Claire Day: Welcome back to episode three of Thresholds and Crossroads. And this week I've been speaking with the gorgeous Kira McDonnell. And Ciara is a lovely soul who I met on a business, a women's business event in Cork at the start of the year. And just really clicked with her energy. Really, you know, she was somebody who I heard speaking and You know, when you just meet somebody and you're like, Yes, I want to be more in this person's energy and around what they do. And I was curious about her business and we had such a gorgeous conversation. I'm really looking forward to you getting to hear more from her because I feel that she has so much to bring and so much impact to make and will be and is Amazing support for women who are going through transformation and change. I'll read you her bio and you'll get a little intro into who she is. So Kira McDonnell is a spiritual guide, circle holder, and creator of Avenish Cree, a growing community for women who are choosing to live rooted in the joy of who they actually are. Her work lives at the intersection of the spiritual and the ordinary, weaving together somatic awareness, intuitive insight, and the deep wisdom of the feminine. She spent over a decade holding space for women in circle, one-to-one and in community. guiding them through the tender, necessary work of dismantling who they were conditioned to be and remembering who they have always been. She's a mother, a daughter, a sister, a devoted walker of forests, and someone who takes a deep breath every morning and puts on her big girl knickers. She believes that women do not need fixing, they need remembering. I am so So excited for you to hear this fab conversation that I had with Ciara. Enjoy. Yay, so we're back again. And I'm here with Ciara McDonnell, who has so kindly agreed to come on and have a chat with us about this concept. And Kira and I met at a gorgeous business event in Cork, which I went down to, and it's it was so interesting to meet so many gorgeous women with different kind of soul-led businesses, and yeah, just meeting you, I was like. I don't know. I just really loved your energy and I was like, I'm going to see more of this person. Ciara: I was too, but I was too shy. Claire Day: yeah. Well, I usually am as well. But yeah, I knew it was meant to be, it was meant to be. But Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: you've had such a really interesting work life would you like to start and just give a little bit of a glimpse into where you're at now or you know, you're working with is it mainly women or is it a mix? Ciara: Yeah, I it's really funny. I I kind of set out to only work with women because Claire Day: Mm-hmm. Ciara: I'm a woman and I feel really safe and cozy with women and I gel what really I I'm a girls girl kind of thing. So I work in I would say about 90% with women. And then some men seek me out and kind of argue the tasks and are like like, I want to work with you. And we'll kind of argue back and forth about it. And I love working with men when I Claire Day: Mm-hmm. Ciara: do work with them. And every time I do, I'm reme I'm kind of reminded that they're awesome. And so even though Even though I don't set out to work with guys, the ones that I do work with, ugh, it's just the best. It's so yeah, it's ninety percent to ten percent I'd say. Hmm. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah. And just give an idea of what it is that you do do. Ciara: Okay, okay. I'll tell you who I am. Okay, so I find it really, really hard to explain who I am and what I do. because I'm not I don't have certificates to explain what I do, Claire. and sometimes that can make it really difficult to kind of pigeonhole myself. So the best way I can describe it is that in my core I'm an intuitive. and because of that I find it really easy to sink into the energy fields of of people. And so in the work that I do mainly with women, I tune into their energy and then we will open up space where I can see and feel and talk to their spirit guides and their higher self and things like this. My work isn't about being a psychic or about telling the future because I think that's a lot of bullshit. I'm I hope I'm a loud swear on your podcast and I'm sorry if I'm not. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah, it worked right. Ciara: I think the if when a client comes to me for the first time, I kind of have a shtick that I lay out and the first thing that I say is, I am not a psychic and I am not an oracle and I am not a sage. And the reason why I say that is because A lot of times people come to me in the same vein as going to a tarot card reader or a medium or things like this. And one of the things that I know for sure is that Absolutely nobody can tell you the truth of exactly how things are going to work out because free will is everything and our humanity is what drives us forward in the world. So the work that I do is about kind of weaving and knitting people back into the core of who they are. So, for example, if someone is coming with a lot of trauma we'll kind of identify the trauma and and to me it looks internally like I see the skeletal system and all the organs and things like this. And so we'll kind of move things around energetically. But then ultimately my goal with everyone that I work with is to help them to connect to their own spirit, to their own higher self or whatever the hell you call it. I don't care. Everyone has a different name for it. your spirit, the truth of who you are. And so my goal is is that anyone that works with me finds a way to connect with that part of themselves and so that they become the captain of their ship. So that they don't need to come to me and say, Hey Kira, I need you to tell me how to