Am I a Healer?

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Am I a healer?

Lately, this question has been coming up. It was brought to my attention by one of my new students, who is an MD, and has the view that Reiki practitioners are, and should refer to themselves as "healers" or they are not bringing respect to what they do. According to Debra Katz,

"Any person who attempts to help another living being to transform them to a greater state of health is a healer. They don't need a medical degree because the energy used doesn't come from a pharmaceutical company or a corporation (at least not yet!). Reiki is the most well known modality of energy healing in the western world. If you ask a person what they do they will say they are a healer before anything else. If you ask a physician what they do they usually will say they are a doctor before they say they are a healer. To say a person who does Reiki is not a healer is like to saying a person who sings is not a singer or a person who drives a car is not a driver. It makes no sense."

I agree, to a point.

However, my opinion differs in that there is a connotation of arrogance to saying "I am a healer." It implies that those who I offer healing energy to are passive recipients, rather than participants in their own healing. I prefer to think of myself as an energy worker, one who works with subtle energies, Reiki being primary. I facilitate healing by offering one the opportunity to receive the healing that he or she is ready for. There is a dialogue, a give and take, and the recipient must be willing and open to receiving the Reiki energy. I am not "making you heal" as the word "healer" implies. I am offering healing energy to you, in the hopes that you will receive benefit from the energy.

It's a little like teaching, really. Yes, I am a teacher. That word is completely acceptable by the masses as being one who offers knowledge, and who facilitates another's ability to assimilate the knowledge. As a teacher, I have this knowledge, these skills, to offer you, the learner. You can decide that you cannot or will not learn what I am trying to teach you. You can decide that I am not a teacher that you can relate to. In that case, you can choose to find another teacher or subject that best fits with your needs. In this role of teacher, therefore, I am more accurately "a facilitator of your ability to increase or assimilate new knowledge". I can't make you learn any more than I can make you heal. That part is up to you. I can do my best to make the knowledge clear, to adapt to your unique way of learning so that it makes sense to you.

So as a "healer" I am attempting to offer you energy that you are able to assimilate into your own, to then benefit from this energy in the ways that make the most sense to your needs.

The problem is in the connotation, rather than the definition here. It sounds arrogant to say that I am a healer. I am a healer in that I work with healing energy. I am not a guru, or one who can "make" you heal if you are not ready to heal, or willing to heal on some level.

In another sense, we are all healers - people who recover from illnesses. We heal ourselves, so we are healers. But the word "healer" is taken more widely to mean one who heals other people. I don't think I do that. I present the opportunity for others to receive healing energy. That I'm comfortable saying.

Do I want you to heal? Yes. I want you to feel better, I want you to enjoy and benefit from the beautiful energy that is flowing through me to you. I am deeply grateful for the ability to be connected to the Source of Reiki energy and to be able to pass that energy to you. I am also extremely grateful for the ability to pass this ability to others who wish to learn to do the same thing. I am a teacher.

So you won't find me putting "healer" on my business card. It says Reiki Master Teacher.

Reiki Master comes with its own connotations, for I am not a "Master of Reiki" (there's that guru connotation again). But it's easily explained that Reiki Master is a level designation that means one has received the proper training and attunements to enable one to teach and attune others. Like having a Master's degree - it is a definition of training. It doesn't make you any more holy or genius than anyone else.

So to Debra Katz, and to my Reiki student, MD, I say, I am in the practice of working with healing energy. In that sense I may be a healer, but I will not refer to myself that way for the reasons that I don't want to be mistaken for someone who will heal you. Only you can heal you. I can offer you energy that can help you heal, and will joyfully do so.

We are all healers.

Peace.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

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This morning I was greeted by some hostile posts on my Facebook page. They were made by another Reiki practitioner who disagreed with the fact that I charge for distance healing. Despite my telling her that I balance my professional practice with volunteer service as a Group Leader with the Distance Healing Network, weekly giving Reiki at The Cleveland Clinic, and twice monthly at a cancer support center, The Gathering Place, and that I accept exchanges and will reduce or eliminate entirely fees for those who are unable to contribute, she continued to berate me and tell me that I dishonor the practice of Reiki by charging for distance healing. I told her that I offer the same time and mindful attention to my clients, whether distance or local, she retorted that it only takes a few minutes to send distance Reiki. I deleted the posts, realizing that nothing I could say would prevent her from saying I was wrong.

My husband said not to blog about it, because that would add more energy and attention to the issue. I understand the philosophy of whatever we give attention to increases, and that which we ignore goes away (eventually). I see his point.

But this was staying with me, and I felt the need to address it.

The point is not whether or not I choose to accept an exchange for distance Reiki. The point is how Reiki practitioners treat one another. I advocate for respect. If she doesn't like that I charge for Reiki, she can go to another Reiki practitioner who does not. She doesn't need to attack my choices, and also my integrity. I bear no hostility towards her because her opinion is different from mine.

As people sharing healing energy with others, I would like to suggest that we all see each other as sharing the same goal of helping the world be a better place. That's it. Anyone who is trying to help others, educate about healing, and share energy with those who need it deserves to be seen as such. We should not turn on each other for using a different Reiki modality, trying to support our family so we can dedicate our time fully to a healing practice, or for disagreeing over how Reiki is shared or learned. I believe that in this work we are held to a higher standard. That isn't to say that we can't be human. I'm extremely human. I sometimes swear. I enjoy drinking wine or beer on occasion. I make mistakes. I sometimes worry, despite my efforts not to. But I also have internalized the Reiki precept, "Just for today, I will treat all living things with kindness" to the best of my ability. I honestly try to live that way.

