I was born in the back country of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Western North Carolina. It has long been said that we are a "peculiar people," keeping to ourselves and weary of outsiders. As Anna Wess says, "We are a mystery as old as these hills themselves, and it doesn’t take much figuring to know that we are enigmas of intentional design and destiny. The old ones, the original Appalachian queens, were daughters of the Celts and the offspring of Druids and medieval mavens and the natives of the old world craft, and we are their children. And although we are indeed as mysterious as these old hills, we still have that Celt and Cherokee elder magic in our bones."
Being from a line of women who knew every remedy you could imagine - from a wild ramp poultice to a wart-removing miracle involving nothing more than a wash rag and a hushed, prayerful chant, this work really is in my blood and my bones. As a child I spent every waking second down in the woods, talking to the elementals, finding comfort in the tall and craggy trees, bearing my soul to the creeks and streams, connecting deeply with the precious heart of the earth, and looking up to the Pleiades...knowing somehow, that it too was another place I called "home." Where family lived (you know, the Seven Sisters) *wink*.
Yes, as above, so below, my roots are as deep as the towering oaks in mother earth and as soaring as the streams of photonic light coming down from the stars above.
And this is where my connection to other worlds and other dimensions came alive, and were as real as I am. And as real as YOU are. It truly was my place of refuge when this old world seemed plain mean and angry. It seems as though turmoil followed us...what I know recognize fully as ancestral trauma. I have two brothers-- Brian and Patrick. Brian passed away at the tender age of 19. Patrick was born with cerebral palsy and, by the Graces, is still with us. My folks still live around that corner of the state, settling into their golden years. While I have been a Tennessee-transplant since 2006, North Carolina is always in my heart. Doesn't really matter anyway, because I now call Knoxville and these beautiful Smokey Mountains home - STILL in my beloved central Appalachia!
Since the day of my birth I have had an insatiable curiosity for life, and a deep yearning to understand how we human beings function and why the Universe operates.
As I write, I am laughing and whispering to mySelf, Some things never change."
So.... Who am I? I am many things. I AM ALL things, just like you!
(And here comes Anna Wess, again, saying, "YOU are Appalachian Queen.")
My road on this journey has not been without other pitfalls. In January of 2013, I suffered a sudden illness that would change my life forever in many ways. I was hospitalized with multi-organ failure, in a coma for 5 days, on life support for two weeks, followed by weeks of hospitalization, and months of confinement to a wheelchair, speech and physical therapies, and a foreboding prognosis. I was given less than a 20% chance of living 2 years after I was released from the hospital. It was indeed one of the very darkest nights of my soul.
It was during this event that I had what I now refer to as a total death experience (TDE) which catalyzed a powerful shift in my personal spiritual perception. While the NDE itself was the most glorious gift of eternity, it also ignited within me a determination to bring myself into a state of health and completed my initiation as a shaman- one who "walks between worlds" and endure "soul fire" in service of lighting a path for others find healing, awaken to higher consciousness, and discover their own sacred power and Oneness.
It is through this path that I have become reConnected with all of mySelf... past, present and future-- throughout all space, all time, and all dimensions... and no space, no time, and no dimension. My mission is to help you live YOUR VERY. BEST. LIFE, whatever that looks like to you.
I am a Certified Shamanic Energy Medicine, Ceremonial and Spiritual Teacher, a Certified Hypnotist, a Certified Usui Shiki Ryoho and Crystal Reiki Master Teacher, Certified in BQH© B(eyond)Q(uantum)H(Healing) hypnosis, and an ordained interfaith minister.
As a former licensed massage and bodywork therapist, I have been involved in holistic and alternative medicine for 24 years. My love for this field was first planted when I took a job as a chiropractic assistant in 1996. It is this love that led me to move to Asheville, NC in 2002, where I graduated from the Center for Massage and Natural Health. For bodywork, I hold certifications to practice Quantum Cranio-Sacral therapy, deep tissue, foot reflexology, aromatherapy, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, hot stones, hydrotherapy and body wraps, with extensive experience in Neuromuscular Therapy, Myofascial Release, Trigger Point and Acupressure Therapy, food and herbal healing therapy, skin and beauty care. Although not all of my previous training in the massage/bodywork field are techniques now applicable in my current practice, I still implement the energy healing aspects of them ALL. I have been fortunate to work in many environments- from world class resort spas to private practice, massage schools, and beyond. I've worn many hats during my professional life- everything from positions in the administrative profession (i.e., legal assistant, university executive assistant, retail manager) to those in the business and healing arts such as chiropractic paraprofessional, day spa owner & consultant, senior instructor and owner of Appalachian Institute of Healing Arts massage school, and teacher of continuing education for massage therapists.
While I had to make my departure from a rich and long massage therapy practice after my illness, working with dimensions of the spirit world, healing and energy medicine called me even further and thus, SoulFire Alchemy was born. During my near death experience, I was gifted the spirit name SoulFire, and spirit has led me to embody Who I Am...and I am here to help you do the same for you. My work continues to evolve, as do I, on my own path of transmutation. I am so very grateful to lend a hand to those who also find themselves drawn to the path of finding what sets their "soul" on "fire!"
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My spirit walk and animist training fist began as a child long ago through my Appalachian folk roots and continues every day as I am being trained by the inherent wisdom of the spirits of my own Celtic/Norse/Scandinavian ancestral lineages as well as ReConnection with the Living Light Consciousness.
In addition, I have been privileged to learn and practice:
— and ALL of the wisdom lineages to whom they, and I, are connected to and humbly and gratefully serve.
Over the years as I continue to learn, grow and evolve, I have gained invaluable knowledge and practice in:
I have also spent the past 20 years researching consciousness, Jungian psychotherapy, astrology, theology, sacred contracts, sacred geometry, anthropology, most branches of science/physics, numerology, and other facets of ancient and esoteric wisdom, just to name a few. To understand these fields of study better allows to develop a more complete view of trauma, fear, depression, anxiety, feelings of lack and limitation, and dis-ease from all facets.