What Brought Me Here, To You....
- Makenzie Clevinger
- Jun 14, 2017
- 4 min read
One day, when I was a small child, I was walking along the creek that ran through my end of the city. I was walking with a friend, and we were barefoot as we waded through the murky water. Suddenly my friend gasped and fell to the bank crying. She had cut her foot on broken glass. It was as if I knew what to do intuitively. I wrapped some leaves around her cut and held my hands there. I asked the Universe to heal her wound and imagined it would close miraculously before me. A few minutes later, we pulled off the leaf wrap and she had a tiny white line where the cut had been. That's when I knew that I wanted to help people heal.
Ok, I am realistic. Perhaps the cut wasn't bad and holding it together caused it to clot quickly. Perhaps I imagined the whole thing. It doesn't matter now, because 1.) she didn't die of infection and 2.) the experience stuck with me and led me here.
I have never trusted Western healing modalities. As a child with constant stomach pain, digestive issues, and spinal issues, the doctors all represented pain and prodding.
I have an undergrad degree in Women & Gender Studies from the University of Toledo. I started with a passion for art and creativity but quickly learned that if you struggle with math and cutting matte board you don't get far in college for fine art. So through a series of events, I went into the social sciences.
My education was superb. But when I graduated I didn't know what I would do to make money, besides continuing with what I was doing which was a very eclectic combination of occupations. I had some connections in Denver through my internship which led me to choose to leave my home in Detroit, MI to go to Colorado in hopes of finding something. I was leaving behind family and an abusive relationship so I had mixed feelings.
A voice spoke to me. I remember it clearly. I was brushing my teeth and my roommate was not home. A clear, calm, affirmative voice spoke in my head and said I was going to Denver to meet someone. I had a sense that I was absolutely on the correct path. And it freaked me out! It brought back memories of other similar voices from childhood that would occasionally speak to me in a guiding manner.
When I was in my mid to late teens, I had a dream that led me into relationship with the Divine. In the dream I was floating over the earth, over my neighborhood. Below me everything was magnified and the colors of everything were vibrant and intense. They were so intense that I could FEEL them through my whole being. They felt like pure, Divine, unconditional love. When I woke up I felt that love everywhere, for everything.
Fast forward to my time in Colorado. Again, I started listening to my intuition and to the Universe, which is one word I use to describe what others refer to as God or Creation or etc. Through Craigslist (I know right) I met a man who was my connection into the field of counseling. He connected me with a job working with troubled teens who were in a locked facility. I learned so much there about boundaries, growth, and compassion. After a few years I went back to school to get a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and moved forward towards licensure. I loved helping people find their own resources within themselves and what I noticed was the clients with the most extreme mental health or addiction issues were lacking a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives AND they were not getting the proper nutrition they needed either, as they were in various levels of institutionalization.
Back to my personal journey, which corresponds to the same timing, as is how these things work. I had suffered panic attacks and had a formal diagnosis of PTSD for years. First I had been guided to take probiotics and B vitamins, as well as eventually eating gluten free and mostly dairy free. Those changes alone made most of my panic attacks and other physical symptoms that I had struggled my whole life with go away. I also met my mentor and friend, who is also my priest and teacher. He took me on a shamanic hypnosis journey that healed a large chunk of my pain. He helped me nurture my own internal spring of energy to be used for healing. He taught me about the Gnostic concept of the Sacred Flame which is the divine spark within us all.
I have always loved the desert, so when I married my husband we moved to California. I had the choice to start over with my therapist license here or change directions, which is what my heart wanted to do. So I walked away from counseling. Along that path I found Urban Tantra, which was a deeper level of healing than I could ever imagine, combined with Integrative Body Psychotherapy which combines everything I have learned together.
Through another strange series of amazing events I ended up in a small town in the places of my dreams. I watch dogs while I am home, because animals are sacred little beings whom I have always been connected with. I teach at an amazing spiritual retreat center that focuses on holistic wellness. I offer Intuitive Wellness Coaching, Energy Work Sessions, I can officiate weddings or rituals, or talk to you about ways to tap into your internal spring, which is the source of the Diving that flows through each of us, regardless of what our belief system is. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask but welcome to my blog!
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