July 9, 2025 • 29 mins
Sri Kali Katori Dasya Bhakti | Voice-Doula • Celestial Sound Priestess • Founder of Velvet Locust
Sri Kali Katori is a mystic guide for those ready to reclaim their voice and rise beyond doubt. As the founder of Velvet Locust, she helps seekers remember their purpose and speak their truth through the sacred sciences of astrology, Ayurveda, yoga, and multidimensional sound healing.
A recovering addict of over 30 years, Sri Kali walks the path she teaches—alchemizing shadow into song, silence into sovereignty. Her work is rooted in deep devotional lineages and grounded in embodied experience. She’s trained in over 800 hours of yoga, 300 hours of Ayurveda, and carries a lifetime of musical study and ceremonial sound healing since age 8.
Through her offerings—like Celestial Soul Maps, Sacred Mirror Sessions, and Soul Purpose Voice Activation—she helps others move beyond fear and into the bold, beautiful truth of who they came here to be.
She believes the voice is a sacred bridge between the inner knowing and the outer world. And when you liberate it—you liberate your life.
IG: @kali.katori.dasya.bhakti
YouTube: @kalikatoridasyabhakti
Sri Kali Katori Dasya Bhakti
Raise your Vibe with your Voice
____________________________
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
I'm Megan Skidmore. For 2 1/2 years I have been
talking about evolving faith journeys.
I started to tire of the heaviness of this focus.
I had the clear message come through.
It is time for Beyond the Shadowof Doubt podcast to evolve into
living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt podcast with the same
vulnerability and unapologetic authenticity.
(00:31):
I will be focusing on the joy inthis journey, the life and the
living that comes on the other side of maybe on the other side
of what's it's possible. I want to talk about claiming
spiritual sovereignty and becoming your own captain of
your vessel. Let's celebrate releasing but no
longer alliance for you and connecting with your higher
power and honor expanding your energy field to make room for
(00:53):
all things new. Tori, my friend, how are you?
I am so. Good.
Thank you. Yes, I'm so thrilled to have you
(01:17):
on Living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt podcast today.
I already feel like I know you, even though I just met you the
beginning of this year. I feel like we've connected on
multiple occasions and I'm thrilled to add one more to that
repertoire. So I'm excited for my guests.
(01:40):
You are so welcome. I'm excited for our guests to
get to know you and hear about your story.
So let's just jump right in to start by sharing, you know,
about your background, where you're from, who you're from.
Yeah, yeah, all. All of the things that have, you
(02:04):
know, contributing, you're not going to be able to share all of
the things, but you know, thingsthat are significant.
The bullet points your. Journey and arrival here to
where you're at now. Yeah, Well, I, I just want to,
you know, first of all start offby saying thank you for having
me on here. It's really an honour and and a
(02:26):
privilege and I really appreciate the invitation and
you know, it. It's just I like, I have to just
drop in that like, wow, what it took for us to like make this
happen. Like the the, the powers that
be, like thank goodness for guides and angels, right to
(02:53):
yeah, just acknowledging that. Yeah, we had a few hiccups.
We can. We can say that.
It was, it was interesting. It was really interesting.
So yeah, so where where I'm from, so born and raised in
Phoenix, AZ and two really youngparents.
(03:14):
My mom was 19 when she had me and my dad was 26.
And I was actually born into a religious cult and spent my
first 3 1/2, three, 3 1/2 years in that it was Christian based
and it was very, it was very strict and rigid, very, very
(03:38):
toxic and abusive. I don't think I realized that
Katori. Yeah, it definitely, it
definitely shaped a lot of the unconscious wiring 'cause, you
know, like the first three yearsof your life.
Foundational. Pretty.
Significant. Yeah, Yeah.
(04:01):
Yeah. And then once my parents got out
of that, I didn't have a whole lot of religious upbringing.
It was like, we, you know, me and my brother, we'd go to
church on Sun on Easter Sunday and that was about it.
And yeah, I didn't really come back to God until I think I was
(04:25):
about 18 or 19 and I was going through the, the dark, you know,
the dark night of the soul. And, you know, just really at
like rock bottom in my life. They, they say whoever they is,
they say that you know, the the great thing about being at the
(04:49):
bottom is that there's really only one way to look and that's
up they. Do say that, right, Right.
So in the middle of my addiction, when I'm like, Oh my
gosh, like all I want to do is die and, you know, and tried.
And there's, you know, a story behind that just like looking to
(05:14):
like there's got to be somethingbigger than me.
And, you know, experiencing thatcalling that, OK, I'm here for a
reason. And and I can be guided.
