Reiki in the Movies at Last! Magic Mike XXL

  What better way to start a weekend than with this great picture from Yesmovies.
     Now, I must admit, I've never seen Magic Mike XXL, but when I was clicking around the web this morning looking for something different about reiki, these gorgeous hunks popped up. The character, Ken, has level three reiki. Too cool!
     Here is an article from Cosmo and one from Bustle about the movie and reiki. No wonder more and more people know what I'm talking about when I say I'm a reiki master.

Curiouser and curiouser

     One thing I love about life is that the more observant I am, the more interesting life is.  It may be about why the birds are nesting right there in my flowers or why everyone reacts differently to the same occurrence. There is always something to make me question.  Like, is the picture at left a self-portrait, or is it just the forest floor?
     This act of observation is so important when you are gauging progress. Unlike building a house, baking a cake or making a quilt, self-improvement has few physical, quantifiable results.  I do all this "work," sometimes don't feel any different when I finish, but then I start to notice how differently I feel or behave.  My mentor calls it "gathering evidence."
      I'll give you an example.  One of my current "works in progress" is to be internally justified, to look only inward and upward for opinions.  To put it bluntly, I cared way too much about what everyone else thought about me and let that care rule my actions.  It was high time to take my life back.  In a combination of a Brain Gym balance (with homeplay- a daily practice to reinforce the goal) and reiki, I have made great strides.
     Here is where it gets curious.  Recently I have been to several large gatherings of people I really enjoy and have known for some time.  I found myself getting irritated with lots of people, not just one or two.  Why was that?  I like these people, right?
     What I discovered after sitting with the question was, yes, I like these people.  Before the work, rather than admitting they were human and did irritating things (which we all do), I had suppressed my feelings and made them perfect.  I wanted to get along so much that I wasn't honest with myself.
      This being internally justified requires generosity, allowing everyone to be there own crazy self, while staying true to my own crazy self.  Being authentic allows others to be so as well.  As Rumi said "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

Just Send a Little Reiki

Sometimes there is a person in your life who just drives you crazy.  There is no way around it.  The very act of them breathing in a room you are in or sharing electrons on the computer just sets you off.  This is a good time to realize, hey, maybe it’s me.  That person may do many things “wrong” and really need fixing, but the only thing we have power over is our minds and how we react to people and situations. 

Recently I have had this experience with someone I see almost every day.  It seemed like they were always doing things specifically to hurt me or just being inconsiderate.  It got to the point where just thinking about the person was enough to make my blood boil, not a good situation for someone who “sells” peace of mind (through yoga, reiki and meditation).  This needed to be fixed.

I sat with the problem, meditated, prayed, but couldn't see where my change was.  How was I to let go if I couldn't see what I was holding onto?  When the cause is so difficult to determine, I always look to reiki, because it flows to the place where it is needed without guidance.  I decided that each time I got angry, or each time I even thought about the problem, I would use the distance symbol to connect to our relationship then send it reiki.

Let’s just say in the beginning, over the course of a day I would give over 2 hours of reiki to this situation alone (preoccupied? Oh no, not me.  No, never.  Okay, so all the time…).  The relief was almost immediate.  Instead of living in frustration and anger, I would move quickly into a state of flow and calm.  It’s impossible to send reiki and stay irritated.  I hate to admit just how often I sent reiki, but there it is.

 I also decided that it would not be a “sit down and get serious” kind of thing.  I sent reiki while driving, doing the dishes, walking around the house, cooking dinner; all of the situations where the body is moving, but the mind is free to drift. 

I began to see differences in the relationship after a few days.  It was easier to be together, decisions were made in common, I no longer went out of my way to avoid them.  Two weeks later, as I type this, it is difficult to even remember what a deep funk I was in.  Cheaper than therapy, eh?  So, next time you feel this way, rather than “fixing” the other, try taking it easy, living in love rather than marinating in irritation.  Just send a little reiki.  

