Who is Shirley Koritnik? I suppose, as it is for you, “that depends”, right? The Shirley my family, friends, and colleagues know is uniquely personal to each of them. But here’s who I am to me.
In a Vision Workshop I identified myself as a “curious catalyst.” I’ve known from a very young age that I’m a natural detective. A friend who hadn’t seen me for awhile said to me recently, “Oh my gosh! I forgot how many questions you’re always asking about everything!” And yes, she meant it as a compliment.
A Magic-Loving Kid
My earliest memory of who I am goes back before kindergarten. Daily in my imagination I was one of a number of fairy tale characters who could do wonderful magic–but my favorite was Peter Pan because boys got to do so much more than girls back in my day!
I was so curious about how to do magic that I started sticking bobby pins into electric sockets and enjoying the zing! I thought it must be something like real magic. [My parents put a good-spanking stop to that.]
Looking for Miracles, Too
My passion for magic began to include a deep curiosity about miracles, too, as I heard about them in Scripture and believed the priest changed bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.
Our dad made us come to Mass early on Sundays, so I had time to think and learn to pray as I watched the dancing play of light and dark around altar candles and took in the vibrant stained-glass windows. I now realize that Dad had found a place to think and pray himself and was showing us without words how important a sit in silence is.
The weeknights I stayed with my Grams downtown she’d walk with me to weekday Mass in the magical early morning Wyoming darkness, and bring me to the “block rosary” once a week where there were a dozen believers sharing beautiful reverent quiet as they prayed earnestly for their loved ones’ needs and world peace.
I just knew they were powerful.

So when our first grade teacher had each of us stand up to tell the visiting priest what we wanted to be when we grew up, I excitedly stood up and said “A PRIEST!” because I just loved how time at Mass on Sunday miraculously transformed my parents, and I assumed others.
Mom and Dad might have been bickering, but after Mass they were again kind and generous of spirit. What would it be like to talk to God all week to find out exactly what to say to people on Sunday to help them be more wonderful, peaceful humans?
I felt called to that. But I saw shock on the priest’s face and soft-spoken Sister Madonna loudly demanded, “Sit down and don’t let us ever hear you say that again, young lady! Girls cannot be priests!” Puzzled, hurt, embarrassed, and ashamed, I obediently forced myself not to imagine that for me… at least for a few years.
Seeking a Spiritual Lifestyle
So at 18 I went off to my second choice — the convent. I became a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth and for 27 years I was first Sister Cyril Marie, and then after Vatican II, Sister Shirley.
My superiors, afraid Shirley was too secular a name, asked me to research my birth name as appropriate. In Old English Shirley means “from a bright and shining meadow”. In Hebrew it means joyful song/psalmist.
Thankfully I could be Sister Shirley. [I know God forgave me that I accidentally forgot to mention to them that someone surnamed Shirley had tried to assassinate a Pope centuries earlier….]
So another answer to who I am is my name. I am “Joy and Song of the Lord, Maker of Pig Troughs,” when you add the meaning of my Slovenian peasant family name Koritnik.
Helping Others Find Spirituality
In 1968, as Sister Shirley, I started teaching English studies and Religion classes to sophomores in high school. How I loved working with those kids in Topeka, Kansas! Every day was an adventure.
I had convinced my convent superior that I should be able to buy and listen to a small transistor radio so that I could relate to what the kids were listening to and transform the usually-hated poetry classes and often boring Religion class lessons.
I created slide shows and negotiated with a public high school administrator to borrow their video equipment to tape interviews and plays my students produced.
I learned to play the guitar and had a group of kids who played for high school worship events and one of the parish Masses every Sunday to use music to steep us all in inspiring lyrics meant for a whole new generation of spiritual seekers.
Every summer we Sisters did a 7-10 day retreat in silence to refocus our lives, and I was privileged over the years to learn many styles of prayer, meditation, psychological/spiritual exercises, and journaling techniques that deepened my spiritual life and expanded consciousness.
I also had the privilege over several summers of completing a Masters Degree in Fine Arts while attending the Bread Loaf School of English outside of Middlebury, Vermont. I’d gone to the convent right out of high school, so these summer experiences were incredibly life broadening.
