Check Out Anne Campbell’s Story

I did not grow up believing in magic. Beyond the typical childhood musings, few people in our culture do. So, when my sister suggested I go to see a Reiki healer, I was skeptical. I was struggling with depression after the birth of my first son when my sister paid for me to go and see the talented Reiki healer she had been working with.

When I pulled up to the healer’s home in the spring of 2003, my hands were sweating and I had trouble catching my breath. Now I know that I was reacting to the energy of the place, but I didn’t have this awareness at the time. I only knew that it felt different. I was terrified yet excited at the same time, like that moment when you learn of a significant change in your life and you realize that nothing will ever be the same again.

The healing space was a room above her garage. I remember very little about the room– only that it smelled like my grandmother’s house, was dark, had a massage table in the middle of it, and a large feather on the wall. She greeted me abruptly and I immediately felt as if I was an annoyance to her. I now think that it is safe to assume that my depression contributed to my insecurity about our interaction. When I first climbed onto the table, nothing happened. Then, I started to feel tingling sensations. Soon, I could feel stirring all throughout my body, like butterflies. At one point, I started to cry but I didn’t know why. I had no concept of time. I was not sure where she was around me but I could feel she was there doing something. I was trying so hard to “do it right” but I didn’t know what that was.

Soon, it was over. When I sat up, I was surprised by how dizzy I was. I don’t remember if we said anything before, I left though I am sure we did. What I do remember very clearly was opening the door and turning to my car. That is when I felt the sun on my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt the sun. I realized that I hadn’t seen the sun in a very long time. Yes, it was spring in Minnesota, so that likely played a role but this was even more intense. It was that feeling of the first warm sunny day of spring when all Minnesotans collectively sigh in relief that we survived another winter. It was that multiplied by ten… and just for me. It was life-changing. It was MAGIC.

That after all is the real magic in the world – spending an hour with a stranger in a space above her garage and then feeling the sun again and allowing it to lift me out of the pit of depression I was in. I knew that this was something special. This was something like I had never experienced before and this was a gift I wanted to be able to give to others. I wanted to start right away.

In 2015, I met my husband, Matt. He fit right into our little family unit as if the universe created him just for us. When he came into my life, I was no longer a single parent. In fact, he adopted my children a couple of years ago. I had time to pursue my interests. He greatly encouraged me to take up a hobby. I think he was hoping I would join a volleyball team but I wanted to do Reiki. Reiki would be my hobby. The women I had gotten Reiki from had long since retired so I researched classes and found one that seemed to be a good fit.

The weekend of my training was magical. I had recently seen another energy healer and she told me that she thought I had psychic gifts. That scared me and also piqued my interest. I really wanted to believe that was possible, but I wasn’t sure. That weekend I began trying out some of my “gifts” to see if they could be real. It was more than I ever imagined. It still was not to the level of Harry Potter or anything but it was more than I thought possible!

I started offering free sessions to people I knew for practice. Within nine months, I had more clients than I had time for so I began charging a little bit. Three months later, I once again had more clients than time so I began my Reiki master training and raised my prices again. Soon, I once again had more clients than time, so I began training some of my clients to give Reiki to others. Sharing Reiki is like giving someone the perfect gift that you know they are going to love. Around this time, I started my website (with the help of my very talented and hardworking friend, Danielle) and began learning a few other modalities to see what resonated. Reading the Akashic records (past lives) came very naturally to me. It felt as if I was just remembering how to do it from a past life.

Now business really ebbs and flows. Sometimes I am booked out for two months and sometimes I don’t fill up. Right now, I am booked out for a little over a month and I think it is time to extend my hours. I still claim that Reiki is my hobby because I have another full-time professional career, but I hope in the future that Reiki, past life readings, and training people in this craft becomes my full-time job.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
After getting my first Reiki session 18 years ago, I finished my degree, moved to Peru, and had another child. Life was hard. I was living far away from family, working multiple jobs to make ends meet, had two little kids, and was married to an angry and controlling con-man. How did I get here? I was paralyzed with fear. Like many abused people, I talked myself out of leaving him many times. I told myself that he acted the way he did because he just loved me too much and I assured myself that things would get better. I repeated these lies to myself so many times that sometimes I actually believed them. Until the day I didn’t.

That day I ended up in an ambulance going to the hospital in Lima. I wasn’t safe from my abusive husband in the hospital or at a police station. Peru has a long history of femicide and I knew that the statistics weren’t in my favor. Here is a recent article showing that this is still an issue there. After leaving the hospital, I went to the US Embassy and sat on the lawn where I was protected by US Marines. It was a hot Sunday early afternoon and the Embassy was closed but the Marines let me sit there until I had enough security with me to safely go to the police. I had lived in Peru for five years and I left abruptly with only the clothes on my back. Luckily, my passport and children were elsewhere. The police at the scene were there to protect my former husband. They even stood back and watched him get a couple of last punches in. They later allowed his family into the police room where I was being held for questioning for them to scold me for making him mad. After all, they quipped, he wouldn’t have hurt me if I hadn’t upset him so much.