Honoring My Teachers by Becoming Myself

    "Family doesn't stand on ceremony."  This was on some tv show I saw in the past week. I jotted it down, then promptly forgot the origin.  Nevertheless, this quote describes where I am living right now.  It's a good place.
     In 2012 I had the good fortune to attend two ongoing reiki gatherings hosted by others.  Both were in their homes and instantly I felt like family.  It was a great.  Due to scheduling conflicts (or sometimes my reluctance to leave my home when I've (finally!) got nothing going on),  I have not been a regular attendee.  In those few visits, however, what I have learned from observing others is priceless.
     Anything that you are working on is a growing and changing organism.  Your reiki practice is no different.  Though each session begins with a prayer to be merely a channel for the healing energy of reiki to flow through, as your practice develops, the channel changes.  It may widen or deepen or merely change shape.  So, the same issue in your client will be approached differently depending on where  (or maybe who) you, the practitioner, is today.
      Observing other's techniques has allowed me to realize there is no one 'right' way.  Like all students I admire my teachers, both those I have met and those whose books I have read.  There is a point however where it is important to take their teachings and make them your own.  Stop trying to fill their shoes and instead wear your own (after all, they fit...).  To push my metaphor a bit further you need to take a look at my shoes, not a normal pair in the bunch and when I forget to put them on, I'm barefoot (hate to say it, but I have had clients come to my house and forgotten to put on shoes... aak!).
      Without thinking about it deeply, my sessions have begun to change, molding to my way of doing things like comfortable shoe.  I was never one to use the hand positions, though I teach them in each reiki I class.  Immediately they felt wrong to me like I was being someone else.  But more and more, each session I do less and less thinking and just spend the time being, submitting to a Higher Power.

imagine this as the aura before...

...and this is after.

        A few weeks ago the most interesting thing happened in a session.  I found myself 'combing' my fingers through my client's aura.  It felt like I was removing pebbles that made the flow of energy rough.  I began in one small spot, with each pass through making the area worked longer and longer.  As my fingers passed through new areas, it felt like there was 'resistance,' though they were just passing through air.  It was fascinating!  By the time I finished the energy felt smooth and even.
   This is the reason for our continual reference to honoring our teachers and their lineages in both yoga and reiki.  Everyone is our teacher if we just keep our eyes open.  I leave you, as always, with the sanskrit word  that means "the divine in me honors the divine in you."  Thank you to all of you, my teachers.  Namaste.

Catch a Little Something

the fungi on the forest floor have a purpose

     This year has been the year of passing illness around.  Usually, I'm the one who is nursing others, but I've caught both the stomach bug and an UR infection since Christmas.  I'd also be the first to tell you that illness is not a good thing (and reiki can fix that!).  Turns out I'd be wrong.
      On Tuesday, I was at the top of a ladder helping to decorate for our dinner dance.  I couldn't figure out how to plug in the lights.  This is the time you know it is stupid for me to be on the top of a tall ladder (plug, duh).  By Wednesday morning my voice was completely gone (those of you who have met me or taken my classes know what a tragedy for me that is!) For both Wednesday and most of Thursday, I had to cancel almost everything.  Again something I hate.
    Not a situation for joy, one would think.  It is amazing how reducing your life to it's basics can be so pleasurable.  I did everything that was in my power to accomplish and it was good enough.  Sure the body was not happy, but life in the mind is great!
     I was reading recently that the average executive's weekly to do list would take over 350 hours to complete.  My to do list was reduced to only the around the house and for the family stuff (don't want to pass this around).  All of it is crossed off and it's only 1:40.
    The other advantage to reducing the to do list is how much easier it is to eat, sleep and rest so you heal faster.  My friends have been sick for weeks.  I'm hoping to break the pattern.  Anyway, if you feel like you are coming down with something, see if you can make it into the gift that it can be.  Blessings, Pam

(...another good thing from being  a 5'2' walking, talking column of mucus is how it clears the mind.  I had my weekly meeting with a friend today and could not remember the question I had posed in turmoil a few weeks ago.  Now, I know this is not one of the recommendations from the Buddha, but going through a box of tissues a day tends to focus one on the present rather than in the past... I feel like a completely new person, fully present, now.  Who knew?)

Make 2013 Amazing

    Welcome to the New Year! I am so excited about 2013!  This is the year my husband starts the job he has been working towards for the past 7 years.  This is the year my youngest goes off to college (something I've been working on for 17 (sorry, Daniel, I just couldn't resist)).  There is so much to look forward to.
     Most of us make resolutions of some sort, even if it's only "This year is going to be better than the last."  I've spent the last few months coming up with a few recommendations to help make your 2013 amazing.

