As a little girl, Michelle fell in love with nature. Most days she could be found sitting high up in a tree reading a book or rolling around in the grass, simply enjoying the feel of the blades tickling her skin. One of her favorite past times was opening acorns and watching in awe as the squirrels ate them. When surrounded by the beauty of nature, Michelle was fulfilled and at peace. Unbeknownst to her, she found her connection to spirit while marveling in the joy of its natural creation.
Religion was not something that her parents had broached with her – possibly because both had been brought up in what seemed at the time to be very different religious backgrounds. This left Michelle with a yearning to further explore religion and spirituality and what connection she had to them.
In 2002, Michelle wanted to give her mother a special gift by taking her to a Buddhist temple in Virginia called Wat Lao Buddhavong. Her mom had not been to a temple in over 25 years since she was a girl in Thailand where she grew up. To her surprise, Michelle was as moved as her mom by the experience. While kneeling in front of Buddha to pray, Michelle was overcome with a wave of emotion. Having felt this type of love from her parents, for the first time Michelle recognized that unconditional love and peace within herself that she also recalled from her younger years spent in nature. It seemed to have come full circle and she discovered the common theme that everything is pure love. This was a pivotal day in Michelle’s life and she felt lucky to have shared it with her best friend, her mom.
Being young and experiencing life, Michelle lost that connection she felt that day in the temple. Throughout the next seven years she remained very close to her mom, speaking with her daily until one day in December 2009, when Michelle’s mom was taken from her suddenly in a tragic car accident. Michelle was devastated, feeling alone and disconnected.
A little less than a year later, a series of events led Michelle to attend a course to learn Reiki. Not only did she naturally excel at opening herself up to being a conduit for sharing healing energy with others, but she rediscovered the unconditional love inside that she experienced that day in the temple with her mom.
Michelle hopes to offer Reiki to others with the purest intent, sharing energy that is full of love and self-healing. For her, this is the greatest gift she can offer.
