Arpita Karania
MY STORY
Transforming peoples lives, allowing them to realise their true potential and reclaiming their power to achieving their dreams is a real passion of mine. You may ask me why that is? Heres my story.....
Childhood dreams
As a child growing up I loved music, art and dance. I practised an indian classical dancing called Kathak for 6 years and played the harmonium and flute. I also loved drawing faces with pencils. I always had a fascination to draw faces and hands...
I guess if someone had asked me then what do you want to be when you grow up, I would have said, a dancer, a music composer or an artist. I remembered wanting to do all three. Although coming from a traditional indian family, being an artist was not classed as 'a proper career'.
Fitting in with Society
I quickly realised that my true childhood passion was just a passion and that passion and work didn't equate to the same thing. I knew that I wanted to be someone and make my parents proud of me. So I had to rethink my dream. I guess thats where watching many Steven Spielberg movies as a child inspired me to have a new dream. One that would make me someone. I dreamt of wearing a big white coat and working for NASA one day. And so I went to University and pursued a degree in Physics and Astrophysics. The life of an astrophysicist wasnt quite the life I had envisioned from the movies. I remember my final year at University where we worked at Jodrell Bank (a mini Nasa). These giant telescopes were located in fields scented with the smell of cow pack, in the middle of nowhere. The job involved sitting in a hut in front of a computer screen and waiting for the telescope to scan the universe before analysing the numbers that appear on the screen. That was an eye-opening moment where I realised this wasn't the path I wanted to take. I realised I needed more connection with the world and be around more people to make a difference in the world.
Spiritual Awakening
Following the death of my grandfather during my degree, there was a strong incline for me to help others who had experienced the same suffering. I saw him go from being a strong willled inspiring figure to a fragile delicate man within the space of two years as cancer had slowly and painfully eaten away at him. He had lost his appetite during the end and was nothing but skin and bones. I could see the pain in his eyes but felt helpless. His death left an emptiness in my heart and after my degree I did a masters in educational research to pursue a new career in art therapy. I felt this would be a great self expressive therapy for those suffering emotionally.
But I found my path was leading me into a new direction as I started to become more inclined to other forms of healing. Crystal healing, spiritual healing, Reiki and also Aura readings and Clairvoyancy. I found myself in hours of meditation and through this practice, I opened up my third eye and built a stronger connection to the source. My psychic abilities started to develop and I started to experience and see into different dimensions. It was during this heightened spiritual awakening that I was shown the vision of my life purpose.
I then began doing tarot readings. As my intuition grew, during healing and doing readings for others I found that I could feel their emotions and their pain without them telling me, more and more. I found myself helping people from all walks of life to remove emotional and physical issues. This became a passion. The fulfillment I received from just giving unconditionally and changing someones life was undescribeable. I was only 21 at the time. I had found true peace and fulfillment. But this came with a price when I hadn't developed strong boundaries. More and more people were turning up at my door to have a reading for free and I was struggling to pay my way. I realised that before I could help others in this way, I needed to first take care of myself. This experience taught me the importance of energy exchange. I made a promise to myself that I would come back to this purpose later on in life when I felt more ready for it., but first I needed to focus on a career, to pay my way in life.
The Tug of War
There was also the pull from society that made me decide on the fact I needed a real career. Something that would make me someone and make my parents proud. After trying out a few professions, aerobics instructing, banking, web designing, I returned to University a few years later to do another masters in Medical Physics. There had always been that underlying need to serve others. I had seen my grandfather suffer from Cancer so making a difference to cancer patients and their families was an area close to my heart. I worked as a Radiotherapy Physicist and trained up to become a Clinical Scientist in Birmingham for 7 years. But something inside me was incomplete!
You see although there was an inner desire to serve others, science wasn't really who I was. The 9-5 grind was not who I was. Thats when I realised that this profession was chosen so that I could merely fit in with society and make people proud. But the work was not natural for me. I remembered my childhood passions where I was in a state of flow and growth came natural because of this. I knew deep down there was something I was more natural at, and I had a purpose far greater then a role I just tried to fit into.
The Road to Self Discovery
It was time to follow the passion. Only trouble was I didn't know what my passion was. I had all this energy and drive building up inside of me ready to give 1000% of myself into something but not knowing which direction to go. I spent 6 moths of sleepless nights tossing and turning wanting answers and not getting any. I didn't want to be stuck in a job and career for 30 years and have wasted my life purpose and my want to experience much more. I knew that if I didn't make the change now, tomorrow may never come. So I looked inside myself and went back to my childhood years. I remembered all those moments I was in a state of flow. I remembered those times when something was created through me when I painted or drew, when I danced or played music. I knew self expression and artistry was the key for me. I looked into TV presenting, drama and more.... but it was not until one special morning when it was like someone had just turned on the lights, that the career came to me.
Following the Passion
That was 14 years ago! I woke up with the lightbulb moment to become a makeup artist. I signed upto a course that day and two weeks later I was a makeup artist. 14 years on, I have to say that was the best defining moment of my life. A decision that changed my life forever. For 14 years I lived an incredible dream. I featured in many of the top asian magazines, worked on celebrities, made beautiful brides more beautiful on their wedding day in the UK and internationally. I got interviewed by many Asian TV channels, and even got the opportunity to work in Bollywood. I also ran a training academy where I taught aspiring hair and makeup artists the tricks of the trade. The most incredible thing was that my work never felt like work and it still doesn't. Living and following a passion gives you freedom.
Inspiring Others
Running my training academy was the beginning of something I had a longing for. To serve people. It was very inspiring and rewarding to be able to encourage, support and motivate my students. You see I believed that success was only 20% of having skill, the other 80% was having the correct mindset. So the academy not only focussed on giving the necessary skills to students but also educating them on having business like mindset. When this was introduced into the accademy, the success rates of students increased dramatically.
And that is when I discovered my true purpose, to help people find the voice inside them to achieve all their dreams, whether it is their career, relationships, health, communication, or wealth.