Cleansing

After my troubled night I contacted a crystal healer whose name had been passed to me by my Reiki teacher. She advised me to visualise wrapping myself in the Archangel Saint Michael’s royal blue hooded cloak before I do a healing, before I go to bed at night and each time I felt myself in conflict or challenged by negative energy.  She also suggested imagining growing golden roots with which to ground myself. 

She advised me to wear a piece of tourmaline, and to place a piece of shunghite and obsidian by the bed to absorb or convert the negative energy.  I was also advised to cleanse the house by smudging with white sage or incense, making sure I go right into the corners of each room where energy has a tendency to gather.  Isn’t it funny how only a few weeks ago I would’ve thought that she was barking mad, yet now I am completely open-minded and grateful for her wisdom.

Since that evening I developed a cold sore in my left nostril.  When I treated myself with Reiki this morning I felt a distinct pulsing in the cold sore when I put my hands on my sacral and root chakras. I also saw sparks of royal blue and couldn’t help smiling to myself in the knowledge that my request for protection had been answered.

The strange thing is, last night’s incident has not put me off in the slightest.  Instead I feel more strongly than ever an urge to fill myself with love and light, and can concentrate on little else.  I meditated this morning and stayed there long after my timer had gone off, for a good hour and a half, basking in what I can only describe as total contentedness, my hands and root chakra throbbing with energy the whole time. I used to wonder if I could manage to stay focused with an empty mind for 10 minutes, now I really look forward to each meditation and can frequently sit quietly for long periods. 

I have an overwhelming feeling that it is urgent that I learn as much as possible and put my newly acquired skills to good use. I feel the need to take care of my body, to eat well, to cut right back on meat, to drink lots of water, and to walk to improve my fitness. Change is definitely in the air. I can sense it. I truly hope I’m not blaspheming or going to offend anyone because I have little knowledge of the religious texts, but I have the recurring thought that the search for the holy grail is over; that we are all the holy grail, the container of God’s love, of spirit, of source, of the higher power.  We always have been, we just haven’t been able to see it.  I heard or read somewhere that Christ is returning to this earth, but this time in many, many different bodies and deep within me I can't help feeling that this is the truth. Is it just because I’ve experienced so many awe-inspiring things in such a short space of time? Or is the balance shifting and mankind awakening to this invisible world?

More about shungite: http://www.shungite-anata.com/en/shungite/qualities.html

More about tourmaline: http://www.healing-crystals-for-you.com/black-tourmaline.html

More about obsidian: http://www.crystalwellbeing.co.uk/catalogueitemsblackobsidian.php

More about Archangel Saint Michael: http://www.messagestogod.com/blog/archangel-micheal/ask-saint-michael-the-archangel-for-help/

Negative energy

Yesterday I spent a significant portion of my day either working with Reiki.  I gave four treatments, one of which was to an elderly and wheelchair bound friend who has had a string of illnesses not least of which cancer and who was full of grief since her daughter had cut her out of her life. The other was to my husband who I know is very worried about what the future has in store.  I also spent several hours in the company of an alcoholic who was at that point of desperation when he realised that he has lost all control over his drinking but has not yet found the hope that stems from regular spiritual practice.  I found the whole day incredibly uplifting, but had nevertheless spent much of it with people who were feeling very negative and pessimistic.

Before I went to sleep I listened to Wayne Dyer on YouTube and was intrigued to hear that he is often wakes between 3 and 4 am, as were most other of the people present who were watching him speak. He talked of the 13^th century poet Rumi’s words: ‘The morning breeze has secrets to tell you, don’t go back to sleep’ and it made complete sense to me that this time in the crossover between sleep and consciousness is when you are closest to God.

However, this morning, unlike other mornings when I am visited by colours and feelings of overwhelming love and peacefulness, this morning I found myself with a sense of fear so strong that I eventually had to get up and get out of the room.  I was not asleep when this happened.  I had not had a nightmare and I had lain awake trying to rationalise it for the best part of an hour before I finally decided to trust my instincts and move.

I went downstairs and meditated and did self-Reiki for over an hour, with the kitchen light on.  I also felt compelled to light a candle and to plunge my hands into the soil around one of the houseplants. 