The Reiki precepts are a beautifully written simple and yet complex set of values that anyone working with life force energy is encouraged to attempt to live by. They are:

Just for today...
I will avoid anger.
I will avoid worry.
I will do my work honestly.
I will be grateful for all I have.
I will treat all living things with kindness.

I honestly try to live by these, and hope that others, especially those who embrace Reiki as part of their path, will do also. They are not laws, commandments, and we are not bound by them. They are just suggestions, good ones, for how one may choose to elevate his or her life.

So I put out there: Please, all of you who are involved in this practice of sharing energy healing, respect the basics of our practice. Respect those who are on the same journey. Make your choices and let others make theirs. Walk your talk.

Thank you.

Tax Relief for Us All

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Well, here's an unpleasant surprise. Today, in the mail, came a letter from the IRS. I had many jobs in 2009 - teaching, freelance writing, game content writing, Reiki classes, and even worked for Google for a while. Apparently, on last year's tax return, one of my W2 had not made it into my 2009 tax return. In fact, I had never even received it and it was overlooked. But not, apparently, by someone at the IRS. We're being charged a rather alarming sum of back taxes based on unclaimed earnings. Blah.

So I'm deciding to make a win-win situation out of this instead of lamenting it.

My Energy Healing Certification Program, a nine month comprehensive program in advanced studies of energy healing, usually has a $1,500 tuition fee. To give you prospective students a break, and to encourage the possibility of making the program possible for more of you, I'm offering the program (which starts this Sunday, January 9 or Thursday, January 13 - two different tracks will be running concurrently to meet demand), at a discounted rate of 3 payments of $330, or one payment of $940.

You and I will have more money left to deal with our taxes, and more of us can enrich our lives with learning and growing intuitive abilities.

I like looking at a troubling situation as a win-win instead.

So the only catch is that the program is starting so soon. I have to give a deadline for registration. The good news is that the class is recorded, so if you miss the first one because you need a week to get your own finances organized, you can watch the introductory lesson after the fact.

Therefore, you may register no later than Saturday, January 15, to receive the discount for the Sunday or Thursday program.

All of the dates and topics for the Energy Healing Certification Program can be found here. Check it out. This is a life-changing opportunity.

And there's another win involved. This training, from the second week forward, gives you skills that you can apply toward helping others. That also includes guidance and support from me on growing a practice for yourself that can bring in some money in exchange for your services. As your skills increase, so will the number of opportunities that come your way.

I guess that makes this win-win-win. Take that, IRS!

P.S. Here are some FAQs about the Energy Healing Certification Program:

• Q: Can I really learn Reiki this way? Doesn't this training need to be done in person?
• A: Reiki energy is not limited by distance. Attunements are fully effective either way, and will be experienced same as in person by each student. Everyone who receives training this way is completely capable of connecting to the Reiki energy immediately following the first attunement.
  
  
• Q: I'm skeptical. Will Reiki work for me? Will I feel it? Don't I have to believe in it for it to work?
• A: Skeptics are welcome. All you need is a basic curiosity - enough to say, "I don't know if this will work, but I'll give it a try and see." I encourage everyone to let experience be his or her teacher. I'm here to allow and facilitate you being able to experience this for yourself.
  
  
• Q: I'm afraid to pay for something if I don't know if it will work or not. Is there some way to try Reiki before I commit to the program?
• A: I offer free 15 minute phone consultations. Email me for a time, or call and I'll talk to you right then or call you back shortly. My number is 216-469-2499. I'll give you Reiki while we're on the phone and you can try it for yourself. I'll also answer all your questions. Talk to me. I'm here to help.
  
  
• Q: How is this program taught?
  
• A: We meet live, online, via wiziq.com, using a link I will send you for our online virtual classroom. You'll need a webcam, internet access, and earphones.
  
  
• Q: I already know Reiki. Is this program for beginners?
• A: Whatever level of Reiki you have, or other energy healing experience, this program will take you farther, deeper, and enrich your skills in a multitude of ways. I'm here to work with each individual to help you meet your goals - from where you are to where you'd like to be.
  
  

Help Wanted - Energy Workers

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Wanted: Energy Healers/ Lightworkers/ Intuitives and those with a desire to become one, to offer assistance to those in need of healing, awakening, and finding their path in life. Must be an open-minded, independent thinker with a desire to help others. Natural intuition is a plus, but not required. Experienced candidates should have a regular self-healing practice in place.

Pay varies with the assignment. Candidates should also be comfortable using a computer and have internet access.

Will provide training to all applicants. Training fees apply, but after training is complete (and during the training period), one will have many opportunities to earn the fee back through offering services to others.

Minimum qualifications include: a basic curiosity, desire to improve one's life and help others, and interest in expanding one's intuitive awareness. Skeptics welcome to apply; naysayers should find a more suitable position elsewhere.

Once you accept the position, the opportunities to practice will begin to show up in your life, ushered in by a team of angels. The more you embrace this path, the more people will be sent your way.

Benefits include: a sense of purpose, well-being, increased health and vitality, ability to manage stress, exude positive energy, clear and release negative blockages, increase intuitive awareness, recognize the divine aspects of one's self, path, and life in general.

To apply, sign up for the training program here. Weekly training sessions will be through January, and then twice monthly training thereafter (through September) begins January 9, 2011, so prompt application is required. Training is online, and this can be done from home.

Questions should be directed to Alice Langholt by email: alice.langholt@gmail.com or by phone 216-469-2499. EOE.