My Story  a long version...

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It wasn’t until my 30’s that I realized I had always felt drawn to nature and the more transcendental aspects of life.  Blessed to grow up in Hawaii, I was surrounded by beauty and spent much of my time outside.  I grew up with a single mother and a brother.  We had our share of ups and downs as my mother tried to navigate life as a young single parent with two kids.  I am blessed to have loving and generous grandparents who helped me (with help from scholarships and work study) go to private schools for most of my primary and secondary education and provide extra help when we needed it.  I am just as blessed to learn from my mother's struggles and triumphs as she worked hard to provide for her family.  

Growing up, I often had “psychic moments”. I never knew how information came to me, if I had dreamed it or just knew, but somehow I would know things before they happened.  I always joked that I was psychic, but didn't think too much of it at the time.  When I was 16, I was introduced to yoga through a class my school was offering.   I was initially taking the yoga classes for an easy PE credit,  not knowing the influence yoga would have on shaping my future life.  This class introduced me to the mind, body, spirit connection and  peaked my interest in holistic wellness.  

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In the mid 90’s, I moved to the beautiful State of Washington to attend college.  This is where I truly fell in love with nature and where my desire to work with energy and help people really flourished.   My first experience with energy work was at the age of 18 when I went on a women's retreat.  On the last day of the retreat we learned about chakras and practiced sharing energy with one another with the simple act of humming.   BOOM, my mind was blown.   I could actually feel energy, and the energy centers made so much sense.  I couldn't wait to learn more.  Since then, I wanted to learn everything I could about energy, spirituality, and natural health.

My adult life has been a series of deciding what I want to do and then doing something different.  Initially, I went to college at the University of Washington to become a forensic psychologist, but the study of social behavior and social systems fascinated me more, so I ended up with a Bachelor degree in Sociology with a minor in Society and Justice.  During college I had an array of jobs from food services, to tutoring, to movie usher, to administrative assistant.

After College, I had a variety of jobs from corporate to small businesses, from insurance to consignment stores.  In my free time, I was becoming quite familiar with divinity guidance tools such as Runes, "Tarot" cards, and pendulum work.   I also started to dabble in Essential Oils and crystal healing, and spent a lot of time studying natural health.   

At some point, I decided I wanted to start a non-profit either helping the homeless or having a wellness center.  I went on to earn a Master Degree in Public Administration specializing in nonprofits at Seattle University with the intention that my schooling would give me the education I needed to run a nonprofit.  Once I graduated,  Master degree in hand, I realized through my volunteer work that starting a nonprofit was not my cup of tea, and decided that I wanted to open a holistic wellness center. 

Instead of pursuing an occupation linked to my degree, I took a job as a receptionist at a start-up Chiropractor/Acupuncture business.  I endured lots of complaints from my family as they couldn't comprehend why I'd choose to do reception work after spending so much money on a Master's Degree.  Though my choices made no sense to them, for me, this reception job was the perfect way to gain first hand experience in starting a business, and that's exactly what it did.  Some of my best learning about starting and owning a wellness center came from that reception job.  

In the meantime, I took classes whenever I could to learn about various forms of natural healing including Reiki, massage, essential oils, herbology, energy healing, crystal healing, yoga, and more.  I am a lifelong learner and don't think there will ever be a time when I'm not enrolled in one class or another.  I knew I had a greater purpose, having to do with my intuition, and having to do with natural health and spirituality, but I didn't know what it was.  I thought if I took more classes and learned as much as I could, the answers would come.  They didn't.  I went to psychics and astrologers hoping someone would just tell me what I was supposed to specialize in, what I was supposed to do.   To my chagrin, the answers I sought from outside never came, so the search continued.  

In 2010, I opened up a holistic wellness center with my soul sister where we were able to serve many people in our community.  One of the biggest takeaways from that experience is that energy work, natural health, and holistic wellness are truly for everyone.  Our clients were a good mix of genders, ages, races, and creeds with various levels of experience with energy.  That's the beauty of natural health; we are all a part of this abundant earth and we all deserve to benefit from its healing gifts.   During this time, I became a Massage Therapist, a Reiki Practitioner and held a part-time job.   Along with running the center, I started offering massage and Reiki sessions, teaching Reiki Classes and holding Reiki Shares.  This is where my  affinity towards teaching and mentoring became realized. 

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After another addition to my family, I decided to step away from the wellness center and just be for a while, so, instead of running a wellness center, I worked for one.  A couple years later, Coronavirus happened and I found myself with a lot of time at home to work on myself and go inward.  It was during this time that I confirmed what I always knew, that my purpose in life is to help people who are seeking spiritual guidance and clarity,  who want to feel better, and want to be in charge of their lives.  This was when Light Rei Healing Arts was formed. 

I understand now that all the education, all the jobs, all the changes were part of my journey.   I trusted my intuition and followed the direction I was called to, even if it wasn't what other people wanted me to do, and because of this, I have felt fulfilled and satisfied for most of my adult life.   I have been able to maintain a work-life balance,  nurturing my spiritual needs while tending to my basic needs (food, shelter, clothes, etc.).  For the most part, with each path I took, I was cultivating my purpose, my dharma.  My purpose is ever evolving as long as I continue to learn and grow.  

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I have also come to realize that I love working with people who are beginning their spiritual journey.  I love teaching, providing various self-help tools,  and assisting people  in navigating what paths they chose to follow as they gain more clarity about who they are, what they believe, and where they want to go.  There is so much information out there, so many possibilities for spiritual growth, personal growth, and enlightenment and it can be overwhelming trying to discern what's right for you.   I have had years of experimenting, learning, and figuring out what works for me.  I love helping people figure out what works for them and giving them some extra tools along the way. This is something that I've always loved, and probably always will. 

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I  currently reside in the beautiful city of Edmonds in Washington state with my wonderful husband, three amazing kids, two quirky dogs, two adorable guinea pigs, and a fish (and a recently added jar full of insects, which my daughter insists are pets).  Every day, I appreciate this enchanting place and continue to work on myself as well as feed my thirst for knowledge, so that I can be of better service to myself and others.  

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In case you are interested, a few of my certifications pertaining to the services I'm offering, and I have earned multiple certificates in some of these categories: Dharma Coach, Spiritual Coach,  Reiki 1, 2, 3, and Master Teacher, 200 Yoga Teacher Training, Massage Therapy.  I am currently working on my 500 YTT, Feng Shui Master, and Sistership Circle Certifications.