PACE — It wasn’t a single, defining moment in Sue Heiney’s life that inspired her to begin practicing a spiritual lifestyle and holistic health, but a series of incidents that led her there.
Heiney runs her business, Celestial Inspirations, with her daughter, Taryn. They offer new-age products such as aromatherapy candles, healing crystals and essential oils as well as services like hypnosis, aura pictures and chakra readings.
Heiney is a certified hypnotist from the Edward Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment.
"I’ve always been interested in the questions that could not be answered in Sunday school," Heiney said.
When Heiney’s mother was gravely ill, Heiney decided to get a crystal reading at a local shop. The things Heiney heard from the medium, a stranger, couldn’t have been known without some sort of celestial power, according to Heiney.
"From there, I just started going by the shop more often, and I’d… go for a class here and there, and I’d read books, everything under the sun I could get my hands on," Heiney said. "I decided I was going to do hypnosis, so I went to Virginia Beach to the Edward Casey Society."
Heiney, a former educator, opened her first shop in 2004. Her daughter ran the business while she continued to teach school. About three years later, she closed the shop, she said, due to the poor economy.
"This month four years ago, we were riding down Woodbine [Road], and the shop next to the first one I opened was for rent," Heiney said. "My husband was the type that did not do things on the spur of the moment, but he turned around, got [the information] … and paid a year’s advanced rent for me."
Her husband passed away approximately five months later, and Heiney said she couldn’t return to the shop. She brought all of her goods to her home and stored them in the garage. Later, Heiney’s brother helped her close in half of the garage once used for their RV and turn it into a shop.
Now, Heiney and Taryn go to fairs and provide spiritual services there as well as in the shop.
"What I tell people when I’m looking at their aura pictures is not necessarily what comes out on the printout," Heiney said. "I tell them what my angels are telling me to tell them… I don’t hear angels talking to me. It’s like the thoughts just pop into my head."
According to Heiney, it was a customer with the ability to read auras that alerted Heiney to get her throat examined by a doctor. She soon found out she had an issue with her left thyroid gland and had half of it removed.
"I never saw that lady again," Heiney said. "I honestly do not know if that was a real person or an angel."
Kirlian photography involves converting a person’s aura — energy — into a visual format, according to Taryn.
Auras have different colors with associated meanings, according to Heiney. Violet relates to magic. White means peace and balance. Blue means tranquil. Green has to do with hard work. Yellow means joy. Orange relates to creativity and red means challenge.
Auras can vary in shade and symbolize mental, physical or spiritual aspects of a person's life, according to Heiney.
Heiney said she likes to carry positive spiritual items in her store and is always willing to learn more about the metaphysical world. The mother-daughter team hopes to start a spiritual group where others who are interested in the lifestyle can gather and converse.
"I have found answers to questions that always troubled me… and I share my knowledge," Heiney said. "It does a person absolutely no good to obtain knowledge if you do not share it."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace business owners offer aura photography, hypnosis