We are Inherently Fearless: As Interviewed by MysticMag
Darrien, can you share more about your personal journey from your preschool graduation, when you believed you could fly, to becoming a Chiropractor, Reiki Practitioner, and Life Coach? How did your life’s calling evolve, and what inspired this transformation?
It wasn’t something I believed, it was something I knew. It wasn’t something I was asking, unsure, it was something I was declaring.
For some time, it’d looked like I left that assuredness, me, behind. I’d look back on that moment sad, angry, and afraid I wouldn’t ever find that thing that was once so bold and pure. Subconsciously, I was frustrated with the life I was born into and how it had unfolded…how it had taken away my wings. And just when I thought my story was burdensome enough, my father was sent to prison three days after I turned 18 and less than a month after being in college. That’s when I fell to my knees. That’s when I felt like each day of my life required a kind of effort that I had previously never known. I had to search long and hard to not only stay in school, but to stay alive. I had to humble myself enough to realize I was weak and needed a kind of strength that was far bigger than me.
In 2014 I graduated from Longwood University, bruised and battered. I’d won the war, but I was paying for it mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and even relationally. It was after paying back money I owed for rent and fraternity dues, that I asked God one day in my grandmother’s den: what’s next? What I heard that day was Chiropractic.
I am remembering those words, now, I believe I can fly. I had always thought that somehow I’d gotten away from my inner child. My healing journey has revealed that not only was I wrong about being separated from that sacred part of me, but I had never stopped flying. The very environments I spent so much time resisting and wishing had been different, had shown me I could fly. I have not only survived many of the things that I thought were meant to devastate me, but I have transformed those experiences into love, strength, wisdom, and power. I know today that healing is flying. Opening your heart towards forgiveness is flying. Learning to love yourself is flying. Growing to embody your story (your truth) is flying.
I was called to become a Chiropractor; I didn’t choose it, it chose me. Chiropractic has given me a foundation for understanding life and the innate capacity of the human body and spirit. Becoming a Reiki Practitioner and Life Coach are tools that fulfill that same purpose, they are the additional modalities that assist to support those I’ve been called to serve.
You mention using your life as a class and embracing your unique story. Could you tell us more about how your background in chiropractic, positive psychology, and Reiki informs your approach to life, well-being, and healing and how do these disciplines come together to empower others?
Chiropractic has given me a foundational understanding of the physical, specifically the connection between the spine and nervous system. Positive psychology has helped illuminate the importance of healthy relationships and the way our thoughts (perspective) impacts our health, well-being, and how we experience our inner and outer world. Reiki has also broadened my awareness on relationships, as well as the emotional and spiritual elements of who we are. But there is another degree and important training that I received before all of these, even before I realized I was receiving this unofficial education. It was from my late Great Grandma Hattie.
She was 104 when she passed away in 2021, the day after her birthday. It was she who taught me the power of truth and wisdom. She taught me the principles of storytelling. She taught me how to lead with heart and soul. She taught me how to look within myself. I didn’t just spend time in her home, but I would learn years later that it was a classroom.
Much of what we have been taught in Western culture is to look outside of ourselves for the answer or solution. What I learned from my Grandma Hattie, through every story that she so passionately shared with me, is that our life contains the currency that we need—if only we’d find the courage to slow down and hear from ourselves…from our life. I have been trained to see the whole person, to look at all of life and to understand that every aspect of who we are impacts the whole of us. The most important relationship we will ever have is the relationship we have with ourselves.
What are the core principles and practices of Reiki, and how does it benefit individuals in terms of stress reduction, relaxation, and healing? Could you explain the concept of restoring blocked energy flow and its impact on mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being?
Reiki is the practice of channeling (by the Reiki Practitioner) life force energy that is pure and abundant all around us. When I think about this life force energy, I think of the ocean, which has a powerful vibration or frequency. For most people, simply being by the ocean or any body of water evokes peace and healing. This is an example of the type of energy that is being channeled during the reiki session.
Awareness. Being more aware is what my clients mention most often following a reiki session. They walk away with more perspective. They feel more empowered and this inner confidence invites peace, creating a sense of harmony inside. When energy is blocked or an experience/emotions isn’t processed all the way through, this unprocessed energy distorts and bleeds into other experiences. This can then become all that someone sees or feels; as a result, this is now a limitation on what else they can experience in life because the past is still being processed.
Reiki helps to not only begin the process of restoring this balance and flow of energy—but in the process guidance and inspiration is usually offered based on where that person is in their life and their receptivity to this guidance. Most often, the feedback that I receive from clients after a session (in addition to greater awareness) is feeling lighter, peaceful, and grounded.
As a Life Coach, you aim to guide individuals in uncovering their truth and exposing limiting beliefs. Could you provide examples of the type of guidance you offer to help clients gain clarity and make choices in alignment with their purpose and well-being?
Solidarity is the word coming to mind. Here is a definition that I found interesting: unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group.
I wholeheartedly believe that when a person is secure within themself, in agreement and unified with all of who they are–they offer healing, light, and hope to the world. As a natural result, the environments in which they interact are a much better place simply because of their presence. Imagine the far reaching impact this kind of healing and change would and could have if we all valued and focused on healing ourselves and becoming better individuals inwardly. A lot of times, when I am working with clients, what I am picking up on is a disconnection within. People are attempting (because we can’t do other people’s work) to process and carry other people’s pain and trauma–many times subconsciously. Or we are living the life that society or someone else says we should live. One hundred percent of the time, as I am working with clients, as their connection within themself is strengthened with love and compassion, eventually the environments and interactions they have in the world also improve. As I said before, the most important relationship we shall ever have is the one we have with yourself. As a result, our life journey is constantly evolving around the expression of this relationship.
To each of my clients I am constantly sharing these 5 messages:
1) Perspective is power.
2) Follow your curiosity.
3) Be gentle (with yourself).
4) Do your best to stay located (inside).
5) And finally, take courage.
Your sessions involve both life coaching and Reiki. How do these two components complement each other in helping individuals achieve clarity and live in harmony with the rhythm of life?
Inspiration is powerful. I believe wholeheartedly in inspiration; in fact, if I had to describe plainly what I have been called to do, I would say to inspire. Inspiration was the vibration behind what I was proclaiming that day at my preschool graduation singing, I believe I can fly. But the reality is, while inspiration is the wind beneath our wings, the spiritual propeller that gives us the ability to fly, we live and breathe on the earthly realm. We are having a physical experience; we have day to day obligations laced with challenges. Many of us are navigating our own trauma, while simultaneously weaving through systems created to keep us imprisoned. It’s hard (and exhausting), but it must be done. It not only requires inspiration, but equally, intentional mindsets and heartsets. Reiki is the inspiration. Reiki is spiritual. Reiki is the flying eagle. The life coaching component is meeting the individual on the ground. Life coaching helps to empower the individual with the tools to navigate their life, as life happens. Life coaching is the horse that can’t fly, but is a master of the earthly realm…with its power, beauty, and grace.
Bringing these two worlds/energies together, clients can expect the session to begin with powerful and empowering questions that help to explore exactly where my clients’ are in their life. Most sessions also involve some form of guided mindfulness or meditation moment. The Reiki portion is about 40 minutes, where the client is either lying face up and/or down, at times feeling my hands and other times not at all. We end the session with a quick debrief and a few guidance and self care recommendations. Each session, no matter how many times a person works with me, looks different, as it is all based on energy and since no person shows up each day with the same energy, my clients can expect each experience to be intuitively (and energetically) catered to where they are in their life. Other modalities and tools are incorporated, as needed.