Talk looks at divination techniques

Mar. 26—Margie Florimbio held a shiny chunk of rock up for her audience to see.

It was lepidolite, she explained, a type of mineral containing flakes of lithium, and the energy from which Florimbio said can be used to help cure people's anxiety.

Different people connect with different stones and crystals, Florimbio said during a discussion on different types of divination — the practice of trying to find knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means — at the Walkersville Branch Library on Sunday afternoon.

"[Stones] pick you just as much as you pick them," she said.

Florimbio said she's a reiki instructor, although she isn't a big believer in titles.

Reiki is an alternative health technique based on Eastern beliefs and philosophies, in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above a patient, trying to use the person's own bodily energies to create healing, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the National Institutes of Health.

While the practice has been studied as a way to treat pain, anxiety, and depression, among other conditions, there's no scientific evidence to support the existence of the energy field used in reiki, according to the NCCIH.

But by promoting relaxation and helping to reduce stress, it can stimulate the body's immune response and promote natural self-healing, and may be helpful for people with chronic pain, digestive problems, and stress-related illnesses, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Divination can range from the use of crystals to tarot cards, Ouija boards and dowsing rods to find answers to life's questions or contact the spirits of lost loved ones.

There's definitely a stigma to practicing divination, with many people associating its methods with the occult, Florimbio said.

But she believes it depends on whether people are using it for evil methods or as a way of healing.

"It's all about the intent," Florimbio said.

Divination is "a big umbrella," said Rhonda Russo, a psychic medium who also spoke at Sunday's discussion.

A lot of people are afraid of what she does, she said.

As she tries to interpret the messages she receives, many people are afraid of where her messages come from, she said. Are they from God, Satan, guardian angels or the spirit of a lost loved one?

Russo knows what she believes.

"I believe 150% that I'm connecting with their loved one," she said.

She brings an eclectic spiritual approach to her work, mixing pagan, Christian and other elements.

"Anything that's got a good, positive vibe to it," she said.

Florimbio also said she tries not to connect divination to any specific religion, but tries to bring a mix of religious approaches and philosophies.

Ultimately, it goes back to man's earliest state, when warriors called in spirits before the hunt to try and ensure a successful result, she said.

Everyone has the ability to connect with the other side of the spiritual divide, Russo said, and how someone chooses to use it is up to them.

"Divination, safely used, can be a big part of healing," she said.

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