Thank goodness for the Internet.  In years gone by I would have worried for my sanity, but a quick online search immediately reassured me that I was not experiencing my own fear, but with the benefit of hindsight I am certain I was picking up on the energy produced by my husband’s feelings.

I had to sleep in my daughter’s bed after that, and slept cuddled into her after having visualised us both protected by bright light.

I know a lot has been written about cutting negativity out of our lives, but that is not easy when the negativity comes from someone you care about and do not want to lose from your life (in my case, my husband and the father of my children). I know I can’t force the change, but I have to believe that in time love, compassion and daily evidence that this stuff is real will allow him to make the changes for himself.  From what I’ve read I do think there is a case for some additional help with crystals and smudging with white sage. There has been so much negativity in this house over the past ten years it will need some encouragement to make it move on.

Thirst for knowledge

Since I have started being open to the concept of a universal energy I have found that the priorities in my life have changed completely. I have an insatiable desire to learn more, not just about Reiki, but about spirituality, attracting good things into our lives, doing good for others, living with love and compassion in general.  I can’t read or listen to enough. Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, the Dalai Lama, Bob Proctor, Esther Hicks, the Bible. Books, audiotapes, YouTube, you name it. I am thirsty for knowledge and if there is a second free in my day I want to use it to learn more.  The more I learn the more miraculous it seems.

This morning I did my first manifestation meditation using sound; if you had told me a month ago I would be doing that I’d’ve thought you were insane. Instead I found it helped me to connect to source more deeply, and I found myself asking to manifest what my true self wants from my life, as opposed to the ego that has been driving me up to this point.

I don’t believe that this stuff works; I know it from within the depths of my soul. There is a common thread that is consistent and runs through all the main religions.  It has guided the great philosophers, is the inspiration for the ‘modern’ law of attraction texts and helps many, many therapists assist people to heal naturally in many different ways.

That is, there is a higher power, an incredible source of energy that runs through every cell and every fibre of each and every living thing, and that it is wonderful and loving and good. I also believe that more and more of us are becoming open to this energy, almost as if this ability to feel or see the previously unseen and to use it to do good is the next step in the evolution of mankind.

Daily opportunities to learn

I can’t get enough of this stuff. I’m seeking out opportunities to practice Reiki every single day and I am never, never disappointed.

A few days ago I brought an abutilon that had been left out over the recent cold nights into the house, with shrivelled leaves and looking very sorry for itself. Within hours of a (very quick) Reiki session it had perked up. Three days down the line, and I have never seen it looking so vigorous and healthy.  I know the sceptics amongst you will say it’s just because it’s been brought into the warmth, but I brought it in in a similar condition last year and it took weeks to recover.

I used it, again in a very brief session, on my horse who had rubbed his chin raw with a new headcollar.  Before the treatment he had a large raw patch that was bleeding and it looked like it would take several days to start to heal. By the following morning it had completely scabbed over and was hardly noticeable.

I went into the forest with my dog and put my arms around a tree. There, I’ve said it. I actually hugged a tree, not because it needed healing, because I wanted to know whether I could feel its energy. And do you know what? I could. And not only could I feel its energy but I also immediately felt more grounded myself.

I practised on my friend, a quick session fitted in between a lovely lunch and the hectic life that goes with having children. She said that she immediately sensed the energy and described it as the same sensation as squeezing a blocked tube of toothpaste.  She said it felt like something was squeezing the energy and then all of a sudden it became unblocked and shot right through her body.  She also had the sensation, long after I’d removed my hands from her back, that my hands and the warmth were still present.  A couple of years ago she had a benign tumour removed from behind her ear as it was pushing against her brain. I didn’t know which side had been operated on, but instinctively knew which side had been affected by the operation.  She is still unable to move her right eyebrow, it remains paralysed, but my instincts tell me that a few sessions of Reiki could make a huge difference. Before the session I had also been able to see a ribbon of royal blue all around the top half of her body, very clearly, the first time I have seen something similar without concentrating to do so.

I can watch telly with one daughter and my hands will automatically start to vibrate and I feel drawn to ease the back she has tweaked whilst out riding. Or snuggle up in bed next to the other and feel her drop off to sleep with my hands on the wrist that she broke earlier in the summer that has been throbbing all evening. To be able to pass on this love and help people to self-heal is truly the most amazing gift I could ever have been given.

