OAKHURST — Anyone interested in books, poetry, alternative healing and spirituality will want to hear local poet and energy healer Ashley Pinkerton read from her new book on Friday, June 16, from 6 to 9 p.m.
The book is called, Spiraling Forward: A Dance Through the Cycles of Life, and Ashley will be at Branches Books & Gifts. Local musician Cedar Dobson will provide ambience, accompanied by David Dobson. Light refreshments will be served throughout what promises to be an evening of inspiration.
Ashley, 34, says she first came to practice Energy Medicine through her own spiritual awakening, connecting with “Mother Earth for her own personal healing.” Raised at Bass Lake and having lived in the mountain area all her life, she believes this particular location is a powerful coordinate on the map when it comes to the protective and nurturing support of nature. Ashley expresses that her “connection to Mother Earth was pivotal in assisting me in finding my own inner strength and guidance.”
The author began her practice with Reiki, a form of alternative medicine originating in Japan. Reiki practitioners use a hands-on energy technique to encourage emotional or physical healing. Ashley has two Reiki Masters, as well as many other mentors and spiritual teachers that have assisted her along her path of Self-realization. She says it was the path of synchronicity that brought her into alignment with The Four Winds Society and her calling as a Shamanic Practitioner. The Four Winds Society has been described by Harper’s Magazine as “the Harvard of neo-shamanism.”
“With the Four Winds program you walk yourself through your own personal transformation,” explains Ashley, “and then gain the wisdom and skills to do that for another person.”
As a practitioner, she helps to facilitate a connection between her clients and a higher power.
“Through solidifying that connection within myself, I am then able to hold that space for another to find their own innate ability to heal,” Ashley says, emphasizing that it is the individual who brings about the healing, not her. “That is the most fulfilling thing I have experienced. To be that conduit of connection for another person to find their own power is very uplifting and rewarding.”
Ashley notes that she has always had a passion for writing and, as her self-connection grew, she began more frequently putting pen to paper. The book takes the reader on a journey from “beginning to end to beginning,” what Ashley says is “a reflection of my own personal journey and the healing that I was able to bring to myself.”
It’s Ashley’s hope that sharing will help to inspire others in the way she has been inspired. The book came together with ease, she reflects, a sign that it was meant to happen.
“It never felt like work, and I think that putting that kind of energy into it allowed it to unfold naturally.”
The book is published by Poetic Matrix Press, where Ashley is grateful to John Peterson, among others. Cover art by Gary Sumner (Instagram @sendrock).
Stop by and say hello at Branches Books & Gifts on Friday, June 16, from 6 – 9 p.m. The store is located at 40044 Highway 49 in Oakhurst.
Ashley Pinkerton (Instagram @warrior_of_love333)
Reviews:
“Ashley Pinkerton captures the esoteric spiritual principles that ignite our magnificence as we experience this human life. This book is a must read for truth seekers and a fantastic textbook for the spiritual teacher.” — Angelo Pizelo, Emerson Institute president.
“Ashley’s poems honor in each of us that which responds to our highest spiritual connections. Her poetry shares the sweet awareness that love is why we are.” — Ruth Rosenthal, poet and author.