I learned that the best and most useful conversations about God and the purpose of life often happened late at night over drinks — and how hungry students and faculty were for the real God connection I had that I could share.
When I was given the honor of directing one of the campus plays one summer, I made Adam a traveling salesman, Eve an alcoholic, Cain a meat-eating gang member, and Abel a vegetarian hippie — to give modern nuance to old Biblical conflicts.
Having been exposed to so much myself, I was grateful to help many others along their path, too, finding fresh ways to share the tools and spiritual insights that had been shared with me. So Shirley is also a creative and passionate spiritual sharer.
I Become a Global Citizen
Then the Kansas Archbishop asked me to study in London at the Catholic TV and Radio Centre with other media trainees like me from all over the world.
This became another fabulous turning point in my life as a seeker — I immersed myself in learning about other countries and cultures as we came together to learn script writing and broadcasting.
We were a tight live-in community and brought into our deep conversations perspectives from Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, India, the Sudan, Nigeria, Ireland, England, and the U.S.
Shockingly, the Cambodian bishop in our class returned home and lost his life in the killing fields trying to help his parishioners escape.

The Vietnamese priest went home to the deep complexities of war he tried to help us see through his eyes. All this led to heartfelt insights and a deep emotional commitment. So Shirley is also a world citizen, a passionate fighter for world-wide social justice and understanding and cooperation.
I Get a Taste of Something More
Back home I helped create and became the first Director of ECUMEDIA of Kansas City, combining the talents and resources of Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, the Jewish community, Buddhists, and more.
I became a part of the National Council of Churches Broadcasting Commission, often traveling to New York and learning from inspirational celebs like TV’s Mr. Rogers and author Jersey Kozinski.
Locally I used my skills to direct cable TV interview programs, often taking the TV truck on remotes to cablecast dancers from Israel, or a local Biblical play, or a religious celebration. We created TV and radio commercials about our combined efforts in the community to address poverty, hunger, racism, and more.
I was not able to speak from the pulpit in any Catholic church, but I was a welcomed homilist for other faith groups. So I started to work earnestly for ordination in the Catholic church with other nuns and men and women across the country who held the first Women’s Ordination Conference.
I worked with the National Sisters Communications Service and the National Assembly of Women Religious. It was an exciting social justice emphasis time when priests, nuns, and brothers were taking jobs in civic organizations and even running for political office on all levels!
Some nuns were even turning convents into homeless shelters for women from the street. And then came the crack down from the Vatican.
As hard as we were working for change from the inside, on the outside some priests were denying Communion to pro-choice women running for public office and/or not allowing women to read Scripture from the pulpit anymore. Suddenly priests and nuns were forbidden to take civic positions or be active in politics.
Comply or leave.
My conscience was torn constantly from what I believed the Spirit was directing and what the Church teachings were, in contrast to what the Church was doing. It was particularly uncomfortable to be seen as a representative of the Catholic Church at radio and TV stations and interfaith meetings — as I increasingly could not defend its actions.
CRISIS
Coincidentally, my brother’s career was taking him to another state, and he called to beg me to come take over care of our parents whom we’d moved to be with his family in North Carolina.
So I spoke with our compassionate Mother General, asking for permission to take a leave of absence. I was shocked to hear that, after many years, they had observed that the Sister daughter would go home, the parent(s) would rally, and she would be away 15 years.
They had that very year made the difficult decision to no longer grant leaves of absence because so many were asking. I was shocked that I would have to make a choice — imagine the anguish. I wept constantly during a week’s discerning what to do.
While leaving the convent would ease my conflict with Church teaching vs Church practice, I wanted to continue to live my vows and keep the deep relationships within my community of Sisters.
But for me, charity does indeed begin at home. So I went through the tumult of a “religious divorce” just before my class celebrated our 25th anniversary as Sisters.
The only saving grace at the time is that I was also able to write an official letter to the Vatican to strongly object to the sexism and social injustice in the Church in the process of getting an official release from my vows.
Training in Patience and Health
Needing to supplement our household income, I started a typing business from home, but had to end that when Dad died and my bipolar Mom was hospitalized in her deep grief and then at home slept around the clock in a deep clinical depression, not eating or drinking much.
