Poppie's Perspective

I am so excited to start this blog and talk about all of the shtuff with you all!! But first, I need to briefly describe why the heck you should even read anything I write in here (regarding energy and energy healing at least). Disclaimer: this post will be much more serious and maybe a bit “not-as-feel-good” as the rest; so grab a cup of coffee and get ready for a bit of reading! 

In the summer of 2010 I was heading into my senior year of High School. This should have been one of the best summers of my life, right? (Or that’s what every 17 year old in that time thinks anyways). I remember waking up one morning, walking into the bathroom, staring in the mirror and thinking, “I wish I was prettier/had perfect skin.” I have dealt with moderate acne throughout my adolescent life, like many teenagers, but it was never something noticeable enough to keep me from enjoying life.

The summer of 2010 was nothing like I had experienced before. I had been going on and off different antibiotics and birth control for my skin for the past two years and my body started reacting negatively. I was getting yeast infections, terrible stomach aches, and my skin was getting worse than it had ever been. My parents and I decided that my body couldn’t handle the antibiotics, due to the reactions I was having, so I stopped taking them. I began a food diet for acne. I followed this program to a T; eating only the items on the list, drinking the suggested juice cleanses every few weeks, and taking the suggested supplements. My body then started reacting to almost every food I ate. I ate an apple while I was volunteering at a youth church program and my face broke out with tiny bumps. Within a week these little bumps quickly turned into a severe rash/cystic acne on my face, chest and back. My skin was so tender that it hurt to have the water from the showerhead touch my skin – I cried every shower I took. The physical pain and embarrassment of this skin condition along with the sensitivities I was experiencing to foods left me weighing 95 pounds; being a 5’7” girl I pretty much looked like skin and bones. Doctors suggested the only fix was to put me back on antibiotics and I (and my family) knew that that was not what was right for me. Desperately looking for an answer to what was going on, we decided to go the holistic route. The Dieticians did a kinesiology test to see what foods I was strong to and gave me a list of over 75 different foods I couldn’t eat. A Chiropractor of Natural Medicine gave me a protein shake and some supplements to hopefully replenish the missing nutrients in my body. A functional medical specialist did a series of blood tests; the outcome being another list of foods that I would never be able to eat again and that I had leaky gut syndrome. I was taking multiple supplements and eating only raw foods when I could stomach them. I tried eating raw garlic, probiotics, raw egg yolks and drinking wheat grass for breakfast to gain some nutrients and not become sick. Nothing seemed to work. I created somewhat of a ‘window of amnesia’ for myself during this time. Many of the hardest days are blurry due to the stress, depression and despair I was enduring. As I reflect now upon my experience, I seem to be able to recall more and more details. I could go on about the details during this time for another 12 pages but I am writing a blog, not a book, so I am going to leave the rest out for now. I would love to chat about this in person with anyone interested in hearing more details.

I became so depressed that I completely withdrew myself from most of my friends, sporting events, and family. I spent most of that summer lying in my bed with the lights off, avoiding all public events. Not only was I extremely embarrassed of my very present skin condition, I found socializing exhausting and not worth it because, frankly, I was at the point I didn’t want to live anymore. I sent out a mass Facebook message to my group of friends at the time and told them I had gotten very sick that summer and that I had a terrible rash on my skin; to not be alarmed when they saw me at school. I couldn’t stand the thoughts of the amount of judgment and questioning I would receive going back to school. I missed the first two weeks of my senior year because I was too embarrassed and mentally unprepared to see my peers. When I finally gathered up the courage to go to school, I remember walking through the front doors that first morning and hearing “What happened to Claire??” from one of the younger students. I called my mom after my first class, crying, and drove straight home telling her I couldn’t do it. The school had reached out to my parents and basically explained to them that I either needed to show up and attend classes, or drop out. Was I going to drop out of High School and never go to College? I decided trying to make it through all of this was my only option; I was not ready to give up.

The only time I looked people in the face was when I was at Midori practice in the mornings before school (an elite Acapella singing octet group I had auditioned for the year before and was coerced to keeping the commitment to despite me begging to be replaced). I ate lunch alone in the bathroom stall the first couple of days back, but then decided that was f***ing gross. Fortunately my mom started bringing me healthy lunches, with the few foods I could eat, and we ate in the car together for a few months every day. After a while I mustered up the courage to try and enjoy my friends’ company and eat with others in the regular lunchrooms.

I vividly remember 6 people in High School who helped me get through this:

1) Sat with me in the ‘Garden of Eatin’ when I was eating lunch alone one day

2) Came over and had a movie night with me after saying I didn’t want to see anyone

3) Still tried to include me even though I turned down every invitation

4) Dated me at my worst

5) Took me to prom and encouraged me I looked great the whole time

6) Came over with a birthday gift in hand on my birthday

THANK YOU ALL. I will never forget your kindness and non-judgmental ways.

I wrote every awful thing I was feeling in a journal (that I have yet to read due to my PTSD during this time). My wonderful and loving family (Mom, Dad and Lauren – I love you, thank you!!) tried their best to make me laugh, give me massages (Dad – bless you), make me healthy meals every single day, and talk about how much better I was looking every day (despite the truth behind it). I wasn’t sure I would make it through High School, let alone go to College. The love and support from my family was really the only thing the kept me going. I hope you all know how sincerely grateful I am for the family I am blessed with – I remember every kind thing each of you said or did for me during this time.

