The Reiki Evolution

My friend and Reiki teacher, Rev. Trudi Denison, asked me if I'd write about some of my experiences with Reiki and healing. She is going to be a keynote speaker at a Vermont Reiki Association conference and wanted to share some testimonials. I have been meaning to write down some of my thoughts and experiences with Reiki for some time, so this works out well.

About a year before I took my first Reiki class, the healing power and beauty of Reiki began courting me to its mandala. I knew instantly upon seeing and hearing the name Reiki, before ever experiencing a session, that it was something I needed to connect to, that it would be a part of my learning in this lifetime. It took about a year for right timing to occur and for me to choose my first Reiki teacher, Amy Rowland. Amy writes a lot of neat articles for Reiki News now and has just recently published a new book. Amy was a wonderful Reiki I teacher, and continued to guide me with Reiki long after the class ended.

O, my first Reiki class was amazing. My hands lit up and I felt sure mini fires burned beneath my palms. Reiki was like coming home. It felt familiar, intimate, a long lost soul companion returned. Days after being attuned to Reiki and practicing like a maniac on myself and all my surroundings, a beautiful miracle occurred. Looking back the miracle was just a way to tell me I was on the right path and to give me confidence which I needed. What happened was I gave a practice session to a friend of a friend. He had lots of lower back issues and pain. I gave him a full Reiki I session, and the next morning I got a call from him, and he disclosed that he had been previously unable, with out serious difficulties and physical maneuverings, to bend down to put on shoes or tie laces. The morning after his first Reiki session his back pain ceased and he could easily bend down and put on his shoes. I was ecstatic and so happy for him, that this pure energy called Reiki had worked through me and actually helped someone feel better. I was hooked!

Reiki has brought me on a journey that has been so full of what really makes my heart happy, that imagining my life without Reiki is difficult. I soon studied the rest of the Reiki levels with Rev. Trudi Denison. Trudi has been a constant source of inspiration, guidance, and wisdom to this day. I still call her to seek sage advice. Reiki has introduced me to so many wonderful people and teachers that I wouldn't have met otherwise. My studies with Reiki have encouraged me to learn more about the body, leading me to a massage school in Boulder. Upon finishing school, I opened my own office and healing arts practice, which enables me to share Reiki with more people and in diverse, manifold ways. Reiki has essentially been a catalyst for big, life altering, positive change in my life. In my practice, I see the sparkle of Reiki touch and shape many lives. I feel truly blessed to be witness and collaborator with a such a beautiful, universal energy that hardly ever fails to give the gift of a smile to replace our hardships and pains.

Peace

Peace may sound simple

One beautiful word

But it requires
Everything we have

Every quality
Every strength
Every dream
Every high ideal

----Yehudi Menuhin

"Foundation Of A Happy Life"

On September 17, 2006, I found myself gathered in Denver's Pepsi Center along with about 15,000 other people to listen to the wise and inspiring words of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama began by emphasizing that he is only a man, a simple man. A body, a mind, emotions, and spirit like us. He hinted about having psoriasis, or some other skin condition, that was helped when friends and guests noticed he was itching his skin continuously and offered him a salve. "They are the healers," he said. After some more humbling words and actions, the Dalai Lama began speaking about the foundation of a happy life.

Interestingly, he shared that his first and favorite memory of his life was when he was two years old and breast feeding. He recalled being full of joy and blessed by that beautiful gift from his mother. The gift was a selfless compassion and pure love, and he was the direct recipient of that sweetness. Nothing else in his life compared to the pureness of that shared love and compassion offered. He talked about how far we've come away from the essential componets that really bring peace and happiness. I couldn't help thinking about the earth, our mother too, who also provides that selfless giving, but we've traveled far from her in a sense, and lost the connection to our own sustainability and happiness. The unfortunate consequence, when we lose that connection to what sustains us, is we see dis-ease, pollution, toxicity, wars, violence, anger, anxiety, dysfunctional fear and a host of other negative emotions and expressions rise to the fore-front. The Dalai Lama spoke about compassion being one of the key ingredients to cultivating happiness and reducing negative emotions. I think one of the reasons that the Dalai Lama shared that story about his mother is to show us where to find inner compassion. It is in those moments that make the heart smile, and that are selfless in their intention. When we locate those moments within that make us happy, we can cultivate them, nourish them, and share them. Then joy is always growing in us, fostering more and more love, and happiness in us and our world.

Compassion is a gift that nourishes us and that we can give to others. The Dalai Lama invited us to, "consider the other as the base of our own future." He said it is compassion that builds friendships. You want confidence? He suggests treating others with respect. He pointed out that it is no longer relevant to think of there being a separation between us and the other. He told us in the past it was conceivable to win a victory over your enemy. Centuries ago, if your tribe was threatened, an option was going to battle, and if you won, then the Dalai Lama said, you'd be the victor. However, now we live in a new paradigm. We are all inter-connected. He laced his fingers together. There can be no victor in the modern world because what harm is done to one effects all. One cosmos, one globe, one love. The Dalai lama pointed out that seeing the world in a wholistic way will also enable us to get perspectives on our negative emotions. When we have personal or global challenges, being able to see from many angles and perspectives provides us freedom from negativity. The Dalai Lama said that strong negative emotions can easily take root when our minds are narrow and small pointed. He invited us to shift to other perspectives frequently to avoid the traps of negativity and us -vs- other thinking.

One of the last memories that sticks with me from the Dalai Lama's talk is about setting a goal to create healthier-happier human beings. He suggested it be the mission of our educational system and our lives. How can we cultivate positive emotions? How can we make the world safer and happier for all human beings, he asked? He invited us to create true constructiveness, and said it was the basis of hope.

The Dalai Lama helped found in 1987 a Boulder organization called the Mind & Life Institute, that unifies global philosophy, science, and research, and shares its findings and the keys to maintaining a healthy and happy mind. The Mind & Life Institute sponsored the Dalai Lama's lovely talk.