fix this problem in my life so that they have a direct connection inside to the truth of who they are and that they learn to trust their gut and trust all the messages that they're receiving from their own spirit. So we're not outsourcing help, we're kind of accessing the internal help that we already have. Does that make sense? It's a bit of a waffle. Claire Day: Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. No, no, no, not at all. That makes perfect sense. And I I I suppose it's coming in from a different angle of what I do as well with people with their their well being and teaching them how to use certain tools and techniques to support their well being. It's it's it's coming from a different aspect of that empowering people to look after themselves. Yeah. Ciara: Yeah. And I think that that's the way forward in the wellness, healing, esoterical space because we're seeing so much now, of course. I mean, it's everywhere, you know, the end of the guru and we everyday the stories of manipulations and abuse and things like this in across all modalities, really. And so I think that it's natural that we're all moving towards a place where we're not kind of advocating that we are the healers, that we are helping people to find their own toolkit and to find the gifts that they came here with. Because one of the funniest things that that is to me, it's i I think it's hilarious. People are always like, I want to Kira, I want to see things the way you see them. And I just think that's hilarious because seeing things The way I see them was absolutely terrifying and horrifying and a nightmare to me for my whole life. And Claire Day: Mm-hmm. Ciara: I always say to people, be careful what you wish for. And secondly, we all came down here in this stupid skin suit, and we all came down here with a specific set of gifts that were meant to be opened here now. And so it's kind of like have a look for what you came down with and enjoy it and play with that. And then go and you know see what else is out there. But for me, it's about identifying. identifying what it is you came with and then using that to help better yourself, you know? Claire Day: Yeah, yeah. I think my background's in nursing and you'd see it within the mm kind of Western medical world as well, that people have developed wanting someone to just do a quick fix on it, to give them a tablet or to tell them what to do. And and it can be so tempting to want that, but it Ciara: Of course. Claire Day: it it is so much more beneficial to them to be able to figure it out themselves and to have that guidance and support. Ciara: Totally. And for I think there's a difference between being healed and owning your own healing, right? So if you lie down on a bed and someone does an energy healing on you and my God, I love those sessions. They're so beautiful and it just we all need them, right? But if we're working through something that's really crunchy and difficult, isn't it better to be able to say, I did that? not Kira or Claire did that to me. I did that. And and be able to go, I'm awesome. I did that. I learned how to move myself through that. And then you will never have any questions. You will never have any doubts in yourself or your own abilities because you know you did it. And that's the key to it as far as I'm concerned. Claire Day: Amazing. And I know just from us chatting before that obviously you had a complete kind of change about from a career path standpoint. Would you consider that to be one of your biggest crossroads or thresholds that you passed over? Ciara: Yeah, I think the I'll I'll tell you a little bit just for the people that are listening. I I grew up in a house of healers. My mother is a healer and she she taught me everything I know, right? But because of that I was completely allergic to this whole world and I had no interest in getting into it, even though I knew that I I knew that I could, I knew that it was there for me, but I just had no interest whatsoever. And I I have lots of loves in life. One of them is writing. And so I went into journalism and I had a really successful career in journalism. I loved it. I worked in the ladies' magazines. It was just fancy and brilliant and drinking and partying and the whole thing. And my intuitive gifts really helped me in that world because I could read a room like that. I knew what people were thinking. I knew how to duck and dive. I when I was interviewing people, I found it really, really easy to get them to open up because I I knew immediately what their wounds were and what their worries were and what they wanted to or often didn't want to talk about. And so my spiritual gifts really aided me in that world. But what happened to me was after my first son was born, I was twenty-nine and I kind of put a lid on my spiritual self. I'd sort of told that part of me to go quiet. And after my first son was born, everything opened up again poof overnight. And it was like it was like being on steroids in the spiritual realms. Everywhere I went I could see and feel I could see beings, I could get messages for people and it it was very overwhelming. And it was also very much a moment for me of shit or got off the pot. Like I was aware that from that point on it was gonna be like this and I had to just get with it, that this was just my life, right? So over the kind of next ten years I began to dip into my own I would say research into the healing arts because I wanted to know what parts of that world appeal to me versus what I'd grown up in, right? And it's really funny because I ended up pretty much doing exactly what my mum does, but the roundabout way, you know. Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: so over that 10 years I began to kind of I began giving readings to people, I began working at the weekend, but at the school gate I was Kira the journalist and I was so well received. I mean it was fabulous in public. It was the perfect persona, perfect shell for me. to be able to be and operate in the world. And then behind closed doors I was this version of me. And about I would say six, seven years ago, I went on a retreat and it was like all week long. You have to choose, you have to choose, you have to choose one or the other. And I was just arguing with the he the skies the whole time. And this went on for months after I came home. And I woke up one day and long story short I knew that was the day I was gonna give up my big job. And I argued with myself the whole way into work and I got into work and my boss said, came running at me and said, Why are you leaving me? I was dreaming all night you were leaving me. And within 15 minutes, my entire career as a journalist had been put in a bin. The big bosses up in Dublin knew all about it. Everyone was saying I was having a mental breakdown. I had to text Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: my husband to say, Hey, guess what? This happened. And he was like, There there is divorce on the cards. And then this began. So I completely exploded my life. And it took I'll I would say it took a couple of years for me to bring it back in. Now, today my life is very different. Today I have a practice that's busy. I I feel way more rooted in what I do and what I offer. I've learned so much about myself, but The main thing that I teach is not to explode your life from my own experience. Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: And it's really interesting because we're in a time spiritually where we're seeing a lot of people wake up, right? Like they call it waking up, whatever. Shh, like come around to a new way. And In my experience, what happens when that happens to a person is they get really high really quickly, right? So suddenly you start feeling all these there's other worlds there and you start learning about other ways of being and you start feeling energy and you start wondering, Am I psychic or am I an empath? You s just like a whole new playground has opened up. And four, in my experience, from what I've observed i in people. This period lasts for about three to five years and it's like all your gifts are on steroids, right? So everything's like exploding out of you. And that's the time when people explode their lives. So I kind of see myself a little bit like a midwife to the newly awakened, like It's okay, we'll get through this together, but we'll just keep it quiet, keep it gentle, and it's all gonna be okay. Because the volume eventually turns down, and if you've exploded your life, you can be like, dear God, did I did I have a mental breakdown or was this what I thought it was? You know, so it so a lot of my work is kind of gently moving people through. Claire Day: And then did you find you know, as as you were saying that you were kind of n not interested when you were younger in in being involved in the healing arts, as you then started to kinda change around, did you find your mum was much of a mentor to you or did you have other mentors there? Yeah. Ciara: My mum is my biggest mentor. She's my greatest teacher. She's my I mean, I call her the chief. She's everything to me. And she is the person that I would go to for everything in terms of this because she's been around the block, right? And I know how lucky I am to have that. Because I'm really glad you mentioned this because one of the things that we're missing in this whole realm is elders. And it's like I keep seeing people talking about it in a way that is, in my opinion, really disrespectful because the conversation seems to be going, Where are the elders? Where are they? They're not here, but they are here. They're just way quieter than all the noise on social media and they've all been working really, really quietly all along. And gathering all of this wisdom and traveling all over the world, and they're the people that we should all be looking to now to teach us how to be. Because right now in the spiritual world, there's this massive noisy arena of people that are shouting and and and expressing that they that they know a new way, right? And that they are something. And what these elders in our country, in Ireland, will tell you is that they've been doing all this for like fifty years, man. It's just they haven't been on Instagram talking to their phone about it. And they meet each other through cups of tea or through community or through real normal life, because they know that to be of service in the world is to be in service to real life. And so My mum is after me and I'm so lucky and through her I have been just so fortunate to meet other elders in this way who to me are wisdom keepers and to me are like I'm a baby in the paddling pool and to be able to listen to them talk, it makes me always realize that it's everything is a cycle. So all the stuff we're going on about, like they were going on about 40 years ago. They just called it something else. And it so it keeps things really grounded and it keeps things really very real. And I really appreciate that in in, you know, the healing arts as as a g as a kind of as a thing because it can get very very ungrounded and very woo-woo in in the least helpful way possible. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah. I think like you say, there is a lot of noise and you kinda get healing fatigue from listening to all these people telling you all the things that you should be doing and it just needs to be so much more simple for people. Ciara: Well, of course, because we're not reinventing the wheel. And there's kind of a thinking that we are the most enlightened beings that have ever been on this planet, but that's just something that someone with a really big ego made up and everyone else f like rather end after. We're not doing anything different. Like to me, the job of being human is as simple as be good, be kind, be nice, be be loving. That's it. There's no there's no great mystery. That's it. And and that's what people from the older generations will always come back to 'cause they didn't have all this you know this stuff. Claire Day: Yeah. And have your like is there something from that you used to hold quite dear, say, back when you were living your life as a journalist, you Ciara: Hm. Claire Day: know, and you were in that world, that priorities wise has completely shifted around where you see yourself and how you orientate yourself. Ciara: Well, identity is a really big one. I and it's something that I've learned kind of recently again. I married my identity to my job. And again, when I moved into this field, I married my identity to this job. So I wasn't just Kira, I Kira the Healer, Kira the Intuitive, Kira the whatever. and one of the things that I is I hope this is answering the right question, but one of the Claire Day: Yeah, yeah, clearly. Ciara: things that I've learned and I continue to learn is having a sense of identity with what you do is normal but also it can be it can really overwhelm and overtake the important things in life, right? So for me, a lack of self worth that was rooted in me from when I was a little girl, like I never, ever, ever, ever remember not wanting to not be here. When I was a very small child, my my first memories are of not wanting to be here and not ever being comfortable in my skin or or feeling enough to be here. So I mean psych psychologically it makes sense that I would go for a career like journalism because that immediately gives me an armour of, I'm so fabulous and I'm so wonderful, and isn't this great? And I can, you know, do all this and go out and be seen and blah blah blah. But inside that is completely empty, it's empty nothingness. And interestingly, with this work that I do now, the less I the less my me, who I who I who I am at my core is in this body when I'm doing this work, the better the work is. And so I feel like when I'm in my work d in my work space and my work energetic space, I'm kind of devoid of all the cieriness. Like I mean, I can make jokes and, you know, connect from a personality point of view, but I don't have identity in it. I'm so grateful that I can do this work, but I don't wear it you know, like I don't basically Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: I don't go around my community wearing a kaftan, right? I go around wearing a tracksuit 'cause I'm a mum. But y you know, here I'll wear Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: my healing scarf and I'll if I'm in ceremony I'll be using all the herbs and it's all a thing. So identity is is a big is a big Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: thing that I used to think was so important and I just it's not important to me anymore at all. Mm. Claire Day: Yeah. I find I y years ago after whatever it is about having kids triggering things changing in your lives. Ciara: Mm-hmm. Claire Day: but you know, the after my first son was born and I went back to work where I had always identified myself working as a nurse as being confident in this nursing role and I'm a nurse and I know what I'm doing and I'm I'm comfortable interacting with people in this role. And I found when I went back after having him that I noticed that I was feeling anxious in that situation. Which was when I was like, I'm not okay right now because this was my safe, I know who I am in this scenario. So if I'm not okay here, you know, that that that is actually more recognizable as not being okay in general. It wasn't just Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: diff you know, a different person being a mom. It was like, no, you're struggling a bit and it's showing because, you know, you identify completely differently now with your role. Yeah. Ciara: Yeah. And I think I think what you're saying so many of us can resonate with 'cause after we have kids we're completely different people. Like I remember being pregnant with my first kid and I was at some doom and this amazing African lady came up to me. It was it and she goes, I was sweating 'cause like I was massive, I was like a blueberry. And Claire Day: No he didn't. Ciara: she goes, you're really hot and I Yeah and she said, Well, of course you are. You're two people and I went, What? And she goes, You're two people right now There's two of you in there. And I was like, pffff flipping hell. But it's true. And so Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: when we have our babies, we're completely different people afterwards, right? And then of course that happens so many times throughout our life. We've the death of self and we've to become Claire Day: Yeah. Yeah. Ciara: again and we've to start over and Jesus. Sure the the bloody menopause is the thing now, isn't it? Ugh. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And there are those different stages in life. Like that check, you know, coming into motherhood or moving. You did a big move as well, like Ciara: Mm. Claire Day: geography wise. but there is that kind of a death wreath birth cycle and that grieving in the different stages of of of life that we're in or things that we've left behind or relationships that have changed us. And would you feel that you have Would you consider yourself to have faith or more spirituality, or how how do you deal with that kind of cycles of grief loss? Ciara: So I grew up in a in a family where we like loads of us where we made the sacraments in the Catholic Church but we weren't practicing Catholics and actually my mum was pretty anti Catholic when all the terrible things were coming out in the church. So that was sort of like she'd been very into it when she was a kid and then all the horrors that come out of the Catholic Church. And that definitely impacted us. So I think I had I know that I always had a deep belief in God, but I didn't really understand what that was. And then in the last I'd say twenty years I have such a deep connection, such a deep belief in a divine presence in I call it God, but then I mean when I call it God, it's so triggering to loads of people. I don't that's just the word I use. Use whatever word you I don't care. Call it bin. It for me Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: it's it is such a important relationship in my life. And not only that it takes all the shit out of the way because especially doing the work that I do, I meet a lot of beings in my work, right? And I meet a lot of different different spirits. And at the beginning it used to thrill me, you know, when I'd meet like the galactics, or I'd meet angels, or I'd meet, you know, all these benevolent beings, I would just be so excited and thrilled. But now what thrills me is when I meet people who've passed over. Because one of the most common things that they say to me is, Wow, wow. It's this word, wow. And I'm like, what do you mean? Wow. Give me, like, tell me more. Tell me, give it, give it, give it to me. And it's this Wow. And the way they describe it to me is is everything that I thought I knew like I didn't know anything. This is wow guys. This is the way Claire Day: Zm. Ciara: like they're just like it's like w they the word that they use every single time is wow and it's with this like arms out like a childlike wow and because I've had those experiences where I've met people who've passed over who continually say this to me it only cements my belief system that there is something actually wow there and What I see in terms of like when people are dying and also when babies are being born, 'cause I I've met a lot of babies when when they're coming down and and I've had the privilege of being with with with one baby as he was being born and not not my own child. and it was so interesting for me to be able to be present in the spirit realms with them as he was coming in and It's it's so funny. It's the same. They come from wow. Like when the babies are coming in, it's like, Wow! This like I can't wait to get down here. And then they kind of come to a certain level of arrival and they're like, no thanks. And they're kind of trying to climb back up the Vodge. They don't want to be no no, no thanks, no, no. Whereas in the death process, it's like the fear of leaving the human body comes. Jesus, like am I going into vast nothingness? And then wow happens this like release of wow and so that really informs my faith because because I'm I'm so privileged enough to have had full body experiences that really I I can't deny them because I know they're true. And I don't really care if people don't believe me. It just it it just is, you know. Claire Day: What a privilege. I mean I yeah, I would have been present through obviously my work with lots of people passing, you know, Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: over and Ish is such privilege to have been able to to be there and be with families and and be with you know people as they get to that stage but not having had experiences like that in with with you know being able to be that present so it's amazing to hear it described in those terms. Ciara: Wow. Claire Day: Yeah so cool. Ciara: So cool, is this so cool. Claire Day: No, no, no. Ciara: Yeah, babies. yeah. You see they the way they appear to me is it's so funny. I have this this same visual all the time, right? With people when people are coming down into the the these things. it's i I see the same story every time, right? So we're all on the edge of a cliff and we've got backpacks on, right? And everyone's buzzing. So excited. We've got our mission. We know what we're doing. And we're with our, you know, cell family or whatever. I don't know what they call it up there, but that's what we call it down here. Claire Day: Yeah, I Ciara: And they're all like high-fiving each other. And it's like, we're gonna do this. And like for this one, because you know the world's and shit, they we're all like, We've got this, guys, you know, we're gonna do this. And then one by one they jump, right? And it's like, woo! And like so exciting, and it's like I'm flying, and then They get into this layer where it feels kinda like jelly and it's like, my god. And they're kinda going, Guys, it's a bit sticky down here and everyone is going, It's okay. We're not gonna forget. Like we'll remember each other. Next one, they forget everything. It's like amnesia. Amnesia, amnesia. So To me, when I see this, it explains so much about the way we are and why we are the way we are, because if we're con like if one of our jobs here now is to just just remember why we came here, that is so difficult. We're like our media patients, right? We've had our memories erased of who we are. And if we manage to connect to the that like part of us that is completely childlike, the easiest way to connect, in my opinion, is to be like a kid or to look at a kid, because they're it. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah, Ciara: They're in it. They're Claire Day: yeah. Ciara: I mean as perfect as it comes. Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: That's everything, you know? And then we remember it. Then we come back and then we like start to figure out what our what our jobs are. Claire Day: I love that idea of of of being childlike. I know when I was trying to tap into, you know, kind of abundance conscious and all this sort of stuff. I Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: f find the easiest way for me is when I'm out in my walks to be looking at the lovely flowers and the trees and the light coming through. And and that's how kids go around. They see something that look at this. I spent ages. Yeah. Ciara: Yeah. They're like, yeah. Like dive in. This is so cool. And that's where Claire Day: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ciara: I believe that children are our biggest teachers. It's not the other way around. And if we look at, you know, indigenous cultures around the world and our own culture here. We see the littlest members of the community with the oldest members of the community. 'Cause they're sharing wisdom, right? They're not like it's us middle people that are the egis in the pack. We're the ones that really have to learn. But the littlest and the oldest, they they've just got this. They know exactly what's up and they they just kind of feed off each other in the most beautiful way. Claire Day: Yeah. You see their faces light up when they see the little people as well. Although Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: I love speaking to older people as well. Like, you know, I love you know, I used to love that when I was you didn't get so much time when you were actually nursing, but as a student nurse to get down to sit and chat with them and hear the stories and yeah. Ciara: And it's unbelievable, isn't it? It's the amount of life that are in these these beautiful bodies. And some and a lot of times people don't wanna hear it, you know. So I'm glad Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: you got to. Claire Day: Take the time to. We're so busy and caught up with being in control and being serious because we have to be serious because we have to do the job and we have to bring the money, we have to pay the bill and you lose that playfulness and that fun aspect which is so important. Ciara: Yeah. But you know, it's understandable too, 'cause it's hard out there. It is really hard out there, you know. I think the I think a lot of times we apply our need to be playful like a job. So like, okay, I'm gonna, you know, schedule fifteen minutes in for playtime. I mean, we do that with riding as well. We do y it's the whole thing, like let's s s you know, allocate our day in fifteen to twenty minute increments and it's impossible 'cause it's just d there's no flow. It's just how how do we move from here to here to here to here? So for for anyone who's wanting to find the way back to themselves, the easiest way is to have fun or dance or sing or whatever, you know. Claire Day: Yeah. She's on I say I was gonna ask you, you know, where do you find your joy in life? What what lights you up most? Ciara: Hm. Well, I love being outside. I love I'm really lucky where I live 'cause I live beside the sea and I also live beside the forest. And I used to only want to be beside the sea. I I used to swim every day for years and now I I I don't want to be near it. I can't I can't bear it. But I love being with the trees. Right now I love being with the trees. I love cooking. I love singing. I love dancing. Like I love all those things. and I also really, really love lying on my arse watching like Housewives or reality TV. I love that. And I love Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: eating. Yeah. Love. Just really love. Claire Day: Mm, same. Love. Yeah. Ciara: Mm-hmm. Claire Day: Yes, I love forests. Forests and mountains are my happy place. Smell Ciara: yeah. Well there Claire Day: the earth and yeah. My husband's a sea creature. He loves being in the sea, water sports doing all the things. but I'm a cold creature. I need to be kept warm. Ciara: Mmm. That's happening to me more and more. Claire Day: I did go I'm s a fair weather swimmer only, but I did go in there. It's been so nice this summer that I haven't been in the sea a few times. Ciara: Mm, I haven't gone in once. Nope. I just can't Claire Day: Yeah, no, I I I I'm I'm up and down with it. And what then your do you have certain tools or techniques or things that if you're finding you need to de stress or things that you share with people that you find most helpful for bringing you back into your body or calm? Ciara: Hmm. Yeah, well I I trained in somatics as a part of training in psychedelic facilitation I did. Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: And the somatic part has just been a complete game chamber changer for me. because I find it really easy to fly out of my body. Like the nature of my work means I can move in and out very easily. But also if I get a fright or if I mean anything bad happens, I'll be the first one to just shoot out. So the somatics really taught me to create a dialogue with my body, but also it taught me how to love my body, which This might sound weird, but I had a really good relationship with my body from I would say just under the boobs up, but then from there down I was completely disconnected from it. I had it was like my legs used to feel like lead, right? And the somatic work really helped me weave back in a bit and root back into into my body. And I use it now in all of my sessions because I find it to be one of the most self directive ways of understanding what's going on in here. that way. And then I I'm a really good meditator. I love it. Mainly 'cause I love lying down and I so I don't do the, you know, awing or anything like this, but I I'll kind of go offline and get my messages and come back again. And I find breath work just extraordinarily helpful. It's it has