   The resolutions always seem to begin with the physical (lose weight, exercise more, eat right etc.) so I begin here as well.  I was fortunate enough to be in on the beta testing for the Basis Band and I have to say, I love it.  I have joined several gyms over the years, even worked in one for a long time, and, this watch is so much better than any gym.
    I am a big believer in making daily life more vigorous rather than relying on a few hours at the gym each week and there is a growing body of evidence to support the idea.  This link just scratches the surface of all the information out on the web.  What is so great about the Basis Band is that you choose habits to add to your life and the band tracks your progress.  Right now I have morning, afternoon and evening laps (2,000 steps in each time frame) and Don't be a sitter (get up and move every hour).  This little device has made real functional changes in my life over the past two months.
      If emotional conflict is your worry, let me recommend Jin Shin Jyutsu.  This energy healing technique can be done anywhere at anytime and I (and my clients) have found it to be very effective.

     If parts of you (body, mind or spirit) need healing, let me recommend reiki.  If you have reiki already, make a daily date with yourself to heal and nurture.  I use reiki to clear the house daily and also to work on myself (for example, I failed to get a screen capture of the picture at right for two hours.  I went on a walk (the morning lap from Basis), gave some reiki to the situation and when I got back, my husband showed me a work around that took 2 minutes).  If you have never taken a reiki class, find a practitioner in your area. The International Center for Reiki Training maintains a list of practitioners and teachers by state (I'm listed in KY).  I'm running a special for the month of January. Click on the picture to contact me.
      My blessings on you and your 2013 endeavors.  Let's make this year amazing!
     

Help in Tragic Times

       This Sunday, as I looked out over the congregation at church, almost three quarters of the congregation was dressed in either grey or black.  It was shocking to see how deeply the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary penetrated, even if subconsciously. We pray, we send money, but it feels so futile.
        This devastating feeling, like so many other things, changed when I learned reiki.  In reiki level II, we learn to send reiki over a distance to a person, a place, or even a time.  Sending healing energy to a disaster can be quite empowering.  In last Wednesdays post, I talked about how sending reiki can even change your physiology.

       I've done this many times since I first was attuned, but sometimes it gets interesting.  The Fukushima nuclear disaster really hit me personally.  I have strong ties to Japan and Japanese culture through travel and friends.  Many of my Japanese friends had returned home before the tsunami and I couldn't stop worrying about them.  It was time to do something proactive.
       Each morning when I went out on my walk, I would send energy to a general, vague "those poor people suffering and working to fix Japan."  My worry obscured clarity.  So I would send reiki for the hour or so that I was out and about and return home feeling able to set about my day.
        What was interesting over time is how the recipient became more and more clear.  At first it felt like rain, sprinkling over the tsunami victims.  Not necessarily effective, but just the act of giving reiki made me feel better.  As the days and walks progressed, I began to get a feeling of who I was to.  At first it was just a general sense of where, to the north and east in Japan.  Later that it was near Fukushima, but not in the reactor.  By the end it had narrowed down to a specific male aid worker.  I felt, not only at peace, but also like I had made a difference.
         I urge you to experience the peace of praying and sending reiki to the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary, their families, and the entire community.

Sending energy to a disaster area, my experience with the Fukashima earthquake and now to Sandy Hook Elementary

Peace On Earth (or at least in your heart)

click on the picture to contact me for free reiki

    For so many of us, peace is the last thing we associate with the holiday season.  It can be so frantic and unhappy, even as we do so many things to make others happy.  I have discovered a very interesting solution.
     When I first learned reiki, I was told that as I gave reiki, I would also receive a treatment as the energy flowed through me.  Two for the price of one- bonus!  As I have worked in the energy healing field,  I have observed this to be true, both for myself and even my least experienced students.  During the holidays, however, sometimes this knowledge is just not enough.  I need something that helps me now.
       Here is where life gets really cool.  I have been part of the beta testing for the Basis band (the review is in the works).  It looks just like a watch, but does so much more.  One of the things this device does is constantly capture your heart rate, so you can measure fitness and how hard you are working out.  What I never imagined was what I learned about reiki and it's affect on the body.
        Each Monday at 10 am, I give an hour of free distance reiki to anyone who asks (click on the cats above to request free reiki).  The basis band says that when I give reiki, my heart rate goes down, usually to 54 beats a minute, just like when I meditate.  This is even lower than when I sleep.  Turns out reiki is more relaxing than a nap.
        I really can use a little more of that in my life because I am a people pleaser and few people can be pleased around the holidays.  Performing reiki has such a strong focus, it is usually easier to find than meditation when you get caught up in life's craziness.

