Fair focuses on alternative healing methods
By Soumitro Sen
12:01 a.m. PT Mar 12, 2007
If you bought a crystal dome from Branch
Ellison's booth at the Mind, Body, Spirit Health Fair this past weekend, you'd
be doing yourself multiple favors.
Ellison, 27, claimed his
crystal domes - ranging in price from $2 to $2,300 - "circulate the energies of
the body and help protect you from electrical low frequencies. They're used for
different spiritual practices. They enhance sleep and energize your food and
your water."
A certain crystal block could
even change the taste of wine, Ellison said.
Ellison was just one among
several holistic healers, psychics, tarot-card readers and metaphysical market
vendors at the fair at Miners Foundry Cultural Center in Nevada City.
This was the 18th anniversary
of the fair.
"This is really one of the
best fairs in the area, and I've been to quite a few of them," said Donna
Fisher-Jackson, a 46-year-old holistic counselor. "The people who come here are
really into trying things. They are really open."
Fisher-Jackson, who has a
master's degree in counseling psychology, said she gives guidance to people to
help them make choices in their lives.
"Most of them (her clients)
are going through life transitions," she said. "They are looking for answers
about the next step in their lives."
The foundry's rooms were
redolent with the aroma of incense sticks, and every vendor seemed to have a
solution for the elusive issues plaguing the mind.
Nani Betty Nelson, 61, used
eight tuning forks to balance the energies of the metaphysical energy centers
inside the human body - an idea espoused by Eastern religions. She'd make her
clients sit on a chair with eyes closed, strike two tuning forks in front of
them and then move the tuning forks in certain patterns over their bodies.
"I'm using the frequencies of
the tuning forks to stimulate the balance (of energy inside a person's body),"
she said. "Basically, all of our organs and endocrinal glands in our body need
to be balanced in order to work properly. That's the basis of health."
Nelson was one of the less
expensive healers at the fair; she charged $5 for her services. Most vendors
priced their services at $20 for 20 minutes. A few charged more per minute. As
the late morning rolled into early afternoon, a steady stream of seekers
trickled into the foundry.
"I think the purpose of the
fair is to educate people that there are many alternative healing methods,"
Fisher-Jackson said. "Western medicine serves a purpose, but there are many
other healing methods that can be more beneficial to a person."
