Depression and Reiki

I just watched the movie The Beaver. I wanted to write while it is still fresh in my mind and heart. I want to give Jodie Foster kudos, one for directing the movie and two for being one of the main characters. Mel Gibson plays a mentally ill character that Foster is married to. They have two children a teen age boy and one a gradeschool boy. Early on in the movie you realize that Gibson is a depressive (perhaps schitzophrenic as the relationship between him and the hand puppet develops), the movie actually starts with him being asked to leave their home, he finds a beaver hand puppet in a dumpster and this begins the story about the Beaver that initially appears to be a friend and a tool to Gibson to work with his depression.


The main focus of the movie is really the relationship with Gibson and the Beaver, yet the other main story line is of a woman that is willing to attempt to be non-judgmental of her husband as he tries to work his way through life. Foster continues to directly engage Gibson with questions and expectations that at some point the relationship with the Beaver will end; Gibson repeatedly explains it away or blatantly lies to Foster. Again Foster puts her foot down and leaves her husband.


There is a scene when Gibson is alone and he and the Beaver are actually at odds, there is a fight, an actually physical altercation with Gibson and the Beaver in which Gibson is physically hurt. When Gibson recovers from a black out the Beaver is there telling him that he is his only friend and that he is the only one who loves him. Gibson in the end uses a table saw to remove the Beaver puppet from his arm... by now Gibson believes the Beaver to be real and is unable to simply remove the puppet from his hand.


Foster remains true to her husband. She is in the background of the story line choosing love for her husband over the fear, shock, shame, and disappointment that are so obvious during the movie. She always chooses her and the children’s safety over Gibsons sickness, yet she never slams the door in his face. In an emergency she is there, even though the story line revolves around the mental illness in Gibson, for me it was Fosters character that seemed the most courageous. As difficult as it is for someone with a mental disorder to exist and be in the world it can be even more difficult to love a mentally ill person.


I personally have spent my life attempting to distance myself from people with mental illness. I have become angry at their inability to change, their lack of stick-to-it-ive-ness, their lack of compassion for the people they live with and claim to love, and the selfishness living with a diseased mind can portray. Yet, there is no amount of smug judgmental behavior that is any kind of a match for true chemical imbalances in the brain of those affected with mental illness. No matter how much the rest of us know, no matter how many suppliments, medication, medical treatment, energy and bodywork out there; we aren’t the ones living inside the mind that can believe a stuffed Beaver is real and must be violently detached from the body.


I have spent years walking away from people that were unbalanced. Years weighing the behavior of my family and my friends and my lovers against what is or is not healthy behavior. And I have time and again walked away feeling disappointed and empty.
My father was schitzophrenic, certainly his time in Vietnam created an even worse case scenario for him, he lived across the country from me in my young years so I never got to know him and in my judgment that was just fine with me, who needed that kind of a father anyway? I would wager to say my own mother has dealt with differing levels of depression in her life, my brother is also dealing with diagnosis that makes his life harder than I wish it was for him. My own daughter had shown signs of chemical imbalance most of her young life and as she matured these chemical imbalances became worse as puberty set in. She battles with her own mind daily and I am happy to say whether it looks like it or not she is on top of that particular battle and I am very proud of her.


Below are a few statistics regarding mental disorders. It is frightening to see how many people are truly afflicted and affected with a chemical imbalance. As I turned 40 this year I was dealing with yet another person that I cared for finally getting real about their own mental imbalance. I am hopeful that she has learned a great deal from her experience and I do wish her well on her journey. Since that time my brother who has been missing in action from my life for about 14 years has resurfaced. My mother and I are actually talking about healing our relationship instead of me keeping her at arms length. I have begun to re-assess my own part in loving these people and learning to keep love in the relationship even when it appears that mental illness is winning. It has become painfully obvious (at times) that it isn’t for me to run away from those that I love to keep myself safe from them. The people I have judged are still real and still loving me, so my lesson now is learning acceptance and love in the face of what used to frighten me.



overall U.S. 2002 cost of schizophrenia was estimated to be $62.7 billion, with $22.7 billion excess direct health care cost ($7.0 billion outpatient, $5.0 billion drugs, $2.8 billion inpatient, $8.0 billion long-term care). (source: Analysis Group, Inc.)
Today the leading theory of why people get schizophrenia is that it is a result of a
with an environmental exposures and / or stresses during pregnancy or childhood that contribute to, or trigger, the disorder. Already researchers have identified several of the key genes - that when damaged - seem to create a predisposition, or increased risk, for schizophrenia. The genes, in combination with suspected environmental factors - are believed to be the factors that result in schizophrenia
The Prevalance Rate for schizophrenia is approximately 1.1% of the population over the age of 18 (source:
) or, in other words, at any one time as many as 51 million people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia, including;
6 to 12 million people in China (a rough estimate based on the population)
4.3 to 8.7 million people in India (a rough estimate based on the population)
2.2 million people in USA
285,000 people in Australia
Over 280,000 people in Canada
Over 250,000 diagnosed cases in Britain

www.schizophrenia.com/szfacts.htm



At least 2 million people in the United States have this illness. When given proper treatment, most people with bipolar disorder can lead more stable lives.
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/bipolar_disorder/hic_bipolar_disorder.aspx


The most important thing to remember at this point is that there is no winning or losing with mental illness. It is just what it is and people who are living with the diagnosis of a mental condition are not purposefully striking out at those they love, it is actually a manifestation of the disease itself. If I can keep that one single truth in mind perhaps I will lovingly accept my family with just as much compassion as I can a stranger, because in the past I believe I have actually had way more patience and compassion for people I do not even know.


Reiki assists me in delving into ever deeper levels of finding forgiveness inside myself. I can not imagine that I would be in this place in my life willing to mend relationships with family had Reiki not found me.

Creating space....

Reiki began it’s soft and gentle whispers as I worked in a nursing home in Klamath Falls Oregon. A nurse there practiced the healing art, I had never heard of it before and didn’t think too much of checking it out due to my interests at the time. I was involved in a spiritual group that didn’t really encourage newcomers or information gleaned from outside sources. One day after reporting this particular spiritual group to the authorities for inappropriate actions, I remember hearing the state patrol officer telling me “You stay away from anything like this, especially that Reiki stuff.” It makes me giggle now when I remember those days.

I did heed his warning, I stayed away from any kind of spirituality for a couple of years as I began a lengthy healing process for PTSD. Reiki kept finding it’s way to me however, through articles on healing, conversation, and the constantly repeating word Reiki in my mind. When I finally gave in to the call to study Reiki it was through continuing education in nursing. I actually thought I went to the class to prove how impossible Reiki and hands on healing could be! I went armed with my logic, practicality, and nursing background, and none of that prepared me for the incredible and healing experience I was offered by Reiki and the universe.