gotten me through so much, so many times. Breath work has been the answer for me. And where breath work is concerned it's really interesting because I have quite a lot of experiences experience with the plant medicine world and I really respect and love it when it's facilitated in the correct way. but breath work experiences that bring you into the same altered state of consciousness that plant medicines with the psychedelic edge will bring you into, to me are more profound and easier to own because you feckin' breathed your way into that thing. You did that yourself, Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: right? So similarly to what I was saying earlier about having this mission Claire Day: Ownership. Ciara: to give people ownership over their own healing, that style of breath work does does that same thing to me, just Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: like the somatics. I also use a lot of tinctures and things like this, sound I and the final thing that I use and that I recommend all the time is screaming. I am a massive fan of screaming. I have a I have a club called Scream Club. Claire Day: Mm-hmm. Ciara: And it's just epic, right? Like just letting it all out there, letting all of your shit go in one go is the best thing. So there's loads of different ways. I definitely I kind of pick and choose from the buffet, but I think it's really, really important to have a good solid toolkit, no matter Claire Day: Yes. Ciara: what it is. Like You gave me an essential oil when I met you because my neck was in a jock. I've Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: used that that oil bottle every single day since Claire because I was like, thank you, Claire, you've just given me something very important for me. Like it so anything that comes my way that I feel is gonna help, I'm all over it. I'll try anything once kind of thing, you know. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And when it works. And it's it's getting used to when something comes up actually reaching for the tools. And I find that took me years of practice as well of different to Ciara: Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah. Claire Day: you get into that fight or flight mode and you forget that you have all of these things there that can help you. Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: And for people who might not understand what somatics is, can you describe Ciara: Well, the easiest way is is there's a really famous book called The Body Keeps the Score. And so the essence of somatics is that every single story that has ever happened in your entire life lives inside a cell in your body. And so For me, when I'm working somatically with per with people, I'll bring them into kind of a state of I would say lucid dreaming is the best way to describe it. And they'll kind of begin to travel inside and what happens is is you be drawn naturally to a part in your of your body and then your body will start to kind of talk to you and tell you what's up and you might have repressed memories that come through from whatever was causing the thing. You might get messages from yourself. It it's kind of like an information mining. of your body. And so like a really good example is for me, my pelvis and my lower back has always been just in pain. Like I don't ever remember it not feeling great, you know? And the somatics cleared that up in five sessions. It was like what Done. Never came back. Awesome. Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: Do you know? So where talk therapy has done its job, that's where somotics comes in. Like I think that there's space for it's like my thinking on the traditional medical field and the alternative medical field. I believe that there's place for both and I believe that working together is the best way. And so if you are experiencing severe trauma than or re experiencing severe trauma, then I think it's a really good idea to have kind of both because then you're armed and ready and that toolkit is so full, you're good, you know. Claire Day: And I think a lot of psychotherapists and therapists doing talk therapy also now recognize the need for that somatic element. Ciara: yeah, completely. And they use a lot of the tools from they use a lot of breathwork tools. They use it like it's really funny, there's a lot of crossover between the modalities. It's just that I think there was a little fight going on for a while and now everyone's kind of softening up a little bit towards each other, which is really good. Claire Day: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I I when I started learning more about the different holistic methods and you would find there's extremes in all areas of of both of Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: of Western and more holistic stuff. But like you say, I mean, to be able to use the best of everything to support people, to to be able to take from here and there and go, actually this will you know, it has to be more open For people to be able to use whatever works for them. Ciara: Exactly. And I think it that's you know, that's g i it kind of straddles both fields because it's there's this sort of fear that if the clients or if the patients know too much, then I will become defunct and nobody will need my services anymore. But that's not the case ever. It's just like the more information that we can give it the better. The more tools that we can give people the the better. And Also, I think that when it comes to healing, emotionally, spiritually, physically, it's on us to say, do you know what? That feels just wrong to me and no, thank you very much. And then it's on the practitioners and the medical professionals to go, I really respect your opinion