Flying on Angel Wings: An Interview with Christine Salomon
At five foot, four inches, her petite size and soft-spokenness might suggest a delicate disposition, but I knew better. Christine Salomon has tenacity: a fierce ability to radiate compassion even when walking through the darkest of times. The light in her hazel eyes betrays her strength.
With her expertise in Rainbow Reiki, therapeutic massage and myofascial release, Christine’s versatility allows for a holistic approach. “Christine puts her heart and soul into her work,” said one of her clients. “She is in a class of her own.”
As the July heat was having its way in Sedona, Arizona, Christine and I sat down in the pleasantly chilly office at Gateway Cottage Wellness Center. She relaxed back in her chair, her dangling gemstone earrings just about to still, then she giggled.
“Where’s your badge?” she joked, demanding to see my credentials for conducting an interview. With no proof of qualifications and no street cred on my part, clearly, this was about to get wild.
So, fully connected to our wild hearts, we chatted about depression and energy work, angels and dark forces, and ultimately, how to cultivate connection to the divine.
Christine Salomon, LMT and Reiki Master
Kirstyn: How did you get started in the healing arts?
Christine: As far as healing, if you want to know the truth, I grew up in a rather dysfunctional family. I cared for my mother at a very young age. My father died when I was eight, and I cared for my mother pretty much until she died. I was thirty years old at the time. I've always been a healer-peacemaker. I don't know any other way.
Kirstyn: So, you were a caretaker for your mom for all those years?
Christine: Off and on. The years I was at home, I was pretty much my mother's mother. Then I married and my younger brother took over the role. Throughout the decades, my mom had her ins and outs with her health. In the end, she decided on her own accord to take the responsibility to choose a program - Alcoholics Anonymous - or whatever program it was. She kept it to herself. Those were very special years with her and the children. She was healthy for two years and then she found out she had cancer. So I brought her to my house, and she died in the house.
Kirstyn: Do you feel like alcohol was her main ailment? Or, what do you think was at the root of what ailed her?
Christine: It's one's focus. Some people are more prone to depression and lack self-love. She didn't have an easy life. She was only 30 when she lost her husband. She had to raise four children. The unfortunate thing was that my father left her life insurance where she didn't have to go to work. So she became a hermit, very isolated. She separated herself and us from her family. I don't think she was happy in her heart. For some reason, she was closest to me. She also lost her daughter – my younger sister died before she was 30. And after that, she was really very sad. She felt that it went against the law of nature.
Kirstyn: Like a parent should never have to lose a child.
Christine: Right, so she dwelled on that as well.
Kirstyn: When did you decide to pursue massage or energy work? I think energy work came first, right?
Christine: I started with the energy work, yes. Since childhood, I felt connected to this heavenly, loving voice. It was always there. It was always so comforting, protecting and loving. I just thought everyone had this. I was always intuitive. I could see what was going to happen. I would feel energy. I must have driven my husband crazy because I would tell him these things. And he would say, “What are you talking about?” I didn't realize until about 20 years ago that not everybody was like this. So I must have really been living in a bubble.
Kirstyn: Well, it's a really good bubble to be in.
Christine: I was reading everything I could on holistic consciousness. I learned about Reiki and asked this chiropractor who was nearby and also a Reiki Master, if he’d teach a Reiki class. He said, “If you can bring in a couple more people, I'll teach the class.” I rounded up three girlfriends who didn’t even know what Reiki was and he gave us the class. And it was just magical. I mean, my God, I never saw a light show like that. My heart just opened up completely. Then, I bugged him for level two Reiki, then level three, then Reiki Master. At first, I did Reiki for people on my very large dining room table. I finally got a treatment table, threw it in the back of the truck and drove around the city doing Reiki.
Christine in Rainbow Reiki session at Gateway Cottage Wellness Center
Then I was introduced to a book written by Walter Lubeck on Rainbow Reiki and I became fascinated with his work. In 2001 after my 30-year marriage ended, I found out Walter Lubeck was going to be at an international Reiki retreat in the Catskills. I was like, oh, my God, I’ve got to go.
When I got to the registration area there he was. He was reading my aura and he could see all of the imbalances in my immune system and my deficiencies. He recommended I go to shamanic drumming with his students who were trained in shamanism.
At the time I was very ill; I was under a hundred pounds. Now…not everybody believes this, but people practice evil, manipulative energies. This was before the conference. I was living in Ecuador and for years I had evil projected on me on many occasions. I really shouldn't be alive. It was my connection [to God] and the Reiki that kept me and my husband alive.
Kirstyn: And that's probably why you were so sick, right? Because all this evil was coming at you.
Christine: You wouldn't even believe it if I told you all the physical symptoms I experienced. It's real. I'm just going to tell you. So this is where you learn that love is so much stronger than fear. I’m always coming from a place of pure intention and divine love. It is where we should all be. We are the peacemakers of the world.