You see, in my mind I had lost the ability and the space to welcome spirit into my life or my experience. I had no trust and I had no belief. I had become bitter and egotistical about anything that had to do with spirituality or spiritual teachers. Spirit had whispered to me my entire life, yet I slammed the door down and refused to ever open it again. The attitude served me well as I really did need the wall of protection that my small-minded beliefs were giving me at the time. In fact I had lost the space for anything in my life, no space for goodness, comfort, relationships, and very little space to be a good mom; my perceived wound took over my life and I was utterly depressed and bereft at the time I took my first in person Reiki class.

Little did I know but through the years Reiki had been making space for itself inside my life. I believe that I had been called as an intermediary in which people found peace and comfort as they shared their concerns and hurts, My children were toddlers when I went to nursing school, I was young and confused, and in many way a broken person. I didn’t believe in myself and often used other people’s opinions of me to define myself; the problem was everyone around me was invested in my failure including me. After I came to Florida I felt lost and alone. That is when Reiki called me to a continuing education class in Tampa Florida. My life changed that weekend, Reiki powerfully moved disbelief, pain, and years of hurt just enough to take a firm hold on my heart. Many miracles came into my life that weekend and I can't wait to tell you about them!

This is the second in three articles about Reiki creating space stay tuned for more!

At war within

I don't often take a stand on political issues, and even though the inspiration of this post comes from our new found war with Libya, the meaning here is meant to be individual and uplifting to ourselves.

I have noticed myself feeling reactive about the recent events on our world horizon. It has drawn me to the deep inner truth that if my world is at war, perhaps I am currently at war within myself.

The more I consider the possibility that I am at war within myself the more I am noticing the ways in which that is true for me. I have begun to have some allergies to foods and have begun to experience the achyness of what appears to be fibromyalgia. The more I delve deeply into the meaning of what these two things are and how they seem to affect me the more I understand that in some ways I am reacting to my environment via allergies and discomfort. As I am in the process of unravelling myself I have begun to find so much more compassion for me and all of the things that I may not know about myself. I also am really impressed with how effectively my body has been communicating with me regarding my surroundings and the foods that I ingest.

Perhaps the way to invite compassion on a global level is to invite compassion and peace first within ourselves. Perhaps each time we begin to feel as though we must judge ourselves or the experiences we would rather not have; instead we can lay down our weapons of mass destruction that we have been subduing ourselves with; and create a kinder way to access and heal difficult and challenging energy blocks within us.

If we truly want our world to change we must first feel the peace within ourselves. To feel peaceful within we must begin to understand and forgive ourselves, less explosions and more kindness and love.

That is my two cents this week, lets all uncover the barriers we have created within ourselves that turn our hearts and minds toward war within, and begin to prefer inviting healing and light deeply into our lives.

Just for today do not worry.

Just for today do not anger.

Just for today be kind to every living thing.

Just for today be thankful.

Just for today do your work honestly.

All My love!

Reiki, Japan, and all of US!

Often when teaching Reiki we talk about the 1923 earthquake that devastated Japan and pulled Usui Sensei into the public arena of healing and teaching out of dire human need. Usui traveled and taught to assist his people in recovering after the massive blast that shook his country and the hearts and minds of his people. Usui stepped up and out into the public because of the need for his knowledge and compassion, and because of his people's need to feel relief and comfort.

Here we are 88 years later looking at the devistation of the people of Japan again. Many people are calling out that this is the end of days, that things are taking a turn for the worse, and largely that the world is on a path of certain destruction. I have no doubt that throughout history and throughout this world, people's fear becomes so large that they see earth-changes as a bad omen and the "end of times". This is not the first time those words have been whispered from the lips of our brothers and sisters as the Earth evolves and changes.

Usui stepped out with a tool to assist his people to find comfort and ease, and he practiced compassion in his work through teaching and his service to human kind. Because Usui was who he was and because he was willing to teach others I have been afforded the opportunity to share his system of healing with hundreds of people.

It can be easy to forget our center and our universal love in the midst of chaos and destruction.

This is a shrine on Mt Kurama, the mountain where Usui did his 21 day retreat and was given the knowledge of the system of Reiki. I have used it to gaze at and to see the beauty of Japan, to ignite my certainty that I do have something to offer on a global scale; because of so many brave Japanese people throughout the years.

Perhaps this is time to honor what has been given to us and offer our services to our global community through distance and hands on healing. You may notice that in the past few weeks your dreams have become more vivid and you are feeling as though you have worked all night long. For those of you that are lightworkers you are being asked to work with the planet and it's life in your night time hours. It can feel challenging and exciting to know that you are helping people even when you are sleeping.

Remember to offer yourself healing daily in your waking hours and offer to yourself and your world the kindness that the founder of Reiki was so generous to share with this world. You are a part of the legacy that Usui shared with the world and you are most certainly needed here, whether you are carpooling your kids to school or on the front lines feeding the hungry and easing discomfort.

YOU are the light of the world... always remember!

Our Agreements

Agreements are the things we make daily with ourselves, our families, our co-workers, and society. They are the unconscious voices inside our minds and sometimes inside our very hearts that help us to function in the world.

As lightworkers the agreements that we make often define who we think we are in the world. Making an agreement to heal the world is a large endeavor!

Some of us are aware of the agreements that we have made regarding healing our community, and yet a larger part of us are not aware of the conscious agreements we have made; and even more important may be the subconscious agreements we make without even a clue of what we are doing or why.

This is the time of the year that heralds the harvesting of our past year's endeavors. It is also the time of the year that is most ripe for us to look at the things that are not working in our lives and evaluate anything that is draining us of precious time and energy.

As the Winter months approach it is a time for self reflection and going deeply inside ourselves to prepare for the next cycle. Many times in the hustle and bustle of daily life these natural flows are not noticed or celebrated, yet they remain important to us all in learning to manage ourselves and our agreements.

Questions to ask yourself are:
Are my agreements to people in my life more important than my agreements to myself?
Are the agreements that I uphold as a global light worker for my community balanced with my own personal self care?
Do I feel drained after I have said YES to an activity to help others?
Do I have a daily self care program in place and do I follow it no matter what is happening in my life?

If you are feeling drained, taken advantage of, or as if there is not enough time to get things done for other people and you consistently place yourself on the back burner; you may be dealing with some agreements and self expactations that could be altered just a tiny bit to support your life and your healing work. We don't want to throw out the baby with the bath water... we just want to find the path of least resistance when searching for a balance in our healing and lightworking activities and our own personal health.

Good Luck!

Releasing Grief with Reiki

Grief comes in many forms, from loss of a favorite pendulum, to loss of a friendship, loss of a relationship, and loss through death... each level of loss holds it's own challenge and grace.


How we move through this is just as individual as each of us are. Some people busy themselves with tasks and some sit in silence bound by the tears that echo the devastation felt in their hearts.


The gift of Reiki is that no matter the style of grieving there is always a way to choose to accept healing and light into an experience that seems to lack just those kinds of gifts.





