). I check my website email regularly and try to reply within 24 hours.

When readers reach out to me, I want to show them respect for taking their time to contact me.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to expand people’s understanding of The Divine and to realize that it is acceptable to construct a personal spirituality that speaks to their heart. It is also acceptable to be content with organized religion if that congregation feeds your soul. My readers come from diverse backgrounds from pagans to Catholics and Buddhists to new agers. I’m happiest when I learn someone has been empowered to stand up in their own beliefs in seeking out the Most Divine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kathleenberry.com
• Instagram: kberryauthor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathleenberryauthor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-berry-554a9953/
• Twitter: @KBerryAuthor
• Youtube: @AuthorKathleenBerry
• Other: BlueSky @kathleenberry.bsky.social
  Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Author portrait by Ken M. Johns