Cool, 'cause it's your body, you know? So it there's kind of ownership on both sides, I think, really. Like the first one of the first things I say to people that are working with me for the first time, and it's so important, and I wish more people said it, is if I say something to you that you think is a load of shit, throw it in the bin and don't give it a second thought. Just don't. Because none of us are infallible. Like We all make mistakes. None of us are oracles. None of us are sitting on top of a stone or have been living in a cave, you know, communing with God on our own for years. That it isn't the reality of this world. And I think that the more honest we all get about our humanness, then the easier it is for people to find their way and to go, Jesus, you know, I held that oil beside my heart and it said, Yes, please. And then I held the other one and it said, No, thank you. What What does that mean? Can can Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: someone tell me? And then they become curious and that's what we want. We want people to be curious. We want people to become the detectives and to begin to investigate, you know, all the highways and byways of their life. Claire Day: Yeah. It was coming to my mind there and I think it fleeted away again. Ciara: Mm. Claire Day: As is the way. So tell me you probably I could probably guess where it is at the moment, but where is the place that nourishes your soul the most? Where do you go to? Ciara: So at the moment it's the forest right now, but like if I didn't have my kids here, it would be rambling around with the backpack through South America on my own. That's that's the truth, you know. Like I'll take the forest, but I would prefer to be in the rainforest, trudging. Couple of leeches making their way up my leg, you know. But that's that's what I would prefer. I'd like to be Indiana Jones basically. Yeah. Claire Day: Amazing. I never made it to South America. I did go to India and Lao and the Highlands and Australian travels. Ciara: Amazing. And there's more to come. Like our next travel I can't wait. I keep telling everyone that once my kids are eighteen I'm I'll be back like they're fifteen and Claire Day: God. How old are they next? Ciara: fourteen, so not long left. I g it's I'm like I'll be back to see my grandchildren three three times a year. Yeah. Claire Day: yeah. I and I have to say, like India, as hard as it was to travel around, it was so culturally different to travel Ciara: Yeah. Claire Day: and experience. It was amazing. It was one of my favourite. Yeah. Yeah. Ciara: So cool. So amazing. I found India too much. I it s my senses were like Claire Day: Yeah, yeah. I remember getting to Bangkok in Highland afterwards and going, Wow, it's nice and calm and quiet here. Everyone's like Ciara: That shows. That tracks. Claire Day: tell people if they are curious to hear more about what you do, you know, what are you offering at the moment or where can they find you best? Ciara: Ooh, so I'm kind of reconfiguring at the moment. I I do one-to-ones. so the best place to find me is on kiramcdonnell.com. and they can find me on Instagram as well. It's I had to change my thing recently. It's by Ciura McDonnell is my handle. and so the best way to begin working with me is through a one-to-one. that way we can kind of vibe check each other and see if that's if it's like if there's bigger work to be had. I don't I don't like signing people into long term work with me until we have had a bit of a relationship build already 'cause I feel like I'm potentially ripping them off because I wanna know that we get on, you know? I wanna know that we can that we can do it. So one to one is the best way. and I don't know, I get weird ideas all the time and then I kinda Claire Day: You have lovely gatherings that you put up on Instagram. I mean, I'm in Dublin, so it's a bit of a trek to go for that hour of the morning, but otherwise I'd be there. Yeah. Ciara: Yeah, I do monthly gatherings and Well no, I want to come to Dublin. I'm putting it out as an intention. I want to come to Dublin. I can't think of anything better than packing up the Say of Beatle with all my drums and everything. I would love to to do these gatherings around the country. So Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: like let's go. We'll do it. Claire Day: Amazing. Ciara: But yeah, so I do gatherings, I do scream clubs, I like I get bored really easily, Claire, so I find it really hard to lock in, do you Claire Day: Do one thing. Hmm. Ciara: know? So I had this really cool idea about kind of marrying my journalism work yesterday into this kind of work and I'll probably splutter something out about that next week and then I'll get bored of that and you know it I haven't quite found how to be a business person. Claire Day: you're you're putting stuff out though as the interest Ciara: You know. Claire Day: comes to you and you have that excitement around it and you can feel that Ciara: Yeah, I think it's like I but I do think, you know, we met at a spiritual businesswoman's thing, Claire Day: Mm. Ciara: like a solo businesswoman's thing, and you know I've I think it's the business part I find the most difficult out of this whole thing because it's so fun. Like I'm sure you find this too. It's so fun. It feels so good to be doing this work. And then you're like, business? What? Like marketing? god, I have to go on Instagram. Like the whole thing is so disgusting. And opposite Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: to the amazing fun of this work, right? So Claire Day: Yeah. Ciara: I Maybe we'll find it one day. Claire Day: Yeah, figure it out. thank you so much for coming on. It has been such a pleasure Ciara: thank you. Thank you.