World Peace Grid at North Pole

        If you don't have any friends or family who will accept long distance reiki, I have a great solution.  The next World Peace Meditation is on Wednesday, December 17, 2012 at 7:30.  Here is the information from the International Center for Reiki Training and here is the card to use.    It can be a very powerful and very peaceful experience.  One of the lines on the card is "May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all people on Earth."  Now that's a Christmas gift worth giving.  Blessings.

How to Grow in a Desert? Focus Your Energy

flowers in the desert- source

      There is a desert, the Atacama, that stretches from Peru to Chile, where parts have not seen rain since record keeping began.  The only moisture available comes from a dense fog known as camanchaca, formed when cold air associated with ocean currents originating in the Antarctic hits warmer air. The amazing thing is that this harsh climate supports more than a million people.  Both plants and people survive by harvesting the camanchaca fog.
         The plants are low growing, having hairy leaves and many branches to provide the most surface area for the fog to condense upon. People do something similar. They use fog nets, fine mesh screens that capture the fog and allow it to condense.  This provides enough water for the people, but also their animals and crops to survive.  Scientists are developing man made structures to to the same thing. I have included some fascinating pictures of fog towers in development.  The final towers will be 400 meters tall!

Alberto Fernández and Susana Ortega's fog tower- source

            I learned about this fascinating place several years ago, and as with so many things, promptly forgot.  At Friday's yoga class, in the middle of savasana meditation, it popped up in my mind (sorry Wendy).  Recently I have been told by several people that I need to narrow my focus.  The reason I am not seeing the success that I desire is that I am giving too much passion to too many projects.  I have been sending out energy like fog in the desert, plenty of water, but all it nurtures are a million tiny plants.  Even before this advice, I had been thinking maybe it is time to stop taking the next class and playing around with the next bit of healing technology.  I really like reiki and yoga, with a little help from the BioGenesis tools and the crystals.

fine mesh to capture the fog

      It is time to pick one of two affirmations and set them up like fog towers in my own personal desert.  At first, even thinking about doing this was a bit daunting.  It is easier for me to see a few steps than the ultimate objective.  In this instance clarity came, not in a flash of insight, but in realizing what I don't need to work on.
       A friend had offered me a book about deathbed wishes (you know... I wish I had - spent more time with my kids- had a relationship with my family- worked for charity etc, etc, etc).  All of these desires are great, but they are what I spent the first half of my life working on.  In staying home with the children and focusing on family and church work, these areas feel strong.  What I need to work on is what everyone else does in their twenties- business and health.  Once I figured out the focus, the affirmations began to arise.  One is very strong and the other is still a bit murky.  I know I have it right when I can look myself in the eyes in a mirror as I say the affirmation out loud.
        Like the fog towers in the desert, my two affirmations are already beginning to collect energy.  When I arise in the morning, they are my fuel.  Before beginning my yoga practice, they are my intentions.  Even as I clean house, it is toward these affirmations.  With these in mind, I drink the cool clear water of progress rather than wandering in the fog.

Ta-Da! -sana: Opening to Grace

     Does it ever feel like God is trying to get you to understand something?  The longer you don't get it, the higher the volume goes?  I have been having that month. It all began with a song....

      For my next song in voice lessons, I was assigned My Soul is Thirsting (Psalm 63) by Steve Angrisano.  This is a video of the author teaching a group the refrain.  Now I just love the psalms.  They express every emotion from love to rage to hate to envy to longing.  There is a psalm for every situation.  It makes me feel a little less alone in the dark nights, others have been here long before me and found a way out.
     I played around with the song.  First just learning the tune, then practicing different aspects. But, I didn't really think about it much. So, God ups the ante....
    Two weeks later I took a great weekend of yoga from Sianna Sherman (posts about her video and some of the lessons learned).  One of the things she mentioned several times is that with each inhale the body is healing (in reiki we would say 'releasing blocks').  It stuck in my mind.  I just could not make sense of it.  If I get better with each inhale (and I have quite a few inhales under my belt), why am I ageing? It feels more like I am creating blocks rather than releasing most of the time.

Window at Peaceful Meadow Retreat.