Many people hang on to the energy of their object of grief by continuously focussing on the loss. Difficult as it may sound, it is the releasing of the need for this energy that will begin to lift the spell of pain and sorrow for ourselves and all of the people involved.


When we allow ourselves to elevate our grief to a space of healing and self knowledge we can gracefully move through the need to hang on to other people's energy we have been using to fill ourselves; and learn to love the time we have had, and the new kind of relationship that is available to us as we allow the past to be the past and stop trying to breathe life into something that is robbing us of our peace.




Daily Reiki practice invites a receptive quality that is often pushed away in times of distress. Grief will most often cause a person to want to be isolated and protected.


Daily Reiki practice creates the foundation that people can use to move gently and honestly through loss and all the feelings that come with it. Offering a consistent, genuine, and loving option to diving into the depths of pain. If we find ourselves lost in the depths of our own pain, daily practice gives us the tools to be open to the guiding and loving light that Reiki represents.



Grief allows us to clearly see our lives, illuminating the good and the stagnant areas that we might not other wise be aware of. It allows us to surrender to the greater flow of life and to learn to ask for help. Grief can be a gift that encourages a balanced and healthy flow of friends and loved ones who take up the gauntlet for us as we heal.



Grief illuminates our own areas that need healing. These "blind spots" become evident all too easily. Choosing to be loving and sweet with ourselves with daily Reiki practice and weekly Reiki treatments can not only increase our sense of inner peace and love, it can strengthen our resolve to live freshly the life ahead of us.

Being aware of the need to release the energy of the loss and the people involved will assist you when you are setting the intentions for healing and for your life.

Being aware of the possibility that you are willing to learn from your relationships, come to peace with what has happened, and to forgive anything that feels negative or keeps you stuck in the past is a powerful boon to your personal healing.

Grief is as individual as our finger prints, it is necessary, it is healthy. When the experience of grief overpowers and superceeds the good or healthy experience of life it has become a hinderance to health. An increased awareness of grace, love, and forgiveness is necessary. When we cease to function we detract from our life, our light is hidden, and we suffer, feeling lost and alone. Reiki offers us a choice to prefer light, to prefer health... to grow through the good and challenging times.

Healing Crisis... Why do I feel bad?

The beauty of healing modalities like Reiki is that they are so simple. In fact I have yet to come across a modality that is as simple as Reiki. The deep healing that comes along with such a profound system includes actual transformation of your living system which is at least a fine tuning of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual reality. At most it is a complete healing encompassiong total system alignment resulting in greater health and well being.



The interesting part is that people just do not truly understand the way some healing works. When we are new to a path, no matter what the path is, there is a time of adjustment and self assessment. When opening the doorway to knowing the inner self and healing the inner turmoil many of us harbor within our minds and bodies it is time to make adjustments. The moment we realize that we are in need of healing many of us can envision sudden and complete healing, as if a magical wand is waived over our heads and things are simply; well, better!



After Reiki sessions you may have incredible feelings of openness, wonder, and bliss. You may notice that things that used to bother you no longer do. You may notice that life feels easier and things take on a much more beautiful elegant glow. You may notice that your aches and pains have eased and possibly disappeared! You may notice healings in relationships around you, or a desire to heal the relationships you are in. You may notice that your world is changing right before your eyes as you INTEND to usher wellbeing and happiness into your life.



Now picture if you can a bottle filled with water (that is you). Also picture hundreds of colored sands (these are emotions and experiences). When we come in to our lives we are much like the bottle of clear pure water... as our lives unfold, imagine pouring different colored sands in one after another. Our body doesn't really choose one experience over the other as good or bad to pay attention to; however it does begin to store these emotions and experiences as we begin to judge them. If you are really paying attention to this exercise you may begin to notice that the sands of our experiences and emotions start to compact together, so that the first experiences and emotions are in much deeper layers of our being than the more recent ones.



Reiki is like the hand that lifts up the bottle and begins to move it. Only the top layers will begin to move, grain by grain of sand... We might not be very conscious of the things we have stored inside our being. OR... We may be very conscious of what we are storing there as we have tried to ignore and overcome our past, and we may recognize what we have been doing is just not working.



After Reiki sessions you may also feel emotional, tired, angry, sad, or flu like. Infact there have been deep healings where people have become nauseated and run to the bathroom. Joints may ache more as the sands of our lives are disturbed and released from the body. You may not recognize yourself or the people in your life. You may suddenly not understand how your life is working or why you have the people in it that you do. These effects are just as natural and necessary as the effects that make you feel blissed out and in love with the world.



When we ask for health, healing, wellbeing, and happiness... we are asking for those things that are hurdles to that goal to be revealed to us. We are simply asking to be shown what is not working... and being given the opportunity to take steps to alter our path to a more harmonious one. This means dealing with how we want to feel and how we feel but do not want to feel. Reiki leaves no stone unturned.


I leave you with these thoughts and words to begin to possibly rekindle your desire for balance and grace through bodywork and healing modalities that offer you opportunities for growth. Happy New Year!


Namaste'

Reiki, loss, healing

The call came at 8:30 on a Tuesday night as I was en route to pick up one of my daughters from school. My other child had just attempted suicide and for all I knew she had succeeded. There was no thought in my mind for a moment, as I picked up my cell phone to dial a friend to go and check on her. It was erie really, not knowing if her last breath had been taken, not knowing if I would ever see her again; yet strangely as I drove my car to pick up my daughter, I felt calm. Knowing I could not be in two places at one time I surrendered her to God and to the highest and best good as I waited to pick up my child and head to the hospital.

There were few moments of panic or confusion, there was simply a profound quiet within me, I remember being impatient to reach the hospital; yet I continued to breathe... I continued to just notice that I had not become hysterical and I really was waiting for the time that I would breakdown, become crazy, grieve, be angry, scream, or even cry, but that time never came. I kept expecting myself to bring Reiki to the table... to be the Reiki Master and take over the energy of the space uplifting and transmuting all of it. Instead I just waited, watched, and kept breathing.


The nurses and hospital techs came in to check on my daughter who was suffering from an over dose of common house hold medications. Tylenol, midol, benadryl, ibuprofen... Hours passed and I felt the pull of my older daughter who had chosen to leave the hospital, yet I stayed waiting, for word on my youngest daughter's condition and what was happening to her internal organs. That time finally came and I was told that they would have to admit her because her toxic levels were too high.


She spent 40 more hours on the antidote for tylenol. That was the time I broke down, the only time that the tear really broke the surface that first night. When it was clear that she had truly damaged herself, I felt the fear of the possibilities of organ damage and a lifetime of treatments. This time her act almost extinguished her beautiful life. I still wondered about Reiki, offering it to her, to the hospital, to the staff... yet I just sat there watching her vomit over and over and over again. After 2 1/2 hours of vomiting, at 3 in the morning I left, I knew she was in good hands and I needed some rest.




