A Review and Giveaway!

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Recently, I was contacted by the gracious Mary Wallace of improvedhealing.com, offering to send me one of her absolutely gorgeous Energy Healing Blankets, and some healing jewelry they make to review and one for a giveaway (yes, you read that right!). I happily accepted.

I received a package a short while later. The Healing Blanket is absolutely beautiful. It's healing energy-charged, and also embroidered. It has a gorgeous angel image design. And, as you can see, my cat, Pippy, loves it! Before I even opened it from its package, he was laying on it in the box. 

A much better view is here: 

It has a very soft energy, and is also cozy, colorful, and extremely soothing. I'm so impressed with the quality and also the loving attention that went into making this beautiful blanket. I'm absolutely using this on the Reiki table for all of my Reiki sessions with clients from now on! (Yay that it's machine washable too - bonus!)

You can get one for yourself at the Improved Healing website here (and it has free shipping, too). 

I also received two pieces of healing jewelry. This Uplifting Gaia bracelet has map jasper (shaped like Mother Earth - gorgeous), and citrine beads. I love it. It makes a great gift, and I'm happy to enjoy the good energy from mine, with much gratitude. 

How's it look?

You can view all of the loveliest healing jewelry I've seen yet, crafted with love by Mary Wallis, here on their ImprovedHealing.com website. 

This bracelet is a new item, soon to be listed on their site. If you want to get one and be "twinsies" with me, check back. Mary told me that she's making up more, and there should be a listing for it by the middle of next week.

And now....yes! Mary and William Wallis gave me a fantastic, absolutely breathtaking necklace to GIVE AWAY to one of you wonderful readers! 

It's the Wise Longevity necklace, which features onyx and adventurine beads surrounding  orthoceras with a beautiful design in the center. 

Here's a picture of the one I'll send the lucky winner:

You can see it and read the description from their website here.

I'm sure by now you're wanting to know how to enter to win this gorgeous necklace. 

Here's what to do. You will get 1 entry for EACH of the following actions (Yes, that means you can get 5 entries if you do all of them!):

• 1) Visit the ImprovedHealing.com website, and leave a comment on this post about what products you like on their website.
• 2) Like Healing Energy Blanket on Facebook and leave a comment that Alice from Reiki Awakening sent you.
• 3) Visit ReikiAwakeningAcademy.com, browse classes and/or the Store, then like Reiki Awakening Academy on Facebook, and leave a comment about a class or product that interests you.
• 4) Sign up for the Reiki Awakening Academy Insights newsletter at the bottom of the page here. (We think you'll like it!)
• 5) Follow Reiki Awakening Academy on Pinterest, and leave this comment on any RAA pin: "I entered the Reiki Awakening contest to win a healing gemstone necklace!"

On July 4, 2014 at noon Eastern time, I will put in an entry for you for each of the items above that you completed, then randomly pick one lucky winner! I'll email the winner and post the winner's name here as an addendum to this post that day!

Happy entering! I'm sure you'll love all of the websites, Facebook and Pinterest pages I've sent you to, also!

Note: my reviews are my own views, and I disclose that I received these products as a gift from ImprovedHealing.com in exchange for my review and this giveaway. Regardless, I gave an honest review of these items.

Another note: If anyone else would like me to review their healing/holistic/metaphysically-inclined book or product, send me an email. I'm happy to consider it and get back to you promptly!

__________________________________________
ADDENDUM - WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT
July 4, 2014

Thank you to all who entered this contest/ giveaway! I'm glad you had a chance to view the heartfelt creations and beautiful energy of ImprovedHealing.com. 

The winner of the Wise Longevity Necklace is....
Ida Lopez
      Congratulations!! Ida, please send me your snail mail address so I can send you your beautiful prize!  

From time to time, I'll have another giveaway, so if you're not already, please subscribe to my blog (using the box at the top right of the page), so you don't miss a post!

