Today we’d like to introduce you to David Shorter.
Hi David, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was incredibly fortunate to have been raised mostly by my great, great, grandmother in a small rural town in southern New Mexico. Maria Lueras Maes was very special. I spent the first six years of my life in her home and watching her make teas for guests, telling them about what she dreamed for them, helping women with pregnancies, telling people things she saw in her visions. I remember neighbors calling her a “bruja.” I’m not even sure most of our family knew what she was up to as she was very private. And she taught me much, as one of the few kids in the family spending day after day with her while my parents worked. By the age of nine, I was myself dreaming for others, having visitations, and sensing more than our physical reality. That led to a life of me studying the paranormal, working with healers in various cultures, studying Gendai Reiki Ho in Ashiya, Japan. Now I direct the Archive of Healing at UCLA; and I look back and think, it all started when I was born. Perhaps before, since my grandma said she knew me in the womb.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Children who are born with special senses and perceptions have challenging lives. I’ve learned this when interviewing psychics and mediums too. Many of them are sheltered by parents or guardians, or constantly told to hide their true selves. So some of the challenges are experienced when quite young. Then there are the decades of second guessing oneself, the double consciousness one develops. Finding mentors can be hard. It’s a bit funny, but what California Franchise Tax Board option do I choose for the business license? It’s not massage. It’s not consulting. It’s not beautician. The hardest challenge, though, is boundaries. Knowing when to protect the time and energy that I also want to give to my family.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My reiki lineage runs through Hiroshi Doi Sensei, who taught me that “Reiki” might be best understood as the respect (rei) for chi (ki); “chi” being energy. Respect begins with acknowledging the truth of its existence. This core truth connects what I learned from my grandma, from healers in Latine and Indigenous communities, and from the psychics and mediums I’ve spoken with about such things. So while Gendai Reiki Ho is my reiki lineage, in my practice, I’m drawing from a variety of traditions, going with the flow, and trying to be true to my own skills. For example, I think I do more dog reiki than human reiki some months. Most of my work is mobile these days, since the pandemic especially. Much like curandismo (Mexican folk healing) itself, my take is very inclusive. Of course, some things cannot be drawn from appropriately because that’s a form of extraction. But general concepts and worldviews, even healing modalities, are often shared across time and even continents.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
You’re not here to make others understand you. The academic world is one of the most challenging to self-worth since its modus operandi is peer-review: what your peers think of you. I had to learn not to internalize that others do not determine my value. For example, I was once interviewing a phenomenal psychic here in LA and asked her about people who don’t believe in her abilities. She said point blank: perhaps they are on their path of seeing only what they can see at that point. Who knows what illness or a-ha moment will occur for them years or decades later, if at all? Or as one of my mentors used to say: “Take care of the work, and the work will take care of you.” For that reason, I take the approach of not reading the comments to anything posted or my own YouTube content for example. It’s all chatter. It’s not the work, you know? I advise people to listen to your trusted friends and colleagues perhaps, people who are invested in your growth and your being a part of their community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inthelightreiki.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inthelightreikilosangeles/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drdavidshorter
- Other: https://www.davidshorter.com