Mothers can be fierce when their children are in danger. Fierce when someone or something attemtps to come between them and their children, and here I was understanding that there is no fighting that I could do to take away the kind of inner pain that someone must feel to attempt to take their own lives. How could I protect her from herself?



Where was my Reiki? Why wasn't I actively using this wonderful tool that I have come to rely on so deeply?



I have realized through this opportunity for growth, that it was my daily Reiki practice that I have honed over the years, that had stored enough energy to move me through this process. I realized that through a daily practice of Reiki I had learned to allow and to truly submit to what was happening around me. I could surrender to the thought of the loss of my child and also to the possibility that she would choose to stay here on this planet and choose to heal. I let go of my expectations and gave over to her process, her pain, and her desire for wanting better for herself. After all, she was the only one that could make a difference for her.



Reiki was not really far from me that night... it was within me, strengthening me, and helping me to allow others to assist me in my process, so I was available to be there for my daughter. Some people were just there for me, helping me remember to eat, offering a shoulder if I needed it and I am thankful for that.



Growth is not always a beautiful simple process, sometimes true growth and forging of your soul is done when the fires are at their hottest.





In a beautiful way Reiki assisted me in finding the higher aspects of such a stressful and turbid situation. I am ever thankful for all of you, Reiki, and my life!

Simply Healed...

I have been taking a new healing class recently...

I find myself wondering about all of the information that is being presented and what seems to be all of the rules that go along with this healing system. At a time in our society when stress levels are rising due to financial issues... keeping everything straight seems to be a way to create even more stress inside my life.

Now there are even rules to hands on healing.

I remember long ago when I began my Reiki path the most alluring and safe aspect of this new healing system was it's simplicity. The fact that I knew that Reiki could cause "no harm" was just the safety valve I needed at a time when I was supremely unsure of just about everything in my life... Reiki was indeed the one thing I could trust, all I had to do was show up with my hands and an open heart.

To this day the same thing applies to my life. Sure I have learned much more about Eastern meditative practice, breathwork, and energy systems and they have created life changing healing alone and when I apply Reiki to them, yet all I have to do is just show up with an open heart and the Reiki will flow each and everytime I want or need it to.

As I watch the people in my life running to keep up with the speed of their own thoughts, responsibilities, and percieved issues I know beyond a shadow of any doubt that the ability to know I can use my own hands to de-stress and to keep myself healthy is a boon beyond measure. Even more exciting and supportive is the truth that nothing is more user friendly and easy to give away to the people in my life that are most in need of a bit of peace or a safe place to release their own stress.

Reiki truly is a tool for life!

This, to me, is one of the most incredibly simple and "safe" healing systems out there. It is why I love to teach Reiki , because ANYONE can do it, ANYONE can feel better, and EVERYONE is always worthy of healing simply!

Isn't it time you allowed yourself to recieve some Reiki?

Going deeper

As I sit here with my green smoothie... it has dawned on me that many people through out my life have thought that I was somewhat an extremist. I tend to dive into what I believe in and ask no questions, trusting that God has my back.

I have had quite a few friends and partners in the past that would call that sheer folly.... after all who devotes hours a day to yoga, Qi gong, meditation, prayer, teaching, journaling, and self healing? Who INDEED I say...

• Jesus
• Mother Teresa
• Mikao Usui
• Walter Lubeck
• Carolynn Myss
• Collette Baron Reid
• Mary my pastor
• Lora my dear friend
• Henry Ford
• Mohandas Ghandi
• Nelson Mandela

The point here is that many of the people that I have looked up to in my life, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Maya Angelou, President Lincoln, Cathy Robinson Pickett Kilpatrick... and so many I can't even remember them all... they were willing to stand up for something... to be extremist in their beliefs. The world was changed by their ability to focus, to be extreme, to test themselves against the ebbs and flows of life and to touch people.

Green smoothie in hand, I can hear those people of my past say "Ewwww, who drinks their dinner?"

Well I do, sometimes... and everyday I endeavor to uncover the parts of me that have hidden in fear and shame since I was a child. I sit in a quiet space and allow my pain and my joy... if I have to be called anything I suppose that an extremist would be the greatest compliment I know.

I am ever so grateful that on August 15th the Usui Virtual Retreat will commence and I will find myself going even deeper within my soul than I give myself the opportunity to go on a daily basis. I will fall away from the spoken word, turn off my phones, and my computer unless I am listening to an uplifting radio show...

I will become even more simple, even more quiet, even more peaceful as I endeavor to hear my soul speak from the depths of my being. I will allow the hours of my work to be my service to the outside world and to endeavor to balance my spiritual world with my physical world. I will enter a dream time where the energies of the universe coalesce to create and even greater ability to accept and prefer health in my life.. I will fill my reservoir with Reiki and release all that I hold on to back into the flow of life.

I will be ever more present in the knowledge of myself and my relationship with Infinite Spirit....

How will you spent your Reiki retreat time?

Namaste'

Balance, Change, and WTF?

I had begun to think I had lost my voice for writing and for teaching. Why? Well as some of you may know I am in the midst of the anti-climatic end to a relationship...

The important thing here is not that the relationship is over, but that I like myself when I look in the mirror. Obviously a mourning has to take place... and at times I find myself forgetting how an empathic person is affected by the world, let alone when they are having their own fray of feelings to manuever through.

I do recognise that change helps a girl grow. That unintentionally, living a life in service to family and partners without a clear understanding of self and self love, is... well at best a distraction, and perhaps at worst damaging to the soul. Apparently the EGO can survive well in the midst of that type of life!

Feeling off center, not quite sure of my purpose, and generally wondering when the feeling would pass has been an interesting way to spend the last month and a half. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how much work a girl does.... there are always deeper levels to go.

I have learned that sometimes you have to be willing to just say the truth and let the chips fall where they may no matter what anyone around you thinks, says, or feels... what is true for you is simply just true.... well until it isn't anymore... that funny little thing called growth. I have learned that it is ok to focus solely on myself and to unplug my consciousness, my energy, my mind, and my soul from other people and their thoughts, judgements, and desires. I have learned... that too much dairy gives my a nasty looking rash on my face... I have learned that without Reiki, self hypnosis, and journaling... I might be insane rather that just somewhat off center.

Most of all though, today when I felt more off center than I have since all of this began I learned... that a tree is a tree. Now before you laugh and think, yup... maybe she is insane after all....

I took a blanket to a favorite place of mine, sure I packed my camera, my books, my journal... my cell phone too.... There I go hiking over to a very beautiful place and lay my blanket down in the midst of three large trees... Wouldn't you know I forgot my pens? Now what, no direction... no great ideas to write down... no great vomitting of old icky baggage out onto paper to help me feel better?

