Summit Boutique Owner Pens Book

SUMMIT, NJ — Local business owner Carol Schoffman of Badwang Art in Summit will soon make her debut as an author in the book "Divinity Speaks: Women Who Tune In & Trust Divine Inspiration."

Along with 25 other women, Schoffman co-authored the book, which is a collection of women's stories as they "traverse, navigate and connect with their own form of celestial connection and truly listen to the answers from within," according to its description.

Besides running the store Your Inner Tranquility, which is located inside Badawang Art in Summit, Schoffman is an intuitive Reiki master teacher, a sound healing practitioner, a meditation teacher and spiritual guide and mentor.

Reiki is a Japanese form of "energy healing" and a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners, like Schoffman, use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which a "universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing.

Schoffman explained that she uses "holistic energy" in her work. She said this method is used in a hospitals and hospice settings as a form of healing. Many of Schoffman's patients are going into surgery, coming out of surgery or recovering from chemotherapy or other illnesses.

Schoffman's goal is to help her clients find "peace, balance, purpose and joy" in their everyday lives, and her chapter in the book — entitled "Messages from the Praying Mantis" — highlights her journey to becoming a Reiki master and embodying the role of "healing energy practitioner."

"Reiki is defined as like a spiritually guided energy," Schoffman said. "It can be done hands-on or over the body through a distance ... When someone receives it, it's for general wellbeing, for the body itself to promote its own healing."

Schoffman is know for her“Mind, Body, Spirit Tune-Ups”, combining her knack for putting people at ease, space holding abilities and energy therapies.

"She teaches her clients to celebrate what is uniquely beautiful about themselves and to embody the art of living authentically," her bio in the book states.

Scoffman has facilitated over 2,000 Reiki, sound healing, meditation and teaching Sessions. She has also been featured on the “Bearth” and “Talking Joy” podcasts.

In her twenties, Schoffman said she got sick with an immunocompromised disease, which prompted her to look into a lot of holistic therapies.

"I've always been interested in art and culture and alternative practice," Schoffman said. "But I didn't really study it until about seven years ago. I was just looking to do it for myself. I had no intention of doing it for business."

Scoffman said she was simply looking to heal herself and to find peace. But when she discovered Reiki, she really connected to it and pursued a certification in it. Through her store in Summit, she is able to host Zoom meditations, group therapy, vibrational healing and meditation sessions.

Schoffman has owned Your Inner Tranquility for 31 years and has been working in Summit's Badawang Art on 37 Maple Street for 18 years.

The store also sells crystals, essential oils, clothes, scarves, jewelry and items that help with energy practice. Schoffman said the back of the store is dedicated to a quiet space for Reiki sound healing meditation. You can learn more about what her store has to offer on her website.

Schoffman is also a single mom and lives with her daughter Mita, their dog Jack and kittens Boo and Snowflake.

A digital version of the book will become available on Aug. 11 on Amazon for $0.99. The paperback book will be available a few days later.

All proceeds from the book will be donated to Elimu Girls — a non-profit that gives young women in Kenya a chance to start a sewing business, a bank account, along with a voice. You can read more about the charity on https://elimugirls.com/.

A full description of the book can be found on Amazon.

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