Sunday, May 24, 2009

Special Mentions, New Opportunities

I've been blessed this week, and lately by mentions in some very well written blog posts and I thought I would share them here all together. I've also had some wonderful opportunities to talk about Reiki on two internet radio shows, and I'd like to share that with you as well.



The reason I'm posting about this is because it is such a joy for me to be able to share what I've learned about Reiki with more and more people, and see the way many of those who have learned from me are going on to share it with others. Making a difference feels amazing! Thank you to all who have gone on to share healing and light - you make a difference and bless the world.




Here are the blog posts I would like to share with you. Each one is an honor, and I am humbled and grateful for the mentions.



All About the Energy with Frank Dickinson
Frank is a student and colleague of mine who has learned Kundalini Reiki and openly shares his experiences in his blog. He is starting a website to offer healings and attunements, and his sincere love of Reiki, insight and gratitude shine forth from his blog in down to earth ways.



Manifest Tips with Georgia Stewart
Georgia's most inspiring blog is a platform for her experiences with manifesting and energy work. She teaches the Law of Attraction and exemplifies it in her life. In this week's update, Georgia talks about her experiences with Kundalini Reiki attunements, and the benefits she has noted already through working with the energy.



Sophie Lhoste Healing
Sophie is a Quantum healer with extraordinary abilities to help you release blocks and past issues that are affecting your energy. She empowers people to move ahead, and is an amazing healer and loving, shining light as a person. Her blog is very insightful and contains helpful information. I encourage everyone to get to know Sophie. I'm very touched by Sophie's mention of me this week.



Empowered and Fit with Fred Krazeise
Fred is a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist, Intrinsic Coach, and Reiki Master (Usui), studying Jin Shin Tara and focusing on women's health and shock-trauma recovery. His blog has excellent articles on health, healing and wellness. Fred is a caring person and a powerful healer. In this post, he talks about a compliment he gave me that simply made my day. Thank you Fred. You remind us how easy it is to make a difference by the way you live your life.



On the Radio....


I've never been interviewed on the radio about anything, until now! I'm so honored to have been asked to be a guest on these shows to speak about Reiki! One is already live, and the second is going to be live on June 3rd! Take a look, and have a listen if you like! I mentioned this in my newsletter, but felt it was exciting enough to share in this post as well! :)



This week, I'm happy to share that I was interviewed on Internet Radio ReclaimU about Reiki. It was a great experience! I had the opportunity to talk about what I think Reiki is, how I came to Reiki, ways it changed my life, how distance healings and attunements work, and more! Click here to hear it! After Tuesday, it will be permanently posted on the Reiki Awakening website and in the ReclaimU archives.




And there's more!
On June 3 at 5pm EST, I will be interviewed by Betsy Balega on her Psychic BlogTalk Radio show! This will be an hour long show with call-in questions! I'm honored to have been offered the opportunity and I hope you will tune in either during (give me a call on the show!) or afterward to hear it. Click here for the link to the show. Here's more information about Betsy's show:



Previous guests have included, Joan Anderson, the #1 NY Times Best Selling author on Angels, Rick Tyler, Spokesperson and Communications Director, for Newt Gingrich, Dr. Lorraine Day, Trauma Surgeon and cancer survivor, as well as former Counter Intel Agent, Dave DeBatto. Pulitzer Prize winner and author, William Dietrich, Noah Levy, Senior Reporter, for In-Touch Weekly Magazine. Actor/Producer, Stanley Livingston (My Three Sons), Roger Rapoport, author of Citizen Moore, HGTV host of Fun Shui, Stephanie McWilliams and Como's Bedside Astrologer, Hazel Dixon-Cooper. John Lennon's gf, May Pang, was my guest, November 15th, Sue Ellen Dickinson, author of No More MS. Redbook Astrologer, and iVillage contributer, Ellen Whitehurst, May 26th.



The show is an hour long, originating in NYC, and broadcast around the world.



This blog post has been a chance for me to share the gratitude I feel for being mentioned, and for having the capacity to make a difference. We all have the ability to make a difference, to improve someone's life by our actions, both great and small. We are all capable of being healers. Consider learning Reiki. You will be amazed at the ways you can help yourself and others that you never knew were there. This is what happened to me, and now I'm blessed to share it with you. Those attuned can go on to attune others.


Many candles can be lit from one candle without diminishing it. ~The Zohar

Peace.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Big Lesson on Attunements and Time

I had a very enlightening experience last night with one of my new Energy Healing Mentoring Program students, and I think it's important to share what I've learned.

It was her first attunement to Kundalini Reiki. I did my customary introduction email, which includes information about the attunement process, including how to receive the attunements. I attached the manual, and said that the next steps are to 1) read the manual, 2) email me with any questions, and then 3) I would answer them and send the first attunement.

