Intention and Attention

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I've learned and have been exploring lately, the differences and interplay between intention and attention. I invite you to enter into this discussion with me so we all can grow together.

First, when working with Reiki energy, one is taught to begin by intending to connect with the Reiki energy. We put our attention on the flow of the energy. Then, we intend for the energy to flow to the recipient, either ourselves (as in self-healing), another person, or a goal (as in attracting abundance). Once we set our intention, we are to simply place our attention on the flow of the energy as it goes. I think of it a little like giving the cab driver directions and then letting him to the driving to the destination. Already, in these first few seconds of a Reiki session, the interplay between intention and attention has occurred twice.

One can think of the attention part as surrender, but I think it's more than that, I think it's observation - this attention to the feeling of the energy flowing. One can put as much attention into a Reiki session as one wishes. What I mean is, I can send a "shot" of Reiki energy to a person by just intending to send Reiki to him or her, noting the feeling of the energy flowing for about five seconds, and then going about the rest of my day. The energy will get there and do some good.

I can also sit for about ten minutes and simply focus on sending that same person Reiki, and for that entire time, I can attentively feel the energy tingling and pulsing between my hands as the energy flows via the connection between us.

Or, I could spend that same ten minutes while the Reiki is flowing, tuning into the recipient's energy, and using my hands to "scan" through the person's energy, observing which chakras or physical parts of the body are receiving the most energy. I can mention to the recipient those areas of need I observed, and ask him or her about any concerns related to those areas. This takes very focused attention.

In the Medical Intuition class I took during January, we learned that the mere act of observing triggers the healing process to begin. One of the key pieces to doing medical intuition that was emphasized in the class is to earn to tune in and observe the body parts inside yourself (and eventually another person). But this observation itself seems to be more than just looking. Healing begins here.

This idea of observation is also noted in the technique called Remote Viewing. It isn't the goal of remote viewing, but one of my students who knows how to do this technique, told me about an experiment done by a team of remote viewers and some plants that had been infected with a plant virus. The viewers were supposed to determine which plants had the virus, and which did not (they were attempting to "see" the plants from some other location, without knowing in advance which group of plants was which). The plants that were remote viewing targets, and had been infected with the plant virus, did not develop symptoms, while a control group of plants infected with a virus did. The non-infected plants were fine. It was a surprise to the group conducting the remote viewing exercise that the plants did not get sick, but it was an example of how just observing the inside of the plants for signs of infected cells had a direct effect on the health of the plants.

In physics, this is called the Observer Effect - that even quantum particles that are observed will behave differently than those that are not. On a molecular level, something about the energy of observation changes the behavior of the observed particles.

If a Reiki practitioner sets his intention to start the healing, but does not then step back and adopt a presence of attentive observation during the energy flow, will also make it harder for the energy to work. The practitioner who is focused on intention the whole time will likely end up using his own personal energy to drive the healing, making him end up exhausted at the end. Think of telling the cab driver where to go and then pushing the cab the whole way instead of letting the cab driver do his job and drive there.

Attention is important beyond energy healing too. For example, my kids always want attention. They want me to look at them, talk to them, play with them, listen to them. It's a natural human instinct to crave relationship and the simple act of attentiveness is a way of showing respect and love. My kids want me to show them how to draw a new picture, and then watch them do it, but they don't want me to push the pencil for them.

It's a little like surrender, or trust. You set the intention for the energy to work and then step back and let it go, trusting that it will work towards the highest good of the recipient. It takes the ability to let go for the energy to work.

Another thing is that the energy doesn't always work exactly as we expect it to. It may work in some other, more needed, way. It's not just about us as the practitioners, but the recipient's readiness to receive the energy also comes into play here. That may be on a subconscious level as well. So we need to let go of the focus on the results after setting the intention for the energy to flow, and trust that it is being received where the recipient is ready for the energy to work. That is not always our decision alone, and sometimes isn't even something we can predict.

