As a little girl, when asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always replied: “I want to be a part-time preacher, part-time teacher.” Ever since I can remember, I have been drawn to matters of the spirit, meaning-making, and connecting deeply with others.
In my young adulthood, I spent a lot of time traveling, studying, and working in foreign languages and contexts. Through this, I learned to be adaptable, to communicate clearly, and to listen with my ears and heart to discern what is important. I discovered that the things we all have in common – the joys of love, the pains of loss, the regrets from the past, and the hopes for the future – are what truly connect us. During this time, I felt aligned with my essential self.
But somewhere along the way, I began to stray from my heart’s deepest desires. After earning a Bachelor of Commerce with distinction and a Master of Science in sociology from Türkiye’s top university, I was moving up the ranks within the Canadian federal public service.
I was forging a life path for myself that had all the external markers of success. On paper, things were looking really good.
But inside, I felt disconnected from that soulful part of me that yearned to do something more meaningful in life.
Two-year old me looking for something (what?!) in the drawers.
I guess you could say I’ve always been a seeker.
Something shifted when my husband and I started our family and, in particular, when I gave birth to our children. I glimpsed the eternal as they crossed the thin veil between worlds. It was transcendental and it snapped me out of the fog I’d been in.
I became determined to find a new path - one with more heart and soul. I had no idea what that could look like, but I had to start somewhere. So I began to get reacquainted with my little girl self who intuited a different, more wholehearted way of being for me.
I paid attention to the signals my heart and body sent me whenever they sensed a certain aliveness in myself or others. I followed those signals (or ‘heart crumbs’ or ‘sparks’, as I like to call them) and they eventually led me in a new direction. The trailhead of my journey began where I least expected it: the end-of-life.
“In my end is my beginning.”
— T.S. Eliot
Over the years, my work has naturally evolved to help people bring attention and intention not only to life’s biggest moments, but also to the smallest ones.
I have been forging an uncharted path for myself ever since I realigned with my childhood career aspirations. Although my path isn’t always clear, I now see that my entire journey to this point – even when I felt I was off course – has been leading me to the simplest destination: to return home to the little girl inside me who already possessed the wisdom to know what she someday wanted to become.
At the core of my essential self, I once again found what makes me come alive. And today, I love using everything I’ve learned along the way to help people find what makes them come alive.
Whether I’m facilitating a workshop or presentation, offering one-on-one guidance or companionship, or designing and delivering personal, meaningful ceremonies, story and legacy are central to everything I do.
It is my deepest privilege in life to walk alongside others as they clarify and express their essential selves through story, create meaningful lives and leave lasting legacies.
Ironically, this work has become my (perhaps unorthodox!) way of living into what 8-year-old me described as becoming a ‘part-time preacher, part-time-teacher’.
“Don’t ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Howard Thurman
Want to know the most delightful part of all of this?
My clients have also become my most influential ‘preachers and teachers.’ Representing a diverse range of cultures, sexual orientations, spiritual traditions, and life experiences, they have given me the gift of perspective.
In sharing what is on their hearts, and who and what has most impacted their lives, they have also taught me about wholehearted living – how to remain open to the full experience of life through love, grief, forgiveness, giving, joy, truth and, quite simply, just being.
Each of us has a deeper realm and insights. When we are aligned with and share them, they benefit everyone. This reciprocal sharing and receiving has become an essential part of my life and spiritual journey.
Being a legacy guide & celebrant is my vocation.
It fulfills my desire to engage in work that is soulful and of service to others.
This is the truest expression of who I am.
(she/her)
Kind words
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Where do I begin?! Karla took our ideas and absolutely exceeded them. Her level of professionalism and drive to make the ceremony truly unique is priceless. I would highly recommend her, and am honestly looking for other areas of our life to have her lead a ceremony!
Samantha M.
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You do spiritual work in a way that anyone and everyone can connect with.
Shirley D.
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Thank you for your thoroughness, flexibility and vision...
P + R
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This lovely woman is a heartfelt presence.
P + R
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...a very grounding presence.
Emma L.