The next day, I fled Peru. I left behind my job, my belongings, my house, and my spouse. I spent the next few years in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the judicial court of the United Nations… I had to relive the trauma over and over again while I worked to prove that he was so dangerous that the courts could not send my children back to Peru. I also had to prove that the police there were not able or willing to protect us. I fought. I won (with the help of my village, an amazing team of pro-bono lawyers, and a few people who were there with me during the attack). My case set a new precedent for how domestic abuse cases are handled with the Hague Convention for child abduction.

My children and I had experienced some pretty extreme trauma. We all had a lot of healing to do. We did the work. We are doing well now. I believe that Reiki played a huge role in this. My children are now 18 and 14 and I couldn’t be prouder of the people they are becoming.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Many people who come to see me are new to Reiki and energy work. They often do not know what to expect. I usually start by explaining a little history. Reiki is a type of energy healing from Japan that has been used for over one thousand years. It was rediscovered in its’ modern form about one hundred years ago by Dr. Mikao Usui. My Reiki lineage can be traced back directly to Dr. Usui. Reiki is well respected and used all over the world. We even have many hospitals in Minnesota that provide Reiki services to their patients.

Reiki is only a piece of what I do. My lineage of Holy Fire Reiki encourages Reiki Masters to use their intuition during sessions. I use my knowledge of Reiki as a starting point and then add to it based on the clients’ needs. This is why many of my clients who have been to other Reiki healers still need to be walked through what to expect in a session with me. Things that are often incorporated into healing sessions are cord healings (versus cord-cutting), detaching spirits, family or “root” healing, and inner child work. Because I am a teacher, I make sure to take the time to teach my clients all about what I am doing and the information I am receiving about their well-being. My first experience with Reiki was transformative and magical. It was also bewildering. I want to empower my clients. The first step in empowerment is education.

In education, we have a phrase, “go slow to go fast”. That is what I am doing. I hope that in taking the time up front to explain things and answer questions, I can empower my clients to understand the process well as show them how their life experiences are energetically carried with them. My new client sessions are always an hour and a half long so that we have time to go in deep. I walk my clients through what I see (visualize) in each of their chakras and what that means. I also check in on their inner child and their family roots. Then, I check the flow of energy through the body using the meridians (similar to acupuncture). This helps me to learn about their physical energy blockages and how their physical body feels. Lastly, I check their heads for headaches, migraines, anxiety, and, lately, COVID aftermath. During this time, I frequently get messages from my clients’ guides and/or from their loved ones who have passed. I am careful not to market myself purely as a physic or a medium. I instead refer to myself as an intuitive Reiki master. Although most sessions include one or both of those components, not all of them do. The purpose of my sessions is relaxation and healing so my intention is always that whatever happens serves the client’s greatest and highest good.

It is not uncommon that first-time clients are skeptical. I welcome that. It is healthy to be skeptical when trying new things. By the time the process outlined above is finished, I have built trust. My clients are usually very surprised at how much information was stored in their bodies. This process helps to reassure them that I know what I am doing so that they are excited for the energy work to begin.

During the session, I talk very little. In the end, I slowly call my clients’ attention back to their physical bodies and ask them to sit up. They are usually very dizzy. When they climb down off the table, they are often in a daze and comment on how much lighter they feel. It is such a profound and varied experience.

Afterward, I always leave a little time to check in and to teach my clients a few things so that they can maintain their cleared energy. We cover how to protect their energy and how to clear it if they begin to feel weighed down again. I explain that these “band-aids” will help them but that if they need me again, they know where to find me. My goal is to teach them how to do as much of this work as possible on their own so they are empowered. That is what I was missing all of those years ago in Peru. I didn’t have the time, money, or knowledge to heal myself in this way.

I am the only person I know of in our area who does past life readings in the way I do. Other Akashic records readers in the area do it through hypnosis or just give very basic information. Instead, I “read” the past life to my clients and am able to do so in great detail. When I was first learning, I was unsure how accurate my readings were. I noticed that the cadence of my speech changed and I used phrases that were not part of my typical vernacular. I then started listening to Akashic Records: Case Studies of Past Lives by Lois J. Wetzel. I was shocked when I heard the phrases and cadence that came out of my mouth during readings in her readings too. Since then, my confidence has grown and the feedback I have received is spectacular. For example, while at a healer’s retreat a few hours from my home, I met a new client who explained that she had heard about my past life readings from another client that I worked with a few years ago. She had been waiting for an opportunity for a session since then.

Any big plans?
I love teaching Reiki. I look forward to teaching a lot more Reiki classes in the coming years. I have a Reiki 1 and 2 class coming up in November. There are only a few spots left, so sign up if you are interested!

My bigger plans for the future have a longer timeline. In the more distant future, I intend to continue to practice this healing work and teach others how to do so full-time. The transition is likely to be gradual and I welcome that. So far, I feel like my business has grown very organically and I would like to keep that up. It has surprised me how word of mouth travels. My reach has gone beyond the Midwest to Spain, New York, California, Colorado, Arizona, and Oregon. I have been surprised by how effective virtual sessions are and I am humbled when someone comes into town for a short time and makes coming to see me one of their top priorities. I hope to continue reaching a wider group of people. While the details of my story are my own, I realize that my struggles as a young adult aren’t entirely unique. I look forward to using my gifts to help as many people as possible who feel stuck and who are seeking guidance toward self-healing.