Love and light and a Happy Independence Day to all!
Alice

Where the Lightworker Stands, and the Energy Flows

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I'm on vacation this week, with my family, in beautiful Sandbridge, VA. We come here every year for a week, to slow down, get some beach time, and be together without a schedule. The weather has been gorgeous (up until yesterday and today, which are cool, just dipping below 70 degrees, and a bit rainy). Still, it's so great to be here.

One of the things that vacations like this do for me is give me time to contemplate. I love this opportunity. I always bring along a book or two to read, which I've been wanting time to dive into. This year, I brought Energy Medicine by Donna Eden. I have been enjoying it very much, and learning a lot too. I intend to continue learning about it when we get home.

This year, I've also been contemplating two very different driving philosophies of energy healing. I've learned a bit of both, and I'm pondering the ideas of how they might work together, if they need to work together, and the ultimate effects and usability of each.

Dr. Lawrence LeShan calls them, perhaps a bit clinically, "Type 1" and "Type 2" healings. These defined types aren't at all unique to his method of healing, but the designations describe two paths to working in this scope of the energy healing field.

The first one, (he calls this Type 2), is the one which is more widely practiced. This describes any approach in which the practitioner is the facilitator, and the recipient is the one receiving the healing. Reiki is in this category, as well as acupuncture, acupressure, Energy Medicine, Therapeutic Touch, Cranial-Sacral Therapy, and most common energy healing modalities. There may or may not be manipulation of the physical body or energy field involved, either through intention or pressure, or both. I teach my students that the recipient is healing him or herself by receiving energy which helps him or her come into balance. The practitioner helps to create a "healing space" around the recipient by initiating and offering a connection to a flow of Life Force Energy. 

In this type of healing, the practitioner is able to observe the recipient's energy field, if he or she so desires, and may receive some intuitive information about the ways and places which may be off balance (and engaged in a process of self-correcting during the session). The practitioner becomes the observer of the process, after intending that the energy flow to the recipient. In this type, the practitioner and recipient are in separate roles, with the first offering and observing the latter, who is receiving.

The second type (LeShan's "Type 1") is different. Essentially, this type requires the practitioner to go into meditation, and then to intend to include the recipient of the healing in this meditative space with him or her. It is thought that when we are in this meditative state, we are connected fully with the All One energy field which is our true essence. In being connected with this true essence, we naturally will be able to experience a return to balance; a clearing, a healing, a wholeness. The practitioner intends to merge into this All One field with the person receiving the healing, so in this sense, the two are not separate, but together inside the All One energy field. There is no observing, because that implies separateness, as in, "I am over here observing you, who is separate from me." You can't observe because that makes you step out of the experience. You are just to BE in this state, and flow with it, and allow whatever happens, whatever you might experience, to occur. Then you're done. The LeShan Method is not the only method that follows this philosophy. There are others, with different names, that encourage doing the same thing. Some call it Non-Local Consciousness healing, or something of that nature that means entering into a deep meditative, altered state of consciousness.

I've read of a man who will sit in the room with someone who is ill, and go into deep meditation for hours. Then the ill person experiences healing. Also, people such as John of God and Braco seem to affect a healing process by looking at, being in the presence of, or touching the recipient. It's a presence - an energy of Beingness- that acts as a catalyst for the healing. I feel that these are also similar to the 'Type 1" LeShan Method that I learned in April.

Both philosophies are valid, and may offer beneficial, sometimes "miraculous" results. Yet, they are so different that they can't be combined together without doing one first, and then the other. I'm able to offer a healing session in which I do the meditative type first, and then switch to offering Reiki. This involves intentionally shifting from the All One state to that of the facilitator-observer. 

As a Reiki practitioner, It's often more comforting and validating for me to be in the place of the observer, because information comes in - I can intuitively tell which chakras are blocked, or where the recipient is experiencing physical or emotional pain. Then I can share these insights with the person, and get feedback from him or her on how my observations and the healing session resonate. It is satisfying on some level to have this interaction.