So, right before the shamanic drumming session at the retreat I went up to Walter Lubeck and I said, “Walter, I'm scared.” He said, “I will take care of you. Don’t worry.” I remember being spun around. I remember the drumming and pushing [the negative energies] off. And I must have lost consciousness because when I woke up, I was in a chair and ladies were around me asking if I was okay. Later on, Walter spoke to me privately and advised me to live in the here and now. I had to let my past go. He said I was very fortunate to be alive. I started detoxing, which Walter said would happen. I had to leave the retreat early because I was physically ill. For a couple of weeks, I had to get rid of all that was inside of me.
Christine assists in a stretch common in a Sports Massage
At the time, I had a job in a physical therapy center and my boss knew that I was starting my life over as a single woman. There was somebody offering grants for women who wanted to take classes for their education. My vocation had been as a mother, a wife, keeping the family together and I’d take college classes here and there, but I never had the chance to get a degree in anything. So, the owner of the physical therapy center said, “If you could start your life over again, Christine, what would you do?” And I said, “Well, maybe massage therapy.”
So, I got a grant to go to the Onondaga School of Massage Therapy in Syracuse. I also got a grant to study with Walter Lubeck. Every year he came to the United States, if I could afford it, I would go. We just did fascinating things. I mean, it was like Harry Potter work. Later on, I got my associate's degree as a PTA (Physical Therapist Assistant) and started working in a physical therapy center doing massage and Reiki on patients. We were seeing miracles happen before our eyes: people believing they could heal, and seeing that it's possible. And so, this has been my passion.
Kirstyn: So, going back to when you were little, you said that you always felt this divine presence and heard a heavenly voice. Does it speak to you in English? I mean, are you hearing actual words or is it more feeling or images? How does that voice speak to you? How does it show up?
Christine: All of the above. There are so many divine guides and so many angels I work with. I work with the Archangelic realm constantly. They’re with us all the time. There are the divine guides, the deities of love and light. I work with the Holy Spirit. I'm going to tell you – that's been my go-to. These higher powers have made me stronger, more compassionate. I come from a place of forgiveness that not even my family, my children can understand. It’s love and forgiveness. So this is what I try to channel during sessions or at least communicate with people who want to overcome traumas so they can learn to love themselves again. We are the hardest on ourselves. This is my big work: love myself.
Kirstyn: Yes, and it's this unconditional love that really is the healing component.
Christine: Yes. Always. And trying to understand that everybody is in their own unique stage of their soul path. Whatever people might say to you, or what you may observe, it really doesn't belong to you. It's what we're all supposed to be experiencing at the same time. But just try to keep it in a place of love and light as best we can.
Kirstyn: It seems like you are so connected to God, connected to source. What would you say to people who are seeking this connection? What advice would you give to those who want to hear the heavenly voices?
Christine: All I'm going to say is that angels are never too busy. You can be in your worst moment, but Archangel Michael is never too busy. He can be in 5,000 places at one time. If you just say, “Archangel Michael, please come to me. I need you,” he'll be there like that. You'll feel it. Ask divine guides of love and light. Be specific. Make sure you emphasize, divine, love, light from God, the highest of high. If you don't believe in God, [you can say] “The highest of high, I need you right now. Please come to me.” You will feel it. Welcome it. If you ever sense anything, and you're not sure what it is, you have free will. You have the power to say, “If you don't come from a place of light and love, you are not welcome. Go away and leave me alone.” Don't feel any fear. Go into your heart and send love. It has more power.
Kirstyn: That's beautiful. So, ask and you shall receive and make sure you're asking the highest of the high.
Christine: Yes. And set the ego aside when you're trying to help people, especially like in my own career, doing my profession. People are going to heal to whatever level of capacity they are supposed to receive at that moment. I can be trained and do my absolute best with pure intention, but it's not me healing. I step out of the way. Whatever they are supposed to receive during the session, they will receive. I give thanks. If it's not right for a total healing at that moment, it’s okay. You know, we did our best. Again, it wasn't from the ego. It's not about me. It's about what I'm here to contribute.
Kirstyn: One last question. What's your favorite spot in Sedona?
Christine: Right now?
Kirstyn: Yeah.
Gateway Cottage Wellness Center in Uptown Sedona, AZ
Christine: Gateway Cottage Wellness Center [laughs]. No joke! I mean, honestly! You know, two years ago before I moved here, my favorite vortex was Boynton Canyon. When I hiked Boynton Canyon I got the message: “Come back to Sedona. We'll take care of you.” That was that divine voice: “It's okay, don't be afraid.” I fly on angel wings [laughs].
Kirstyn: So what makes Gateway your favorite spot in Sedona?
Christine: People like you. Everybody [at Gateway Cottage Wellness]. Ben, Ali, Gregg, Carol, Cassie. Everyone, everyone. I think people step out of the way. There's love and respect here. It's a judgment-free zone.
Kirstyn: Yes, it's where healing happens. Unconditional love, without judgment, just pure witnessing and loving.
Christine: It's a teamwork effort. And that's what the world needs.
Christine offers a variety of services at Gateway Cottage Wellness Center. To schedule a session with her, call us at 928-862-4400.
Story by: Kirstyn Lazur
Kirstyn Lazur is the author of I Was Cursed in Connecticut, a memoir that recounts her unique and supernatural journey after the death of her mother. Her book is available through Amazon and Gateway Cottage Wellness Center’s online store.
