Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Hillner.
Sara, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In September 2015, I was in a bad car accident that was not my fault. I suffered brain bleeding and brain damage, as well as spinal cord damage in my neck. Some of my injuries went misdiagnosed for nine months and once I was properly diagnosed, the injuries were so far set in my body that I needed spinal surgery. I was severely depressed, angry at the person who hit me, sad for how I could no longer do the things I loved and were a part of my identity like surfing and snowboarding, and stressed out not being able to work and having medical bills piling up.
Feeling defeated and out of options, a friend of mine paid for me to have a Reiki energy healing session, and I thought…what do I have to lose? I went in with an open mind, the Reiki Master removed some energy blocks and there were a few serendipitous things that happened in the session that I thought were “cool.” In the weeks following, things in my life started energetically aligning: I found a surgeon who I trusted and who said he was comfortable doing my high-risk surgery (and he was just over a mile from where I lived!), I found an insurance broker who was able to switch medical insurance partway through the year to cover this surgery, and I was sleeping better at night. I changed my diet according to how the surgeon said I could recover faster post-surgery, and when I went in for my pre-surgery MRI he was shocked and said, “You’re doing some healing on your own out of nowhere. Do you want to see how much more your body can heal without surgery?” I couldn’t believe it.
Yes, there were a number of factors involved from changing my diet (and then after that appointment seeing physical therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and other specialists) that attribute to my healing, BUT I can pinpoint when all of this turned around for me, and it was that Reiki session. Through subsequent Reiki sessions and meditation, I learned to let go of the anger and hatred I was holding onto for the person who hit me in the car accident, able to let go of sadness, resentment, and stress…and replaced those emotions with love, gratitude, happiness, and joy. To this day, I have not had spinal surgery, and I’m back to doing all the things the doctors said I’d never do again, like surfing and snowboarding!
I thought there must be something to Reiki, something that was beyond what I could see with my physical eyes, so I enrolled in a Reiki 1 class. And doors just started opening for me, in a way that yes I had to put in some effort, but it felt effortless at the same time. So, I kept progressing in my Reiki trainings, and I’m now a Reiki Master-Teacher, and have opened my own private practice in December 2018!
Since then, Reiki has also helped me improve myself as a person and become a “better version” of myself. As a result my personal relationships are stronger, more genuine, and more meaningful, I approach my business and work with more confidence, and I’m developing a deeper and more honest relationship with myself. I’ve experienced healing in very unexpected, magical and powerful ways.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think the biggest obstacle I’ve had to overcome is MYSELF. I’ve had to learn how to put my own ego aside, meaning I’ve had to let go of how I “thought” my life would look. I always thought I’d stick with the entertainment industry as an editor, keep making a solid paycheck, and keep hustling for jobs. I had to let go of what I knew, and lean into what I didn’t know…and that is scary! Each step of this journey of becoming a Reiki Master, opening my own small business, setting up programs like healing circles and even having that first session with a new client is really stepping out of comfort and into the unknown. There are times I feel like Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade” where he steps off of the ledge and into what looks like an open pit, but when he takes that leap of faith and steps out, is caught by the invisible balance beam. With each obstacle I overcome, I learn to trust myself more. I learn to tune into my own intuition and listen.
I’m also a medium. I have been since I was a kid, but as I grew up I learned it wasn’t “normal” and all I wanted to be was normal and fit in, so I pushed it aside. There were times throughout my life when I heard a voice telling me what was going to happen (aka clairaudient), or a thought that wasn’t mine would pop into my head (aka claircognizant) and each time, the information was that something bad was going to happen. One example is when I was snowboarding in 2013 and strapping in at the top of the hill, I heard a voice say “are you ready for your back-breaking run?” and I turned around and no one was there. I thought that was super creepy so I remember boarding very carefully. About halfway down the hill, I realized my friend wasn’t behind me and so I stopped and waited for her. I was just standing up on my board, not even moving, and all of the sudden I fell backwards down the hill, overarched my lower back and crushed my L1 vertebrae. So, I decided I didn’t want this mediumship quality, I didn’t want to know when bad things were going to happen, so I buried it. It wasn’t until I was doing a more advanced Reiki training that I started to uncover and really lean into the medium abilities. Here again, I had to get over MYSELF and see how I could use this as a gift, not as a burden. I’m still constantly evolving, learning, and exploring this trait of mine.
Venice Reiki – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I own and operate Venice Reiki, which is a “healing collective.” I’m a Reiki Master so I offer Reiki sessions, but my teacher calls it “Reiki-plus” because what I do is not just give Reiki. In a session, I incorporate all types of healing modalities from chakra balancing to crystal therapy, to removing energetic blocks, to cutting toxic energetic attachments the client has with people. Energetic blocks form when we hide or bury stress, emotions and feelings within us, instead of fully process and let go of them. If not properly released, this stored stress or emotion over time will manifest into physical pain, ailments, or “dis-ease.” Many times removing these energetic blocks will also release buried emotions, so I hold space for these emotions (fear, anger, jealousy, guilt, anger, shame, sadness, etc.) to be fully processed and released by the client. While doing this, I again use my mediumship skills and will often be able to hear a voice guiding me to ask the client specific questions, helping the client to fully process the emotion.
What makes my Reiki sessions unique is my ability to fully lean into my mediumship traits and communicate with the client’s higher self, spirit guides, and sometimes an ancestor or deceased loved one will come into the session to help. One session in particular, a client’s deceased loved one came in within about 5 minutes into the session, and he guided my hands to certain areas of her body that needed healing. I was then able to ask her questions about specific pains she was experiencing, and then he told me small shifts she could make in her life to help ease her pain.
My medium skills are also very useful during home clearings, as I can clear away any energy that doesn’t belong. Sometimes that energy is a deceased person’s energy that is “stuck” in this world, and other times its just stagnant energy, like from a past fight, and that energy is just lingering.
What I am most proud of is being able to help others’ on their own healing journeys. I have done a LOT of healing work on myself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, and I think it’s both beautiful and a privilege that I get to share that healing work with others.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I always feel that healers don’t actually “heal” people, but help them uncover their own power to heal. So, success for me is helping a client make even just one small shift towards living a life that is in alignment with their higher self. Whether that’s helping them uncover and use their gifts in a class of mine, or guiding them towards healing in a Reiki session.
My vision for Venice Reiki has always been to be a “ripple” in the world: to start a ripple effect of healing within myself, and then extend that healing energy to people around me in my small circle of friends, who extend that healing energy out into their own circles, into our communities, and cities. Our world could use a lot of healing right now, but I always remind people that healing, just like change, first starts within yourself.
Pricing:
- $150 for 90 minute Reiki Session (includes general Reiki energy healing, removing energy blocks, chakra balancing, attachment cutting, crystal therapy, guided meditation)
- $200 for 1 hour Home Clearing (includes using water, fire, & air to energetically cleanse your home, and setting up a crystal grid for use during the clearing)
- $50+ for 30 minutes of Animal Reiki (pricing varies upon my driving distance to your home)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.venicereiki.com
- Phone: 310-597-1403
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venicereiki/ (@venicereiki) *actually, right now I’m hosting a “chakra class” via Instagram posts, stories, etc
- Other: https://goo.gl/maps/J2SKr4wACWfBqn4C6
Image Credit:
Photos by: Taylor Servedio, Instagram: @tay.k.photography; Client/Model: Karla Bucio Carrillo, Instagram: @ikarlabc
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