I'd like to take the opportunity to share with you a little bit about my background and the spiritual traditions and practices I'm rooted in.

I will begin with the story of my first spiritual awakening.

The first of many, as it were...

I must have been around the age of 3. We were living in some dingy apartment in Minot, ND, because.. well, why not?

My mom and I went wandering through some random park. Apparently, I must have somehow gotten into my head the brilliant idea of collecting leaves because I vaguely recall my mother interrupting my idyllic reverie to instruct me to ask the tree's permission first.

I remember feeling confused: "What? Get permission from a tree before I take it's leaves? What does that even mean?" It had never before occurred to me to perceive a tree (or any other sort of plant) as a being with any kind of agency.

Of all the experiences and profound awakenings I've ever had in my entire life, this simple lesson has impacted me the most.

I'm not going to get into all the reasons why, as a tiny young child, I had already been indoctrinated by our society AWAY from honoring and respecting boundaries and sovereignty. I'm only going to share with you the way that, on that fateful day, with the help of that one blessed tree, my mother (dear, old, wise, brilliant soul that she is) taught me the value of sacred boundaries. She opened my capacity for respecting and honoring another being's sovereignty and, in doing so, she opened my capacity for love.

(Thanks, Mom. I love you.)

Within a few short years, I had been placed in foster care. Most of the sacred boundary practices my mother had instilled in me, along with most of my capacity for honor and respect had been shredded. Maybe not completely shredded. But, shredded, nonetheless.

ENTER: The Pentecostal Church.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have no problem with choosing Pentecost as a way of life. There are many things to praise about that lifestyle, in fact. The unmatched faith and trust I've seen in some of the Godly Pentecostal women and men I've known in my lifetime is nothing short of inspirational.

But, for me, Pentecost was always like tipping a cup full of water upside down while drinking through a straw. I knew there was something holy, sacred, Divine and beautiful inside of me. I just didn't know how to get it through reading scriptures and dancing around speaking in tongues. I always felt like I was just making it up. It never felt completely real or authentic to me.

And it always bothered me that God was constantly referred to as "He."

I could go on about the reasons why that spiritual tradition didn't resonate with me nearly as deeply as the Earth-based religions my mother handed to me when I was very young, but the point is this: I left the church. And, in doing so, I began to find my way. My OWN way. The way that is absolutely right and true for me.

By the age of eighteen, I had discovered ayurvedic medicine, auras, chakras, meditation and bio-resonance imaging.. among other things. I now had an abundance of tools in my spiritual toolbox. Ayurvedic medicine, especially, held great appeal for me. I wanted to go to India to study it. I wasn't really sure how to get there, tho.

So, I did the next best thing: I started attending music festivals. Regularly.

I blew my brain apart with every hallucinogen you can possibly imagine. Mushrooms. LSD. DMT. You name it, I've tried it. 2ci. 2ce. Some experimental shit that definitely wasn't safe. Frankly, it's probably a miracle I'm still alive. And for those of you who have never done drugs, all I can say is this: You are the crazy one. Not me.

Just kidding... we're all crazy.

That's what I believe, anyway. At least, insofar as we all hold true beliefs that are different from what "everyone else" believes. Anyway...

After a while, using hallucinogens started to get really old. Where at first it had made me feel so in tune and made everything around me seem even more beautiful than it already was, my experience began to transform. Now, using drugs started to make everything seem darker and uglier than it was. I felt better about life when I was sober. So, I quit.

I went to visit my mom over the summer after I turned nineteen, and I discovered a book that would change my life forever: Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham. Here was a book that consistently referred to God as BOTH "he" and "she."

Plus, in addition to my understanding of auras, chakras and color symbolism, I could add the magickal properties of herbs, sigils, athames, cauldrons, candles, elements, etc.

You know... witch tools.

I started practicing magick and became a little bit of a monster honestly. I had little guidance and no idea what I was doing, so things got really bad for me. I guess I just wasn't following the Rule of Three. Anyway, it was during this troublesome and challenging period of my life that one of my best friends, a roommate at the time, who will always be near and dear to my heart introduced me to:

(cue dramatic music)

Reiki.

It totally changed my life.

If you have ever had a Reiki session and watched the movie Fern Gully as a kid, you probably understand exactly how I felt. All my life, I had believed I was as powerful as Crysta. That having the ability to channel life-force energy through our hands to heal people, even to the point of bringing our loved ones back from close to death, was real. And that it wasn't just for Jesus Christ. It was for all of us.

And thus began My Reiki Journey, which I will continue in a blog post of the same name. (I will also link that blog post right here when it's done!)

I'm going to wrap up this letter for now, but let me just finish by saying this:

If you believe that you have the power to heal yourself, and you believe you have the power to help others heal, but you just don't know how...

I have the tools and information that you need.

I'm willing to develop a series of Reiki Course and Attunement offerings for you, available in person and/or online.

So, now it's your turn to ask for what you need.

If you would like to take a class from me and learn more about practicing Reiki therapy, please comment in the comments below and tell me exactly why it appeals to you.

You can also fill out my contact form to express your interest, or you can post your questions in the Simply Receiving with Infinite Genesis Facebook group with the hashtag #liveReikiQ+A.

If I get 10 questions, I will be live to answer them Friday, September 22 @ 1:30pm CST.

In the meantime, I will be sending you all the Reiki love and Reiki blessings my soul has to offer yours. I will also be offering respect and honor for your sovereignty, and healing, support, encouragement and nurturing for your practice of navigating sacred boundaries.

With love,

Cassi