Instead of focussing on the thought that I had screwed up my little journey by not bring my pens with me I chose instead to surrender. I just sat there and allowed myself to feel. I allowed the tension and pressure in my body to drain away into the ground beneathe me. I felt the breeze on my skin... I allowed my diaphragm to relax and take in more air.... I sat... and sat... and sat... When I got tired of sitting I chose to lay down. I gazed at the blue sky through the tops of the trees and listened to the tree frogs and I relaxed myself even more into the ground... that is when I learned the golden truth....

A tree is just a tree... I followed the ridges in the bark with my eyes, along the branches, until they became lost in the green of the leaves. I became extremely interested in the moss hanging from the tree limbs, and the sky above... and even the sun that dappled my body through the folliage that I was lying under. There was no great force of shuddering, no golden light pouring through to bathe my body as the truth swept gently through my mind. A tree is a tree and it does not venture to become anything but itself, it stays firmly grounded and it stretches high into the sky... really when was the last time you saw a tree attempt to weave itself into a car, or a rock, or even to become water? A tree doesn't enter the race of to have's and to be's... we humans do that.

That was when it happened... I found my center, my joy, and my purpose... and here is the big secret.... I just get to be me... no more and no less... and no one has to approve of it... because I feel that as the days pass I will focus more on those trees... more on the truth... that I am here for my enjoyment, my growth, and my happiness... there doesn't really have to be any other reason.

So with a simple shrug... I will unplug and go make that beautiful sock eye salmon, green beans, and some lovely fresh french bread and watch a movie... just because I want to....

Who are you? Where are you? And have you found your joy today?

Advanced Reiki Training

When I first became a Reiki Master Teacher I was so excited to get out into the world and teach as much Reiki to as many people as I could.

I molded my classes around the way I had learned and for years I used the very same manual my Reiki Master had used in my classes.

This past 6 months began a different level of teaching for me. At some point I realized that the manual I was using was not really showing my own personal flair or what I felt was important with Reiki and so I wrote my own Reiki level I and II manuals. They are still functional works in progress!



The incredible thing about this process for me is that I realized that Master Teacher was no longer a term that I felt was describing me. It was this year that I began to think of myself as a Reiki Master Instructor. This term feels more solid for my foundation and little did I know that it would also assist me to begin to delve even more deeply into my own Reiki practice and Reiki's roots.

I feel that this change came at the most synchronous time ever, as it was time for me to publicly teach an Advanced Reiki Class. I wanted more for my students than I had received during my ART class, more than I had taught before. I wanted my students to feel the Earth move and to experience energetic healing through every sense they had available. I wanted them to have a sense of being removed from everyday life and to take a step into illumined spirit filled healing.

I had the honor to craft a beautiful ART class that I believe is still echoing in the minds of the participants. I am ever so thankful for the experience of being able to witness to the courage, focus, and outstanding commitment that I witnessed this weekend with the talented individuals I worked with. Reiki never ceases to amaze me whether in a class room or healing setting, yet... humans with their hope, resiliency, and grace are even more amazing to behold.

I am thankful at even deeper levels for Reiki and the gift it has been in my life, and I can not wait to teach the more advanced levels more often!

Namaste'

The Way of Reiki

The Way of Reiki... is the moment when you stop "doing" Reiki and you are aware of the lack of separation between you and this infinite experience of universally guided energy.

For me Reiki is an extension of the deep inner well that we are all aware of at times. Reiki happens to be one of my favorite ways to re-emerge into my world, fully refreshed and new, like a spring bloom.

Some believe that Reiki is a modality to be practiced when there is an imbalance in the human energy field. Something to "do" to undo the imbalance and lack of perception we run into as we live our human lives. Reiki for these people will tend to be placed on the back shelf and forgotten until that moment when the physical and sometimes emotional suffering seems to be greater than the practitioner, suddenly Reiki is remembered and illumined in those moments as a tool for freedom and relief.

For some Reiki has become something they chose to learn to help other people. The focus is so outside of themselves that the only time they remember this amazing tool is when someone they care for is in jeapordy.

For some, Reiki and it's principles have become a way of life. A new way to look at our world and experience it with new and forgiving eyes. To allow what is, to be... to allow all things to flow through our experience and remain the hollow reed. To let go of the good and bad judgements and to seek love, peace, harmony, and service each day. Reiki has helped to shape my life and my beliefs about myself and my happiness because of this. I only "forget" about this tool when I have cut myself off from the infinite connection of everything.

I practice Reiki on a daily basis. Self Reiki is so important in my life that I would feel blind or handicapped if it somehow was extracted from my experience. Each morning before work I do the techniques I have taught my students. I recognise the flow of energy into and out of my life, I find something to be greatful for, and I go about my day with glimpses of connected consciousness peaking through my work duties.

Yet, even in this I find myself forgetting to use many of the most powerful aspects of Reiki. I sometimes forget to appy Reiki to the challenging situations in my life, sometimes I forget to share Reiki with my family and friends, sometimes I forget to apply Reiki to my workspace and all of the people there, sometimes I simply forget the incredible tool I have in my life.

That is the gift of The Way of Reiki... that even though I have been a Reiki Master for 9 years now, teaching and sharing the infinite ways of how Reiki can make a huge difference in a person's life... I am still yet a student of the ways that Reiki can support and illumine my life!

Big Changes

It has been two weeks since my life changed in a big way. I thas been two weeks since I last taught Reiki and had the honor to welcome more students on to their path in Reiki. it has also been two weeks since I got a brand new job!

Since that time everything has changed. I find myself with not as much time to ponder things, I have decided that idle time is truly the enemy of intelligent people.

Since that time I have also embraced a spiritual truth. A truth that perhaps we aren't always aware of, but a truth that exists none the less. This truth challenges me in a way that I have not been challenged and I welcome the depths of the lessons and growth that are occuring and that will occur because of it.

The truth is this: walk what we talk. Now this is simple and everyone has heard it before, but it takes on a new meaning when you shove yourself head first into new life experiences. When you give up the reigns of your life and the things you have always "thought" you were "supposed" to be doing to the forces that be. These are the moments that all of my preparation and knowledge and suggestions to my student and clients really hold weight.

Having my own office for 5 years really gave me the power to control my surroundings. Giving up the office and returning to the work force means letting go of control, assuming that my higher power and the creator of all things has my best and highest good at heart. Working in a busy doctors office, where my entire focus is on what I am doing, which client I am seeing, and what my doctor may need from me has brought me fully into the present moment. Honestly my mind has no time to wander into the past or future because I have so much that I have got to do and remember. I come home with energy from the day, I go to sleep earlier because physcially my body needs the rest as I adjust to my new 5 a.m. waking schedule, however my mood has lifted incredibly.

Yet I still have kids and a home and animals and friends and... and... and... I find myself wondering how to juggle groceries and family time and cooking and cleaning. I hear my therapist self giving suggestions and I recognize that I am currently my own client. After all these years of helping and suggesting and supporting my clients, I am now helping, suggesting to, and supporting myself.