    I ruminated on the thoughts about thirsting for God and healing with each inhale, turning the puzzle pieces over and rearranging them in my mind.   On Saturday they suddenly came together.  It reminded me of this picture.  We had taken several pictures in a row of this window.  Most were fairly dark and did not capture the feelings we were looking for.  This one was the third of five exposures.  The interesting thing is it was the middle picture.  In this one photo, you can see the grace that is always there.

source

     Our souls thirst until we open the doors to let God in. He is always there waiting. Each inhale heals the body if it is made with an open heart.  Each inhale in anger, hurt and shame creates ill health or dis-ease.
     I spent an hour on Saturday going through my computer, trying to find a picture of someone with an open heart.  I couldn't find a single one.  We all see the camera and shy away.  People cross arms in front of their bellies or round their shoulders to hide.  When I mentioned this at the Reiki Share on Sunday, Lorna Barrett,  a fellow yoga teacher told me how she teaches this to her students.  In your mind imagine that you are a gymnast who has just completed a major routine.  Spread the fingers and toes and open your heart up to the grace all around you.  Stand tall and Ta-Da! in tadasana.


P.S. If you want to experience this great teaching style first hand, Lorna's classes are at the R.C. Durr YMCA in Burlington, KY Monday and Wednesday at 11.

Ask and You Shall Receive

    Often we wonder if anything we are doing is any use.  All this reiki, all these herbs and other remedies, exercise, prayer, meditation and I keep getting older and stiffer (or whatever lament runs through your mind).  I had an experience recently that lays all of those thoughts to rest.
    My client arrived, and as usual, we talked for a while, defining where she was and what she would like to get out of the session.  One of the things we talked about was her worries that anything she was doing was any good.  (If this sounds familiar, read on...)  It is a common frustration, see my post last Wednesday.  So I added a little twist to my ending prayer of the session, this time I asked for a visible sign, so that she could see progress.
     In my mind I was thinking, maybe someone will be nice in an unexpected way or some such thing.  What I got was a sign for the two of us.  When we were talking in the beginning of the session, I noticed one eye was drooping.  There are lots of causes, ranging from neurological disorders to medical issues to aging.  If you start looking at the actors on television (and with the size of our t.v.s today it is getting easier), you'll notice that it is quite common.
     The amazing thing was, when she got off my table, her eyes were perfectly symetrical.  Both wide open and clear.  It was remarkable.  She also looked 10 years younger.
     To be honest, I don't really think about prayers being answered very often.  I have a very good life, but am also used to disappointment.  It has never stopped me from praying.  Communing with God is one of the greatest pleasures in life.  Getting an answer like this puts a day as one for the record books.  My prayer for you is that you have the opportunity to see how your efforts affect your life as well.  Blessings.

The Job of a Teacher

  So often when we search for a teacher as an adult, it is so difficult.  We have these small windows of availability (I am only free on Tuesday and Thursday evenings...).  We want someone who will challenge us, but not too much.  I see it like searching for a spouse as an older adult.  As a teen and young adult, our list of "must haves" is fairly short.  At 45, my list is considerably longer.
    I just found the perfect representation of my ideal teacher.  This past Sunday I went to a great art auction and fundraiser at Bolero's Dance Club.  All of the proceeds benefited the Brighton Recovery Center for Women.  There were graffiti artists, break dancers, and many demonstrations.  I just fell in love with watching the artists.  I've only held spray paint to paint my tools orange so I wouldn't lose them at job sites.  Here they were creating art!  A series of pictures I took of one of the artists, Max Unterhaslberger, clarified my thoughts about teachers.

    In this picture you can see the beautiful orange, red and tan under painting.  It is like the student who first walks into a yoga class.  The student is already beautiful.  It is the teachers job to highlight and define the beauty that is already there.

     In walking into each class the teacher has some idea of the class to be taught, but the specifics are dictated by the students who attend. Each class is an opportunity to reveal the beauty within the student.   When you find the teacher who can do this for you, that is the teacher to keep!

    It is worth moving heaven and earth to attend the class once you find the right teacher.  My reiki master lives in Louisville, an hour and a half drive from my house.  For a two day class, I'll drive more than six hours and count the time well spent.  Each Friday my mom and I attend yoga class at Shine Yoga Center.  The class is an hour and half and so is the drive.  So worth it!  I hope you find your teacher as well.

Laughter in the Dark

     We energy healers take ourselves way too seriously.  In our quest to be accepted by everybody (and some days, any body), it is easy to lose sight of the lighter side of life.  In our quest to keep healing and improving, we can look way too deeply into the dark and dissatisfying and forget that is balanced by the light.  Don't get me wrong, there are many lessons in the dark side, but there is loads of fun and fulfillment in the light.
     I first was attracted to my husband by his sense of humor. Witty, indulgent and sometimes abrasive, he is my perfect match (too sweet makes my teeth hurt).  He and our teenage sons keep life lively. This week has been a whirlwind both good and bad, so this morning I went looking for a little energy healing humor.  It is pretty thin on the ground.  In the first row of images was a picture of George Carlin (who knew he was an energy healer?)  This was also in the first row.