When I am asked by someone new to Reiki what the energy is going to feel like, I tell them to simply relax and observe "what's different" as the energy is flowing. This helps the person focus in on his or her own sensations and then give those sensations attention. The more the person can pay attention to the sensation of the energy, the more he or she will begin to notice.

There is an interplay between intention and attention in the Law of Attraction too. We put our intention out there to manifest what we envision for ourselves. Then we let it go and allow the angels to arrange the things that need to fall into place in order to allow our dreams to become real. We need to pay attention to opportunities and signs along the way that will lead us to fulfilling our dream. Excess effort in trying to push and make it happen is discouraged. Put it out there, and step out of the way while the universe is bringing it to you on that stream of creation energy you have set out there with your intention.

What we place our attention on grows, and what we ignore goes away (eventually). So with energy, so with a lot of things in life.

I'm fascinated with the interplay between intention and attention. I think that it's helping me allow for the flow to come to me without me getting into my own way. Peace.

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.

The State of Wait

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I feel like I live in a perpetual state of waiting. I'm waiting for registration to come in for classes scheduled soon, for checks to come in for work I've done, for packages to come with things I've ordered, for new opportunities to crystallize from the dream-seeds that I planted. I'm waiting.

I'm getting better at waiting though. I think I'm getting used to it maybe. I don't get as anxious as I used to, and feel less stressed out. I have more faith that things are being arranged, and I see signs that things are developing to make them happen. That helps me have patience.

Today I had a powerful and profound day. I was at The Cleveland Clinic, where I volunteer as a Reiki practitioner on Tuesdays. I go around with one of the Healing Services staff, either a clergy or a staff Reiki practitioner, and give Reiki to patients who have put in a request for a visit. Sometimes in the afternoons, I go to nursing stations and offer the nurses Reiki. They usually accept if they have a few minutes, and they are enthusiastic and appreciative. It's a fulfilling opportunity, and I look forward to it every week.

So, today I was going on patient visits with a Healing Services staff person. We went to visit and give Reiki to two patients who were in the stages of dying. There was no more that could be done (medically) for them, and we had been called to offer them Reiki to ease their transition. We also offered and then gave Reiki to their family members who were there with them.

Giving Reiki to these patients brought back intense memories of being with my mother-in-law at the end of last summer as she was going through this transition. I recognized immediately the way these patients were in and out of consciousness, the way they seemed between worlds.

Most of all, it brought back memories of the waiting that we all did as we were with my mother-in-law, during her final few days. The family members of these patients today were also waiting, providing comforting presence to their loved ones.

I could feel as the Reiki flowed that these patients were going to pass soon. The energy was different, slower, more gentle, than when I give Reiki to a person with an illness, wound, or post-operative procedure. Both patients acknowledged the energy. One said it was wonderful. The other nodded when we asked if it was okay for her. They both knew what was happening.

Their family members who we gave Reiki to afterward were appreciative. The energy helped them relax and feel cared for.

All day today, I've been reflecting on this experience. I understand the waiting they were all doing.

I asked the angels to be with them all, especially the little 4 year-old son of one of the patients. The waiting they are doing is a stronger, more emotionally intense kind of waiting than the waiting that's part of my daily life. Their waiting is their job right now.

My daily waiting is something I have to monitor, though. It's not my job. My job, I remind myself, is to live in NOW. Because waiting all the time takes away from what I'm doing now, and I forget to enjoy the present.

My kids are on winter break. I took them to the playground yesterday, despite the 19 degree temperatures outside, to slide down the icy-fast slide and then get some chocolate mint hot cocoa. It was my birthday. That part of the day was the best part of the day. We had a good time. Tonight, after dinner, we played a game together. Game night is one of their favorite family activities. When I'm distracted from the waiting by doing something fun with my kids, I am enjoying life a lot more.

Waiting can lead me to worrying. I'm going to be more mindful of that process, and make the effort to stay focused and present. Then the angels can do their work of making things happen, and they can line up the steps I'll take toward getting me to my goals. This is a much better way to live.

Being in that waiting space again with the families of the transitioning patients today reminded me of the difference between necessary waiting and unnecessary waiting.