I have realized that i make a choice each day to support my health and growth even while 8-9 hours a day are devoted to a job that really has nothing to do with my heart and spirit. My time is supporting me and my kids, but even greater it is supporting this moment... the moment of NOW.

My inner therapist and Reiki Instructor whispers in my ear the ancient and not so ancient truths of the language of energy and time management. I heed the voice and I take the time first thing in the morning to offer thanks for the day and offer my body Reiki and a nourishing meal so that I can serve the people I come in contact with in the best way I can throughout the day.

I write today from a hotel room at Cocoa Beach. While soft snores come from the bed as the last nap of the weekend is being taken. I feel incredibly blessed in this moment. That I have the opportunity to face my challenges and new experiences while wielding some of the most powerful tools for living that I have ever had the honor to share with people.

I am my own product my own sucess, my own masterpiece. To walk in honor and service and to allow the Creator Spirit into each endeavor is truly what it means to be in service. Whether in a doctors office, a construction site, a massage office, or an office building. The true reigns of our life are always with the force that is greater than everything, and relaxing into each part of life is the unyielding secret of happiness.

May your weeks be blessed and may you welcome your endeavors with love and enthusiasm!

Magical Dragonfly Pose

Today I spent about 10-15 minutes in DRAGONFLY pose while experiencing my yin yoga. My hamstrings and I were having quite a chat regarding why on earth I was directing them to let go of the knee and hip joints at the same time. That pose is specific not only to stretch the body, but to release fear and anger. It actually is one of my favorite poses... apparently I enjoy conversing with my hamstrings.

Yin yoga gives us the time to relate to our bodies. To take 5-15 minutes in each pose if we so feel led and to allow the constrictions of the muscles and joints to tell us our own story. What we realize as we give over to the experience of the pose is that the constrictions that visit us through not being able to touch our toes are not so much about our physical body, but have much more to do with the frame of mind we currently operate from.

As I become present with the sensations that occur when doing deep mindful stretching my emotions begin to float up from the depths of the areas of the body that they have been stored in by that magnificent magical librarian of our emotions called... our limbic system. This is the time that the deep grumpy conversation with my hamstrings starts.

"You can stop now" "This hurts" "Seriously you can stop now... you will break me if you keep stretching me." "Fine you just hate me don't you?" "I can't do this" on and on this conversation goes. I don't hide from it, and I do not seek to silence the voice that lives within my hamstrings. I invite the inner dialogue so that I can understand my body and it's needs and fears even more. I have not listened to myself for many years, just like many people... pushing through life unwilling to take a moment to listen to my inner needs, wants, or desires.

This has hardened my body, joints, and my mind in different ways. For the past 5 years I have been undoing this type of behavior through hypnosis largely, yet I find that sometimes I still fall back on my old habits. For many of us that have endured the abuses of life, we can function primarily on what we can do for others, how many toys we can get, and definitely what and who does or does not make us feel safe and secure.

To encourage my body to face it's restrictions and to allow the emotions of fear, pain, anger, and rage a space to speak to me, I am giving a voice to my healing. I am not judging that these emotions exist and I am not trying to change them at all. I am not denying their existence in lieu of something better or a distraction that can make me feel better by pretending that they are not there, on the mat, in my yoga practice, or even in other aspects of my life... ALL other aspects I am certainly sure.

As I stretch and breathe and validate the feelings of the voices that are releasing themselves from deep within my muscle tissue I choose in each second not to give up, not to run away from my own precious Spirit, not to deny myself the freedom of health. Perhaps this courage comes from being a survivor of molestation, rape, spiritual abuse, and familial abuse. Or perhaps this is the courage of my own Spirit that planned this life to teach me that I can grow and learn and love no matter what experiences come to me.

On my mat I practice courage and faith... in each second. I face myself, my fear, my beliefs and the beliefs of my tribe. I stretch my body so that I can stretch my mind. I stretch my body so that my body, my mind, my emotions, and most importantly so that my Spirit knows beyond a shadow of a doubt... that I love myself enough to be real and to take care of the little boo boos and the larger hurts. Bent into the dragonfly position I face my life in it's entirety... the good the bad... every single thing. Reiki flows and I take my time, because I choose me...

There is no more important moment. There is no more important date or task than to just be in communion with that which honestly runs my life. It gives me to opportunity to listen in consciously to how my sub-conscious mind is seeing the world and me. It gives me the opportunity to right old wrongs whether inflicted by myself or another...

I can not change what has happened in my life, but I can certainly choose how to view and feel regarding each hurt or pain that my body uses to attempt to shut me down and send me into hiding. I no longer choose to hide... and the Reiki flows and the healing happens and I breathe... and only do I relent when the voice has quieted to a sweet understanding that there really is nothing to fear. Then it is time to move into a different pose and face what it brings up for me.

After that wonderful time in my yoga practice, I practiced qi gong and then conscious annointing with very specific essential oils so that I could assist myself in releasing deeply and healing completely. And in the end of this time there is nothing but peace and bliss to greet me as my eyes open and I face today...

I am incredibly blessed!

Diagnosis... energy field disturbance

According to NANDA, energy field disturbance is defined as the disruption of the flow of energy, or aura, surrounding a person's being that results in a disharmony of the body, mind, and/or spirit. (this diagnosis has been around since 2005-2006)

Nanda is the national board that figures out what nursing diagnosis is applicable to ALL nursing care. As I nurse I had to work with these while making out care plans.... oh LAWD did I ever excel at care plan making! This particular nursing diagnosis was adapted due to the increasing use of therapies like TT (therapeutic touch).

Cool huh?

I have a dream...

Really I do... my dream is that I get into the schools for doctors and nurses and attune their hind ends FAR before they become legal health care providers. My dream is that they become aware of the energy, orgone, ki, chi, qi, prana, ether that surrounds their bodies and makes up the stuff of their worlds! Think about that just for a second people... that the next time you HAVE to go and use the allopathic health care system that they not only understand the HEF (human energy field), but they embrace the fact that you are a practicing REIKI or Spiritual healer.

They recognise the importance of complimentary care and all you have done to further your education about the human body and it's systems. Your doctor takes a moment to look into your eyes, takes a nice deep breath with you and recognizes the need for relaxation and for preventative care that includes your wonderful daily yoga, Reiki, or Qi Gong program. She then says, "alright you have done a great job here... I am going to prescribe these antibiotics because we want to make use of the drugs that we can to get rid of this chest infection, but my dear it is clear to me that you have an energy field disturbance caused by not taking the time to get a good massage and meditate daily. WE must exercise our heart centers with self love before we can fill the cups of our loved ones. So that is my other prescription... meditation, massage, and love... keep up the good work!"

Seriously this is my dream and when I get that massage job in Lakeland working as a massage therapist in a brand spanking new medi-spa (you can tell I want this right?), I will be working with the nurses and doctors that 9 years ago I dreamed of training when I began my Reiki journey. OOOOOh changing the world one doctor and nurse at a time... sign me up!