Shortly afterward I received an email reply saying she had received the attunement, it was gentle and warm, and her hands had felt tingly.

But I had not sent the attunement yet.

I stopped and thought for a few minutes.

Is it possible to receive an attunement that has not been sent yet? Theoretically yes, since Reiki energy is not limited to time or space. I frequently send it to the future, or have it "held" or "queued" until someone intends to receive it. This always works. And healing can be sent to the past, to heal the effects of a past trauma, helping one heal in the present. But an attunement? I wasn't sure. One possibility would be to "back-send" the attunement. But that didn't feel right to me.

I decided to be certain. I sent her an email explaining that perhaps my email had been unclear or misunderstood, and I had not actually sent the attunement. Her experience could have been the result of being tuned in to energy, and experiencing a little of that. I answered the questions she had included in her email, and I sent the attunement, asking her to please receive it per the instructions from the first email, and then send me feedback afterward.

She wrote back apologizing for her misreading my initial email and saying she would go receive the attunement.

40 minutes later, she emailed me this (reprinted with permission):
WOW. *HUGE* difference. If I ever wanted to set up a double blind experiment, this absolutely proves that Reiki is awesome and it works. The energy was very, very intense--I felt all of my chakras opening up and receiving the energy. Initially I was seated but I had to go lie down! Powerful stuff, and I'm still reeling from it. The first time around before you had actually sent it, it was a nice, relaxing "let's commune with Reiki". Actually receiving this attunement was a totally different story. I see now why you recommend taking it easy and relaxing for an additional 30 minutes--I'm typing this now on my laptop in bed, and I can't even imagine falling asleep right now! I am DEFINITELY taking it easy and am quite glad that I have nothing going on tomorrow until the early afternoon!

Once I've had the chance to soak this up I'm going to try the self-healing exercises. I expect to see a huge difference there too!

Here's what I learned:
  1. You need to send an attunement beforehand or in real time for it to be properly received. I had thought that perhaps I could "back-send" it and maybe she had received it since time is of no real significance with energy work. But clearly, because there was a huge difference between calling in a non-attunement (a vague, mild connection to the energy for someone who is sensitive), and calling in an already sent one. (Strong energy that she felt for the entire 30 minutes and then was ungrounded for a while afterward. Note that I emailed her some important grounding techniques which I recommended she do immediately.)

  2. It's best to make directions clear, but if there are misunderstandings, to be clear and fix them. An extra attunement would not have been a problem, but not being attuned would have. I'm reviewing my email to see if I can make it clearer for my future Reiki students! I always strive to improve in my teaching methods.

  3. Lessons in proper grounding are important to include in my teaching. Attunements can cause a spacey-dizzy feeling, which indicates being ungrounded. Drinking water; going outside; and doing a visualization of yourself as a tree, roots growing down deep into the earth from the soles of your feet are all good ways to ground your energy. I will include this information with future instructions.

I am always working on my development as a teacher, and work with my students on developing teaching techniques as well. I know that after level 3, those I attune are capable of attuning others, and I want to pass on some practical, ethical, and experiential information to help them grow into the strongest teachers and healers they can be.

In other news...
I am proud to share that I have had the honor of being interviewed on ReclaimU.com Radio about Reiki. It will be posted for a week, and then I'll have it permanently posted here and on the ReikiAwakening.com website. It was a great experience! I hope you enjoy hearing me talk about my experiences with Reiki and how it can help people in many ways.

Peace and enlightenment.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Plop!

When I was 12 years old, I won a 10 speed bike from McDonald's. Really, I did! I had only entered a drawing, as did many others, by putting a little card into a box in the restaurant. That bike was way oversized for me (I'm not a tall person to say the least, and it took me months to be able to ride that boy's 10 speed with the bar straight across from the seat to the handlebars. I did it though!) The day after I got the call that I had won the bike, I got a letter from Burger King saying I was the 2nd runner up in their "win a bicycle contest" and there were too free Whopper cards in the envelope. Now if you're thinking I spent too much time in fast food restaurants back then I understand, but actually I really didn't. So what happened that week? I had never won anything before so I was completely surprised. I remember the two events had one thing in common at the time I had entered the drawings. After writing my name and contact info on the entry cards, I had written in cursive "please" on the other side of the card.

I'm not saying that's a prescription for the magic that helps you win contests. Though it wouldn't hurt to try. I have been thinking about the surprise of winning that bike lately though. Here's why:

Over the last few years, I have done some work writing content for board games for various companies. It's fun and creative work. I do this on a freelance basis, and have been involved in creating content and rules for a number of games which now can be found in many book and toy stores across the country. It's been quite a while since I've had any big game content projects. I haven't been seeking them out as I've been busy with other things. Suddenly at the end of last week I received an email asking if I'd be available to write content for a new game. This was great, and excellent timing besides. I accepted of course, and am working on it now. Why am I blogging about this? Because the day after I was offered the chance to start this project, a different game company I have worked for also emailed me about an opportunity coming up to do some work with them. Two new unsolicited freelance game content jobs within 24 hours! The timing couldn't be more perfect, as you know.