I'm not here like trying to, I don't have to figure it out all
on my own. But what that is exactly, you
(05:34):
know, it's like so many decades of like searching and you know
what works and what doesn't workand.
Yeah. Well, thank you for kind of
giving us that that foundationalpoint of your background.
I, I can't imagine what that howthat affected you to be raised
(05:56):
at such a young age in a cult like environment.
And you, you briefly touched on that you were struggling with an
addiction of some kind. Just thank you for trusting your
heart and your story with me today and with those that are
listening. So you felt like you were this
(06:20):
bottom of the most bottom place you could be I guess.
Pretty much. And looking up so speak to some
of the maybe bread crumbs your angels dropped for you.
The maybe the real life angels whose paths crossed yours.
(06:45):
Like, how then did you begin to find God again?
Does that resonate? Does that land for you, for me
to say it in that way? Yeah.
So one of the one of the angels was her name was Beth and she
(07:08):
was a manager at Kinko's Copies.Do you remember Kinko's before
Fed? I do bought them out.
Yeah, sometimes I still forget and look for them.
So, so, so Beth, I, I was unemployed for a couple of years
when I was deep in, in my addiction and, and, and then I
(07:33):
had like gone through, I had done some like janitorial work
at a grocery store for a few weeks.
And I was, my health was such that I really couldn't do a lot
of physical, a lot of physical work.
I was really, really malnourished and super, super
(07:55):
skinny and I just didn't have any muscle.
And, and then I, there was a, a Kinko's copies that was being
opened across the street from the grocery store that I had
been doing and it was like graveyard.
So it was like 1 morning I saw the store opening and I wandered
over there because my mom, bless, bless her angelic heart,
(08:18):
she's like once she received me back into the home, she's like,
you got to stay clean and you have to work like you have to
pay rent. That's all there is to it.
So I saw this, I saw this store opening and I wandered over
there and I, I met with the manager and I got hired and my,
(08:43):
my, I went to the training and my brains were so scrambled at
the time like that. I literally could not understand
how to take an order for a copy.Like it's, it was just, I had
scrambled brains and, and I had,I think on day two of the
(09:04):
training, I was just convinced there's no way that I could do
this. I was just, and I was just
convinced I was stupid. I was like, my brains are fried.
I'm stupid, I can't do this. So I called up the following day
just sobbing and I just said, Beth, I am so sorry.
I I'm too stupid. I can't do this job.
(09:27):
And she, she said she's like, just take a breath.
She's like, how about if you just take the day off?
She's like, I have a position where I need someone to just
greet people at the door and point them in the direction of
where to go. Do you think that you could do
(09:47):
that? And I took a breath and I said,
yes, I think I can do that. And she said, great.
She's like, so just come in tomorrow.
You can help set up because we were literally like setting up
the store and, and I did that for like 6 months and that woman
(10:11):
like she saved my life. Wow.
She really, she really did. And, you know, I've, I've looked
for her over the years and I, I haven't been able to find her,
but I really, really hope that someday I can thank her for, you
know, giving me that second chance.
So it was things like that, likethose kind of bread crumbs that
(10:33):
was just like the, the, the grace and generosity of people.
And, and I'm kind of convinced at this point in my life that we
are all angels here to just support one another on our
paths, walking each other. Yeah, that resonates for me.
Yeah. So as you then began to open
(11:03):
your maybe your your view, your heart, your your path.
I know you eventually did find anew congregation and you have
since you've moved on, right? I'd love to know how the role of
(11:25):
claiming your your autonomy cameinto play.
Like sometimes when you know thepath doesn't quite seem as clear
as it once did, or there's a turn, it takes a turn that you
weren't expecting, that maybe you weren't even looking for.
(11:49):
Sometimes questions, like big questions come up.
Sometimes doubts come up, and I have learned that that does not
have to be a problem. As a matter of fact, it's part
of the process. It's a beautiful part of the
process that faith and doubt aretwo sides of the same coin.
(12:10):
You really cannot have one without the other.
So can you think of a time, maybe more than one, when you
really took that opportunity to claim your journey for yourself?
When you realized there was thispush and pull, maybe even some
(12:34):
cognitive dissonance and you just you had to move through it
in some way? Every first Friday of the month
ioffer a free coaching hour. Anyone is welcome to join and
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(12:55):
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notes. Yeah, there's been, there's been
a lot of those. It seems like that that's,
that's how, how life you know, when, when you had mentioned one
(13:17):
of the other paths that I had that I had gone down and that
was I, I hope it's OK to mentionwhen I, when I joined.
The mention whatever you want. Anything.
Oh awesome, when when I joined the Mormon church in two 2011
and you know, I was I've always been a seeker.
