Dropping the Stigma

Article by Reiki Master Judy Camblor

I live and work in a community that is densely populated. The majority of people who live in my community are of Latin origin or descent. Everyone who is Latin or of Latin descent has at least heard of different spiritual practices including what they would consider the dark arts or witchcraft. In my personal spiritual journey, I have encountered the many forms of prejudices inflicted on spiritual practitioners. Sometimes those prejudices have been inflicted by practitioners on themselves because they are afraid of judgment and ridicule, and so, they hide in the shadows and conduct their practices in secret.

I would like to shed some light on this topic to dispel some of these ill-conceived, prejudicial and ignorant beliefs for people who are not on a spiritual journey or for people who cling to their religions and dogma and don’t understand what spiritual practice is. Because I am a Reiki practitioner and my work is concentrated on working with energy, you will see that I speak quite a bit about vibration, energy, and resonance. Reiki is a healing technique where the practitioner conducting the session scans the body looking for changes in the body’s life force energy. It also includes techniques for bringing the energy centers of the body back into balance. Energy centers or chakras, can become out of balance when a person is stressed, ill, or has suffered some sort of emotionally traumatic life event such as the loss of a loved one.

First, I would like to clarify that spirituality is not witchcraft. This is an assumption I hear quite often from people who are, by no fault of their own, ignorant or misinformed about spirituality. Spirituality is the practice of going within your own psyche to find what it is that your soul truly desires to accomplish in this existence. Spirituality is finding the God within, the divine spark that we all possess given to us by the Creator. People who seek a spiritual life are working to achieve their soul’s purpose in this life. And so, a spiritual person will look to different practices to accomplish his or her soul’s purpose.

Spirituality has nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with personal beliefs. For example, if a person believes that they have received a calling from God to become a monk and living a life of solitude and worship because that is what the soul requires to feel fulfilled, how is that spirituality different from a person like me whose soul purpose is to create a practice for my own soul’s purpose by facilitating energy healing for others? Doing this type of work makes my soul feel fulfilled and purposeful. I am helping those who seek my assistance to live a more peaceful life by employing the use of the healing techniques I have been certified to practice.

The beauty of spiritual practice is that you are free to practice or worship in whatever manner best suits you. Whatever “resonates” with you is the way you should develop your spiritual practice. The word resonance is easy to explain to the religious. In energetic terms, when something resonates with you, whether it be a song or a scent or even in some of the things you read, when this thing gives you a good feeling inside or you find that you are instinctively attracted to it or agree with it, that is resonating. This good feeling is the vibration of the energy produced by that song, scent, or book matching your own physical, mental and emotional vibration.

While my background is religious, I have developed a personal spiritual practice which includes meditation, yoga, Reiki, sound therapy, essential oils, and crystals. Each practice is separate and distinct, but they can also all be incorporated into one spiritual session. Setting apart a day of the week where I can practice all of these spiritual modalities to fill my spiritual cup and help me be more connected with Source or the Creator. I still believe that there is a God and I also believe in Jesus, but I also believe in all the prophets and spiritual leaders because they all preached the same principles: love, peace, and acceptance.

The stigma of witchcraft surrounding a spiritual practice in a predominantly Catholic and Christian community is what has created a limiting belief in myself that has made me believe it would be difficult to reach those who need my help within my community. My practice honors and respects all faiths as I meet each of you where you are in life. I know that there are people in South Florida who would benefit from my experience in energy healing, but even more important I know there are people in this community that would also benefit from my experiences with clearing out and release of feelings of emotional loss and grief.

I am releasing the stigma of witchcraft that has created a limiting belief in me, and that has kept me from finding those who will connect with me on the same energetic level no matter what their faith or religious beliefs may be. I am releasing the stigma that exists in my own mind about people comparing Reiki to witchcraft simply because they don’t understand the difference between magic and scientifically proven energetic fields of the body.

Stay tuned for a Facebook Q&A session that I hope will help to dispel these incorrect assumptions or ideas.

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Judy Camblor is an Integrative Holistic Wellness Specialist and a Certified Reiki Master Teacher and Crystal Healer. She is a certified affiliate member of the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT) as a Reiki Master/Teacher in the Usui Shiki Ryoho style of Reiki and has authored articles for the ICRT. Judy is also certified in Crystal Healing and works with other energetic and vibrational therapies such as sound, color, and essential oils. Judy has trained in astrological chart readings and in providing Akashic Records consultations. Judy enjoys teaching Reiki and attending speaking engagements where she can share her personal journey and bring forward connection, knowledge, awareness, and empowerment to all her clients. Judy also enjoys participating yearly in the Nurse’s Week events at a local hospital in South Florida providing free chair Reiki sessions and educates participants about the energy healing work that is her passion. She works with clients from all walks of life and provides in-person and virtual sessions and training workshops. Judy has been authoring articles for Reiki Rays since 2013.
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