The fact that the national organization that mandates the diagnosis for nursing care now included and energy field disturbance clause, well my friend times are changing. This is an incredible opportunity for anyone looking to break into the allopathic care system... I feel so encouraged and empowered to know that they can not argue with their own acceptable nursing diagnosis for care!

Rock on AMERICA and the forefathers of complimentary care methods in our health care system!

Today ROCKS!

There is a hole in my toilet...

Honestly there really is a hole in my toilet bowl! I was not lying... And the hole in one, that the crystal candle holder made inside the bowl before afore mentioned hole in my toilet, was actually a stupendous feat... I am still wondering how one would figure out the odds of that happening. There must be some mathematician somewhere that could figure that out for me.

I read yesterday that a man shot and killed all 5 of his children his wife and himself due to losing his job. Sobering isn't it? I myself have had the flu since Sunday... and I still feel as though a train has whacked my backside.... ugh. There are so many people these days with so many stories and finding themselves pushed up against the wall of limitations.

I interviewed for a job about 3 or 4 weeks ago... great job at a brand spanking new medi-spa. They spent 25K on the massage room alone... can we say heaven? I want my fingers all over that! The interviewer said "hey I will call in a week and let you know what is happening." I waited a week and nothing happened, so I called... left a message left an e-mail... no answer. It has been another two weeks and my eldest said "hey mom did you hear from that job?" I said "well darling I left a message and sent an e-mail but I have not heard anything."

At this point I was how do they say it "schooled" in proper job seeking behavior by my daughter. Apparently times are changing folks, and the mission of a job seeker is to call 2 times a week until you have been given an answer. This reminds me of stalking somewhat, but hey why not try it? So I called once again, and actually got to speak to the interviewer... she will be calling for the second half of the interview in mid-february... now was that so hard to say? She actually said that she had not called anyone to let them know anything because she has been getting the building taken care of. I said thank you and I will be looking forward to hearing from you... yet my proverbial jaw is lying in the floor... why has she not communicated with the people that she interviewed? OOOPS here it comes...

This is when my "teacher" voice began inside my head.... CAN you hear it? You see I began making up a story inside my head... so old school. I began to be personally offended by my impending boss's behavior... by the fact that she hadn't cared enough to communicate. I mean what about me, what about my jobless state of affairs, what about the fact that I had to close my own business office in October and it feels like I have been waiting FOREVER already... doesn't this stranger even care? Let's get real... I am the one that cares... sheeeeesh! This is the time when humans, like myself, in my weakened flu-like state let the ego take over so that they can feel safe and secure in the knowledge that they are "right" and someone is "wrong". Because obviously my super hero Reiki Master self wouldn't be waivered by this kind of behavior... muahahahahaha... Byron Katie and Eckhert Tolle would be great neighbors right about now!

I know I know... My Inner Reiki Teacher is chanting words inside my head again... "If it is meant to be..." Well yes I know in the higher states of awareness that this job or any job that I apply for I will get because it is meant to be... here is the hard part... being patient whilst wondering how the bills will be paid. AND attempting to be comfortable with a hole in my toilet and malfunctioning air conditioning while living in Florida... glad it is winter here! Even healers, Reiki Masters, Doctors, Nurses, Ministers, contractors, millionaires, and poor people sometimes get a hole in their toilet!

These are the days when Reiki matters the most in my life. These are the days when everything I have learned and everything I have taught come to bear inside my own mind. I love to hear my students say well this and that... parroting things I have said whilst helping them through similar issues and they are right, AND, I also have to honor where I sit, how it feels, and work from there as well. The human is not quiet, but the human is important as well, and it is from the human perspective that we get into trouble when we don't understand the wants, needs, desires of the human experience, and the way we have ignored and judged that part of our existence.

Sometimes things just are what they are. We live in a dual world, black and white and all of the colors in between. It is in the ebbs and flows that we learn and grow. The interesting ride for me is, that I can choose to be hurt, angry, resentful, miserable, and broken... or I can choose to recognize that things can always get better, that everything happens for a reason, that this too shall pass, and that sometimes things feel like crap because they just do... but it does NOT mean anything... no one is being punished the world is not ending it is just a cycle... I can choose and in that freedom is born. Everything is energy and in an ebb what I can indeed look forward to is the flow!

I have to say my inner drama diva really wants a voice here, and the fact that I know that puts me ahead of the game so to speak, because I can dialogue through all of the fear and blame and shadow energy that I have not uncovered yet. That means that this is all good... the good, bad, ugly, joyful... none of it matters as long as we keep judgement out of it and move it. Gary Young said on a recent cd I was listening to something like this. "Let it go, release that anger and rage why hold on to it, it isn't any good for you. For that matter release that joy too.. let it flow in and through you..." the point is stopping something and attempting to hold on to it because we do not know when things will be better or holding on to something because it might go away is pointless. Everything is energy everything is in a constant state of flow...we have no control over that.

Thanks for hanging out with me today,

I wish you a great weekend!

Namste'

p.s. seriously... what are the odds of a hole in your toilet bowl made by a crystal candle holder?

Everyday Heros

I have a friend that works 12 hour shifts. She is able to work from home near her family and loved ones. No commute, no co-workers, no packing of lunches or getting up before dawn to rush out the door. What a slice of heaven right? Ah no, she hates her job... reminds herself and family often of this fact. Yet her bills are paid and her family is fed and warm, the blessings truly abound. Sometimes it is so easy to miss what is right in front of us! Interesting isn't it?

I have a friend, she has been infected with HIV for over 20 years now. Her neuropathy is so terrible I am sure that if she can even feel her feet it is only because it feels like white hot pins are stabbing the feet and legs. She has been diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer for about 8 years now I believe, maybe more. Because of her disease process we can't even tell when something goes sky-woggled in her body, if the cause is really the cause. Recently she came out of a coma and is now on insulin injections 4 times daily. Do you know what my friends job is? Do you think she stays at home and bemoans her health status? She is an HIV educator, in fact she is summoned to congress when the Ryan White bill is under the microscope for funding purposes, and when congress calls you must go. She can be sick as a dog and pull herself up and do a keynote session for nurses and doctors right after being so sick none of us think she will stand up. That is her job... touching even one person is her passion... and over the years she has single-handedly saved hundreds if not thousands of people from despair. She is my hero! She might be your hero too... http://www.cathyrobinson.org/

I have a friend, her job is working in a specialties boutique for some women who's husbands were rich enough to give them a business. My friend is well trained in marketing and advertising, and yet she is selling high scale beads and purses to women who like to buy these novelties. Some people including her would think her situation is bad... but in these economic times she is grateful for the opportunity to work. Here is the kicker... my friend has a real job... one you might not know if you saw her on the street. It is taking care of her elderly mother. You see if my friend held a high paying position she would not have the time or the patience to deal with the dementia her mother is progressing through. She would not have the time to feed and dress her in the morning, to take her to church, to make sure her family is involved so that they have incredible memories while her mother is still lucid enough to recognize who everyone is, and even this is slowly drifting away. You see my friend doesn't understand the kind of gold her soul is being paid as it is forged on the kiln of life experience.