(13:40):
I've always been curious about religions and faiths and, and we
had moved to, to Mesa, AZ like in the, in the heart of, you
know, Mormon land. And I had a girlfriend from
where we had previously lived inCalifornia.
And I had said to her, I was like, when are, when are these,
aren't these missionaries supposed to like come knocking
(14:01):
on my door so that I can like learn more about these people?
And within a week they came knocking on my door and, and I
was like, finally. And they're like, what, what do
you mean finally? I'm like, I've been waiting for
you guys. And, and then, you know, so
they, we did the six week lessons and, and they invited me
(14:22):
to get baptized and the questions that I would ask when
I would go into prayer, I didn'task the questions like, is this
the only true Church of Jesus Christ?
I just asked, is this the next step you want me to take?
Does this serve the highest good?
(14:42):
And the answer was yes, like I must have asked like 50 times.
I'm like, what? I'm, I'm going to go get
baptized and join the Mormon church.
Are you kidding me? And, and so I did and I was in
the church for about 5 years andsome of the like.
To answer your question, one of the things that happened, which
(15:04):
I haven't shared with a lot of people, but I'm starting to
because I think it might be important, I might make a
difference for others, was I've kind of started questioning and
kind of having some dissonance. While I was in church, I had
read autobi The Autobiography ofa Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda,
(15:26):
and it felt like home. Like when I read that book,
there, there were it. It just felt like yes, yes, yes.
It just everything was a, was a yes.
And then I, I was still attending church regularly,
doing my callings and all of this.
And I was in the celestial room of the temple after I'd done
(15:52):
some ordinances and I was sitting there meditating and I
had a vision of Jesus. And he came to me and he said to
me, this is not what I meant. And I was like, what?
And I look up at this like ginormous, like 12 foot
(16:14):
chandelier, like above my head. And then the next thing I hear
is I came from a humble Manger and I was shit.
So I got up and I walked out and, and, and then, you know,
and then started taking the steps to like slowly.
(16:37):
I wanted to stay in the church. I loved the community, I loved
the people. It was very supportive for me
and, and for my family for the most part.
And, and it was just like, no, no, no, no.
And then I went on this, this yogic path and and that was like
(17:00):
a whole other. So it's like, there's been like
these like chunks of my life that's like, you know, five
years, you know, in the Mormon church.
And then, you know, like there was three years when I was a
child as in the cult. And now I've been studying yoga
and practicing for, you know, a couple decades.
(17:20):
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I'd love to hear people just authentically share.
It's so beautiful and that's oneof the things I love about
doing, one of the many things I love about having this podcast.
I love seeing and hearing about the diversity in our experiences
and how they really are cultivated like custom made for
(17:44):
us. It's truly a personal
relationship between US and God,the divine Christ.
However, a person refers to thathigher power.
So one of my favorite things to focus on in this podcast is I've
(18:07):
learned that when I have taken the reins of my journey, when I
have claimed my spiritual autonomy, there is so much joy.
There's growth, there's pushing and pulling and stretching for
sure, but there is true joy to be found.
(18:28):
That's why I reimagined at the beginning of 2025, and I call
this living beyond the shadow ofdoubt.
The shadow exists because there is light.
So kind of like faith and doubt you, you have to have them both.
It's just been cast in kind of this negative light, so or
(18:49):
negative connotation. So I would love to hear, like
share with us those moments of joy and bliss that you have
personally experienced as you have stepped more into your
spiritual autonomy and you take the reins of your journey.
(19:12):
Listen to that inner wisdom, that inner voice, and do it.
Follow it. Yeah.
It's, you know, I, I really lovethe name of the podcast.
Thank you. And you are so spot on with
that. It's like shadow and light, like
(19:36):
we live in a, this 3 dimensionalworld that is full of
dichotomies, like it is one big dichotomy and one cannot exist
without the other. And you know, it's, it can be
easy, you know, if if particularly if someone has
experienced a lot of trauma in their life to get stuck in the
(20:02):
trauma. Which is the shadow, right?
It's like the the parts of us that we want to hide, the parts
of us that that we feel embarrassed or, or ashamed of.
And, and I think that I really love that, you know, it's like
living beyond the shadow of doubt.
(20:28):
And I I had this visual and I know I'm kind of like like.
Hopping to. The end.
But that's what's there for me to say.
That is OK. Just just speak whatever is
coming up because that's that's perfect.
So I, I had the, I had this visual of like that there's this
cloud, right? And like, as, as far as like
(20:50):
the, the name of the podcast, like there's this cloud and it's
called doubt and the living beyond is like the silver lining
and, and like the sweetness of life is in that silver lining.
