As I begin this blog journey, I reflect on all that has led me to sharing these words and the funny way life works in circles - how it brings back lessons or aspects of yourself again and again, to remind you, to revise you, to show you who you truly are; cycles of time are, after all, how nature functions. Writing has always been a part of my life path. Before my journey as a holistic healer and teacher, I graduated from a top college for journalism - my first choice school (the only school I applied to) and got accepted early decision with a great scholarship. I intended to become a music journalist - marrying my love of music and writing. Of course, life evolved through me in a different direction, and little did I know that a deeper interest would become the focus of my passions and career leading me to who I am today .
In high school, I was fascinated by the nature of reality and consciousness, seeking answers to my own questions about life. I devoured books such as Carlos Castendada’s “Teachings of Don Juan”, Jane Roberts’ “Seth Material” and some of Edgar Cayce’s work sophomore year and beyond. My whole body lit up while reading these materials, and they opened my mind to ways of viewing the world that bent the framework of all I was led to believe by school, society, and religion regarding the role humans play in creation and the nature of existence. Much of what I resonated with in that material - namely that we create our own realities, and that there is an unseen aspect to physical life that most are not raised to acknowledge - planted a seed within me that grew behind the scenes, and took greater root in my awareness in college and beyond. Four years of college ended up being much more about self inquiry, consciousness exploration and philosophy on life in general than about pursuing the career I had intended. Part of this stemmed from feeling discouraged and dismayed in my first Journalism 101 course when the professor bluntly explained that all mass media is consolidated and run by the same couple of corporations and it is very hard to get into journalism and write what you actually feel called to. I also realized that in order to pursue a true career in journalism, I would have to follow a linear path and commit to living in a big city such as New York, which is something that felt limiting and uninspiring to me at the time. I promptly switched my major to ‘writing, literature and publishing’, which was the most broad spectrum major offered, so I could continue writing while figuring things out. This ended up being the best decision I could have made.
Literature classes challenged me in the best way. Environmental literature, women’s literature, early American, Native American, South Pacific, travel literature, and more all helped me see deeper into the history we are all taught, how other cultures live, why things are the way they are in our modern world and why we have collectively taken on certain concepts as truth. Literature from these classes broadened my perspective on philosophy and linked to much of what I read in high school on the nature of consciousness and reality. I was whisked away into the realms of nature as I immersed myself in the works of the transcendentalists - Emerson, Thoreau (who I later found out I have ancestral relation to), Hawthorne, and Walt Whitman. I was also intrigued by the writings of Carl Jung and Helena Blavatsky who wrote on consciousness, psychology and paranormal/esoteric experiences. Simultaneously, I experimented during this time with plant medicines, psychedelics and tarot cards. The seed planted from what I read and resonated with in high school began to bloom as my personal experiences validated the concepts I exposed myself to, creating a tangible framework for deeper Truths to be revealed. It became clear to me that Truth is found in Nature, in nurturing connection to this beautiful Earth and the body. I understood what it means to live life sacredly, that you and I are souls having a physical experience, that the unseen world interacts with us all the time, and that reality and who we are is much more broad and vast than we have ever been taught. I began to viscerally understand that all I need to know is within me, and that is true for each person.
Little did I know that these explorations and realizations, what I now regard as awakenings, would begin a 5+ year span of deep initiation, some of the most difficult times of my life, and open my awareness to unseen realities that were magnificent and scary as I faced the shadows within myself, within my ancestral lineage, within the systems and structures of this world; I gleaned profound truths and insights through it all. There is much to say about this time of my life and beyond, and aspects of my own journey will pop up in future writings, but the beauty of it all is that it lead me right to where I needed to be - to self healing through nutrition, herbs and energy work and eventually to Reiki training. Synchronistically, the night before I began Reiki I, the abusive relationship I was in at the time ended. A new chapter was dawning as I recommit to walking the talk and making choices that aligned with my values. As I moved through Reiki training, I stepped slowly into becoming a practitioner; the practicality of hands on energy healing further validated the spiritual and natural cosmology I had come to believe in. After what I had experienced the past many years and mostly come out the other side of, I felt I could begin to serve others.
A couple of years after receiving Reiki Master training, I decided to attend a two year herbalism apprenticeship and simultaneously enroll in massage school. I felt I would learn a lot and reach the most people by adding tools that were super practical, as energy work and Reiki were still not as widely known or accepted at the time. Post massage school, I worked at spas, massage clinics, did sporting events, co-owned a holistic health center, managed an herbal apothecary and finally landed in private practice 6 years ago. I gave birth to my first, and only, child around the same time. Through it all, I remain dedicated to my personal healing journey and spiritual self mastery practice, knowing that this is ultimately what keep me afloat amidst the ups and downs of life. I am consistently reminded that I can only see, know and help others to the degree I see, know and help myself. It is a common occurrence in my bodywork/healing practice that a client will come in with the exact issue I had just assisted myself in clearing.
Over the past 3 years, I have deepened my skills and knowledge with the addition of sound healing, CranioSacral therapy, offering tarot/intuitive readings, and teaching energy work and sound healing at a local community college's massage program. It has been roughly 12 years since my first foray into Reiki and bodywork and my passion and interest for healing, for how the tangible and intangible interact, for energy work, the human body and human potential continues to grow.
Now, full circle, I return (did I ever really leave?) to writing, to sharing all I have learned and continue to learn. Through my years in this career, and through self inquiry and self healing, there are patterns I see time and time again in myself and in clients regarding how the unseen layers - mental, emotional, spiritual, behavioral, ancestral - affect the physical. I have a foot in both worlds as I facilitate sessions and have developed a keen intuition.
In this monthly blog, I will be discussing various patterns and insights and writing on topics such as:
-how to connect more deeply with your body and self heal -electromagnetism and how the unseen affects the seen in relation to the body -tools and tips to working with chronic pain in different areas of the body -intuitive messages from the body systems -aspects of my personal journey -tools and tips for ritual, ceremony and working with elemental energies -out loud revocations, affirmations for deep ancestral healing and more -energetic anatomy and energy hygiene -why and how sound healing works and how to use your voice for self healing
-herbal protocols and recipes + More!
With these written offerings, I intend to peel back the layers of my own journey, all the wisdom I have gained from sessions, and share what I love, what lights me up, through writing and beyond. Perhaps what I have experienced, survived and learned along the way will resonate and help another soul, for this is my greatest intention and honor: to serve, to love - all the while blossoming into my most authentic soul-self.
With deep respect and gratitude, Maressa
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