Roots That Heal

I have found increasingly that taking the time to give and receive Reiki is a remarkable way of stopping the chatter within the mind and centering myself enough that I am able to listen to my inner voice or intuition.

It is often so hard to take that time and allow yourself to let go of the worries of your personal world and allow yourself to trust that all will be well. I’ve been busy applying for jobs, trying to sort out my finances etc etc and my mind has become so fogged over as I try to split myself in a thousand different ways that I get so caught up in trying to find an answer I miss the one that is already being presented to me. I get caught up in a whirlwind of action and forget to listen…

In an interview I had recently, I was asked what I would do if I found myself in a stressful situation. My immediate response was “I would stop, take a few deep beaths to calm myself and then look at the situation as a whole and try to work out the most effective way to deal with the problem.” Sounds great - but I forget that first step nearly every time!

Receiving Reiki gives me nothing to focus on but the sounds around me and the feeling of energy working it’s way through my system. Giving Reiki gives me nothing to focus on other than my breath and the very act of channeling energy and love. These two acts require me to clear my mind and be aware of life happening all around me.

Sometimes, as I give Reiki, I glance out of the window and see the world racing by and it feels so strange, as if I am caught in a bubble outside of time where it is just me, the recipient and the energy of life. It is an amazing feeling and I am often rather sad when it first comes to an end. In these moments I am able to look on life with a gentle calmness of a clear mind and a feeling of being loved and protected.

Sometimes it is seemingly impossible to stop, take a breath or give yourself a little energy boost with a short blast of Reiki… and it is usually in those times when you would benefit from it the most. I am trying to remind myself of this each time I get stressed - trying to return to my centre and breath and feel the energy of the Reiki - the energy of life and the universe.

It still amazes me how many gifts Reiki can and does offer us!!

Whenever I give Reiki in person (as opposed to as a distance healing) I first work my way own the body  touching the person’s  chakra centres (where approrpiate) and any part of the body I feel needs a little boost of energy. After reaching the feet I then move back up the body - from root to branch - with my hands placed 5 or 6 inches above the recipient.

Although I often feel the energy running through my hands as a warm and tingly sensation when touching the recipient it is nothing compared to the strong pulsating energy I feel when the energy in my hands combines with the energy of the person’s aura. It is so strong it feels like it “should” hurt - were it anything but energy!!

Although I adore the whole hour I may be giving Reiki to someone, nothing compares to the joy and wonder I feel when I reach that part of the session where I get to run my hands over the person’s aura - it’s like being connected to them at a whole new level - like finding their essence rather than the shell it is hidden within…

I must admit to becoming quite restless sometimes as I make my way down the legs of the recipient and have to step back into my centre and readjust my position to enable me to carry on with the hands-on part before reaching the aura part. Before giving Reiki I never knew how strong and powerful the auric field could be - no wonder that we often pick up on other people’s moods and thoughts even when they are not expressed - some part of us must feel these energies that our conscious mind is mostly unaware of!

The aura is something I was always intrigued by but concentrated far too much on trying to “see” it, forgetting that my strongest “clair” is my “sentience” or the sense of “feeling”. I’m such a touchy-feely person (both physically and energetically) that I wonder why it took me so long to reach out for the aura with my hands rather than my eyes - but this is just another one of the many wonderful gifts and lessons Reiki has brought to me.

How do you experience the aura when you heal?

I spent a few hours yesterday evening in my dad’s garden helping him to plant seeds. We planted, amongst others, Hollyhocks, Stock, Marigolds, Dahlias, Lettuces, Brocolli, Leeks, Onions and Beetroot! I had a wonderfully peaceful time planting the flower seeds in pots in the greenhouse and a perfectly energising time turning the soil on the veg plot, raking it, and firming the soil down afterwards!

More than this - the symbolism of planting new life was not lost on me! It felt right to be planting new seeds as I have been planting seeds of my dreams also. I hope that, with a little bit of love and attention, they too will grow to delight and nourish me in months to come!

