The Awakening Call: Hurricane Katrina, Shamanism and KarmaFest

What happens when a medical researcher at Johns Hopkins receives powerful premonitions about global disasters? For Patricia Hawes, these visions led to an extraordinary awakening during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, where a chance encounter with a spiritual teacher changed everything.

Today, Patti Hawse is a prophetic shamanic practitioner, and founder/producer of KarmaFest.  KarmaFest is an annual festival for spiritual seekers in the mid-Atlantic.  The last of 75 festivals is scheduled for June 28-29, 2025, in Havre de Grace, MD. 

This episode explores Patti's spiritual awakening, teachings of her shaman mentor (Leotha Douglas), working with energies, the beginnings of KarmaFest, and what's next for Patti and the spiritual community she's cultivated over the last 20 years.

Details

Patricia recounts the fascinating story of how she transformed from a conventional career professional into the founder of Karma Fest, a metaphysical festival she's produced for 20 years. Before this radical shift, she experienced vivid premonitions of events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Following her intuition to volunteer in Louisiana, she met Leotha Douglas – the man with amber eyes who had been appearing in her dreams asking "Where are you?"

During a yoga and meditation session in a Baptist church shelter, Patricia underwent a profound chakra clearing that sparked her spiritual journey. This catalytic moment led her to create Karma Fest, a gathering that embraces diverse spiritual modalities without pushing any single belief system. Through the festival, Patricia has witnessed countless transformations – including within her own family, as her daughter's life changed dramatically after receiving a reading at an early event.

Throughout our conversation, Patricia shares insights from her extensive exploration of spiritual practices – from shamanic journeying and Reiki to channeling and energy work. She explains how these experiences shaped her understanding of intuition, healing, and the connections between physical needs and spiritual awareness. Her refreshing approach embraces learning through direct experience rather than rigid doctrine.

As she prepares for her 75th and final Karma Fest this June, Patricia discusses her future plans – finishing her memoir, reviving a screenplay about Edgar Cayce, and developing retreat concepts that unite spiritual teachers. Her parting wisdom resonates powerfully: "We're so much more powerful than we think we are... you shouldn't dim yourself out of fear."

Join us for this enlightening conversation about following intuitive guidance, embracing spiritual awakening, and creating spaces where transformation can flourish. Ready to explore your own intuitive hits?

References

KarmaFest - www.karmafest.com 

How Life Happens for Me, Not to Me When I Stop Playing Small, Leotha Douglas 

Modern Mystery School -  The Modern Mystery School