Caroline Myss answers the question:

What is the nicest thing a non-family member has ever done for you?

That is a very difficult question, Phil. The nicest... there’s so many wonderful things people have done for me. And so, you almost have to say, “What do you mean by the nicest?” But I can think of significant things that have changed my life because of what someone has done. So there are categories of nicest, nicest, significant things. And I think about the greatest mentor I had. A nun by the name of Sister Barbara. I shared the same birthday as her. She passed away last year. And when I was a freshman in college, I went to, obviously, I went to a Catholic college, and we had to take a Religion class. And I took the class with a bit of a flippant attitude. I thought, nobody studies Religion. I don’t have to study Religion. I study everything else.

And she, of course, was a scholar on Eastern religions, and she was just this brilliant scholar, she studied in the East. And I was not passing her course. And here’s the thing. It didn’t occur to me to study. I thought, Why am I not passing the course? And it never occurred to me to study. And she stopped me and she said, “You’re not doing well in my course. You have a very good mind and it’s unfortunate no one’s taught you how to use it.” And she just walked away. And in that moment, several things occurred to me. The first was, oh my God, I should be humiliated, but I’m not. I feel inspired. How did she do that? How did she inspire me? Why am I not embarrassed? Why am I not humiliated? What, how did she manage to communicate such a devastating piece of information?

But I was completely inspired by her instead of humiliated. And I watched her walk away down the hall. And from that moment on, I became a devoted student of hers. Everything about the way she taught, everything about the way she conducted the transfer of knowledge to students, the way she related to God, the way of her became something I so admired. And in fact, I have to say she imprinted deeply in me. And in that second, that moment, she changed my life forever. Some part of her reshaped me that day while I was standing on the stairs at LeFer Hall in Saint Mary’s. And she said, “You have a good mind. It’s a shame no one’s taught you how to use it.” And she changed my life.


Caroline Myss is a five-time New York Times bestselling author and internationally renowned speaker in the fields of human consciousness, spirituality and mysticism, health, energy medicine, and the science of medical intuition. Caroline established her own educational institute in 2003, CMED (Caroline Myss Education), which offers a diverse array of programs devoted to personal development and draws students from all over the world. Caroline maintains a rigorous international workshop and lecture schedule.

Caroline refined her skills as a medical intuitive with the assistance of C. Norman Shealy, MD, a Harvard-trained neurosurgeon. She developed the field of Energy Anatomy, a science that correlates specific emotional/psychological/physical/spiritual stress patterns with diseases.

Her books include Intimate Conversations with the Divine, Anatomy of the Spirit, Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, Sacred Contracts, Entering the Castle, and Defy Gravity.

In addition to her written work, Caroline has produced more than 80 audio/visual products on subjects that include healing, spirituality, personal development, and the study of archetypes.

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This article appears in: 2021 Catalyst, Issue 11 - Shamanic Wisdom Summit

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