This week has also blessed me with new Reiki students and people interested in attunements and healing. Every person I am fortunate enough to share energy with makes me feel incredibly grateful and in awe of the way Reiki helps improve people's lives in so many ways.

I've decided to call the opportunities that seem to drop in unexpectedly "Plop!" (As in, Plop! Oh my! The Universe has dropped this gift onto my lap!) It's a way of recognizing and appreciating these surprise prospects as they come forth. I think that acknowledging them when they happen, and expressing a little thanks and wonder helps send some positive vibes for the next one. It's not a new idea - it's one of those LOA concepts - express gratitude and the Universe will bring you more. Sure happened with the bike, the new opportunities I mentioned, and more and more lately I'm seeing and appreciating the small things too.

By small things, I don't mean inconsequential. I mean the unexpected compliments that come from people whether family, friends or those who have appreciated something I've written or said. Sometimes it comes as a comment on my blog, Facebook page, a Twitter reply, or an email. Or the unexpected opportunity to talk about Reiki with someone I hadn't spoken with before. Each time, I feel really appreciative and glowing. And there are many more little moments like this, the more I reflect and take notice. I realize that everything makes a difference.

I heard it said once that you can live your life as if nothing matters, or as if everything matters. With the idea that every interaction could be part of the chain of events leading to great opportunities, whether for making someone feel happy or finding that next perfect career position (for my husband!), I am choosing to live as if everything matters. Every spark of positive energy, every "thank you," compliment, or offer of assistance - everything makes a difference. It's not in the results, it's in the process. My dear friend Fred helped me connect this lately in his recent blog post.

"Plop!" moments have helped reinforce this concept for me and help me take it to heart.

Peace.

Monday, May 4, 2009

The Rosy Glasses

Had an interesting lesson on perspective this week from my friend David. He started the conversation by congratulating me on my husband's job situation. My first thought was that he'd missed the memo - didn't realize that my husband is looking for work after being laid off recently from his job at MetroHealth. So I fired off a reply saying, "He is laid off, David." His response surprised me.
"I know... I always tell people congratulations for being laid off. Because I 10000% believe that can only lead to some amazing opportunities. It sucks while it's happening, but everything in my life that has sucked has produced amazing growth that I wouldn't be who I am without..." I have to say that this is the sweetest, most optimistic thing I've been told in a while about our situation. And it really got me thinking.

Maybe he is right. Why not? Important big changes in our lives are really happening right now. The more we look at them in that light, the more things will clarify.

Some more ways to use this "rosy glasses" view to see things:
  • My kids' summer day camp has been canceled. That left me without a summer job and three of my kids without a day camp plan. With Evan looking for a job, and me working on building my Reiki practice, maybe the opportunities here are for family time and more time to devote to the growth of my Reiki practice. These are opportunities we wouldn't have had if I was teaching and my kids were in camp 5 days a week for the summer.

  • Evan is looking for a job. (Did I mention this? ha). Maybe this is the kick in the butt I need to devote some time to making the most of building my Reiki practice - right when it's needed. Sometimes we get most motivated when there's a need over a goal, dream or desire. Needs are urgent motivators for sure. Luckily, I have some wonderful people helping me with this, Helena Jackson and Fred Krazeise, both very dear friends who are giving me practical advice I need to improve my website and see the potential in Reiki Awakening and myself as a professional Reiki healer and teacher.

I have told my students in the past that life is many things. The way you choose to view life determines how you feel about it. I gave them all little kaleidoscopes one day to illustrate this point. Looking in the kaleidoscope makes the world look different from usual. Compare this to taking a new approach to seeing a problem. You can look at the world and feel terrible. The world can be horrible. People mistreat each other in really tragic ways. Money is tight, bills are high, the housing market stinks...blahblahblah. And yet, the world can be beautiful. People help each other, we have the power to heal ourselves and others, we can choose to visualize beauty and success and feel it. We can find new opportunities to be our best in the midst of everything. We can make a conscious choice to be good, loving people, for this moment, for the day, for tomorrow too.

I am meditating each day on the Reiki Precepts. They are:
Just for today:
I will not be angry.
I will not worry.
I will be grateful.
I will do my work honestly.
I will treat everyone with kindness.

These five little goals are the seeds of an amazing outlook on life. Each one has in it the potential to improve oneself and life for those around one in truly inspirational ways. It takes work. I have trouble sometimes with the whole day, so I make it "just for this moment" for those that I find more challenging. But I believe that the more I commit myself to these ideas, each moment, each day, the more I will see the good in my situation and the opportunities that are here.

Thank you David, for inspiring me to see this way.

Peace.