With the "Type 1" method, on my end, offering the meditative state healing brings me only the sort of deep, blissful feeling of being in a non-physical, flowing consciousness, and perhaps some dreamlike visions. I know that something happened, but can't really quantify it. The recipient may experience something, but I can't always be sure that what I experience correlates in any way with her or her experience, and I have no certainty or expectation of any specific results that may occur as a result of this type of healing method. My only intention is for the recipients Highest and Best to happen during the session. It takes a lot of surrender to do this. Still, I find it very intriguing, and the feedback I've received has been very meaningful when I've offered this sort of healing.


So, now I'm putting these questions out there to you: 

• Have you experienced or do you practice either of these energy healing paths? 
• Do you have some experience you can share about how either affected you?

I realize that learning more, and going deeper, into the understandings of energy healing, and the energy systems of the human experience (aura, meridians, and chakras), is important at this stage of my career and personal growth. I also know that doing so will help me be a better practitioner and teacher. 

So that's where I'm at, and I'm inviting those interested to follow my journey here, or to actively come with me by joining the Advanced Healing Pioneers, a new membership program, here.

The Feedback is Back

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In my previous post, I was interested in testing out the new psychic healing method I had learned. And, I received requests from many volunteers to help me try it out and receive feedback (for which I'm very grateful). 

The sessions were good for me. They made me mediate - sometimes three times a day! I found myself recognizing when I was in "the zone" -  because this really blissful sort of happy feeling would fill me, and I'd feel disconnected from my tendency to think about stuff - I was just present, without judgement or analysis. 

They also helped me to try something totally different in practice and philosophy from Reiki. Differences included:

• I wasn't trying to "do anything" - I was simply engaging in a sort of universal merging with the other person, asking for the person's highest and best to happen.
• I wasn't scanning, looking for intuitive information, or trying to "sense" anything about the other person's state of balance.
• I couldn't even try to send Reiki because in order to do that, I need to be separate from the other person. In this method, we are one and the same. So I can't be the sender, the observer, or anything that's not simply as one with the recipient and the Universal Energy (however you want to call it).

So, I was extremely curious about how these psychic healings would be on the receiving end. Here are some snippets of the feedback I received. The least remarkable experience was when the recipient fell asleep for a restful 30 minute nap. The rest of the feedback was like this (different colors and the line of asterisks indicate different people's responses):

With the healing, I saw a huge bluish light on my right side. Oval. I felt energy in different places and saw people coming in and out during the latter process.

*******************

It was very relaxing and soothing, like a Reiki treatment. I felt a lot of warmth over my face, almost like a very gentle massage, around my sinuses and eyes, and a slight tingling at my temples. I did go into a deeper meditative state, where I don't remember much, but I was alert at the 9:30 mark, like the session was over, feeling refreshed. 

*******************

My finger tips and palms began to "buzz" as they do during a Reiki session, and later I felt a bit of the same on the soles of my feet. Shortly after the hand buzzing began, I did notice my breath had slowed and I felt more relaxed; calm. This lasted for about 10 more minutes before I felt the "buzzing" fade away.  

*******************

My experience was very different from Reiki.  I felt a strong energy connection immediately as I set my intent to receive a psychic healing from Alice.  For me it was a strong hand tingling much like an attunement. Stronger than I feel in a self Reiki session.  This connection was solid and strong within the first five minutes.  Then I felt very clear in my 3rd eye, and was able to sit with memories I was seeking, much like meditation but without any effort to focus on breath or quiet mind.  These memories I sat with for a full 10 minutes, and then I felt a body warmth, and I felt a nice healing and understanding which was very gentle and loving. Then I felt very relaxed and knew the energy was wane.  This happened about 22 minutes into the session.  I knew at 25 minutes the connection was closed, and I just felt good, clear, and relaxed.

Your psychic healing session last night brought me a sense of calm and peace. I felt like I was floating outside of time. Amazing and blissful. Just what I needed at this time!