Peace.

Peeking Behind Oz's Curtain

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Some interesting things are happening lately, and I'm treating the experiences like little peeks at the workings going on behind the scenes. This series of events seem like they could lead me where I'm hoping to go, and yet they leave me wondering. Ah, the mysteries of life - LOL!

Here they are:

Two days ago, I was in the shower, and as I sometimes do when I have some rare time to myself, I was asking my angels, rather directly, for some help. I said I am all set to begin my Energy Healing Certification Program (the January track - I already have two tracks in progress), and I need more students. I asked them to help bring these students to me, now please.

I got out of the shower, dressed, and my cell phone rang. It was a person who had met me at the Victory of Light expo in Cincinnati, and who was calling to say she's interested in enrolling in the Certification Program. Wow.

Yesterday, I had to run an errand to Bed, Bath & Beyond. I started driving there and realized I wasn't sure where the store was. I called my husband, who told me it was in the opposite direction from where I was going. Feeling a little dumb, I turned around and went the other way. I was berating myself a little for driving out of the way and wasting time to find the store. I finally arrived. In the store, I found myself in the same aisle as a young woman I had taught with a few years ago, with her mother. We exchanged greetings, and she asked me what I'm doing these days. I told her I teach Reiki and her eyes lit up. She knows about Reiki and receives Reiki to help with her chronic sinusitis. I told her that I have a class coming up in a week and gave her and her mom my card. They said they'd be interested in taking it.

I realized that I wouldn't have run into them if the timing hadn't been perfect.

Then later yesterday, I was at a holiday party with my kids at The Gathering Place, a cancer support center where I'm a volunteer Reiki practitioner. My cell phone rang. I answered and someone asked for "Sheila." Instead of saying it was the wrong number, I said, "This is Alice." The person on the other end said, "Oh, Alice! Funny, I didn't mean to call you." It was one of my newest students, who told me that she was trying to call her friend to invite her to take the upcoming Kundalini Reiki class with her.

I realized that I wouldn't have known she was recruiting people to be in the class unless she had dialed the wrong number and reached me.

When I got home from dinner at my parents' house last night, there was an email from a gentleman who is interested in being in the Certification Program. We've exchanged several emails since last night and things look good for him to be in the program, but he plans on learning Kundalini Reiki by distance individually with me first.

And one more thing, too. On Tuesday, when I was at The Cleveland Clinic, where I volunteer as part of the Healing Services Department giving Reiki, I happened to have a meeting with my volunteer coordinator. She said that she is trying to create a position for a part-time instructor, part-time Reiki staff person, and she thinks that all of the staff should be instructed in Kundalini Reiki. Since I told her about Kundalini Reiki, she has been impressed with the ease of use of this modality. The description of this position is exactly (and I mean to the letter) what I've been asking the angels for in terms of a steady job. Things happen either excruciatingly slow or unnervingly quickly at the Clinic, so I am now stepping back and trying not to hold my breath. But it's another glimpse into the motion behind the scenes that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't stepped into my volunteer coordinator's office that day.

So what's the point here? Here's the point:

While none of these people have actually enrolled in anything yet, and there's no steady position being offered to me yet, I feel like I'm getting the message that things are in motion to answer my requests. It's like I'm being given a peek behind the curtain to see things being put into place, rather than waiting in the dark for something to happen. I am being told that all of these seeds are being planted, I'm in the right place at the right time to talk with people, and it's only a matter of time before things germinate.

Then there's my little snarky voice in the background. It's saying "Yeah, and if none of these people actually enrolls, if the Clinic says no, won't you look dumb for believing that these are all signs?" It doesn't like me to have faith, but prefers hard evidence. I hear that. And yes, I do worry about it all being for naught. But again, that's a lot of events in the last few days all pointing in a positive direction. So the snarky voice can stfu, excuse my vernacular.

I'm sticking with the idea that these are all ways that the angels are saying, "We're working on it for you, Alice. Hang in there." And I am.

It feels like a good argument for asking the angels and letting them work.

Anything like this ever happen to you?