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The Lineage of My Names: Alexis Alizah Katz (Ali Katz)

Documenting the lineage of my names is an honoring of all the parts that live inside me. Plus, a letting go and a welcoming of the integrated whole.

I’ve written extensively about the history of my names — Alexis Martin Neely to Ali Shanti — and what they represented over time from an identity, personal growth and transformation perspective.

And, I wrote here about how I came to discover and reclaim my one true name, Alexis Katz.

Then, when I was getting fingerprinted for my legal name change, I had to write in my new full legal name.

I wasn’t expecting it to happen then. I thought I had time. But, instead, I had to make this quite big decision on the fly, without much thought.

Would I keep my married name, and the name of my children, “Neely” as my middle name?

I closed my eyes, took a few moments of prayer, asked for guidance and received it.

What I heard is that, it’s time to fully let go of Martin and Neely.

And I remembered my Hebrew name, given to me at my Bat Mitzvah ceremony in Israel.

Alizah. Of course. It means joyful. My mother’s middle name is Joy. A connection to her. A further connection to my lineage. And, of course, shortened to my already nickname, Ali.

I typed it in to the form.

Alexis Alizah Katz.

Alexis Katz.

Ali Katz.

That’s me.❤️🙏🏼

And, now, for those who are curious, the details of each of the pieces …

I was born Alexis W Martin. W because my mom wanted Whitney, but my dad thought it was too pretentious. So they settled on just W for my birth certificate.

1999: I married Todd Neely and became Alexis Martin Neely. As her, I graduated law school, started my own law practice, authored a best-selling book 📚 and became a family, financial and legal expert on TV 📺.

2009: I sat with Ayahuasca 🌱 and saw a vision of the 🌎 I wanted to live in, and how Alexis Martin Neely’s “success” was a contradiction to that world. So I began to reject her, and what I had created as her, becoming simply Alexis Neely in the process.

Then, Ali Shanti showed up. 😳 She was the antidote to Alexis Martin Neely. The inner conflict, outwardly expressed. Inside they the two were at war. Orange and green (spiral dynamics), reconciling. 🧠🤺🤼‍♀️💔💗

2019: all parts have now been heard and felt and seen and met. 💥The war has resolved into a clarity of the integrated One that is me. 🔥 And a singular name that fully represents the integrated whole that is me.

Welcome, Alexis Alizah Katz. 🙏🏼

💪🏼🙋🏼‍♀️ Alexis. My birth name. Meaning: helper/defender.

🥳 Alizah. My Hebrew name, given to me at my bat mitzvah in Israel more than thirty years ago. Meaning: joyful female.

🧝🏼‍♀️Katz. My father’s original birth name. The root of my lineage. Meaning: priest(ess) of justice.

🧚🏼‍♀️😻Ali Katz. My name in the public, used as a sign of affection by those who know and love me, representative of the various parts made into a whole. Meaning: fun, playful, light and free, but also serious and real. Meow. 🐱

Alexis Alizah Katz. A stand for the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.

I contribute to this world, first and foremost, by understanding what I have inherited (both the shadows and the light of my inheritance), what I have come into this world to heal within myself, and then choosing to live into what’s most in alignment and integrity, even when it’s hard.

Next, by teaching lawyers to return to the heart and soul of their work as trusted advisors and counselors to families and business owners ready for enlightened estate planning, I am supporting a culture shift from a financial incentive for unhealthy conflict to providing aligned support for those who want to use the reality of their future death to create a legacy of connection and love now.

Using my own million dollars of mistakes in business as a driver, I guide business owners to total confidence with the right legal, insurance, financial and tax (LIFT) systems and support, with aligned advisors on their team supporting them.

When I’m lucky, I get to guide families to mine the gifts of their inheritance and to create their legacies now.

Finally, I share my life and journey openly and in service, as I awaken into my own sovereignty because we need the stories of those who have walked the path before us to guide us home. ❤