*******************

Right away I noticed some pulsing almost twitching but I don't think there was actually physical movement..but it felt like the pulsing in my feet and legs could be seen if someone looked. My feet and hands felt warm and tingling but not like the reiki sending tingle..it was like a tingle of electricity subtle but noticeable. I started to notice pulsing or the bubbling sensation in various parts of my body. Arms and legs were the most noticeable.

I remember thinking I had an alert awareness of my whole body..the tiredness was gone. It was peaceful but definitely a beautiful awareness of my body like an energy field.

The pulsing inner switching or bubbling kept occurring throughout the time in various areas but mostly my feet legs and arms.

I felt a sense of peace ...relaxation but at the same time this rare sense of awareness. I felt a sense of great well being and still feel that along with a lightness in spirit. 

Honestly this to me has been a profound stretch of time. Thank you so much for this experience. This was honestly unforgettable healing.. I have no awareness that there was a specific healing yet I know something important happened within me.!

I just feel wonderful, lighter, calm, and filled with inner peace right now.

*******************

I was getting dinner on the table and realized that I only had two minutes until the healing was going to begin. I lost track of time briefly and all of a sudden I said to my husband "I've got to go - I can feel the energy flowing already."  I was feeling warm and a sense of lightheadedness because the energy was flowing so strongly. I laid down upstairs in our room and immediately felt the loving and caring energy. It felt like I was being melded into the bed like clay, especially in my heart chakra.  Then I felt the healing energy move into my head which is where most of my troubles of been lately. I have felt like such a cloud has been in my head these past few days and it's as if I could feel it being physically moved up and swirling out if my head to be released.  I was feeling immediate relief. Then I felt the energy shift and start moving downwards in my body.  The next place I felt an immense amount of energy was in my sacral chakra. I also felt the release of bubbles in my stomach :-) then I felt the energy going into my legs down to my feet. Eventually I could feel it moving again into my sacral chakra and heart and finally into my head again (the pressure had completely dissipated). I could sense the healing was coming to an end. 

This is the first distance healing I have ever received and it felt so powerful. I am reminded again and again that Spirit is real and that the power to heal is real! It was a beautiful experience.

*******************

I'm grateful for this feedback, because it really taught me a lot about energy work! I've also been thinking about how I can incorporate this method into making the distance healing sessions I offer even more powerful, and still offering the observational reports that I include with a distance Reiki session. You see, when I give a distance Reiki session, I spend time observing the energy flowing to the recipient, and in which chakras and body areas the energy flows differently (blockages, pain, or depletion, for example). I prepare a report of these observations for my recipient, and include it in the email I send after I do the healing session. I still want to offer this, because my recipients find the observations to be very useful, along with the energy of course.

I also am aware that giving a psychic healing with this method requires a different sort of work on my part. I need to be in a totally quiet place, and can't be distracted or disturbed by any of my family members. I need to be completely immersed for this part of the session. 

So, I am going to offer an option of having both the psychic healing session at the beginning, and the Reiki session with report next, as part of the same healing session. That way, the recipient can have the benefit of both methods. They can also still receive a more personalized report and accounting of my observations about their energy flow as it was being received. I feel good about this decision. 

I've also decided to charge a little more, but not double, for the combination of psychic healing and Reiki. 
It's an option to make my services more valuable overall, but still give the person receiving a choice.

I look forward to the new experiences this will bring for those receiving healing sessions from me, and for my own growth as a lightworker.

If you'd like to schedule a distance healing session, please go to reikiawakening.com/reiki-healing

Comments are always welcome.

Doing the Work

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As my loyal readers know, meditation has been a struggle for me. 
I've posted about it a lot, but especially here:
Meditation Has Annoyed Me
and here:
Practical Meditation...Not
Pretty easy to get the picture, even from the titles, right?

In the post above, a year ago, I wrote about reading How to Mediate by Lawrence LeShan, followed by The Medium, the Mystic and the Physicist. These were some big, powerful reads for me, and both books inspired me to learn more. After waiting a year, last week, I traveled to Connecticut to attend the 5 day LeShan Healing Seminar, to learn this little-known method of psychic healing that Dr. LeShan trained himself to do and talks about in his book The Medium, the Mystic and the Physicist.

