simply put: i’m a lot…
…of things.
But the one thing that tethers me to this plane of existence is knowing that my soul elected to come here for this go-round of life to help folx, animals, and the Earth Mother heal.
I’ve always been pretty open to anything Spirit wanted to show me. I have a deep trust that what is meant for me will come, and what isn’t, won’t. This is probably why I am, as stated above “a lot of things” with a lot of interests and passions. I’ve studied crystals, tarot, oracle cards, different methods of meditation; they all came into my path at the exact right moments. So when I started seeing the word “Reiki” everywhere — website ads, magazines, and even hearing it within earshot of me in the grocery store (seriously!) — I thought maybe, just maybe, I should look into it.
I, like most millennials, had an anxiety disorder and the inability to shed the weight of the emotional and physical stresses of my job. When I walked into my now friend and mentor, Marita Aicher-Swartz’s office, I felt an immediate peace wash over me, and I knew something was about to shift in me or…possibly, wake up in me.
After that first Reiki session, I knew it was part of my soul to learn and share this gift with others, and later that same year, I took my first Reiki class in the first degree of the Usui/Tibetan style. Following my Reiki Level I attunement, I shared Reiki with anyone and anything I could — my friends, my dog, my garden, my food — I was hooked and a firm believer that Reiki was a gift to the world. Then came Reiki Level II, and I dove even deeper into researching the history, widening my understanding of just how Reiki works and how rich the peace it can bring is. When my mother was hospitalized for the last time before she transitioned, I was able to stand at her bedside and share Reiki with her. I felt inside me her "nod” of approval for the man Reiki was helping me to become. When she left this life a few days later, I felt her close to me, and she is with me every time I share this practice with someone new.
On September 1, 2018, I became a Reiki Master. It was an incredibly deep experience for me, and also so life-affirming. Many say when you go through such an intense initiation as a Reiki Master attunement that your mental and spiritual “furniture” gets re-arranged and you experience energetic discombobulation. For me, though, I felt at peace and put-together for the first time in as long as I could remember. Everything just…clicked.
Now, I have shared the gift of Reiki with countless folx both in-person and remotely, and have had the great joy of watching them experience the healing that it brings. I’ve been able to share my gifts of intuition (that have only grown with my deepening Reiki practice), and I have seen connection grow stronger even when we feel separated from the Divine or loved ones that are no longer with us here.
Reiki reminded me who I am, and it can remind you, too.
education and cert’s
July 18, 2016: Reiki Level I, Usui/Tibetan style with Marita Aicher-Swartz
October 3, 2016: Reiki Level II, Usui/Tibetan style with Marita Aicher-Swartz
August 30-September 1, 2018: Usui/Tibetan Reiki Master with Marita Aicher-Swartz
November 8, 2020 - Present: Certified Aromatherapist at Aromahead institute, school of essential oil studies (currently studying)
March 26-27, 2022: Karuna Reiki® I & II with Marita Aicher-Swartz
March 28, 2022: Karuna Reiki® Master with Marita Aicher-Swartz
May 14, 2023: Let Animals Lead® method of reiki, Levels I and II (Animal Reiki for Reiki PRactitioners Course) with leah d’ambrosio