Scott Nichols and Thomas Pieronski of Essential Energies.

By Stephanie Weed

Photographed by Mary Bortmas

Half an hour west of Ann Arbor is the vibrant city of Jackson. Once a railroad hub for Michigan, Jackson is a centrally located city with abundant parks and wooded areas. Although Jackson has not traditionally been known for its spiritual community, it is a quickly growing region with a bright future ahead and many new opportunities blossoming on the horizon. The dedication of a strong collective of like-minded people is supportive to all those on their own journey in the Jackson area. One Jackson-based business founded by dedicated individuals is Essential Energies.

Essential Energies: Center for Healing & Personal Growth

Entering through the glass doors one is greeted by a wave of uplifting energy and the cheery smile from one of the gifted instructors of Essential Energies. Essential Energies, located on the west side of Jackson, is a gathering place providing opportunities for practitioners of complementary healing therapies and those in need of their services to find connection.

The energy behind Essential Energies belongs to former elementary school teacher, Thomas Pieronski. He made an abrupt career change, choosing to attend hypnotherapy school in Lansing. He had always had an interest in the spiritual side of things and had studied to become a Reiki master while he was still teaching. Pieronski enjoys the rewarding experience of helping people with emotional issues, weight loss, overcoming trauma, and other issues they may be facing. It gives him a warm feeling inside to be able to help people.

The other half of Essential Energies is Scott Nichols, a Certified Massage Therapist focusing on the medical side of massage therapy and specializing in sports injuries, chronic pain, and myofascial therapy. Nichols, a Pagan, has been following his spiritual path for about 24 years. A naturally gifted intuitive and healer, he had always done energy work, even though he didn’t learn until later what to call it. He had been intuitively clearing people’s chakras, so becoming a Reiki master was the perfect next step for him. During a job layoff, he decided to change careers and study massage. He now is the Director of Education and a massage instructor at The Salon Professional Academy in Battle Creek, Michigan. In addition to massage at Essential Energies, Nichols performs tarot and energy readings, which he describes as receiving messages from someone’s energy field. Nichols also teaches a variety of other classes at Essential Energies, including Reiki and beginner Wiccan classes. So naturally, given the range of the two men’s talents and interests, when the opportunity to acquire Essential Energies arose, they jumped at the chance.

Essential Energies was originally founded in 2002. For the past three years, Pieronski and Nichols have worked within the original vision of founder Glenda Pruis, expanding operations to include rental space for practitioners of a number of healing modalities including crystal and energy healing, Reiki, and massage. Instructors offer jewelry making classes, such as beading and wire-wrapping, and a wide variety of other classes that nurture mind, body, and spirit.

Workshops and classes are held in a cozy gymnasium located within the Essential Energies building. Instruction in meditation, yoga, Zumba, aerobics, and mindful stress management take place in this comfortable and relaxed healing space. Pieronski and Nichols have found considerable demand in the area for a center like this, and look forward to expanding their community reach in the years ahead by hosting more activities to involve the community like healing sessions at the local homeless shelter. The down-to-earth and peaceful employees and instructors add to the laid back atmosphere, making Essential Energies an ideal location for the relaxation, healing, and growth taking place within the walls of this unassuming brick building.

Essential Energies hosted their first Holistic Health Expo in Fall of 2019, which included readers, clairvoyants, medical intuitives, and speakers on the topics of holistic medicine, spirituality, astrology, and the paranormal. This expo will be a regular event twice a year, in the spring and the fall. The annual Kendra Care Day will take place on the last Saturday of March. Named after Kendra Holliday, the daughter of a former owner who passed away from cancer, this is a day of healing dedicated to cancer patients. It is a free event for those needing services. Each guest to this occasion can choose three modalities from all those provided, and they receive a free psychic reading as well. This has been a popular event in the past, but reservations are not necessary as a large number of healers volunteer their time so all those needing healing can receive services.

Visit Essential Energies at 915 Airport Road, Jackson, Michigan, 49202 or online at essentialenergies.org, where you can find a calendar of their upcoming events and classes. You can reach them at (517)796-2082 to schedule an appointment or via email at essentialenergies1@sbcglobal.net. Follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/Essential-Energies-133859646646642/.

Read related article: Our Southern Neighbors— Holistic Practitioners in Lenawee County

Kelly’s Touching Hands

One early experience Kelly Lubbe remembers as a child is the premonition of her sister’s passing from complications during surgery. Only 11 years old, Lubbe expressed her concern to her mother, who was unprepared to cope with her daughter’s gifts. Lubbe has the ability to connect with others on the other side and remains in contact with her sister in spirit. She only received her mother’s blessing of her gifts on her deathbed, at last providing Lubbe the opportunity to heal.