The lessons from the week were many, but most of all, I learned something about myself: 

           I've been copping out on meditation. 

Yes, it's true. I've given myself excuses by the dozen - This kind of meditation isn't "my thing." I'm not the kind of person who can - or needs to - quiet down in there. I'll get it, or I won't, and it doesn't matter really...blahblahblah. Anything to avoid the work of actually struggling through the noise to find the silence and just BE here.

On the second day of the seminar, I even blurted out to the entire group of thirteen people, "I SUCK at this!!" And, I meant it. My meditations for the first two days were like trying to tame a wild horse. I'd be quietly breathing for a bit. Then I'd comment in my head how nice and quiet my thoughts are. Then I'd mentally tell myself to stop commenting. Then I'd comment that telling myself to stop was still commenting. Then, a little while later, the pizza guy showed up in my head with a couple pizzas, and I looked to see what kind they were, and started to thank him, and then WHAM! I realized that I was supposed to be meditating, and the pizza guy was a big distraction (though a pleasant one) by my thoughts, and I'd have to start again. 

But, meditation is a BIG, IMPORTANT part of learning this healing method, and I was VERY motivated to learn it. So, it was time. I had to sit my butt in the chair, close my eyes, and MAKE myself make the effort to meditate. This was the sole activity for two days and I had to do it. No excuses, nothing else to be running off to do. Just this - the "calisthenics" that would build our intuitive muscles to be able to do the healing work, which we'd learn on the third day. I'm doing the work, so I can do the real work.

I guess it's about time, right? 

By the start of day three, I was calmer. I wasn't beating myself up anymore. I was just bringing my mind back to the meditation at hand, observing and noticing which methods (visualization, contemplation, breath counting, etc.) were a little easier for me to stay focused doing. I was seeing myself as more of an observer than a critic. And that's progress. 

The healing method is very interesting and profound. I am looking forward to working more with it now that I'm home. 

On the last morning, we did one more meditation together. It was contemplation of a three part quotation, as it pertains to ourselves. I had a very different experience here. As I sat, thinking about my life, my path, the way I relate to myself, others, and the world, I found I was smiling - hugely. I felt so much happiness fill me. Gratitude, maybe joy too. Just so completely happy about being where I am in this journey - knowing why I'm here, knowing that the work I do is meaningful, and feeling supremely grateful for the ability to connect with and help others. 

This seminar was very beneficial to me, because learning to meditate (finally) is going to help my entire life - my healing work, my parenting, my focus...all of it. And, the healing method is one that I can work to further develop, now that I have the tools and the means to actually practice without being in my own way. 

If you need some help with meditation, don't ask me. Hahaha! Read LeShan's book, How to Meditate. All of the explanations of how the brain works, and the different methods we learned can be found in there.

If you'd like to experience a healing with the method I learned, please send me an email. I will offer a free distance session to the first 12 people who ask, in exchange for feedback afterward, to let me know how your experience was. Just shoot me an email.

Thanks for reading. Your comments are so welcome, always. 

There's No Place Like Home

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The kids with my Grandma Goldye

Last week, the family and I went to Cleveland to celebrate Passover with family. It was the first time I had been back since we moved to Maryland six months ago. In the weeks before the trip, I had had two nightmares about moving back to Cleveland - in the second one, Evan had told me we needed to move back for three months, and I had flatly refused, telling him to take the kids and let me stay here for the time he'd be there. That's how much I love living here in Maryland. 

When we were there in Cleveland last week, we went to see our Cleveland house. It's sold, by the way, finally, and we are scheduled to close the sale at the end of this week. So it's empty, and ready for a new person to have a life there. Even driving down the street was surreal for me. We lived in that house for fifteen years. We had all four kids while we lived there. My oldest is now in eighth grade. It was the only home my kids knew until six months ago. Walking in the door, walking around the house, I had two very distinct questions come into my mind, as if a deep confusion was going on under the surface. 

