Meet the Leeds businesswoman turned psychic medium Carolyn Creel helping her clients find inner peace

The founder of a multi-million pound cleaning company in Leeds, Carolyn has enjoyed an impressive career, but she felt called to help people clear their minds as well as their homes.

Now a spiritual coach, energy clearer and accredited reiki master, Carolyn has thousands of clients on her books - although up until very recently she was a "reluctant reader".

The 57-year-old had an "idyllic" childhood growing up near Selby, but was spooked by things she saw in a disused cemetery opposite her house.

“I used to see and feel things, to the point that I was absolutely terrified,” Carolyn told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“So I stopped looking.

“I always had a gut feel, or an inner knowing, but I thought that everyone else did too.

"But it took a back seat because you get a job, you get married and have kids - you go on with your life.

“Then as you get older, it tends to reappear.”

Carolyn says she was always aware she was psychic but she kept her gift hidden for a long time.

She worked for her dad's butchers in Selby before joining several cleaning companies - and it was while in her last job at a large firm that she decided to set up her own business.

Carolyn founded Active Cleaning with a former colleague more than 20 years ago, offering services to schools, offices and medical centres.

“That’s when I started going with that gut feeling again," Carolyn said.

"I had no doubts whatsoever that it was the right thing to do.

"We threw ourselves into it and it was a baptism of fire.

"We did everything - we cleaned, we sold and we built the structure of the business."

The business has since grown "exponentially" and is now worth millions of pounds, and being her own boss has given Carolyn more time to tap back into her spirituality.

"I’m a bit of a rebel," she added.

"So I love the freedom that comes with running your own business, to make your own decisions and to change things if we need to.

“The way we’ve grown our business is through goal-setting and targets - we take the big decisions on gut feel.

"We’ve also used manifesting and visualisation as a tool and every year we’ve achieved what we set out to achieve.”

-> Meet the 24-year-old Leeds salon owner who is shaking up the beauty industry

As her contract cleaning business took off, Carolyn wrote a book on mediumship in 2013 and dabbled in spiritual work.

But it wasn't until the pandemic hit that she threw herself into building a career as a medium, crystal healer, mediation teacher and spiritual coach, to name just some of her services.

Carolyn said: “When you work with spirit, it keeps poking you to do something with it. If you ignore it, you end up getting rocks thrown at you.

"I was very reluctant, but the business got to the point where it ran on its own and Covid was the final thing that made me think, 'at what point are you going to do this?'

“Because I love it. I absolutely love it. It brings you back to who you really are, rather than the trappings of work and everything else.”

Carolyn says she regularly communicates with the spirits, particularly with her sister who died 10 years ago, and she believes anyone can do the same.

While her mediumship and tarot work is popular, Carolyn is now putting more of a focus on energy clearing.

“My passion is clearing the energy from your house, your gardens and yourself," she said.

"I don’t believe that I’m anything special, I believe that everybody has the ability to be in touch with their own intuition.

"But often we’re blocked by other things, by the every day.

"My mission is to help as many people as I can to clear their energy blocks, so that they can be in touch with their inner self.”

Carolyn will soon launch online workshops for energy clearing and she hopes to set up a podcast series where she will interview other spiritual teachers.

-> Leeds Rhinos legend Jamie Peacock MBE on mental health, retirement and identity

“I’m a big believer in sorting things out for yourself," she added.

"And I want to help people to do that.”

Dealing with doubters

Carolyn has come across people who doubt her spiritual work, but it doesn't phase her.

She said even the most cynical of her friends have been surprised at what they discovered when they tried reiki, a Japanese form of energy healing.

“I know what I know and if people don’t believe it, then that’s fine," Carolyn said.

"You don’t have to believe in spirit, but science proves that we’re all energy - and that energy makes a difference.

"But I’m not here to shove it down people’s throats. I only talk about it if asked, but people find it fascinating when I do.

“Since the pandemic, we are certainly looking for holistic healing more than ever before.

"Being locked up at home has made us reassess what we want and what’s important to us.”

Carolyn's tips on finding peace

At the core of Carolyn's work is a desire to help people find inner peace.

“Spirituality can help people live a calmer life, a better life, and realise what’s important," she said.

“I’ve had people walk away from relationships that didn’t work, change their jobs, move countries and completely change their lives.

"Often people say it’s because of what I’ve said, but it’s not. They just need a bit of coaxing. I never tell anybody what they don’t already know.”

Carolyn recommends meditation, yoga and mindfulness as tools to help quieten the mind, as well as decluttering your home.

While she recognises the benefits of social media - it's a tool she uses to connect with clients - she warns that too much screen time can lead to more stress.

"Go outside, leave your phone at home and go out on a walk in the fresh air," Carolyn said.

"We’ve got places like Temple Newsam and Roundhay Park on our doorstep.”

-> These 10 hidden gem villages within an easy drive of Leeds are breathtakingly beautiful

"I think that the state of your house reflects what’s going on in your head," she added.

“Get rid of what you need, recycle it, and open your windows to clear the air and let the stagnant energy get out

“Find something that you like and do more of it. And breathe. If you’re really overwhelmed, just sit down and breathe for 10 minutes.

“It makes such a difference."

You can find out more about Carolyn's spiritual services at carolyncreel.com