THEN in November an amazing thing happened. My mom (who undoubtedly was just as distraught during this time as I was) was looking through the produce section at Lakewinds desperately trying to find foods that maybe wouldn’t make me sick, when a woman approached her. Her name is Regina Reed and I KNOW that she was sent to my family and me from the Divine. After asking my mom if she was okay, my mom with tears in her eyes said ‘no, my daughter is very sick, she can’t eat anything without becoming ill and has a cystic rash all over her face, neck and chest. I don’t know what to do.’ Regina said, ‘I know someone who can help you. Here is his number please give him a call. His name is Joe Petroski and he is an energy healer.’ My mom was so swept away that she called him right there and then in the grocery store. Joe picked up after the first ring and told my mom he was actually in the airport getting ready to board a plane to Minnesota and that he could see me two days later. Talk about Divine intervention…

My mom came home and presented the idea of working with an energy healer to me. Energy Healer???? I had never heard of this before – what is it, some weird placebo fix to my problems?? Was some guy going to wave a wand over my body, have me close my eyes, wake up, and be better? I was SUPER skeptical at first, but I had tried EVERY other option from doctors to pills to home remedies to diets to YOU NAME IT…I was ready to try whatever it took. We called Joe back and set up the session for that Saturday afternoon.

I met with Joe at his parents’ home where we sat in a comfortable living room and just chatted. No scary doctor chairs, needles, pill bottles, examinations OR wands 😉 Joe started chatting with me casually as if I had just met a nice stranger in a coffee shop. I felt very comfortable and relaxed. He started asking questions and bringing up events from my childhood/past that NO ONE but God and me knew about. I was in awe. We talked about lots of events and how my current thinking patterns about myself were affecting my emotional/spiritual/physical health. We cleared out a lot of ‘blah’ energy (as I like to call it). After this initial meeting I knew that this was the answer we had been praying for.

I had sessions with Joe almost every day for a few months. Within a few days Joe had figured out that I had holes in my intestines and the toxins were releasing into my blood stream – therefore causing the severe skin reaction and inability to digest foods. Within two weeks I was eating whatever I wanted without getting sick! I’m talkin’    W-H-A-T-E-V-E-R I wanted….ice cream, meat, soda, brats, you name it. Within a month I had gained 40 pounds and my intestines were completely healed and healthy. At this time I was also off all supplements and diets. By the end of my senior year of High School I had gone to prom, was laughing with friends again, and was enrolled to start my freshman year of college the following Fall. I started college on a clean slate, and told very few new friends about this experience. I just experienced life as the “new” Claire Poppie. Yes, I still have some scarring and the occasional blemish here and there (which I still get a bit embarrassed about), but the healing I have endured is incredible. I continue to work on myself every day to live my life to the fullest and be the most confident and happy I can be – no matter what my skin looks like! (Although someday all of these scars will be gone, just wait). 🙂

I cannot express my gratitude enough for my dear friend, medical intuitive and wonderful man, Joe Petroski. I am not here to explain how Joe does what he does or speak for him, so if you have any interest in working with him or questions for him specifically please reach out to him here: http://www.profoundpower.net.

I truly believe that I was meant to go through this to find my gift and my purpose. Through this journey I learned the importance of self-love. I learned that I am someone who is an empath, clairvoyant, and that I feel others energies VERY strongly – to the point that I feel other people’s emotions/thoughts as if they’re my own. I’ve learned how important our thoughts are and how what we think REALLY matters. I learned all about the chakras and how to connect and nurture each. I finally understand myself and my sensitivities to others’ energy. I learned to meditate and let go of everything outside of me. I work every day to release ego. I met other beautiful souls who engage in this way of life and joined a mastermind group with them (led by Joe). I’ve become a fan of reading and studying the works from Louise Hay, Gabrielle Bernstein, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Esther Hicks, Eckhart Tolle, Jodi Livon and Dr. Hew Len to further my practice. I’ve taken part in an energy-healing workshop where I learned how to use my gift to help others. I’ve created videos and interviews with Joe and a FB page to help introduce these concepts to our friends and network. I’ve gotten many energy body massages from an amazing woman named Pat Palmer. I’ve practiced multiple 40-day cycles of Vimala’s Handwriting Program – which my mom now has created a business from if you want to check out her services – http://www.thechoiceisyoursllc.com ! I learned to trust my intuition and follow the guidance of the Universe. I am currently engaging in a certification course for Ho’oponopono (which I will blog about later) and am soo excited about! I’ve made vision boards and seen the things on them come true. I work on expanding my knowledge and sharing it with everyone I know every day. I’ve learned that my self-talk is as important as being kind to a good friend that I love. I’ve come to know the meaning of I.

IF you’ve made it to the bottom of this post – THANK YOU!! I appreciate you taking the time to read this and get to know me maybe more than you did before 🙂 TODAY I am ME!! I appreciate the strength that this experience has brought to me. I love hanging out with friends and family and my wonderful boyfriend. I love eating healthy and also eating the junk food. I love traveling and experiencing new things. I love yoga and all of the humans I meet at the studio. I love being an extrovert and an introvert. I love living – so let’s chat about all of the fun things in life! I can’t wait to have you travel through this journey with me; until next time!

XO,

Claire