Reiki and Affirmations

2012.  A time of great change.  Everyone agrees.  It doesn’t seem to matter if you are trying to fix the Euro or following the Mayan calendar.  This is the year to take us all by storm.

This morning I heard a wonderful piece on Nora Ephron, an American filmmaker and author who died today.  I don’t have the exact quote but she was talking about how aging is one of those things that you think happens only to other people.  What a surprise when that is not true.  I feel the same way about 2012 and the Great Transformation.  Wasn’t I just going to observe it?  Turns out, it has been more like standing in a tunnel with an oncoming train.

With each challenge, opportunity also enters.  This year of great challenge has lead to experimenting with reiki and energy work like never before.  Some of my old tricks are not enough to keep up with where I am going, so I have been trying new things like using reiki to empower affirmations.  In the past I have used affirmations from Louise Hay’s book You Can Heal Your Life (Gift Edition)  and in giving attunements, but I have never used the same one for more than a few days.  This year I have given my affirmations quite a workout.

Change has always been difficult for me.  I’m the one searching out the new thing, trying the next step, but there is a well of reserve within me.  Have you ever gone to preschool and watched a child pulled away from the parent, apparently inconsolable?  If you watch them for a few minutes, soon the tears dry and the child engages in the classroom.  When it comes to change, I am both the child and the teacher trying to pull the child away.  Let’s just say it’s hard to play both sides at the same time.

Over the years I have sent loads of reiki, taken remedies and meditated, trying a variety of solutions.  Each of these has only been marginally effective.  When I tried Access Hanna Express, I was given the affirmation “I am willing to change.”  When I read it, I had the same feeling as putting on a great pair of jeans or my most comfortable shoes.  It fit perfectly.

I began work with it about a week ago.  I could feel the energy shifting as I said it aloud and gave it energy.  The first thing I noticed is that it would resolve minor physical complaints, like a stomach ache I didn’t know that I had until it went away.  The little things that the body does to tell us we are going astray.  The big confirmation came yesterday.  Tuesday is yoga day for the blog, so I teach a class in the morning, then tape and post a YouTube video of some aspect of that class in the afternoon and evening.  As I was watching one of the takes for the video, my first thought was how good I look. Now, just between you and I, my flaws are many and varied, but they were not my first impression.  Rather than finding faults, I saw strengths. 

That little affirmation, 5 short words, changed a major bias.  Our society is obsessed with perfection; the perfect face, the perfect voice, the perfect demonstration.   After years of standing in the mirror saying “I love you” to myself, it turns out, I do.  What a great place to be.

Such a Pain in the Neck!

One of my most requested classes is for pain relief in the neck and shoulders.  I love the request because there are many ways to approach it.  This video is geared to increase blood flow and mobility, then find the correct shoulder and neck alignment.  There is a brief cameo appearance by my cat, Joy.  She would not leave the room for the hour and a half it took me to shoot and edit this (yes, I am that slow).  I think she just wanted to make sure that she did not end up on the cutting room floor.

The funny thing is, when iMovie "optimized" the video, it cut off my feet so you can't see her moving around nearly as much as she did.  Though Joy is not nearly the rock star she was hoping to be, please enjoy this gentle but deep practice to open and align the upper body.

Monday Delight

I had a wonderful talk with a neighbor this morning.  She said being happy 51% of the time was a great beginning.  Here is a similar thought to start your week...

Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight. ~ Mark Victor Hansen, the founder and co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series.

As I reread this quote, I am reminded of a wonderful trip a few years ago to Columbus.  We went to see a group of Dale Chihuly installations in both museum and garden settings.  I could not believe the variety of emotions he could draw out of me with pieces of glass.  This is a little excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Chihuly.  It describes how he found peace of mind while overcoming tremendous obstacles to his chosen career of glass blowing :

In 1976, while Chihuly was in England, he was involved in a head-on car accident during which he flew through the windshield.^[1][3] His face was severely cut by glass and he was blinded in his left eye. After recovering, he continued to blow glass until he dislocated his right shoulder in a 1979 bodysurfing accident.^[3] No longer able to hold the glass blowing pipe, he hired others to do the work; Chihuly explained the change in a 2006 interview, saying "Once I stepped back, I liked the view" and pointing out that it allowed him to see the work from more perspectives and enabled him to anticipate problems faster.

To continue to create in glass he would make a painting...

Supervise the creation.....

Then find the setting to compliment the work...

Now this is some fine lemonade made from life's lemons.  Not only did Chihuly find a way to give himself delight, but also all of those who see and own his works.

What a Cookie!

My good friends,
       Hope to see you at the reiki share at my house today at 2.  As we move and grow and change, sometimes it is easy to get a bit overwhelmed.  If you feel this way here is a great fortune cookie for you...

Don't give in to cynicism.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Saturday, cont.

Sorry, I had to add one more.  Our fates are not in our own hands, just like poor Henri...

Happy Saturday!

                   Here is a little gift for your Saturday from the site  http://icanhascheezburger.com/.  On this site, black cats are called basement cats; all of them have slight hint of ruthlessness.  After the uber-mom week I've had, this lovely black mamma cat feels just right.

Body Language

                Have you ever wondered what we did before the internet?   I was browsing the web today, looking for an affirmation to help a client.  I did find what we were looking for, but also, so much more.  On one of the pages a quote caught my eye:

“Realistically, when our body refuses to do what we want it to, metaphysically, it is not actually broken. It is doing its job. One of its functions is to carry messages from the higher energetic planes to us. It is then up to us to interpret these messages and take action.”

- Lawrence Michail  (click here for the entire article)

It is such a challenge when it feels like our bodies are rebelling.  The mind says "I could just do that run last week or I have this strange pain in my liver."  When this happens rather than complaining (or for me, after bemoaning my fate for a while), it is important to look for the cause.  For example, when I start dropping things, I’m worrying about my son in college.  Sending my energy away leaves less energy here to move properly through space.

Think about the sinking feeling in your stomach when you know you should not do something.  If the feeling is ignored, it grows. Sometimes it even grows to major physical manifestations.   We have such a hard time when it feels like our bodies are betraying us.  Really, all the body is doing is providing feedback.  I’m working on being grateful for the experience.  Let me know what you think, click on the pencil to leave a comment.