Daily Inspiration: Meet Soraya Kelley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Soraya Kelley.

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?
Back in 2016 I was faced with a great amount of loss, heartache and grief in my life. My father passed away suddenly, a few months later a relationship that was weighing heavy on my heart ended and at the same time my mother became very ill and was hospitalized for awhile. So there was a lot of pain and griefing that surface and with that a lot of healing was required.

I knew nothing about energy healing or reiki but I was divinely guided by the universe to go see an “energy healer”. I found someone through Yelp that was open and available the next day and just went in with an open mind and had my first reiki session. No expectations.

After my first session. I felt quite different. A feeling that was truly powerful and unexplainable. I felt back in my body and incredibly grounded. A feeling that I had never felt in this lifetime up until that moment.
I was still trying to process so much from the last several months.

A week passed and I decided to have another session with the same healer. This time I was more open, still numb and honestly pretty raw all at the same time.. My second session was life changing. Beyond transformative. While on the reiki table, I had a spirit, a beautiful and blissful white light that entered my space and gently told me “that I am to use my hands to help heal people in this lifetime” and then my hands started moving involuntarily.
It was profound to say the least. And that’s why my company is called White Light 26.

As my curiosity and fascination started to peak I decided to go to another healer two weeks later just to see how someone else facilitated their sessions.

In my third session I had yet again another profound, life altering experience as well. The best way to describe is this. ” I felt like someone just opened up my heart, stuck their hand in there and took out the last 15 years of my life” All the memories were there but there was absolutely no negative feelings or emotions attached to any of the experiences. I was in complete awww and knew I had to dedicate my life to helping others feel this too.

Each session was unique, profound and different. That’s what reiki does. It meets you where you are on your journey and gives you what you need.

After that third session I became consumed with learning everything I possibly could about energy, the body, our chakras, our thoughts, mind ,body and spirit and got the proper training I needed to become a practitioner. Today I hold the highest level of training and started a practice shortly after that has now flourished . I’ve used my life and all my experiences and my passion for guiding and empowering others to become the best version of themselves through reiki, self love and finding ways to connect spiritually with the universe and themselves. The challenges, adversity and heartache were some of my biggest blessings and contributed to my awakening and greater mission in life. I am deeply grateful for all of it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the most part it has been a smooth ride. The beginning stages required an abundance of patience and simply just trusting and believing in myself .
The process has been incredibly rewarding and I’m always intentionally working on ways to be better in my own life so that way I can show up the best for others as well.

But my work never seems like work for me, especially when you’re passionate about it. Healing and helping others is second nature to me.
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I was definitely in flow as I started to build my reiki business because it felt aligned and could feel it was my mission and that the universe was guiding me.
I just kept following the calling. And little by little every area of my life started to make greater sense and fit into the bigger picture of the whole.

Starting a business, becoming an entrepreneur was not something I had even dreamt about or hoped for. It unfolded organically on it’s own and that’s what happens in every area of our lives when we trust and follow our intuition and heart. One thing for sure was that I never had any doubt or doubt in myself or my abilities, I’m confidant that’s the spiritual foundation I had already built from years of practicing Nichiren Buddhism.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I wear two very important hats that are near and dear to my heart.

Yes, I am a reiki master practitioner and teacher and empowerment coach.

I am also an artist. An actor and my love for both are equal.

I dedicate 100 percent to both. I fully believe if the universe gives you many gifts use them. Whatever I am most passionate about it, I engage and nurture it. That’s where you create joy and fulfillment in life. By doing what you love and I absolutely love acting and helping raise humanity’s consciousness through reiki, healing and other spiritual modalities. I feel incredibly fortunate and my heart is full of gratitude every day that I have these tremendous opportunities and able to live my life through purpose and impact.

In my healing practice I work differently than most healers, so I have been told. For me it’s really about connecting with each individual on a level through deep compassion,humanism and empathy and serving them in a way that is unique to them. I make sure the space I hold is safe, supportive and that they feel seen and heard. It’s always feel more than a reiki treatment.

I am proud of my integrity. I am deeply proud people trust me. I am proud that I show up with compassion, empathy, authenticity and sincerity. These are the things that are most important to me that I value. I am proud that I have created this opportunity for myself to be in service in such a way especially during these crucial and critical times in our world and I can be an important part of peoples journey through healing and empowerment. I want people to leave feeling hopeful and know that they have the tools within them to become truly happy and live out the life that they want and deserve. Again it’s more than an energy healing session. The universe has given me so much and feel an immense debt of gratitude and want to pay it forward.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My path has not been traditional for me. And with that it has made it even more meaningful.

The most impactful and deeply treasured mentorship for me has been through my eternal mentor in life, President Daisaku Ikeda.
He was a Japanese Buddhist leader, philosopher, author, educator and peace activist.
He has taught me the importance of what it means to be a good human above all else. To live with heart, integrity and purpose.
To respect the dignity of human life and always encourage the person right in front of me through warmth, kindness and sincerity.

We all need a philosophy and practices that help root us so that we can connect and create more through love, compassion, kindness, empathy and equality.
Connecting to the universe, which is ourselves. living and creating more peace in our actions, thoughts and deeds. He’s been a guiding force in every area my life.

Another extraordinary human that has been greatly influential in my life is Michael Golzmane. He is a spiritual facilitator based out of NYC. His teachings have immensely expanded my perspective and knowledge in human consciousness and working with our karma to clear and transform it in this lifetime.
I have used his mentorship and wisdom not only to help me connect with myself on a deeper and more authentic level but by sharing all his gems with others so they too can benefit from his teachings.

We need to be around people who inspire us. Learn from others who transmit the same energy we wish to uphold.
Having a mentor is crucial. It’s like a personal GPS. Someone we trust and look up to guide us to get to where we want to go.
Networking is also great. I personally don’t do it enough. But learning, feeling encouraged and inspired can only be fully accomplished with the help of others. We can’t be great solo. It It is essential to surround oneself with like minded souls who will support us on our journey of whatever it is we are trying to create more of in our lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whitelight26.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__soraya__?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitelight26/photos/?_rdr
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/white-light-26-beverly-hills-5
• Other: https://share.google/2fCh3HsRrjASBiF3c

Image Credits
Dana Patrick

Lindy Lin Photography