Projecting her mother’s issues and fears onto herself took a toll on Lubbe, reflected in her lack of health, and lead to weight gain. Introduced to Reiki by a doctor, Lubbe was finally able to find release and even lost 100 pounds. Inspired by these benefits, she took classes in Adrian from a Reiki Master, eventually becoming one herself. She strongly believes in the power of laying on of hands and Reiki’s ability to truly help people. She began attending Jackson Spiritual Center, finding guidance from the pastor there, and stresses how crucial it was for her journey to find other like-minded individuals.

Because of this, Lubbe was able to find a way to meld her gifts and spiritual practices with her religious upbringing, deepening her spiritual connection in the process. She believes strongly in places like Essential Energies that provide people with a way to connect with others in their community for healing and instruction. Lubbe wants to help provide a network of like-minded individuals for others and for those who may feel alone with their gifts, like she once did. Recently, she attended a holistic fair in Ann Arbor. She pointed out to her daughter all the other people with similar beliefs and reveled in the feeling of community and oneness.

During the last ten years, Lubbe really started getting into helping people by listening to messages sent to them from their loved ones on the other side. Lubbe owns her own practice, A Touching Hand, inside the Essential Energies building. She offers Reiki, spiritual readings, and guided meditations. Lubbe, also an ordained minister, hopes to offer more classes on Reiki and other healing modalities and more group meditations at Essential Energies in the near future. She feels that people in Jackson haven’t been as open to spirituality in the past, but that is changing, and the need in the area is consistently and quickly growing. Really excited about the future of Essential Energies, Lubbe is helping to get the word out about this gathering place in Jackson. She hopes to personally help the Jackson spiritual community grow and expand. One item on her agenda is to introduce a psychic mini-fair at Essential Energies as part of their regular monthly schedule.

Lubbe shares her space at Essential Energies with Robin VerCande, another gifted psychic and healer. Together they have organized the Sisterhood of the Travelling Psychics. This group of psychic readers, energy healers, and lightworkers travels to various Jackson locations to offer crystal, oracle, tarot, and various other readings. Their mobile psychic expo is also available for home parties by appointment.

Visit A Touching Hand with Kelly Lubbe at Essential Energies located at 915 Airport Road, Jackson, Michigan, 49202. Call (517)745-4404 to schedule an appointment or reading. Follow Lubbe on Facebook here: facebook.com/A-Touching-Hand-1497315606961805/. For more information on the Sisterhood of the Travelling Psychics, follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/peaceloveandinsight/ or contact them at (517)745-4404.

The Divine Sanctuary

Divine Sanctuary owner Dawn Bengel runs her business as a store within a store—inside of Pro Tech Computers. Past the computers and technical merchandise lies an amazing collection of handmade, Reiki-infused Tree of Life pendants that can only be described as “divine.” Eye-catching crystal cabochons delicately wrapped with colorful wire wonderfully represents this significant tree from its roots to its branches. Besides the beautiful wrapped stones, Divine Sanctuary also offers homemade topical remedies, custom malas, tumbled stones and crystals, jewelry, ritual products, smudging supplies, and some books. Most products are also listed on her website for easy viewing.

Divine Sanctuary began as a blog by Bengel who was seeking to find some calm and peace in this crazy world and as a way to escape from the depression and negative energies she was battling in her personal life. She was able to use her blog to expand and grow spiritually, finding hope and love in a world she was struggling in, like so many other lightworkers. She went on to become a Reiki master and an ordained minister. Bengel strives to continue her own spiritual growth. Her goal is to provide comfort and peacefulness to others and to help them find and feel love in an often difficult world.

Bengel hosts an online healing circle twice monthly, on the first night of the full and new moon. She began the healing circles in July 2013 as a weekly event, connecting online spirit healers and those in need in a wonderful exchange of sending and receiving healing energy. Energy clearing, meditation, prayer, and Reiki energy sharing strengthens the bond between those involved with Spirit and with each other. Bengel also includes a link to a virtual candle lighting page for those that choose to light a sacred candle. This event is announced through an event on her Facebook page. Simply join the event to participate. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can still be included by emailing Bengel in advance.

In addition to the store, Divine Sanctuary also offers services such as space smudging, Reiki sessions and certification, and tarot and oracle card readings. The services of an ordained minister can also be provided at Divine Sanctuary. Check out the Card of the Day on their website for a daily dose of tarot wisdom, and join their email list for updates about happenings at Divine Sanctuary.

Visit Divine Sanctuary inside of Pro Tech Computers at 1524 Horton Road, Jackson, Michigan, 49203 or at divinesanctuary.net. You can also reach Dawn Bengel at (517)914-4687 or through email at mydivinesanctuary@gmail.com. Follow Divine Sanctuary on Facebook at facebook.com/mydivinesanctuary/.