Heather Downey always knew that she was different. Her nightly dreams always came true with great accuracy. She was also painfully sensitive to the other people around her, feeling their emotions as if they were her own. In a harsh world, her heightened empathy was both a blessing and a curse, but learning to embrace it would be the beginning of her spiritual development.
At the age of twelve, acceptance of her gifts would be tinged with fear when she discovered she could feel the emotions from beyond the realm of the living. Heather realized that in addition to preternatural empathy, she was also a psychic medium, a status that was confirmed by renowned Texas clairvoyant Alex Shaw.
“Tarot really scared me at first because of the unknown about it,” Heather explains. “Now that I understand it, I realize it’s nothing to be scared of. It's a tool that I turn to when I’m feeling lost; I pray before using them for higher guidance and ask God to step in.”
Tarot cards are used as a way to bring the darkness to light and give us visual cues to what our subconscious already knows or feels, but has yet to realize. Tarot can reflect life at its fullest, and can cultivate our capacity to be mindful and open our eyes to the many routes to the inevitable ending of life.
With these abilities and a strong desire at her disposal, she realized that helping people would become her fate. She opened Raven of Hope in 2012 with the intention of using her gifts to heal and help anyone that is open and in need. In addition to using her talents to channel directly from the holy spirit to deliver healing messages of closure from loved ones, Heather also augments her natural abilities with tools like tarot cards, crystals, and the healing practice of Reiki.
Reiki is an alternative medicine that involves healing through energy, a practice that began in Japan over one hundred years ago. The name is derived from the word characters ‘rei’, meaning spiritual or supernatural, and ‘ki’, meaning ‘vital energy’.
Some of its techniques utilize palm healing, or hands-on healing, where the practitioner places their hands in a series of positions on, or slightly above, the body of the patient. This enables a transfer of positive ‘universal energy' that allows the practitioner to stimulate or restore a patient’s flow of healing energy. Its physical benefits attract many people who don’t use it as a spiritual connection, and instead practice it solely for pain relief or stress reduction.
Despite its distant origins, aspects of Reiki are believed to be inherent in us all, as we reflexively put our hands to our temple in reaction to a headache, or to our abdomen in response to stomach pain as our first instinct- instead of running to the medicine cabinet for some Tylenol. And while some are attracted to the practice as an alternate medicine means of pain relief and stress reduction, there is no denying the spiritual appeal to those who dabble in the more mysterious antidotes for what ails us.
A certified Reiki master, Heather added the skill to her repertoire of healing abilities, and through it, has expanded her capacity to help people in need. Using distance healing, Reiki can be sent for miles as practitioners use crystals to assist with energy vibrations to help patients who are physically far away.
For more information on Heather Downey and her healing abilities visit www.ravenofhope.com.