I was angry and desperate that her doctor kept switching meds every couple of weeks to get something to work (when the half life was clearly at least 30 days and the package inserts indicated that the drugs had not been tested on those over 65 or the frail elderly).
I finally agreed to meet with a natural products distributor and see if something natural might help her crisis when 11 daily meds for bipolar, heart, and severe arthritis were not helping.
I deep-dived into tons of research before buying products for nutritional therapy. I told her doctors I was open to their doing any monitoring. It’s quite a story, but the short of it is that I gradually reduced the medications as I increased a basic regimen of supplements over 4 months.
I also cancelled the monthly pest control spraying, got rid of chemical cleaners, installed effective water treatment, and switched to heart healthy meals.
My health products business started when friends demanded I get them what we were taking when I told them I had gotten a good 4 hours of energy back daily, and my Mom’s zest for life was back.
Managing her bipolar swings without meds took incredible patience, but I gradually succeeded. So Shirley Koritnik is someone who has learned immense patience under fire as an exhausted 48-hour-a-day caregiver for 14 years and then a 31-year specialist helping others with nutrition solutions and healthier lifestyle choices.
Networking
After Mom went to heaven, I got active in Business Network International — serving in all local leadership roles over 18 years.
I have always loved all things tech, so I expanded my skills as social media gained popularity.
Despite a freak car accident and brain injury that took years of recovery, I grew both my Computer Coaching with Koritnik business and my Air Apparent for High Performers natural products business.
I worked online with a business coach and her community all over the country. I deepened relationships with women locally from many different faiths who came together regularly for prayer and support. I moved to a suburb and got involved in local politics for a time. So Shirley Koritnik is an experienced networker.
Everything Comes Full Circle
Covid hit all of us hard. As a 64% Blue in the science-based Color Code, my emotions ran high about the too-vividly imagined potential of thousands of family, friends, and colleagues dying.
I became paralyzed with grief and rolled up my sidewalk to shelter at home. The economy buckled and so did my income. I kept working on the phone and online, but I dropped out of BNI.
Thankfully in the spring of 2020 I found Go90Grow, and then the Master Key Experience (MKE) in the fall. Highly skeptical as always, I gave it a try. After only a few weeks I was astonished that I’d been guided onto a path of daily habitual thinking coupled with the deep learning that I’d been seeking for seven decades.
I could tell that I’d no longer be investing in self-help books and New Year goal-setting courses. The deep camaraderie with seekers like me was similar to my life in a religious community, but so much more.
The Master Key Experience is a deep and inspiring dive into how the mind really works, a study of the wise ones from beginning of time, a mastering of the power of positive thought, an effective way to empower the subconscious—all with a guide and a true MasterMind support and sharing.
My self-confidence soared. Because I started manifesting more authentic magic myself and seeing others do the same, I became a certified guide to help as many others as possible also experience what I’d been seeking since childhood. So Shirley Koritnik is a Master Key Experience guide and mentor, the Detective of Magic.
Thank you for reading! I look forward to hearing who you are as well!
You Can Join Me and Others on This MKE Path
I understand if up till now you have not had something like I’m talking about and have been missing out. I thought I was an effective seeker for decades, but through the Master Key Experience, I learned that I had actually been skimming life and that what’s possible goes a lot deeper.
If you’re ready to stop skimming and to start doing the deep work with trained guides and a MasterMind that creates breakthroughs, I can help you accept the gift of a scholarship to the next ckass that generally begins on the last Sunday of September every year.
Fortunately you can get started today by putting your name on the waiting list for the next Master Key Experience course by clicking here and entering your name and email.
When you’ve clicked to do that, the 7 DAY MENTAL DIET comes up. It’s how I got started, too. Download, print, read, and try it! Once you sign up, we’ll keep in touch by email, even sharing tips of what helped us to do the Diet.
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You know what they say–if not now, when? If not you, who?
No one can get the key to YOUR breakthroughs but YOU. No one can get through what’s locking that door but YOU–it’s a YOU-shaped key.
No one can make it work except YOU with the help of the right tools and support. I wish all that for you in your future!