And there's always going to be doubt and there's always going
(21:11):
to be shadow. And you know, it's like, it's
like in the Bible when it says you, you know, you must know
sorrow to know joy. It's like we have to know both
of them and you know, I think, you know, for those of us that
deal with addiction, which I, I'm going to, I'm going to say
(21:32):
is everybody because everybody'sgot something they're dealing
with. True in some form or another,
right or another. You know, it's, it's important
for us to remember, to remember the light, but also to remember
the shadow and, and not to, you know, spiritually bypass and
(21:55):
negate that like that shadow is always going to be there.
And it's it's when we can embrace both of them that that
we're really in our full power. When you were saying that,
talking about how the shadow gets in the way, I think
(22:16):
sometimes that's what keeps us from seeing our true nature,
seeing our true divinity within.And the beauty though, is on the
other side of that shadow is thelight.
But there's no getting around navigating through that space.
There are just certain things that can't be skipped, the
(22:39):
growth from point A to point B, or it's not linear.
That makes it sound like it's linear.
It's not. But as hard as some of these
journeys experiences are to to feel, see, to learn from, I
(22:59):
think that is ultimately what like Michelangelo said, I saw
the Angel and then I carved it out.
That's what ultimately helps us to find that inner Angel that
exists when it within each of us.
So yeah, you did kind of answer the last question.
I I always like to ask, you know, what does it mean to you
(23:20):
to live beyond the shadow of doubt?
And you answered it beautifully.And end of story, Katori.
So unless you have anything elseto add, I, I think what you
shared is perfect. I would love for you to take a
moment though and share with listeners like tell us about
your work now. Currently we are in the same
(23:44):
Mosaic network, the same JOA publishing community.
I'm, I'm guessing that means there's a book somewhere,
whether it's in the works or not, or whether it's right here
in the heart. For now, tell us about.
That there is a book. It is called The Truth of Ruth,
which is my, which is my birth. Name.
(24:06):
Oh fantastic. Sounds good.
Yeah, and I was, I was given, I was given that title about 30
years ago. Nah.
So when I went to the island, I was just like, OK, well, I
already got the title. It's right here.
And it's about stories of surrender and living my soul's
(24:29):
purpose. I love the word surrender.
So much power it it almost seemscontrary, but there's so much
power in the surrender. There is and it's, it's
surrender, like from a place of thrusting that life is happening
for us, right? The the universe, God, Jesus,
(24:53):
whatever name you want to give, it has our back and that
everything that happens is what's supposed to happen and it
serves the highest good always. And maybe we don't see it, but
that's, you know, where that shadow side comes in.
(25:14):
I, I was thinking of it like that still that silver lining.
It's like it's the growth opportunities, right?
Like the, the, the hard, the hard times.
Like those are opportunities forus to grow, right?
So, yeah. So the, so the book, it's been
written, I'm in my second revision right now because I had
(25:37):
originally written it in journalstyle as if no one was going to
read it. So there was some things in
there that I'm like, oh, that person is never going to talk to
me again if I write, if I put itout like that.
And I pseudonyms. Right, right.
(26:00):
So, so we're in second revision and my, my goal, my release date
is to be my birthday. So January 5th of 2020 sixth, my
52nd birthday. There you go.
That's the goal and, and as far as the work that I am offering
right now, Ioffer Yoga I've beenteaching for, oh, I don't know,
(26:28):
since 2010. So 15 years.
I've been practicing for 18 years and recently I have, well,
recently since 2016. So I guess it's not that recent
nine years I've been working on and really healing my voice.
(26:49):
I've been doing a lot of sound healing, you mean?
Your literal vocal. Cord my literal like using my
voice as a healing instrument, not only for myself but for
others. And now I'm teaching others to
do the same thing. Love that.
So if folks want to connect withyou or reach out to you with
(27:11):
questions and learn more about your work, what would be the
best way for them to do that? You know, the best way would
probably to be on social media for right now.
I don't have a website. It is it is in progress working
on a website. My I do have Facebook and
Instagram. I'm kind of leaning more towards
(27:33):
Instagram but I will share both of them.
On Facebook it's Katori Noor andOor, and on Instagram it's a
long one. It's collie dot katori dot
dossia dot bhakti. We will make sure and and
include that in the show notes so it's an easy click.
(27:54):
And wonderful, wonderful. For both of those, Katori, it's
been my deepest pleasure and privilege to have you on today.
Thank you so much for sharing your spirit, your aura, your
being, your journey with us. Truly appreciate it.
Thank you so much, Megan. Writer, teacher, author, Mormon
(28:18):
scholar and founder of Dialogue Journal Eugene England said my
faith encourages my curiosity and awe.
It thrusts me out into relationship with all creation
and encourages me to enter into dialogue.