The first question was, "Is this a weird dream? Will I wake up in my bed in Maryland if I shake myself out of it?" The second question to surface was, "Have the past six months been a weird dream, and am I back home now?" I answered both questions, as if speaking to a frightened child, with reassuring answers about why I was there, and that we would be going back to Maryland soon, where we live now. But the uneasy feeling continued. 

Shortly afterward, we went back to my parents' house, where I had lived between breaks in college, and for four years after graduation, before getting married. It also, was my "home" for those years. This was the first time that my husband and I had spent the night there together as a married couple, and we've been married for seventeen years. When we lived in Cleveland, we all ate dinner as a family every Friday night, usually at my parents' house. Being back there, and especially sleeping there for a few nights, was another one of those confusing feelings for me, under the surface. I heard my inner voice, "Where is home? This was home. Am I home?" This poor, confused little me inside my head was really having a time of it. Again, I reassured this little voice with images of my new home in Maryland, and the date that we'd all be back there. 

Several times during the trip, I caught myself talking to the kids and using the phrase "we'll go back home" but referring to my parents' house, because that's where we were staying. But once I used it referring to the Cleveland house, and once I also used it to refer to our Maryland house. I felt odd each time.

On Wednesday, I left for a five day seminar in Connecticut to learn the LeShan Psychic Healing Method - something I had been waiting a year for, and was very excited about. So I flew out of Cleveland, and spent five days and nights in a retreat center. I had a room there, of course, and all that. The seminar was intense and deep. I have a lot to think about, a lot to practice, and new tools. (Side note - if you want to know more about what this method is, read The Medium, the Mystic and the Physicist by Lawrence LeShan.)

Yesterday, I flew from Connecticut to Baltimore, and then took a bus back to Gaithersburg, where I gratefully arrived back here, "Home" now. This is where I live. This is home. 

But my roots feel a little unsteady. It left me thinking about how long it takes, and what events need to happen, for the place you live to settle in deep enough that one can say the word "home" and it comfortably relates to the place that person resides. Most of all, I wonder how long it will take for me to be able to say "home" and have that deep, comfortable knowing where I mean. 

I want the word "home" to resonate as here in Gaithersburg. I LOVE our house here. (We're renting for now, though I hope to buy this house eventually if we have the opportunity). I love the area, the opportunities, the new friends and associates, all of it. It feels so much better to me energetically than the years we struggled in Ohio. I want this place to be the one that resonates when I say the word "home." 

Selling our house - being done with the closing and all - should help. Also, we still need to get MD driver's licenses and plates for our cars. That should help too, I think. 

I have a place to practice and teach Reiki. I have been teaching here, making contacts, and have some events lined up to go to for business networking and stuff like that. We have new doctors, eye doctors, dentist, and library cards. We have a new bank, and checks with our new address. 

Energetically, I really need to be here all the way. Home is where the heart is. 

"Be here now." This concept is a part of cultivating the full presence that helps in all energy work, and in mindfulness that is essential for being effective, confident, and balanced. 

I'm working on that. 

Putting a Price on Healing

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During Mercury Retrograde (finally over as of yesterday, thank you), we are called to think about things. Reflect on our life, our business, our relationships, all while communications and plans are disrupted so we can do that. Ha. 

And now it's a New Moon. That's the time when we should set our new plans, goals, and dreams in motion.

Seems that I've been given the opportunity to do both - big time - and now I'm here to report on it. It was a lesson that was put right in my face. (Thanks again, Universe.) Here's the way things went down:

A couple weeks ago, I received a newsletter from a copywriter who I've followed for a while. In it, she detailed some serious emotional blockages related to her unfortunate childhood. I felt moved to write her back, encourage her to stop being limited by her past, and go for her dreams. I also mentioned that some Reiki healing can greatly help with releasing those painful past experiences, and allowing yourself to move forward. 

