Republished from a few years ago due to a problem with the web-site admin:

I wrote this piece on Saturday, August 10th, when I was on the plane en-route to Harbour Island in the Bahamas where my journey of transformation first began March of 1999. Something spiritual, other worldly, possibly Godly, drew me to the island, as though the island was somehow a part of my life path or Akashic record. I traveled there over three dozen times from March of 1999 through June of 2015, until heading to the sister island of Eleuthera where I went into a cocoon, finally emerging as the butterfly late July of 2019.

Initially, I went to Harbour Island in search of something or someone, as I felt as though a part of me was gravely missing. I felt incomplete, not whole, like I was suffocating inside an invisible box that society, family, friends, enemies, you name it, had crafted and shaped for me. I had felt this incompleteness for many years, even decades, but this was the first time in my life when I really became aware of how it was adversely affecting my well-being and stifling the growth of my soul. 

Karis Decides to Take a Huge Leap of Faith, Leaving Her Former Law Partnership

During my March 1999 trip, I made the fated decision to leave my law partnership, a very male-dominated, patriarchal type firm, where I felt as though I was stagnating, both personally and professionally. While I had become the first female partner in the firm’s history, I felt I needed to venture off and grow, to find my wings and fly.

The second day I was on Harbour Island I met a man from Europe who encouraged me to venture into my practice for myself. He was an orphan who was a self-made millionaire, so I trusted that he was guiding me in the right direction. He and I kept contact for several months, but eventually lost contact. Through a miraculous twist of fate, though, I saw him again seventeen years later when I traveled abroad to rescue one of my dogs. You will read about this amazing tale of synchronicity in my upcoming book, GODdogs – The Awakening.

In any event, upon my return home in March of 1999, I finally gathered the courage to leave my former partnership. For the first seven years of my practice, I worked like a mad woman, climbing an illusory pillar, heading toward the top of something, although being uncertain of exactly where I was headed to. My practice literally exploded over night, and I was quickly sitting at the top of my profession with 400-plus cases handled all on my own and six office locations.

Karis Still Feels Incomplete Despite Her Overnight Success

Despite my overnight success, though, there was still a feeling of incompleteness within me, as something deeper was calling from my soul – my lifelong dream of becoming an author, inspirational speaker, and creative entrepreneur with a mission of uplifting and inspiring others. In 2001, when I was on Harbour Island, I gave birth to the idea for my book series, The Toad Chronicles, but I put my notes into a manila folder and stowed them away in a drawer where they patiently sat, waiting for me to pursue my dreams. Six years later, on February 18, 2007, my world was rocked when my father passed away. After grieving his death, I returned to Harbour Island in April 2009 and finally began writing the first book of the series.

During the time period from 2009 – 2015, I went through the motherload of stuff, cleansing and purging emotions, toxicity, bad relationships, you name it, from my life. My father’s death had miraculously awakened something within me, making me realize there was more to life than my current existence. I call this very tumultuous period of my life “the big enema”, as that’s literally what it felt like. I was getting cleansed of all the “poop” that had accumulated in my life, and more important in my spirt, from my present lifetime and even from lifetimes before.

During this time period, I continued traveling to Harbour Island, still searching for that “something” which missing within me. I thought I found that “something” when I met and dated a man in early 2015, only to be sorely disillusioned by him. In June of 2015, my relationship with him came to a sudden and abrupt end when he moved onto greener pastures, so to speak. Feeling distraught and heartbroken, I decided to forego Harbour Island since he was still living there and instead, sought comfort and refuge on the sister island of Eleuthera.

Karis Enters the Cocoon and Finally Emerges as the Butterfly

Looking back, I realize now that when I came to Eleuthera in November of 2015, I entered a cocoon, a time when I healed and went through the final stages of my transformation into the butterfly. I won’t lie to you – shedding my human existence/persona and becoming the Divine, Spiritual Being I was meant to be wasn’t an easy journey, by any stretch of the imagination. But now that I’ve done it, shed it all, drained the swamp, so to speak, I can attest that it’s well worth the effort – to finally shine in my golden authenticity, to be the powerful Divine Being God intended me to be.

This week I come full circle in my journey, traveling back to Harbour Island, where it all began – my search for that “something”. I have found it, by the way – it’s a completion within myself that could only be found by reconnecting with my awesome, powerful God Self.

You will read about my journey of awakening and ultimate transformation in my upcoming GODdogs series and how my dogs (and cats) have been a huge part of my journey. For now, though, I am here on Harbour Island where my dream first began – to bring home my precious Believer who represents my belief in my dreams and Fishbone who represents my mother’s spirit who will continue to serve as my guiding force from beyond.

Lots of love and blessings to you all!

Photo of me at age 32, during my first trip to Harbour Island in the Bahamas