Making It – Episode 171
Success Didn’t Heal Me — This Did (Dr. Katja Rusanen)
Katja Rusanen: I’m Dr. Katja Rusanen and you are listening to Making It. I run a spiritual counseling business and I help purpose driven entrepreneurs, coaches and healers to thrive after trauma.
I started my journey in a little village in Finland, having this opportunity to connect with nature from a very early age. And my dad was very much hard working man and he was into sport. I got the gift of taking care of my physical body from my dad and I think I learned to ski, then I learned to walk. He was always supporting everyone when it came to sports. I learned also the cheerleading to achieve things in the sports world. And I actually competed in karate for 10 years in the international level. Best was the world championships and got the placement from 5 to 8. And of course those were very proud moments for my dad.
And then my mom was very intuitive and she was a homemaker. That was a gift for me, having somebody who understood the spiritual side and intuition. Like my mom always knew who was coming to visit. She was like, oh, I need to make coffee because somebody’s coming to visit. And that was helpful for me because I was very sensitive. So my mom was able to understand that sometimes I saw things that could not be seen in the physical eyes and I got scared. But she was there to support me and allowing me to start sharing and building my beliefs. So she didn’t ever say they were wrong or anything like that, but like encouraging to look into them.
I was very sensitive. I went to school and even though I was eager to learn, I was bullied, I was isolated. Often I went through the isolation feeling I don’t belong. That was definitely something present during the school years. And I had always the wish to travel because when I was six years old I knew that I’m going to move abroad. Then I told my mom, when I’m grown up, I’m going to move abroad. And then when I did, I said, at least I gave you notice. I have two big sisters and I did have a brother. So I call him my angel brother who I never met but who has been there in spirit to support me. After my brother’s passing, I was the one who brought the light, hope and joy into my family again. So that was my role from the start. And then later on I continue this now through my profession.
When I was just 16 years old, I went through a challenging life experience. I lost my boyfriend to suicide and that put me into path of finding my way out through darkness. And then came a calling to help others who have gone through some challenging life experiences on their own. And wanted to help them to thrive off the trauma. For me personally, for 15 years, I did not want to talk about the trauma that I went through. 15 years, there was a chapter that I pretended never happened. And I got opportunity later on when I went to a palm reader who asked me, why don’t you write? I knew what story he was referring to and I was able to write.
And that led me to another level of teachings. I found spiritual psychology studies. And that led me then to the doctorate in spiritual science. So I call myself doctor for the soul. So nowadays I help people as a spiritual counselor. I help them to really, truly find peace with their past and transform their future. I remember when I was seventh grade, we went through different religions in the world and this was a sentence that truly helped me through the trauma later on. And I wrote that down on my notebook and it was, this too shall pass.
And even though I didn’t believe that it would pass, it did. And I just kept repeating that sentence, this too shall pass. And that piece of wisdom has supported me on my journey and it is so true. So if you’re going through good moments, enjoy them, embrace them. And that’s what I’m aiming to do. And then if I’m going through challenging life experiences, this too shall path, and allowing myself to embrace that moment too, as it is. But there is in the world the one factor that some people call karma. In my mind, karma is actually a very patient teacher. I believe we repeat experiences, we repeat certain type of challenges in our life until they find that deeper meaning, that deeper purpose, that deeper lesson.
There is no rush or hurry in the spirit world. It’s always now. I was doubting myself for years and self doubt is something I still sometimes have to deal with. I have my accent. I hold that as something against myself. For years I was like, oh, I can’t share. Nobody listens to me. So self doubt spent years there and took a lot of time and energy. And it didn’t work until I found a way to take the air out. I have also held myself back from doing things like, I know what to do, but I have been procrastinating, like hiding and not wanting to take a stand for the work that I do now.
I have tried to change the past so many years that didn’t work either. That was not possible. So what is possible is learning to accept what was and what is. We can embrace what we have now and use the past as a lesson we have learned an opportunity for us to grow as human beings and maybe coosing to do something else in the future.