I ended what was a perfect evening by giving me dad a short Reiki session in the garden, as the twilight descended and the birds chirped away as they settled down for the night *ahhhhhh* This is what life is all about!

This post seems so apt after yesterday’s Tree Spotlight on the Hawthorn.

I’ve been feeling out of sorts - very headachy, dizzy and nauseous - for a couple of days now - like even when I lay down I still feel like I’m moving! I thought at first I’d eaten too much of the wrong things over the weekend. Then I thought I must have picked up a bug from work. And then I read that Meredith over on Reiki 4 Life was experiencing similar symptoms as a result of cleansing and it knocked me down - why hadn’t I thought of that at all?

I’ve been busy creating so much this weekend - busy setting up a new blog and moving my old personal blog over to a new host - all in preparation of trying to set up business when I leave my job at the nursery and return home. Returning home in itself is a scary prospect and has brought up so much of my past - it’s no wonder with all this going on things are coming up for me!

As one of my dear friends always says to me - clearing works on three levels - first it happens mentally, where you decide to make a change - then it happens emotionally, where you feel the change - and finally it happens physically where you release the physical toxins that have been stored in your body due to the tension, stress, comfort food you ate…

Right now I have years of issues clearing and it is no wonder I feel ill - and yet I completely overlooked this reason for it, even though it was only yesterday I was posting about the Hawthorn and it’s ability to release the old. Hawthorn really has been working in my life lately and the Birch has been stepping in too - to help me move things forward.

So if you have issues to clear and want to move forward then try spending some time with the Hawthorn and Birch energies. Go out and sit by these trees, find pictures of them to focus on or simply use their names as a mantra - they will help you out even if you aren’t using their energies for Reiki!

Whenever I am feeling really low, really worn out and in need of some help and healing, whenever I would benefit from the energy just waiting to support me - this is when I block it out the most. Instead of taking time out to simply relax and let the Reiki energy flow through me I keep running - usually out of fear - until I can run no longer and then I collapse in a big heap and slap my forehead and think “why didn’t you use the tools right in front of you?”

I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this either - so why do we do it? Why do we continually brush aside the power that we have to make our lives easier and speed along the healing process? In theory I know that it doesn’t have to be this hard. In practise I have experienced it doesn’t have to be this hard a few times. And yet I continue to allow it to be as hard as ever. Why?

Although I do value the power of Reiki to heal I also deeply value each and every very “human” experience. Whatever we experience is drawn to us through a desire or need somewhere within ourselves to experience this very thing. Sometimes we know right there and then the reason why - other times it will not become clear for days, months, even years! And I believe it is this very reason why we continue to block with healing tools we have in front of us for the sake of “feeling” whatever it is we have drawn towards us.

I know that for me personally the only reason I allow my pain to go on is because at some level I believe it will service me in some way. In the past (and sometimes in the present too) it has been a safety net - if I am ill or depressed nobody will expect too much of me so it is safer than people expecting great things from me. (At least this was/is my thinking at times!) At other times it serves me by showing me what I *don’t* want in life and helps me to clear old patterns and habits so that I can then strive for and fully appreciate what I *do* want. Yet at other times it allows me to see things from a diffierent perspective - allowig me to gain a bit more understanding into the situations and feelings of those who I want to support and send healing to…

The list is endless and I could go on for days - but I won’t.

Life doesn’t *have* to be so hard but it often is because we choose it to be. This can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it and the place from which you look at it. Nothing is ever black and white and although I strive to heal myself whenever I can I often “forget” or put it off for later so that I may experience whatever it is I am choosing in that present moment to feel - be that fear, anger, sadness, pain…

I don’t believe we need to suffer and I do believe that were we to stop running and fully embrace our divinity then things could be easier - but what about the human experience we came to earth for?

So next time I find myself beating myself up for not healing myself sooner I will strive to remember that I chose not to take that path for some reason or another and that reason should be valued not scorned!