As a proud member of the Dialogue Podcast Network, my
hope is that Living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt podcast is an
extension of that vision. Hopeful Spaces is a Dallas Hope
(28:53):
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for more info. Visit meganskidmorecoaching.com
(29:18):
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Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for more or to send me
Adm help the podcast grow. Please follow, review and share
with a friend.
I'm Megan Skidmore. For 2 1/2 years I have been
talking about evolving faith journeys.
I started to tire of the heaviness of this focus.
I had the clear message come through.
It is time for Beyond the Shadowof Doubt podcast to evolve into
living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt podcast with the same
vulnerability and unapologetic authenticity.
(00:31):
I will be focusing on the joy inthis journey, the life and the
living that comes on the other side of maybe on the other side
of what's it's possible. I want to talk about claiming
spiritual sovereignty and becoming your own captain of
your vessel. Let's celebrate releasing but no
longer alliance for you and connecting with your higher
power and honor expanding your energy field to make room for
(00:53):
all things new. Tori, my friend, how are you?
I am so. Good.
Thank you. Yes, I'm so thrilled to have you
(01:17):
on Living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt podcast today.
I already feel like I know you, even though I just met you the
beginning of this year. I feel like we've connected on
multiple occasions and I'm thrilled to add one more to that
repertoire. So I'm excited for my guests.
(01:40):
You are so welcome. I'm excited for our guests to
get to know you and hear about your story.
So let's just jump right in to start by sharing, you know,
about your background, where you're from, who you're from.
Yeah, yeah, all. All of the things that have, you
(02:04):
know, contributing, you're not going to be able to share all of
the things, but you know, thingsthat are significant.
The bullet points your. Journey and arrival here to
where you're at now. Yeah, Well, I, I just want to,
you know, first of all start offby saying thank you for having
me on here. It's really an honour and and a
(02:26):
privilege and I really appreciate the invitation and
you know, it. It's just I like, I have to just
drop in that like, wow, what it took for us to like make this
happen. Like the the, the powers that
be, like thank goodness for guides and angels, right to
(02:53):
yeah, just acknowledging that. Yeah, we had a few hiccups.
We can. We can say that.
It was, it was interesting. It was really interesting.
So yeah, so where where I'm from, so born and raised in
Phoenix, AZ and two really youngparents.
(03:14):
My mom was 19 when she had me and my dad was 26.
And I was actually born into a religious cult and spent my
first 3 1/2, three, 3 1/2 years in that it was Christian based
and it was very, it was very strict and rigid, very, very
(03:38):
toxic and abusive. I don't think I realized that
Katori. Yeah, it definitely, it
definitely shaped a lot of the unconscious wiring 'cause, you
know, like the first three yearsof your life.
Foundational. Pretty.
Significant. Yeah, Yeah.
(04:01):
Yeah. And then once my parents got out
of that, I didn't have a whole lot of religious upbringing.
It was like, we, you know, me and my brother, we'd go to
church on Sun on Easter Sunday and that was about it.
And yeah, I didn't really come back to God until I think I was
(04:25):
about 18 or 19 and I was going through the, the dark, you know,
the dark night of the soul. And, you know, just really at
like rock bottom in my life. They, they say whoever they is,
they say that you know, the the great thing about being at the
(04:49):
bottom is that there's really only one way to look and that's
up they. Do say that, right, Right.
So in the middle of my addiction, when I'm like, Oh my
gosh, like all I want to do is die and, you know, and tried.
And there's, you know, a story behind that just like looking to
(05:14):
like there's got to be somethingbigger than me.
And, you know, experiencing thatcalling that, OK, I'm here for a
reason. And and I can be guided.
I'm not here like trying to, I don't have to figure it out all
on my own. But what that is exactly, you
(05:34):
know, it's like so many decades of like searching and you know
what works and what doesn't workand.
Yeah. Well, thank you for kind of
giving us that that foundationalpoint of your background.
I, I can't imagine what that howthat affected you to be raised
(05:56):
at such a young age in a cult like environment.
And you, you briefly touched on that you were struggling with an
addiction of some kind. Just thank you for trusting your
heart and your story with me today and with those that are
listening. So you felt like you were this
(06:20):
bottom of the most bottom place you could be I guess.
Pretty much. And looking up so speak to some
of the maybe bread crumbs your angels dropped for you.
The maybe the real life angels whose paths crossed yours.
(06:45):
Like, how then did you begin to find God again?
Does that resonate? Does that land for you, for me
to say it in that way? Yeah.
So one of the one of the angels was her name was Beth and she
(07:08):
was a manager at Kinko's Copies.Do you remember Kinko's before
Fed? I do bought them out.
