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Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Harris.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Ever since I was a small child, I knew I was meant to help people in some way shape or form. As I grew up I started to formulate some ideas of what helping people would look like. So, I developed a heart of service through community work in high school and college. After graduating from Ball State University with my BS in psychology I worked for a mental health hospital managing psychotropic medication for adolescents in the residential facility. That work was very fulfilling, but I needed to continue exploring helping others heal and what that may look like. After moving to Dallas, Texas in 2016 I started to investigate ways to connect with the Dallas community. But, I created a community service group to start to build a connection with the area. But something was still missing. I knew I wanted to cultivate a space where connecting with others is a foremost priority alongside holistic healing. After working in more traditional mental health facilities I saw how medicine as a whole affected people in the healing process. As I started to grow spiritually I became interested in how I could introduce my community to holistic healing. In 2019 I was certified as a Level 2 Naturopathic Reiki Practitioner, a Japanese modality of energy healing through touch. Once I was introduced to Reiki healing I knew it was the vehicle I had been searching for to cultivate the connection I know is needed for society today. Intimate Connections is a growing healing community. A vision that was given to me years ago that now I see is essential for what is going on today. We operate on three pillars; connection to self, connection to loved ones, and connection to the community. I am dedicated as a naturopathic reiki practitioner to providing healing and spiritual development through energy healing and intimate community gatherings. All of this is needed right now, people are suffering from extreme anxiety from the isolation which is just going to further the downfall of social skills. I know that this is a trying time for human interaction that doesn’t involve a screen but it is more than necessary. On February 13, 2021, I opened my healing center to the public. In this space, I provide reiki healing sessions and safe intimate gatherings. Intimate Connections operates in the sacred number of 3; healing the mind, body, soul on the intimate, micro, and macro levels.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. I know that 2020 was a difficult time for everyone in its own way. For me, I started off the year in a great space and I had many ideas for my Reiki services. However, with everything that took place with quarantining and whatnot, I really had to take a step back from everything. I knew that I wanted to provide in-person services because that’s what I felt most called to do. With that being said I took most of the year to journal and plan what I saw for my business. It all worked out because I was able to open my healing space at the top of this year. Sometimes it’s best to just get still and wait for the perfect aligned opportunity to present its self. When I was looking for my office space I didn’t hear back from the leasing office for weeks. I had honestly forgotten that I had inquired. When they got back to me about it I just followed my intuition and follow up with them. The first office space that I wanted end up selling before I could make a decision and I thought that it was my only opportunity. However, they had something better open up and I knew right away when I saw the space that I have now that it was the space for me. It all taught me to trust the process and everything in due time.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a Naturopathic Reiki Practitioner. Reiki is a Japanese form of alternative medicine called energy healing. A technique called palm healing or hands-on healing is used through which a “universal energy” is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing. I use crystals, sound bowls, and essential oils to aid in the process of cleansing and clearing emotional blocks as well as blocks in the energy centers which are called chakras. I am extremely proud of the space that I have created for people to be able to come and find peace and a respite from day-to-day life. People are spending more time than ever in their homes with all of their family and many more. It’s nice to have a place that you can go to really activate self-care and take some time to yourself. Taking time to yourself is very important especially in the times we are in now. Mental health needs are at an all-time high. What energy healing does is provide that release you need on all levels. It is extremely easy to allow emotions to be become pinned up inside you and those pinned up emotions can manifest themselves in a physical way. The most prevalent example of that is when you have a lot on your mind and then a headache presents itself. Since energy can stagnate in the body where there has been physical injury or possibly emotional pain. In time, these energy blocks can cause illness. Some benefits to regular energy healing sessions are; better sleep, stress reduction, anxiety reduction, relieves aches and pains, better mental clarity, deeper meditative states, connection with your higher self, encourages emotional release, increases energy, relieves fatigue. and overall relaxation of the mind/body.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think the best way to find a mentor is just to research. Searching different things online has always worked best for me. Anything that I am interested in I always look to see how I can get involved with it in my area. Sometimes it may not be anything near you but maybe you can participate online.
Contact Info:
- Email: hellointimateconnections@gmail.com
- Address: 1925 E Beltline Rd. #560 Carrollton, Tx 75287
- Website: https://linktr.ee/intimateconnections
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intimateconnection/
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/intimate-reflections/id1548208383?i=1000518928241
Image Credits
Tiara Pickens (Posed by Pickents)