Ever since I was a little kid I’ve been fascinated by the unknown. While other girls were reading The Babysitter’s Club, I had tarot cards and Edgar Cayce books from my father’s collection hidden under my bed.
I devoured any reading material on magic and mysticism that I could get my hands on: ghosts, spells, near death experiences, Salem witch trials, angels, miracle healings – all of it. Watching paranormal movies and telling ghost stories were my favorite pastimes; anything that might help me gain a better idea of what lies beyond this physical world. In addition, I felt very much inclined toward helping people. I could physically feel the energy of people around me and was aware of their feelings.
Friends often came to me for advice.
I remember spending hours on the phone one evening in junior high, listening to my friend describe her dating woes in eye-rolling detail while we weighed her options for which invitation she should accept to the dance (cry me a river – my invitations must have been lost in the mail). Helping others was something I enjoyed though, and I found myself in the role of advisor over and over again, throughout high school and college. During those years I was really never part of the action; instead I perched awkwardly on the sidelines, standing by, in case my cooler, more well-adjusted friends required council or veered off the moral path.
My twenties were focused mainly on my IT profession. I’d completed my Bachelor’s degree early and landed a great job that offered a fully paid Master’s program at Syracuse University. I was fiercely motivated to establish a lucrative career in my chosen industry. My career goggles were securely fastened for a solid 10 years (if I could go back in time to give my past-self a single piece of advice, I’d invite that disciplined, uptight, well-meaning girl to get a life). Eventually I found my life-work balance when I met the love of my life in 2005. He was dynamic, outgoing, confident, and always at the center of the action. So basically my polar opposite. We spent the next several years enjoying life together, spending time with amazing friends, traveling the world, and laughing our asses off. Just him, me and my fat black cat, Layla, whom I have to thank for kick starting the next major chapter of my life.
Toward the end of 2012, I was desperately searching for ways to help my feline companion with her various health issues. Her conditions were being managed through medication, but I wanted to do more; so I Googled alternative healing techniques and kept stumbling on Reiki. I’d never heard of it at the time, so I did some research and found it was a Japanese relaxation technique that promotes healing through the channeling of life force energy. This struck an immediate cord with me, and reawakened my interest in metaphysics that had been lying dormant for years. I found a place nearby called Healing Inspirations that offered Reiki classes, and signed up. My Reiki Master/Teacher, Betsy Sams, deserves a post of her own, but suffice it to say for now that I’ll never know how to repay her for the invaluable guidance and knowledge she gifted me. The night of that first class set into motion a journey of spiritual growth that has thrown open so many doors of opportunity and discovery, that I sometimes don’t know which direction to explore first. In perfect timing, one teacher after the next has appeared to usher me along this life-changing path that’s resulted in a way for me to integrate helping others heal, with what I consider to be some of the most magical tools on Earth: therapeutic touch, crystal energies, sound healing, animal communication, aromatherapy, and perhaps most importantly, the power of intention.
Becoming a Reiki Master has led to so much more than just helping my cat (which it did and continues to do). I became realigned with my authentic self, and established a deeper connection to the Divine. One of my favorite quotes is by Arthur C Clarke,
“Magic’s just science that we don’t understand yet”.
I don’t fully understand why I sleep better with rose quartz under my pillow, and I can’t explain why I feel guided to place my hands over certain areas of a client’s body during a session, but I’m not here to explain or convince the skeptics. I simply set my intention, follow my intuition, and watch amazing things happen all around me every day. My name is Andrea Scalisi and I believe in magic.