Many thanks to Alice Langholt from http://reikiawakening.blogspot.com

     In case you are looking at this on a small screen, the white box is a pill that says placebo.  The whole thing just made me laugh.  Also on the page were many cat pictures.  I successfully resisted, but some were pretty good.  If you'd like to see them, go to the image search on google and type in funny reiki.  We'll get back to the serious side later, enjoy your weekend.

A Step in the Right Direction

  (A few weeks ago, I decided I was going to learn to love Facebook and other social media.  Though I have had lots of help from friends and family,  I just can't seem to make it work for me or my business.  I needed to dig a little deeper to find the cause of my dis- ease. I began the process of changing a belief.  The work sheet is here.)

    Starting Small, step 3, defines where to work and the small steps to take. When I look over the Day 1 list, I see the word afraid four times in only 7 sentences.    This needs to be the first place to work.  Darn it! Learning something physical is always so much easier...  Maybe I'll approach me like a client who I am working with.  What would I recommend for someone else to begin with?

     My first thought is always reiki.  It's so easy, always at hand, and feels good while you do it.  So my list begins with- Send reiki to the relationship between myself and strangers.  I love sending reiki to relationships because then I don't have do define any further.  If I send it to my marriage, my husband and I communicate better.  What more could a girl ask for?
     Then I move on to the Nu|vision program.  Using name and date and place of birth, it creates an energetic hologram.  This is then run against over 30,000 conditions, causes and remedies.  The affirmations suggested are "The more I love, the more that love is returned to me." and "I know that the world is prosperous.  I notice prosperity all around me."  Interesting, not only did it catch my fear of people judging or being mean, the second affirmation deals with all of the negative information people put online.

      My third stop is Help One Another: An Anthology of the Teachings and Remedies of Hanna Kroeger.  The remedy I checked for is calendula tea, prescribed to treat ulcers and prevent muscle spasms, among other conditions.  This one is interesting.  I didn't even know I was afraid until I looked a few days ago, now all of these physical results.  It is a very clear example of our feelings creating physical symptoms.  I have had tight muscles and an uneasy stomach for years.

This photo is from Spiral Way Jin Shin Jyutsu, with gratitude.

     My final recommendation to help with fear is Jin Shin Jyutsu.  Part of the practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu is finger holds.  Each finger has a channel of energy that is related to a series of emotions.  Holding onto the finger restores the energetic pathway and begins to heal the emotions.  I first learned about the finger holds while teaching my oldest son to drive.  Since I have no depth perception, it was very hard to trust that he was not going to bang into "that pole right there!"  I asked my reiki master for help and this was her recommendation.  The index finger is related to fear and panic, that sounds just up my alley right now.
     Rather than do it all, step 3 is start small. I'll start with the reiki and finger hold.  These I can do at any time.   So I resolve to give 10 minutes of reiki a day to my relationship with strangers and do the index finger hold 3 times per day.  Tomorrow it is on to Step 4: Describe.

Step 1 Beginner's Mind
Step 2 Focus


(An interesting dowsing side note:  When I was dowsing Help One Another, the Hanna Kroeger compendium, and asked the three initial questions, I got some funny answers that may shed a bit of light on the troubles of learning to ask a question.
        The three questions I always begin with- May I? Can I? Should I?  When I asked May I?  The answer was a clear yes.  Can I? was a no.  My first thought was, what do you mean no.  Then I asked "Is the answer in this book?" the answer was no.  When I asked "Will it be beneficial for the post?" the answer was yes.   So I knew before I began that the remedies in Hanna's book were not my first step for the solution to this problem.)

Time to Take Another Step

(Author's note: Sorry about the gaps, I wrote this yesterday, but the power went out for hours.  Between power outages and router problems, God seems to be giving me a blogging break...)


        Yesterday I introduced the 7 steps to changing a belief.  The steps are on my website and downloadable from Google docs.  After admitting what is getting in the way of change, it is time to focus, step 2.  
       So often when we want to change, if someone asks what we want to change, the answer is "Everything!"  Though it sounds great, I think it is a bit hard on the system.  It is a bit like going from sitting on the couch one day to running a marathon the next.  To make the process effective, we need to focus.