I thought it was about time that I wrote to you about my own personal attunements and why I chose distance attunements over the more “traditional” ways.

Although I had an interest in Reiki and my Aunty is a Usui and Seichem master I did not feel ready to be attuned to them. I did not feel secure enough to open up and really embrace Reiki and I definately wasn’t confident enough to use it - or so I felt.

Then a friend offered to attune me to Kundalini Reiki via distance. She was hosting a group online for anybody who wished to be attuned and initially I was going to be attuned to that rather than Usui Reiki, which for some reason or other (I cannot say why) just didn’t feel like the right form of Reiki for me.

I’d like to add here that I adore receiving Usui Reiki I just didn’t feel it was the system of Reiki healing I was meant to work with. The same feeling came to me regards Kundalini Reiki also and when I stumbled across the Celtic Reiki I knew immediately that this was the system I was meant to find and work with.

I found my Reiki master on eBay and as I had never even used eBay before I was rather wary of it. What if it doesn’t work? How will I know if it has worked or not? Will it be the same thing as if it were given in person? Why is it so cheap? These were all the thoughts (and more) that ran through my mind and, as always, the Universe provided me with a mirror in those around me who also asked the same questions about it.

But my fears were completely unfounded. My Reiki master was very friendly, she was always available to offer support (even when I hadn’t been in contact for absolutely ages) and within 2 minutes of settling myself down to receive my first attunement I knew it was working because my hands felt like they were on fire - not painful, simply powerful.

For my attunement I made sure I was in the house alone. I sat in the living room on the sofa so that I was comfortable. I played my favourite piece of meditative music and placed my favourite crystals around me. I then lit some candles, turned off the lights and enjoyed. It was perfect.

Each further attunement was unique and yet just as inspiring and powerful and I lost all doubts about distance healing or attunements - in fact I often prefer sending healing via distance purely because I am not restricted by time and place. I just set the intention and let it flow. Of course, if I have the opportunity to give Reiki in person then I enjoy that too.

My Reiki Master is incredibly supportive and it doesn’t matter how long it is between our contact she is always so encouraging about my journey and when I told her about this blog she was really happy for me. I believe that your relationship with your Reiki Master is perhaps one of the most important things because having a good Reiki Master has made all the difference for me.

So I dedicate this post as a thanks to my Reiki Master, Rebecca and look forward to posting a guest post from her some day soon.

Namaste

Rebecca offers Celtic Reiki (and other forms of Reiki) attunements in her eBay shop Calmer Life Therapies at very reasonable prices and you can be guaranteed a very personal and supportive master/student relationship with her.

I have had numerous experiences of using Celtic Reiki in conjunction with practitioners of other systems of Reiki healing and have enjoyed every single one of them.

In hands-on sessions with my Aunt, we have worked together to combine Usui, Seichem and Celtic Reiki along with Crystals and Tibetan Singing Bowls. The combination of all these healing tools has always been very powerful - inspiring a sense of peace and wonder within both of us and the recipient. In fact, whenever we give Reiki healing (either alone or together) my Aunt’s Siamese cat always comes in to help us. Her cat is, like all animals, very sensitive and has been attuned by my Aunt to Usui level 1 himself. He takes great pleasure in laying upon the couch or on top of the recipient and guiding us with his paws and looking at us in certain ways when we are not (in his opinion) doing it just right!!

The same principle of working with another practitioner is as simple to use via distance healing as in person. At the time I was being attuned to Celtic Reiki level 1 my online friends were being attuned to Kundalini Reiki level 1. In order to get some practise we set up a healing group on a Wednesday evening and, using the wonderful technology available to us, connected in a “live chat” to send 5 minute healing blasts (or however long we felt the energy flowing for) to each other and to those on our healing list. This way we all gave and received Reiki healing and the combined force of our intention again created a unique and wonderful sensation within each one of us.