Making it means for me is fulfillment. To feel that finally I’m fulfilling my soul’s purpose here, fulfilling my mission. Making it really is the inner fulfillment. And I realized there is two levels how we work here. We have the goal line, those achievements, the things feel we do. But then there is also the soul line. And that is more how can we expand in loving? How can we use this experience here for our learning, growth and upliftment? So it’s those two different aspects and finding the balance in both of them. Making it is really finding that joy in living. And that’s been my journey to finding the spark of life again. And now I want to help others do the same.
Making it really means when I feel that I am contributing something meaningful. I was supervising one of the world’s leading business banks before, and in a way, that was for me, making it. So does making it happen first in the goal line and then the solo line, or can they be happening at the same time? Is there order there? And I feel that it depends of who is in the question. We are often focusing first, making it in the goal line, making it in the physical world. You need to get the job, get married, or have the relationship, have family. You are building all those things. Then comes the calling for something more, tapping into something deeper.
But I feel that the ideal thing for us is finding that balance. If we only focus on the soul line, as lovely it is, unless you are a monk or a nun, it’s very hard to make it in the world if you are just focusing on spiritual things, because how this world still operates. And if you’re just focusing on the goal line and just focusing on the material things and nothing wrong there. But then the artist feeling sometimes empty. We achieve things and it didn’t fulfill us, at least enough for a long time. So when we combine those two, that’s when we are truly making it.
Learning to love has been one of my biggest lessons that has opened the door for that soul line for me. As entrepreneurs, we go through ups and downs. We have these experiences that maybe the launch didn’t go as we wanted. It didn’t bring the results we wanted. So what do we do? Normally, we kind of like, what went wrong? What did I do wrong? That was at least what I did. And then now, like, okay, this was actually painful experience experienced. I felt hurt, like I had such inspiration to do this work and now it didn’t go as I wanted. So what can I do to love myself more in this moment? And then figure out the next step, then figure out the solution, then figure out, what do I do differently next time.
I think that has been a big change for me on this journey to learn how to face those challenging moments in life with more loving. My head is very much on the goal line, like, okay, let’s do this. What’s the next thing? And the next thing. And I’m always going for the next thing. My head defines making it really around achieving things and making an impact in the world. When I tune into my heart, it’s a totally different definition. It’s how much have I loved here, how much I have felt joy, how much I have truly felt fulfilled in life and my journey. So it is that softer, emotional aspect, my soul.
I always see my soul as this cheerful thing that is like counting the lessons learned. It’s the biggest cheerleader. And always seeing life as a journey and opportunity for learning. And that’s really the definition from soul. Like, how much have I learned through this human experience? And how much have I learned to love myself? So it’s always the cheerleader in the back, like saying, yes, good job, let’s go and let’s learn more. So, yes, I have made it. I have overcome something that I thought I never would overcome, and I have found the joy of living again.
People haven’t asked me, what is it there in soul wisdom that your soul already knows that can help us to make it? Because often people separate the goal line and then when we go deeper, the soul line, for many, those are two different things. But how I say it, if we combine them, that’s when the magic happens. And we can use these spiritual insights to support us to make it. And if we use the wisdom, what our soul has learned through this life, if you believe past life, those lives, too. So think about that as a library of information. If we accept where we are, we can then allow the future unfold. But if we are fighting with the past, with the current moment, we are using a lot of energy. And that energy could be used to support you to take the next step.
I remember those days when I couldn’t even look into the mirror, when I was so full of guilt and shame and blame and all those things that the love was out of the question. And now, like during the years, and thanks to my spiritual teachers, I realized that loving is key. So when I can apply loving towards myself while I’m going through challenging life experiences, life becomes so much easier.
I’m Dr. Katja Rusanen, and you’ve been listening to Making it. You can find me at katjarusanen.com. that’s K A T J A R U S A N E N dot C O M and you’ll find the link in the show notes. There is a link to a resource called Quick Relief for Inner Peace, and this is a guided experience where I help you to transform those emotional turmoils into peace.
Danny Iny: Making It is part of the Mirasee FM Podcast Network, which also includes such shows as Just Between Coaches and Course Lab. To catch the great episodes that are coming up on Making it, please follow us on Mirasee FM’s YouTube channel or your favorite podcast platform player. And if you enjoyed the show, please leave us a comment or a starred review. It’s the best way to help us get these ideas to more people. Thank you and we’ll see you next time.