2. Focus- What behavior/belief are really you trying to change?  Write every aspect down, then narrow the focus to the root behavior. Then go back and find your positive words. They are highlighted below.

• I want to use Facebook easily for my business. I have loved receiving the invitations to both business and family get-togethers. I like the connection to everyone.
• I enjoy looking at other's business pages.
• I tend to run in, post something and run out, usually missing both messages and alerts.
• Many days I forget to post to Facebook.
• Sometimes I have a hard time figuring out how to do things.
• I don't understand how to use many of the features.

       When I review the list, I see that most are not really technical problems.  If I can figure out how to blog, Facebook should be no problem.  It really seems to focus on squeamishness and the mind "forgetting" so I don't have to do something. Positive words I associate with this are: enjoy, easy, daily, love, connection.
        Now to put the positive into my life...

7 Steps to Change a Belief

So often when we want to begin something new, or have persistent problems with something that should be easy, there is a belief standing in the way.  For example, to go to the Naval Academy, I had to overcome the societal belief that “girls don’t do that.”  To play the edge in yoga, we have to overcome the twin fears of falling and looking foolish in class when we do fall.

When I am ready to make a change, usually in exasperation, throwing my inner hands up at myself, I have a system.  I look at myself as a client and do the 7 steps to changing a belief.  I began the process last week on a persistent issue.  In this blog, I’ll take you through the steps with myself as an example and I will post my worksheet on nkyreiki.com.  I’m taking a deep breath, crossing my fingers and diving in…

    People who know me well may be a bit surprised, but though I love a good party (and, Lord knows, am always the last one to leave) being social has always been challenging to me.  I have a hard time recognizing faces and tend to worry about saying the wrong thing.  One would think that social media would be my thing.  That one would be wrong.

    I'll never forget signing into Facebook.  I loaded up a bunch of pictures, sent out a few friend requests, then commenced to wait.  After about two weeks, things began to trickle in. One week after that they began to flood!  Turns out there is a lot of data in social media. Like a mouse from a cat I turned tail and ran for the hills.  

     In January I made my first New Year's resolution ever.  2012 is the year I learn how to communicate.  I began a blog, put together a new website (after several abortive attempts), got my web literate friends to help me with Linkedin and Facebook.  

    The only place where I still flounder is social media.  I need a plan.  If many other people can do this, I can learn as well.  When I spent some time turning it over in my mind, I realized I don't believe that I can to this. Time for step one.

1. Embrace beginner's mind- If this is something that is important enough to change you probably have some negative emotions around it.  It is time to let these go.  This could even be the first item on your checklist. List all your negatives, but don’t take them personally. Be gentle!( Most of us begin with “I’ve done this before and failed!”)
• I am afraid to fail, again.
• I am afraid of soooooo much data, what if I miss something important
• I feel the need to “answer the phone,” responding to everything- so end up responding to nothing.
• Negative posts, even about politics, bother me.
• I am afraid of exposure and openness, maybe someone will be mean
• I don’t know how to do lots of this stuff…
• I am afraid of judgement.

     When I reread what I wrote, no wonder I was having such a difficult time with all of this.  What a mess of fear.  Definitely something I want to change, even if I never use social media again.

   Naming my fears makes them smaller (even a bit ridiculous- none of these are a matter of life or death) and lets us enter beginners mind…On to step 2…

A Clown Car Kind of Day

    According to Car and Driver, one of the most requested clown gag ever is the Clown Car.  I think people want it because it reminds them of daily life.  The new VW Beetle can hold 27 clowns!
    This was today.  It started with a simple email. To send it I needed to write supporting documents.  To make the documents I had to translate deep science to an approachable website. To do that I had to... You get the picture.

    What will make you laugh is how I get all the clowns in the car, particularly if you have ever been to my house.  I have never loved a perfectly clean house.  I prefer a bit of disorder and laughter.  However, when I try to structure something new, or move a lot of energy, I clean house.  While preparing for my last Reiki I and II class, I couldn’t stop.  I gave away 7 big bags of fabric to the church (wait, there was enough to fill 7 bags, and have some left over?! Unfortunately, yes…).

    Today it was the kitchen and (who knew) my hair!  The house is self explanatory; a clean space is easier to think in.  I find that working anywhere translates into the whole house.  The hair was something else again.