She responded that she was curious about Reiki, and could we talk on the phone. I answered that of course I'd be happy to speak with her. We set a time. We spoke yesterday. 

It was not what I had expected. 

She asked me some questions about Reiki, and I explained. She seemed enthusiastic. That is, until she asked me how much a distance Reiki session costs. I told her $50 or 5 sessions for $200. There was a pause.

"That's ALL?" 
I answered yes.
"Why on earth do you charge so LITTLE?" She asked in an astounded tone. 

I explained my rationale. An in person Reiki session is about the same cost as a massage. A distance session doesn't require me to travel anywhere or prepare a massage table with a sheet. So it's less. 

Then she told me that she simply can't understand how something that could help change someone's life, help the person heal from years of baggage and turmoil, could be priced so low. She went on to say that it must mean that I don't value my own services. She also told me that she had gladly paid $4,400 to attend a program designed to teach you how to think.

She also said that she was no longer interested in my services. She advised me strongly to raise my prices by about five times what they are. She said that charging as little as I do means that I'm telling the world that I am not offering something anywhere in balance with its value to those who receive it. 

I told her I would be happy to accept more money, and assured her that affordable doesn't mean not powerful. It was apparent, though, that this wasn't really the right connection for either of us. I thanked her for her advice, told her that I hope she finds what she needs, and we got off the phone. 

About an hour later, she blogged about our conversation. 

I spent a good, long time thinking about this. I asked myself:

• Am I undercharging?
• Am I undervaluing my work?
• Am I holding myself back? 
• Does my work have a perceived low value?

I really pondered this. I searched inside myself. I tested my feelings about charging more. I tested my feelings about her reaction. 

I came to a conclusion that some people think that if they pay a lot of money for a solution that says it will resolve their issues, that it will take the problem away for them. It must be the best if it costs so much more than the others. But that says a lot more about the people who think that way than it does about the people who charge the highest fees. A friend (and one of my clients and professional associates) from Facebook who I asked for some feedback added, " I will also say that paying a huge price tag and getting little results is often more palatable to the ego than being presented with an actual solution for a very low price.  It's a way that the ego appeases us by pretending we are doing "big" things to solve our pain or problem."

I think that I agree with that. And, also, I think that it's another reason that she was not a good potential client for me. 

In answer to my question to myself about my pricing, I feel that my fee for distance healing is affordable, but that doesn't mean it's not powerful. I know from experience that the distance healing sessions I offer are received in powerful ways, with life-changing results, by those who accept them. But I like that they are affordably priced. I feel comfortable with the price point where it is. 

I guess that I know what it feels like to struggle to afford something I feel I need, and I also know how it feels to be grateful to afford something I feel I need. I think it could be harder to fully receive a healing session if you're thinking in the back of your head how hard it was to pay for it. So that's another thing. 

I can't measure the value of a Reiki session. Priceless. That's about it. So I have to set a fee that feels comfortable for me to offer. 

My Practical Reiki classes are also affordably priced. I used to charge less, and I realized (after my friends and students alerted me) that the fee was too little, because it did have a lower perceived value. ("Dollar Store Reiki" is not what I offer!) So at the time, I raised it to a number that felt more in balance with how I felt and how I want it to be perceived. Let me say that I am completely confident about my Practical Reiki training's value. It's outstanding. It's priceless. I could easily charge double for it and deserve it. Although if I did, some people would struggle to save to receive this training. But, I could justify the price because it is seriously excellent and allows one to immediately become a practitioner, if desired.

But, the other side is that it's really easy for me to teach, doesn't take a lot of time to learn, and I want it to spread far and wide. I want there to be a million people using Practical Reiki in five years' time, because I trained them or someone I trained (or their students trained) did. Practical Reiki is a straightforward, unplugged method of energy healing that anyone can learn, regardless of previous experience.

Then, I asked myself about the value of my time spent teaching. That was a good question, and I felt a slight disconnect was there, so I have slightly raised the fee for live classes (compared to recorded), and offered an add-on for a private hour on Skype with me for Q&A to those who take the recorded version. I also include the books with the live training. That adjustment feels in alignment with my values, and feels like a quality offer.  