Yeah, sometimes I still forget and look for them.
So, so, so Beth, I, I was unemployed for a couple of years
when I was deep in, in my addiction and, and, and then I
(07:33):
had like gone through, I had done some like janitorial work
at a grocery store for a few weeks.
And I was, my health was such that I really couldn't do a lot
of physical, a lot of physical work.
I was really, really malnourished and super, super
(07:55):
skinny and I just didn't have any muscle.
And, and then I, there was a, a Kinko's copies that was being
opened across the street from the grocery store that I had
been doing and it was like graveyard.
So it was like 1 morning I saw the store opening and I wandered
over there because my mom, bless, bless her angelic heart,
(08:18):
she's like once she received me back into the home, she's like,
you got to stay clean and you have to work like you have to
pay rent. That's all there is to it.
So I saw this, I saw this store opening and I wandered over
there and I, I met with the manager and I got hired and my,
(08:43):
my, I went to the training and my brains were so scrambled at
the time like that. I literally could not understand
how to take an order for a copy.Like it's, it was just, I had
scrambled brains and, and I had,I think on day two of the
(09:04):
training, I was just convinced there's no way that I could do
this. I was just, and I was just
convinced I was stupid. I was like, my brains are fried.
I'm stupid, I can't do this. So I called up the following day
just sobbing and I just said, Beth, I am so sorry.
I I'm too stupid. I can't do this job.
(09:27):
And she, she said she's like, just take a breath.
She's like, how about if you just take the day off?
She's like, I have a position where I need someone to just
greet people at the door and point them in the direction of
where to go. Do you think that you could do
(09:47):
that? And I took a breath and I said,
yes, I think I can do that. And she said, great.
She's like, so just come in tomorrow.
You can help set up because we were literally like setting up
the store and, and I did that for like 6 months and that woman
(10:11):
like she saved my life. Wow.
She really, she really did. And, you know, I've, I've looked
for her over the years and I, I haven't been able to find her,
but I really, really hope that someday I can thank her for, you
know, giving me that second chance.
So it was things like that, likethose kind of bread crumbs that
(10:33):
was just like the, the, the grace and generosity of people.
And, and I'm kind of convinced at this point in my life that we
are all angels here to just support one another on our
paths, walking each other. Yeah, that resonates for me.
Yeah. So as you then began to open
(11:03):
your maybe your your view, your heart, your your path.
I know you eventually did find anew congregation and you have
since you've moved on, right? I'd love to know how the role of
(11:25):
claiming your your autonomy cameinto play.
Like sometimes when you know thepath doesn't quite seem as clear
as it once did, or there's a turn, it takes a turn that you
weren't expecting, that maybe you weren't even looking for.
(11:49):
Sometimes questions, like big questions come up.
Sometimes doubts come up, and I have learned that that does not
have to be a problem. As a matter of fact, it's part
of the process. It's a beautiful part of the
process that faith and doubt aretwo sides of the same coin.
(12:10):
You really cannot have one without the other.
So can you think of a time, maybe more than one, when you
really took that opportunity to claim your journey for yourself?
When you realized there was thispush and pull, maybe even some
(12:34):
cognitive dissonance and you just you had to move through it
in some way? Every first Friday of the month
ioffer a free coaching hour. Anyone is welcome to join and
you may leave your camera off and change your name if you
would like to remain anonymous. This is an opportunity to get
introduced to my style of holistic coaching and gain real
skills, insight relevant to you,and fresh perspective on life
(12:55):
circumstances. For those attending, there will
be opportunities for a complimentary one off Energy
alignment session. Register at the link in the show
notes. Yeah, there's been, there's been
a lot of those. It seems like that that's,
that's how, how life you know, when, when you had mentioned one
(13:17):
of the other paths that I had that I had gone down and that
was I, I hope it's OK to mentionwhen I, when I joined.
The mention whatever you want. Anything.
Oh awesome, when when I joined the Mormon church in two 2011
and you know, I was I've always been a seeker.
(13:40):
I've always been curious about religions and faiths and, and we
had moved to, to Mesa, AZ like in the, in the heart of, you
know, Mormon land. And I had a girlfriend from
where we had previously lived inCalifornia.
And I had said to her, I was like, when are, when are these,
aren't these missionaries supposed to like come knocking
(14:01):
on my door so that I can like learn more about these people?
And within a week they came knocking on my door and, and I
was like, finally. And they're like, what, what do
you mean finally? I'm like, I've been waiting for
you guys. And, and then, you know, so
they, we did the six week lessons and, and they invited me
(14:22):
to get baptized and the questions that I would ask when
I would go into prayer, I didn'task the questions like, is this
the only true Church of Jesus Christ?
