
Hi, I’m Orla!
The fear of the unknown causes many of us to hold back from making a change. But what happens when we’ve had enough and are ready for change?
I am the youngest of 7 children, daughter of Mervin Jospeh Phelan and Elizabeth Mary Culhane. As a young child, I had a natural love for God and an aspiration to be a singing dancing priest J I was also aware of, and experienced other dimensions of reality. My first memory was when I was about 4 lying in bed one evening, when this strange feeling came over me. My favourite toy from playschool, a big spinning top, appeared in the air spinning right in front of me. This strange phenomenon and presence continued to visit me, in different ways, every 9 -12 months until I turned 13.

To say I was scared is an understatement. I would scream the house down, but whenever anyone came, no-one else could see it, hear or feel it. Objects would appear, as did other beings who would speak another language I couldn’t understand.

Many years later at a lightworker gathering in New Zealand, via a dream, I watched, the final encounter I had experienced. Although I couldn’t see anything at the time, I had been completely overwhelmed by the powerful presence.
What I saw in the dream, was my 13 year old self being visited by a golden being in a merkaba of white light. It made sense. At the time all I could do was feel the presence, so powerful it was frightening. I screamed and begged it to go away and never return.
What I did know following these experiences was that there were other things existing that most people couldn’t see or hear, but for some reason I could.

I tried to forget it all as I grew up, and really just wanted to be a “normal” teenager.
I went through my teens and university doing my best to follow what I thought was the way. Study, work, drinking, partying, friends…It was fine, and some of it great fun, but part of me felt separate. I felt a love for God from a very young age and regularly prayed to God and the saints. I always loved the views of the sea and through all these years would walk and sit by the cliffs, looking at the sky and believing and feeling in the mystery that is.
In 2003 healer, relationship coach, and my friend, Maria Jesus Lopez, introduced me to healing as well as to Tarot and Meditation. I immediately and naturally took to it and suddenly life began to have deeper purpose.
My childhood had left me open to these experiences with a knowing that life existed beyond the 5 senses. My sister Anne, thought me a line this year, it was to look in the mirror at myself and say out loud,
‘Everyday in every way I am getting better and better.’
I did this and so it happened and funnily now, this sister, has no memory of ever saying this. I delved deeper into meditation and began to experiment successfully with out-of-body experiences. I didn’t know why these things were happening, or why I could connect so easily to them, but felt more curious and in harmony that I ever had.
In 2004 I moved to New Zealand with my Argentinean musician boyfriend at what was to be the happiest time of my life. Instead, I found myself in a deep crisis. I stopped meditating and felt more unhappy, depressed, anxious and stressed with each passing day. I fell into a black hole. I was confused, lost and amid other issues underwent 2 emergency operations to remove precancerous lumps from different parts of my body. It was a harsh wake up call.
However, the darkest hour is before the dawn and in the midst of crisis, I saw and felt a light enter my mind. It helped me understand what was happening and how to turn it around. It was time for me to clear, release, transform, integrate, and heal so I could as a conscious being awaken, blossom and thrive. Simply put, it was time for me to change.
What I do what I do…

From that moment on, I approached life from the perspective that I was responsible for my reality and so I would study why I had created the situation, gain new awareness, raise an unconscious part of me into consciousness and then observe my outer reality also realign. Always upon this point of realisation and change, life would gift me something unexpectedly. It was a challenging and yet enlightening 5 years of insight, self-examination and rapid growth.
I left my business career, my inner fire growing stronger every day and committed to be of service, and to help others as I was being helped.
I found so much benefit from the herbs, flower essences and supplements with my own health that I had to learn more. I left a highly paid business role to start working for the herbalist who had greatly helped me. During these years, I made herbal cleanse tonics, advised on supplements, managed a natural health store and discovered a gift where I’d be internally informed as to what people needed to rebalance, and what their natural dharma was.
During this time, I also began to work with Bernie Melhuish, a spiritual healer, originally from England also living in the Bay of Plenty in NZ. We set up the healing centre, AllsWell and worked happily together with many people, witnessing great improvements and what some would call miracles, over a number of years.
Simply put, in the midst of darkness, I discovered wellbeing, and was powerfully inspired to share the good news with others.
I began developing special healing teas, combining herbs, spices, plants and crystal essences which I thoroughly enjoyed bringing to festivals. I had come to a place of internal acceptance, love and balance.
How did I get here?

Following nearly 6 years in NZ I returned home to Ireland. A longterm relationship had finished about 7 months prior, giving me freedom to even more deeply follow my path. The call to be around family was strong and I gave myself permission to to return home. I was ready to step up my game again, which ironically meant lots of deep breathing, meditation and slowing down!
I meditated for most of the next 18 months. Looking back it was such a gift to allow myself this, and not everyone could understand why I didn’t want to get a well paying job(!) and instead live in this simple way. However, for I, it was the most natural and blessed thing to do and be at the time. This led me to travel again, first to NZ to soul gatherings and on to India, where I visited many temples on a personal quest to somehow clear my sexual nature.
I spent a powerful 6 weeks at Auroville, Tamil Nadu, on personal retreat where I had the opportunity to study and meditate on the work of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The journey continued on to Delhi, Jaipur, Pushkar, Rajasthan and Mumbai among other places, with amazing experiences, including living with an Indian family, visiting every temple and living saint I could find enroute and havinga special experience with RadhaKrishna. About one year later, I discovered that integrating and raising one’s sexual nature towards a higher vision, is much more effective than trying to clear it. Lesson learned J
Upon returning to Europe I moved to Palma, Mallorca where I started writing. I realised from the many conversations that it was time to share the insights, lessons, experiences and gifts I had received.

I felt call to develop books, workshops and retreats, where others could access with structure and ease what it had taken me many years of study and self-examination to realise, thus supporting the journey of awakening for all. It is a vision I still hold. In 2012 I returned to Ireland on holiday for the Festival of Fire and my God-daughter’s Holy Communion. As I disembarked the plane, I saw
and felt the light of a huge tree rise from the roots deep in the earth up through me and out high into the sky. I felt like a tree that had returned home. I knew immediately that I would stay in Ireland. I started offering healing and wellbeing products and have been working between Dublin, Blessington, London and some other lovely places since.
Mankind are going through a shift in consciousness and we are mid-transition. This is a blessed gift that can also be perceived as incredibly confusing and painful. As someone who has walked through the confusion into light, and understands much of the process, I have huge compassion for anyone on this journey.
A new chapter of light and love is here and you are part of it.
Could this be love?
ORLA’S EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Commerce UCD
- Master of Business Studies, Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business
- I have studied, trained and practised healing and meditation since 2003.
- I have trained in Touch for Health Kinesiology, Crystal Insights, Bach Flower essences, Homeobotanicals, Working with Angels, Z Point for Peace with Grant Connelly, Universal Healing Tao with Mantak Chia.
- 200 Hour Ayurveda and Yoga Instructor
- Kirtan Course at Radhadesh, Belgium
- I have also brought together many of the practices I have developed and learned into books and programmes including Waking up the Inner Hero, The Cleanse and Lifestyle Revolution and The Soul’s Goals.
