Bree’s Way 

By Hevenn Vanhelsdingen

Apr. 17, 2022

Just as The Tower card in Tarot depicts a solid tower perched atop a shaky foundation, an increasingly materialistic mindset has become an unreliable motivator for daily life. Bree Crane, spiritual guide, and owner of Bree’s Way metaphysical shop in Eugene, Oregon, is a niche community member enlightening others to a new way of living. 

When the world shut down for Covid-19 nearly two years ago, some people were given the space and time to contemplate their daily routines and relationships. Since then, the United States has seen an uptick in workers unionizing as well as individuals turning to non-organized religion. (According to articles by Institute for Work and Employment Research, and the Pew Research Center).

Societal unrest has translated to the spirit realm, as the number of individuals turning to spiritualism over organized religion has also increased. This uptick has created a greater need for spiritual guidance. Crane describes the shift in people’s attitudes as a kind of awakening, brought on by the increasing tension individuals have towards the work-based way of life our society has relied on

Taylor Wyman, employee at Bree’s Way metaphysical shop, commented on this phenomenon, “A lot of people are going through spiritual awakenings. They're looking for resources and examples for how to navigate this path because we're finding that a lot of the ways we were raised to be spiritual are no longer resonating with us, that they might have some false information or methods of control that just aren't empowering.”

She explains that a possible reason for the increase in labor movements is people’s discontentment with the kind of work-life Americans have become accustomed to.

Crane is originally from Saginaw, Michigan but moved to Eugene in 2008. Over her 28-year-long spiritual journey, she has gained experience with cross-cultural shamanism, dream studies, spirit animal retrieval, psychology, and more. Before buying the shop that would become Bree’s Way in 2017, Crane mostly worked service jobs but was never satisfied.

“My dad worked for General Motors. They would always tell me; you just have to get a job that you're going to retire from, and it never made sense to me. I'm like; you guys all hate your jobs, you hate your day-to-day life. Why do I want to spend every day of my life hating what I do?” Crane recollected.

In college Crane had the goal of becoming a psychiatrist, but the systems that ruled it didn’t resonate with her. She felt she could provide a service to others that didn’t rely on the prescription of medicines. Through spiritual counseling, Crane explores a different way to help people look at their thoughts and beliefs to create change within themselves.

Crane says, “If you are centered, grounded, and emanating the energy of strength, divinity, and self-love within you, it's going to inspire others to want to be that and do that for themselves. And that's my biggest thing, I feel like I'm here to help eliminate pain and suffering on Earth. I have always deeply felt people's pain and just want to take it away.”

Currently, Crane is offering virtual spiritual counseling, chakra alignment, spirit animal readings, and cross-cultural shamanic journey work. These practices center around the idea that there are patterns and habits that one must recognize to embrace their strengths and relieve negative emotions or thought processes.

Though these practices are different than traditional practices of psychology or medication, Crane and her employees encourage people to keep an open might about how one can experience healing and revival. Recently, she has changed her sessions to be more training-based. Her reason for this is that she doesn’t want people to have to keep coming back to her for inner work. She wants to provide people with the tools to help themselves.

“We have been brainwashed to believe that we need outside sources and that our body does not have the capability of doing what it needs to do, and that's not true. Every time something's going wrong, they reach for medications or whatever instead of finding the root source. In my experience, the root source is always trapped emotions and experiences. Not letting go and learning the lessons from them.” Crane said.

As the world continues to shift out of the pandemic, the internet has introduced us to New-Age spiritualism. Something many in the community have begun to consider a fad, warning individuals against the misuse of these spiritual tools. According to other spiritualists, people have begun to view them as a prescription and an end-all answer to their problems. Crane encourages people to remember that they are tools, that require inner work to use properly.

“It’s a tool that if you’re stuck, you can use to reconnect. I think sometimes people are going way too far. It ends up being a different way for them to give their power away and to not make their own decisions and not take responsibility for their actions. You can do that even with the most well-intentioned tools. There’s still some work to be done.”, Crane commented.

This highlights the importance of spiritual leaders like Crane in the community. They not only provide people with the tools to look at their life in a new way, but they also teach people how to use them properly. During such a tumultuous time in history, it is necessary that people have a path to meaning and enlightenment that is separate from the consumeristic systems that dictate their day-to-day lives.

“I think, especially in the times that we live in, there's a lot of fear,” said Eliza Williams, an employee at Bree’s Way. “So having someone that genuinely cares about the people surrounded by them and their growth, and really giving them the space to find out who they are, and what they want to do for the world and for themselves is powerful.”