I just asked, is this the next step you want me to take?
Does this serve the highest good?
(14:42):
And the answer was yes, like I must have asked like 50 times.
I'm like, what? I'm, I'm going to go get
baptized and join the Mormon church.
Are you kidding me? And, and so I did and I was in
the church for about 5 years andsome of the like.
To answer your question, one of the things that happened, which
(15:04):
I haven't shared with a lot of people, but I'm starting to
because I think it might be important, I might make a
difference for others, was I've kind of started questioning and
kind of having some dissonance. While I was in church, I had
read autobi The Autobiography ofa Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda,
(15:26):
and it felt like home. Like when I read that book,
there, there were it. It just felt like yes, yes, yes.
It just everything was a, was a yes.
And then I, I was still attending church regularly,
doing my callings and all of this.
And I was in the celestial room of the temple after I'd done
(15:52):
some ordinances and I was sitting there meditating and I
had a vision of Jesus. And he came to me and he said to
me, this is not what I meant. And I was like, what?
And I look up at this like ginormous, like 12 foot
(16:14):
chandelier, like above my head. And then the next thing I hear
is I came from a humble Manger and I was shit.
So I got up and I walked out and, and, and then, you know,
and then started taking the steps to like slowly.
(16:37):
I wanted to stay in the church. I loved the community, I loved
the people. It was very supportive for me
and, and for my family for the most part.
And, and it was just like, no, no, no, no.
And then I went on this, this yogic path and and that was like
(17:00):
a whole other. So it's like, there's been like
these like chunks of my life that's like, you know, five
years, you know, in the Mormon church.
And then, you know, like there was three years when I was a
child as in the cult. And now I've been studying yoga
and practicing for, you know, a couple decades.
(17:20):
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I'd love to hear people just authentically share.
It's so beautiful and that's oneof the things I love about
doing, one of the many things I love about having this podcast.
I love seeing and hearing about the diversity in our experiences
and how they really are cultivated like custom made for
(17:44):
us. It's truly a personal
relationship between US and God,the divine Christ.
However, a person refers to thathigher power.
So one of my favorite things to focus on in this podcast is I've
(18:07):
learned that when I have taken the reins of my journey, when I
have claimed my spiritual autonomy, there is so much joy.
There's growth, there's pushing and pulling and stretching for
sure, but there is true joy to be found.
(18:28):
That's why I reimagined at the beginning of 2025, and I call
this living beyond the shadow ofdoubt.
The shadow exists because there is light.
So kind of like faith and doubt you, you have to have them both.
It's just been cast in kind of this negative light, so or
(18:49):
negative connotation. So I would love to hear, like
share with us those moments of joy and bliss that you have
personally experienced as you have stepped more into your
spiritual autonomy and you take the reins of your journey.
(19:12):
Listen to that inner wisdom, that inner voice, and do it.
Follow it. Yeah.
It's, you know, I, I really lovethe name of the podcast.
Thank you. And you are so spot on with
that. It's like shadow and light, like
(19:36):
we live in a, this 3 dimensionalworld that is full of
dichotomies, like it is one big dichotomy and one cannot exist
without the other. And you know, it's, it can be
easy, you know, if if particularly if someone has
experienced a lot of trauma in their life to get stuck in the
(20:02):
trauma. Which is the shadow, right?
It's like the the parts of us that we want to hide, the parts
of us that that we feel embarrassed or, or ashamed of.
And, and I think that I really love that, you know, it's like
living beyond the shadow of doubt.
(20:28):
And I I had this visual and I know I'm kind of like like.
Hopping to. The end.
But that's what's there for me to say.
That is OK. Just just speak whatever is
coming up because that's that's perfect.
So I, I had the, I had this visual of like that there's this
cloud, right? And like, as, as far as like
(20:50):
the, the name of the podcast, like there's this cloud and it's
called doubt and the living beyond is like the silver lining
and, and like the sweetness of life is in that silver lining.
And there's always going to be doubt and there's always going
(21:11):
to be shadow. And you know, it's like, it's
like in the Bible when it says you, you know, you must know
sorrow to know joy. It's like we have to know both
of them and you know, I think, you know, for those of us that
deal with addiction, which I, I'm going to, I'm going to say
(21:32):
is everybody because everybody'sgot something they're dealing
with. True in some form or another,
right or another. You know, it's, it's important
for us to remember, to remember the light, but also to remember
the shadow and, and not to, you know, spiritually bypass and
(21:55):
negate that like that shadow is always going to be there.