I enjoy working alone and sending healing in my own way - but I enjoy working with others just as much. The two practises offer similar and yet unique experiences and is something I would recommend to anybody starting out in Reiki healing. Sometimes the support of having another healing alongside you is confidence building and very reassuring. And the companionship and connection felt is very symbolic of the very essence of Reiki - that of being one - being Universal.

And so I leave you with a photo of my dear friend, who has healed me and healed with me on so many occasions. As my Aunt says - he is truly the Reiki Master and we are simply the Apprentices!!

Every so often I will receive some guidance showing me new ways in which to use my Celtic Reiki. One of the most important guidance, for me, came one summer’s day as I sat watching the sun play over the wardrobe in my friend’s room.

I suddenly became aware of just how much wood there was in her house. There was wood in the furniture, on the staircase, in the bathroom, the kitchen - even on the mirrors and picture frames. And within this particular house all the wood is unprocessed - often unvarnished - raw wood which gives a real sense of rustic living.

And as I looked around at all this wood I first felt a sadness that so much had been taken and then realised that the wood itself was at peace with its role within our lives. However I could thank it by offering it some Celtic Reiki. By doing this I would be showering it in the life force it has come from and it in turn would retain this energy and bless my house with it.

Now, I do believe that any form of Reiki or energy healing would work the same way - it is simply that my deep affinity for the trees brought this message to me. I also believe that sending reiki or loving thoughts to all of our surrounding and environment is beneficial for both us and sais environment.

By offering up this exchange of energy you both heal what you direct the energy at and receive a constant supply of energy in return - what you give out comes back!

And if you are not a reiki practitioner, you can still take part in this simply by thinking and directing thoughts of love and gratitude to whatever it is around you that you wish to heal and/or support.

Have a look around you today and see just how much wood is there around you. You don’t have to be out in nature to feel the energies of the trees. Of course the energy is much more alive in nature - but I truly believe that the soul of the tree continues beyond its “life” in the wild.

As I have previously mentioned, at the beginning of my Celtic Reiki sessions I always visit a Sacred Forest of Grove somewhere. I thought I would share a meditation with you in the hopes you may wish to visit your own Forest or Grove one day.

Find somewhere quiet and comfortable, somewhere you feel you can go within and reach out to the spirit of the trees. This may be in your bedroom, you garden, the local park in a hidden spot… anywhere is fine so long as it feels right for you.

If you like to meditate with music in the background (I know I do), then find a gentle piece of music which inspires you. The inspiration, I feel, is key - if it inspires emotions within you, then you are on the right track.

Sit, lay or even stand quietly, close your eyes and focus upon your breathing. Take 2 or 3 deep breaths and centre yourself. Become aware of your body and the breath entering and leaving it.

When you are ready send out a request to the universe that you may be taken to the Sacred Forest or Grove to meet with the Trees. Wait and see what happens. You may find yourself being taken there straight away or you may find the need to “imagine” it for yourselfto begin with. In this case, simply imagine a beautiful forest in which you may walk among the trees. Eventually you will begin to see the energies and feel the messages you are being given. Please remember that there is no time limit on this - it was about 3 or 4 months into my Celtic Reiki journey before I ever discovered the Sacred Grove.

When you are there - walk amongst the trees, reach out with your heart to embrace them, feel their love, wisdom and patience. Feel supported and loved. Ask to become one with a tree and wait for a tree to beckon you forwards. You will know instinctively what to do - sometimes it may be to step into the tree and look out from within it, at other times I may be to simply hug and dance with the tree spirit. Sometimes it may be growing roots into the ground and reaching high to the sky - turning into a tree yourself for a while. It may be something completely different. Just go with what feels right.

When you are ready to leave, thank the Tree Spirits for their love and wisdom and ask that they bless you on your way. If you wish, promise to return and ask them if they have any more messages for you.

