Does energy work negatively affect my relationship with God?

Recently I had an experience that opened my eyes to a way of thinking that not only shocked me, but made me dive into the way ENERGY, (i.e., Reiki, Meditation, Sound Healing, Crystals) is seen from the eyes of a person that has a strong relationship with God. I had witnessed the negative connotations and rumblings before since moving to an area of the country that didn't embrace this work as much as my recent city had, but this shook me in such a deep way that I felt compelled to address an association that to me, is highly misunderstood. Am I just being blissfully ignorant or naive? Maybe. But intuitively pulled to share, nonetheless.

Let me explain.

After a day of beautiful healing sessions, followed by a glowing review of both my work and the positive results, I decided to stop by a local plant & crystal shop on the way home to pick up a gift for a bride to be that I knew only as an acquaintance. I was instantly drawn to a beautiful Selenite crystal wand that I felt was not only stunning, but that could potentially benefit her on her big day. Coming from a place full of loving and kind intention, I didn't think twice about my purchase. I had it wrapped and packaged for the upcoming in person delivery. Little did I know that this would trigger something very personal in her that would completely blindside me.

As I handed her the gift with excitement and compassion, she instantly got scared, uncomfortable and wouldn't even touch the crystal. Her body language totally changed, eye contact dropped, and she physically moved back from both me and the gift. She then kindly and timidly stopped me in my tracks and said, "I don't do energy", "I can't", and pointed to the sky. For a moment, I was taken aback and confused, maybe a tad offended. Ultimately, however, I was curious. I pride myself on being a very open-minded person and respect everyone's opinion whether I agree with it or not. So, I asked her......"is it because of religion"? I proceeded to engage her in an open and honest conversation to get an understanding as to why she was feeling this way. As I stated above, this wasn't the first time I felt the resistance and let's be honest, I do 'energy' for a living, and wanted to know why some people were so hesitant and/or afraid of it. Why could something that is coming from such an intentional, kind, and loving place, with proven benefit and healing power, be so off putting? How could a therapy, that I witness to be so very beneficial daily, whether it be through a Human Design chart or a Soundbath meditation, or a Reiki session, have such a negative connotation?

Ultimately her answer was, God.

We spoke sitting on my stairs for 30 straight minutes about why she felt the way she did. I listened with compassion and validated that her opinion mattered. She explained to me that she had recently given her life to God and that anything that may take power away from serving him shouldn't be entertained. That associating with energy meant that she wouldn't properly be honoring Jesus and she would be giving power to something else. That she couldn't serve Jesus properly if anything like that got in the way. She also explained to me that before finding God she was scratching the surface of a "cult" that used energy, crystals, and psychedelics to connect with a higher power. I greatly appreciated her honesty and candor and wow, what an eye-opening experience for me, to say the least.

At that moment I fully realized not only the extent as to how much education is needed on how this type of work yields the power to actually help and take you closer to your God, but ultimately how much stopping power certain religions can have over the potential for people to feel better. How a dedication so strong can not only prevent people from at the least being open to something else that may help, but can even make them afraid to even think about such a matter.

For clarity, a cult is defined as "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object".

For what it is worth, I believe that we all have a right to believe, worship, connect, pray to, honor......whatever or whichever God, spirit, person, energy, universe, deity, etc., that we wish, if it comes from a place of good intention, kindness, and love. We all have a right to be as spiritual, religious, woo woo, or not; in any manner that we may choose. I have respect for it all and am not the judge. I believe there is absolute power in believing in something we may not be able to see or touch and that scientific data, emotions and placebo are all effective. I also realize that what I do, and want to bring to the world more, may not be for everyone. It takes an openness and willingness to receive in ways that may go against what we believe, or what we are conditioned or made to think and feel, and I fully understand that not everyone may be comfortable with that.

I just ask that as a collective, we at least try to be open to the possibilities. The possibility that there may be something else out there, other than God, that can help. That the placebo effect is real, and that ancient healing techniques may have some merit. That by exploring alternative methods of healing, we aren't taking ourselves further from God, but closer. I ask that we view energy, holistic medicine, herbs, crystals, meditation, yoga, and anything else that has been deemed "voodoo", "magic", "woo woo" or "anti-godly", as a way to connect and know ourselves on a deeper level, and as something that can take us closer to that higher power that we so strongly believe in.

The world just needs more healing right now, wherever it may come from.