I have a friend who is a single mother of a troubled teen aged son. Everyday she gets up and goes to work in the health care field. Working to make a good life for herself and her son. Everyday she works to remain calm and balanced as her own soul is being forged on the kiln of the life experience of an out of control child. I think the hardest part of this entire experience is that often we look to the parent when the child is out of control. We forget each child just like each adult comes to the planet with their own individual plan to progress through. Yet she puts a mask on as she goes to work, calm, cool, and collected; while inside she feels as though she won't make it another second. This is a woman who has courage... to do the best she can each and everyday and to keep moving forward no matter what kind of curve balls her son throws her way... believe me there are a lot of curve balls here.

My point here is that often times we find ourselves in a position of wanting that very thing we do not have so that we can feel better. Not very often do we look at where we are and find acceptance and peace within it. These times in the world are testing and trying our resolve. The soul is being forged at a higher and higher heat for some. At a time when 11 million people have become jobless... hope is a commodity many people don't seem to have. Yet there is hope... in the blossom of a new flower, in the eyes of a new born, and mostly in the kindness that each of us have the opportunity to show and share with each other. The Reiki ideals give a recipe for those who wish to try it. For those willing to believe in themselves enough to know that things will indeed get better. They give us the opportunity to meditate on the words, to believe that worry and anger are not helpful, and to remind us that to be grateful is indeed the most positive thought practice in the law of attraction. They remind us of the unshakable golden rule of do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

• Just for today do not worry




• Just for today do not anger




• Just for today do your work honestly




• Just for today be thankful for your many blessings




• Just for today be kind to every living thing

At this time in our world it is time to let the light of our true heart shine. To love those feeling the pain and despair, and to beam widely the unconditional love of the creator of our world toward those who can not find hope within their lives. Many people are spending a lot of time teaching and coaching about the law of attraction and sometimes this is so necessary and yet, when your belly is not fed and your kids are cold and you may not know if you have a place to live... kindness and love are the balms we need the most. I feel a calling from my own soul to be much more involved in healing on the global level and in doing so I must heal myself on that global level as well.

So I seek to be kinder than I have to be. To love more than necessary. To find patience when I have none at all. To share a meal or two with those less fortunate and to believe in myself so that I know how to believe in others as well. To remember that with Reiki I have a healing balm at my fingertips and that even though I understand suffering to be a perception there are still many that are living within that perception and they need our love and kindness. Change happens within us, and then our world changes the beat of it's drum to support our inner beauty. Let us embark on the deep inner healing, to find our blind spots and shine light upon them and forgive the unforgivable within us, so that we may lack judgement and find kindness for those in our world.

Namaste'

Even Thoughts are Energy...

Even thoughts and feelings are an expression of energy. Isn't that wild? Before, many people thought that a thought or a word was just an expression of self. Many people never understood that there is a vibrational frequency of each expression that can be measured not only with scientific equipment today, but with the more highly sensitized HEF (human energy field). Ever just know someone was feeling down or entered a room in which an argument just happened and felt it, but there was no evidence of the event occurring? That is the incredibly sensitized HEF!

In our physical bodies all communication is electrical and energy fed in nature. Cellular communication, which is important in healing as we often talk about cellular memory; is handled through the nervous system and the endocrine system of our body. The nervous system sends out signals to the body that carry simple information. The endocrine system uses a compound called a ligand that is responsible for communication between cells.

Each cell has a receptor site. (Candace Pert is the specialist that has discovered receptor sites) The receptor site is the sentinel for the cell, the gate keeper so to speak. The receptor site says what gets in and what gets out of a cell. Ligands and receptor sites don't seem to work by mechanics alone, it is more of a process of communication through forms of energy like vibrations, magnetism, light and even sound... here is the fun part! If a ligand doesn't sing the right song to the receptor site of a cell, the door will not open. This is great! Our body is so particular, it is programmed to only allow the best and highest good and always seeks balance or homeostasis.

Now if the body has begun to break down due to stress, fatigue, poor diet, etc... sometimes the receptor sites of cells get clogged... like having a foggy brain. So with energy medicine we are working with the energetics around and inside of the body. When we give Reiki the relief comes because at the cellular level there is a beautiful sound being heard by the receptor sites that allows our body to function more optimally. Our very cells recognize the special song of our creator! How incredible is that??

Now here is a hint for anyone that lives or works with a person or group of people that have the "blues". When the thought patterns repeat no matter what they do and the down in the dumps feeling is so profound they can not seem to shake it, that is simply painful and we want to help. Energy medicine obviously sings a beautiful song to assist us with balancing our bodies in very incredible ways, and sometimes we must do more to support the healing process. In our world, if we have allowed the body to break down then we must at times supply it with supplements, high quality foods and the like to rebuild the body on a very physical level. Here is the hint: Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil molecules act like a ligand in the human body (and with horses and dogs.) A ligand's responsibility is to carry information to the cells and communicate with our very DNA!

I have a teen that went through a very difficult 5 year period. They attempted to diagnose her with bi polar disorder and border line personality disorder among other things. I have an older teen that can succumb to fits of melancholy the likes of which could depress a saint sometimes. Ahhhh but I digress.... Aromatherapy has had alot of popularity in the past few years. Want to know why? Because when applied appropriately it really works! The scent of the proper essential oil can begin to change brain chemistry and a person only needs to smell it for it to begin to work. Application of Reiki has assisted a great deal in my sanity... oh I mean the sanity of my children ;0), however nothing and I mean this, NOTHING can help them turn around the attitudes and the melancholy like the scent of a pure grade essential oil. Here is how...

Diffusing oils in your home or work place automatically causes a chemical reaction within the body to lighten the mind and mood of everyone in the area. The tiny light weight molecules of the oil drift through the air and are given immediate access to the blood and brain causing physical changes to the body and uplifting the vibratory frequency of the entire human organism. You help someone just by scent, you don't even have to explain what your are doing or why, in fact if you are working with teens you might not want to tell them you are doing it for them, and just notice the changes in focus and mood. The truth is it happens whether they know about it or not, they may not understand why they feel better or more calm, but it goes a long, long way in supporting your loved ones with making physical chemical changes to help uplift their experience. Even wearing oils on yourself when around a "bluesy" kind of person can uplift them through the scent. Even better when you apply Reiki to the oils before anointing or diffusing into the air. (more on this in the next blog entry)

Voila... party in a bottle... well at least calm in a bottle.

Directors note: never heat or burn and essential oil, the heating process alters the chemical composition of the oil and the therapeutic effects might be lacking for you...

Hope you found this informational and even exciting. I just love the way the human body works when energy medicine and healing modalities are applied!

Namaste'