As you leave, gradually bring your awareness back to your breathing and take 2 or 3 deep breaths, becoming aware of the breath entering and leaving your body. Place your hands together in a prayer position in front of your heart and say “Thank You”.

Open your eyes and smile.

This is, of course, simply a beginning point. You may choose to take whatever aspects of the above meditation which resonate with you and leave those which don’t. I believe in following your own intution when working with spirit. I often find a guided meditation is good for getting me to meditate in the first place but then halfway through I will block the voice guiding me out and simply go with the flow of what I am receiving from Spirit.

Find your own way of meditating and go with it!

Blessed Be
Amanda

I thought I would write a post about a typical reiki session for me - if of course you can actually have a “typical” healing session! Each individual recipient is unique and that means that each time I send reiki I have a unique experience too. This is one of the things I love most about sending reiki to a wide variety of people and in a wide variety of ways. I send reiki to myself, to situations I am in, to people laid on a couch in front of me or over vast distances to where they lay. I send reiki alone and I also join with others to combine different forms of reiki and different healers for what is often a very powerful healing session. Yet within all these ways there are a few things which remain the same for me. These things are what I wish to share with you in this post.

Unless I am healing in an “emergency” situation - i.e. I have seen an accident or pass somebody in the hospital who I wish to send Love and Healing to or I find myself in a situation I feel unable to handle - I always have music playing in the background. The type of music varies, depending upon my mood, what I feel inspired to listen to and also who I am healing or working alongside. However there are certain CDs I play again and again and these include: Enya - The Celts; LLewellyn - Journey to the Faeries; Bliss - The Journey, and Llewellyn Healing - Reiki. I find that having music to focus on helps to stop my mind from wandering and music is a brilliant meditative aid for me. It inspires magic within me and helps me to let go and flow with the music. I also finds that if I am doing hands-on healing then the recipient feels the same sense of relaxation that is added with the right music.

As I begin my healing I ask that I be taken to the sacred grove or forest to meet with the Tree of Life and the Nature Spirits who reside there. This came about after a vision I had during a reiki session about 3 or4 months after I had begun my reiki journey. I was beginning to gain confidence and give more healing sessions to people when suddenly I found myself in a sacred space, filled with trees, surrounded by beautiful purple/blue/golden energy and led by dancing Faeries to step into and become one with the Tree of Life. As I did I felt the strength and power within that tree spreading into and through my body, offering me the wisdom to find what I sought. I found that in trying to return there and recreate that vision in subsequent healing sessions it differs each time. Sometimes I go there alone, sometimes the recipient comes with me, sometimes the colours differ or there are more or less trees/faeries. But each time it is a beautiful part of the reiki session.

Another pattern which remains the same through most of my sessions is the way in which I focus the energy. Unless I am sending a quick burst of energy as a boost for somebody or something, or I am working alongside another healer, I always begin by sending the energy first to the person as a whole. I then focus on each chakra in turn, sending the energy and seeing if there are any imbalances and how strong or weak that chakra’s energies appear to be. I finish by sending healing to the person as a whole once more. Depending on how I feel guided, I work through the chakras from either base to crown or crown to base - it really does depend on what feels right for each person. Focusing upon each chakra in turn is very helpful for me as well as the recipient as it helps me to practise my ability to see the energy within another and it offers me the ability to give feedback to the recipient afterwards. Often I find that what I have seen to be a weak or strong chakra corresponds perfectly to what the recipient has been feeling themselves. This is fantastic confirmation for me as well as for them.

I always end my healing session by offering a blessing that the wisdom of the trees be passed on to the recipient - that they may have strong roots to ground them, yet the strength, resilience and desire to reach for the sky. This is again something I felt guided to add to my healing practise.

As I have stated, however, the practise varies depending upon the recipient and the situation and so this is simply a very small part of what I actually do. Reiki is a beautiful healing method which has no limits. There is no right or wrong way to send or receive reiki - it simply happens. Our own personal touches are personal to us alone - and that makes each time a unique and blessed experience.