And it's it's when we can embrace both of them that that
we're really in our full power. When you were saying that,
talking about how the shadow gets in the way, I think
(22:16):
sometimes that's what keeps us from seeing our true nature,
seeing our true divinity within.And the beauty though, is on the
other side of that shadow is thelight.
But there's no getting around navigating through that space.
There are just certain things that can't be skipped, the
(22:39):
growth from point A to point B, or it's not linear.
That makes it sound like it's linear.
It's not. But as hard as some of these
journeys experiences are to to feel, see, to learn from, I
(22:59):
think that is ultimately what like Michelangelo said, I saw
the Angel and then I carved it out.
That's what ultimately helps us to find that inner Angel that
exists when it within each of us.
So yeah, you did kind of answer the last question.
I I always like to ask, you know, what does it mean to you
(23:20):
to live beyond the shadow of doubt?
And you answered it beautifully.And end of story, Katori.
So unless you have anything elseto add, I, I think what you
shared is perfect. I would love for you to take a
moment though and share with listeners like tell us about
your work now. Currently we are in the same
(23:44):
Mosaic network, the same JOA publishing community.
I'm, I'm guessing that means there's a book somewhere,
whether it's in the works or not, or whether it's right here
in the heart. For now, tell us about.
That there is a book. It is called The Truth of Ruth,
which is my, which is my birth. Name.
(24:06):
Oh fantastic. Sounds good.
Yeah, and I was, I was given, I was given that title about 30
years ago. Nah.
So when I went to the island, I was just like, OK, well, I
already got the title. It's right here.
And it's about stories of surrender and living my soul's
(24:29):
purpose. I love the word surrender.
So much power it it almost seemscontrary, but there's so much
power in the surrender. There is and it's, it's
surrender, like from a place of thrusting that life is happening
for us, right? The the universe, God, Jesus,
(24:53):
whatever name you want to give, it has our back and that
everything that happens is what's supposed to happen and it
serves the highest good always. And maybe we don't see it, but
that's, you know, where that shadow side comes in.
(25:14):
I, I was thinking of it like that still that silver lining.
It's like it's the growth opportunities, right?
Like the, the, the hard, the hard times.
Like those are opportunities forus to grow, right?
So, yeah. So the, so the book, it's been
written, I'm in my second revision right now because I had
(25:37):
originally written it in journalstyle as if no one was going to
read it. So there was some things in
there that I'm like, oh, that person is never going to talk to
me again if I write, if I put itout like that.
And I pseudonyms. Right, right.
(26:00):
So, so we're in second revision and my, my goal, my release date
is to be my birthday. So January 5th of 2020 sixth, my
52nd birthday. There you go.
That's the goal and, and as far as the work that I am offering
right now, Ioffer Yoga I've beenteaching for, oh, I don't know,
(26:28):
since 2010. So 15 years.
I've been practicing for 18 years and recently I have, well,
recently since 2016. So I guess it's not that recent
nine years I've been working on and really healing my voice.
(26:49):
I've been doing a lot of sound healing, you mean?
Your literal vocal. Cord my literal like using my
voice as a healing instrument, not only for myself but for
others. And now I'm teaching others to
do the same thing. Love that.
So if folks want to connect withyou or reach out to you with
(27:11):
questions and learn more about your work, what would be the
best way for them to do that? You know, the best way would
probably to be on social media for right now.
I don't have a website. It is it is in progress working
on a website. My I do have Facebook and
Instagram. I'm kind of leaning more towards
(27:33):
Instagram but I will share both of them.
On Facebook it's Katori Noor andOor, and on Instagram it's a
long one. It's collie dot katori dot
dossia dot bhakti. We will make sure and and
include that in the show notes so it's an easy click.
(27:54):
And wonderful, wonderful. For both of those, Katori, it's
been my deepest pleasure and privilege to have you on today.
Thank you so much for sharing your spirit, your aura, your
being, your journey with us. Truly appreciate it.
Thank you so much, Megan. Writer, teacher, author, Mormon
(28:18):
scholar and founder of Dialogue Journal Eugene England said my
faith encourages my curiosity and awe.
It thrusts me out into relationship with all creation
and encourages me to enter into dialogue.
As a proud member of the Dialogue Podcast Network, my
hope is that Living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt podcast is an
extension of that vision. Hopeful Spaces is a Dallas Hope
(28:53):
Charities component of Hopeful Discussions, sponsored by
Mercedes-Benz Financial ServicesUSA.
It's a free monthly parent, allyor caregiver support group
facilitated by megan.skidmorecoachingemailchc@dallashopecharities.org
for more info. Visit meganskidmorecoaching.com
(29:18):
to find this podcast and additional free resources,
including the link for a complimentary coaching session.
Follow me on Facebook or Instagram for more or to send me
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