It's true that some people undervalue themselves, and undercharge for their services. The opposite is also true. And, it's true that some people take advantage of the fact that there are people out there who actually go looking for the most expensive option, and charge accordingly for their services. I can't be in integrity with myself if I try to be one of the people who raises my fees to target those who want to pay top dollar. So that's good for me to know also. 

I am grateful for the lesson from this past Mercury Retrograde, and ready for the New Moon to take my goals, plans and dreams and energize them into being. 


Comments and feedback are very welcome.

My Zumba Meditation

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I've been taking Zumba classes at Studio X in Gaithersburg. This isn't for wimps, either. I sweat myself stinky and shake my tush until I'm ready to drop. The classes are drop-in, and only $5. Honestly, I only started doing it because I recognized a need for improving my fitness level. Which happened because I was trying on a potential new pair of jeans in Target and caught a glimpse of my butt in the dressing room mirror. Only it wasn't my butt. It was my mom's. How it got onto my body, I'll never understand. But, at that minute, I knew I'd have to find a way to recover my own rear end. And thus, I put myself in Zumba class. 

At first, I felt pretty awkward. Seeing myself in the mirror confirmed that, yes, I am awkward. Thanks a lot, mirrored walls. The gorgeous, muscular, joyfully smiling teacher led fast-paced sexy movements that I tried to follow, while trying not to trip over myself or get in the way of the people around me who seem to know every step.

I determined to get it, and got focused. It's really fun, actually, and I love dancing, so I felt good moving and shaking it out. During the first few weeks, after a bunch of songs, I was breathing hard and sweating. I figured it must be nearly over by now. Then I looked at the clock. It had been 15 minutes. 45 to go. Dear God.

As the weeks went by, I've started to learn basic moves, and get sort of familiar with some of the songs. I don't look at the clock as soon now. Usually it's about 40 minutes into the hour before my eyes wander there. And I look somewhat less awkward in the mirror, when I catch a glimpse. My body likes it too, and I'm starting to feel more toned, which is a good thing. Maybe my own butt will return soon too. I think there's hope. I've sent out the invitation for it to come back.

And I've realized something more important. Zumba is like meditation. I'm talking successful meditation, too. The kind that quiets the mental chatter. Here's why: When I'm there in class, I have to follow the teacher's moves. The moves change rapidly, the patterns are short and varied, and involve my whole body. There's no possibility of letting my mind wander, because I'll miss something and end up going the wrong direction, bumping into someone, or falling on my face. I can't be thinking about what's happening after class, or who I need to email, what I'm making for dinner, or my kids arguing this morning. My brain simply can't hold those thoughts and move my body in coordination with the teacher's pace at the same time. So I become present, focused, and totally in the moment.

These are the qualities I teach my Reiki students to emulate during a Reiki session. Be present, only observing what's happening now. Be focused on that observation of sensation and energy flow, which also keeps the left brain chatter at bay. Be totally in the moment, because that helps strengthen the intuition. 

They are also the goals of a good meditation. Just being present - not distracted by a dozen thoughts, feelings, and unnecessary worries. Being focused on that mindful presence - allowing the left brain to be quiet. Being in the moment only - that's a serious goal for mindful living. Because, really, all we need to do is deal with what's happening now. Any chance to remember that, to bring our monkey mind back to the here and now, and just BE here, is a good thing. 

While I'm not very good at basic silent meditation, I find I'm doing better at the guided kind, which I've been trying to listen to daily. But I have to change it up, because predictability tends to cause my mind to wander, and before I know it, I'm thinking of all the stupid little things that make my meditation time a big #FAIL. I find it remarkable and sort of amusing that I'm best at creating that mindful, meditative, in the moment presence when I'm giving Reiki, or doing Zumba. 

So that's an interesting lesson. I guess Zumba is a moving meditation for me. 

I welcome your comments, as always.