    For the last few months, I’ve been tossing the idea around.  When I would look in the mirror, it didn’t look like what I felt like inside.  Could I feng shui my head?  Wakenna at Cloud 9 was up to the job.  My hands shook, I practiced deep breathing, she cut most of my hair off.  Here’s hoping it worked.  My favorite part of this hair cut was that it gave me a neck.  Who knew?

   After I arrived home wearing the new look, the  first response was “what happened to your hair?”  quickly followed by “Our internet is out.”  I am writing this offline in hopes to post someday.  The good news is, I finished the email and got the new content on the website.  Both are first ventures, but both are up.  Hope this is posted sometime soon. 

    In the mean time, I am loving the cool temperatures and the well watered ground. Peace to you all as well.

i

From Rain to Miracle

     In January, as my high school son helped me format my blog, he said "Each day should be unique, visitors like to know what to expect."  Like throwing darts at a dartboard and hoping they land well, I chose to make Monday, quote day.  Since I chose the name Peaceful Spirit in 2008, I have been collecting quotes about peace or sayings that make me feel peaceful.
    Though I began on a whim, I have discovered that one idea is a great way to organize a week.  One idea gives both a filter and a reflective surface.  When I get overwhelmed (or honestly, underwhelmed) by life,  an organizing idea can filter out the less important things (hey you, stop obsessing over the spots on the walls when you haven't meditated for the day).
   It also works like a mirror, helping me reflect upon life's happenings (so... why are the spots on the walls so important, are you avoiding something, or do you feel like the house's ageing is reflecting your ageing, or, are they just spots?)
    Here is my organizing idea for the week.  It comes from the book The Wit and Wisdom of Good Pope John by Henri Fesquet.  Sorry there is no link to amazon to purchase the book.  It was published in 1965 and the cheapest price I could find is $24.  Get it by inter-library loan instead. From the chapter "Favorite Maxims"

"Gutta cavat lapidem" (Drops of water hollow out a stone)

       In other words, persistence wins out.  When I wrote my first post about the pace of progress, it was in response to clients and friends who feel that they have done so much energy work and are still incomplete.  At the time I was pretty sure that my first book would be a series of reflections on progress because I actually wrote 8 options using different metaphors describing the pace of progress.  Maybe I need to write another using the drops of water or more scientifically speaking, erosion.
           Nature is full of examples of erosion.  Sky Bridge at Red River Gorge in Kentucky is one of my favorites.

      This bridge is accessible, both physically and fiscally.  The entire loop is about a quarter of a mile, the top of the arch is paved for wheelchairs, and best of all it is completely free! 
      Sky Bridge reminds us that a simple  drop of water, a simple prayer each day, a little bit of reiki focused on one problem, over time creates a miracle.

Reiki: From Dull to Dazzling

       You know how there are days you spend waiting?  Sometimes it is for the repairman, the call from the doctor or news about a new job.  Today was one of those days, and unfortunately I'm still waiting.  In this waiting I was given a great opportunity.
      The day felt just like this picture we took on a lovely winters drive to regionals.

It was a grey winter's day, over cast, and a bit snowy.  The road stretches out in front of me, but I can't see the end, though I can see the other drivers trusting the road to still be there.  I felt a little lost, lonely and unsure, but friends came to the rescue.

      I received several emails  from friends asking for reiki. It couldn't have come at a better time.  If someone were to ask me for a one word translation for reiki, for me, it is joy.  Joy feels good. it radiates in spirals and in spikes.  It expands in balloons.  If the above picture is my mind on waiting, this is my mind on reiki.

       This picture was taken at a Chilhuly exhibit in Columbus, Ohio in 2010.   So much of his work is expansive (or explosive).  This is the feeling that reiki gives.  Yesterday I found a website called Vibrant Reiki.  The name of the company, the pictures on the website, all capture the feeling of reiki.  Who couldn't use a bit more of that in their lives.

Back to Reality

      Have you ever caught yourself being a bit pretentious?  Maybe taking yourself a bit too seriously?  I was totally caught this morning at church.
      Our readings today were all about prophets having a hard time, culminating with Jesus saying "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child." (Mark 6:4, The Message)  Needless to say, I don't consider myself a prophet, but reiki is not quite hit the mainstream here in Kentucky.  I was feeling Jesus' pain and composing this blog post during mass.  
      Fortunately for us all, I have gotten over my delusions of grandeur.  Also good for me since no one has tried to crucify me today.  Instead I offer you a little rake-ey cartoon...