Seeing red

My mum came to visit us for Christmas and I was keen to show her how the Reiki I’d learned to use can work. So on Christmas eve, with the dulcet tones of the chipmunks on the telly in the background – we’d tried to find somewhere quiet and relaxing but hey, excited children have a habit of following you when Santa’s due anytime – I gave her a full Reiki treatment.

I really wanted her to feel the heat or sensations felt by other family members I’ve treated. I was a bit disappointed when I swept her aura that, although I could sense a mild vibration, it was nowhere near as strong as I’d felt with other people. I had to give myself a sharp reminder that this is not a party trick and that the energy knows what is required; I am merely the channel.

Unlike on the previous day, I was only able to sense colours when I shut my eyes, and the energy rippling under my hands was very gentle. I saw lots of pale green, verging on gold.  When I laid on hands to the right of her heart chakra, for the first time ever, I saw a very vivid block of red, the first time I’ve ever really seen this colour in any strength, so I let my hands stay there until the colour started to subside. My mum had a mastectomy of the right breast several years ago following treatment for breast cancer. Other than that the treatment was pretty unremarkable.  Afterwards mum reported feeling deeply relaxed but otherwise had not experienced anything of note. I, however, had a nagging pain in my left foot, a kind of throbbing.

However, within an hour or so, she said ‘Do you know? My back is feeling much better, and I can’t feel my ankle any more’. For years she has suffered from lower back pain, and had a weak ankle that had intermittently bothered her. By the following morning she was free from pain from both.

I woke up on Christmas morning with mild and short-lived diarrhoea. I hadn’t eaten anything suspect the night before, nor had I been in contact with anyone who had been ill. My left foot was throbbing and quite painful, and throughout the day I had what I can only describe as pulsing energy in my root chakra, getting progressively more insistent as the day went on. In the end I took myself off and did some self-Reiki. Things definitely seemed out of kilter in my root chakra, and for the first time when treating myself I saw a strong red colour when I was in this area.

I was very confused as I was under the impression that people didn’t generally pass on their ailments during Reiki.  Mindful that I shouldn’t try to analyse the treatments too much, I nevertheless wanted to learn more about the root chakra, and the colour red that I had seen, and whether disease could be passed between practitioner and patient, so did some research on the Internet. This article http://www.algonet.se/~anki-p/Rootchakra.html astounded me. Not only could I reply positively to seven of the eight tests to see whether my own root chakra was working or not, but pretty much all the ailments I have had throughout my life seem to be associated with this first chakra.

While I don’t want to try to over-analyse things - it’s all too huge to try to rationalise - my instinct tells me that she did not pass on her own pain.  When I treated my mum I also treated myself and I believe it likely that we shared some of the same suppressed emotions, which triggered my own reaction. My intuition is that it may link to my Dad leaving home when I was very small, and that this is an area I need to work on if I want to be fully healed.

Incidentally, the self-Reiki session worked well and the pain and the pulsing sensation have now completely gone.

Starting to see auras?

Last night I gave a Reiki massage to a member of my family who had been complaining of lower back pain.  For years he has been a notoriously heavy drinker and has had a multitude of related health problems.

It came as no surprise that he immediately felt the warmth as I swept his aura and within minutes, somewhat the worse for wear after a few scotches, he was gently snoring.  Of all the Reiki massages I have given (obviously, not a huge number) this was the strongest I have ever sensed the energy and vibrations.

Up until now I have had to really concentrate and carry out the treatments in relative peace and quiet, but this time there were quite a lot of family Christmas comings and goings in the background and the telly blaring out but the treatment seemed to be unaffected. 

I was very clearly able to see an energy field around the area I was treating, ranging from royal blue to violet, with occasional patches of gold, bleeding into my own hands.

This morning he reported that the pain in his lower back was much improved and that, aside from the heat, he had felt an energy/light shooting up from his neck going out through the top of his head.

Just call me Jean

Those of you who watch telly in the UK will know who I’m talking about, but for those uninitiated in ‘Eastenders’, Jean is a character who suffers with various mental illness/personality disorders and who frequently seems to hear voices.  There have been times over this past week when I have wondered whether I am losing my own marbles, but, thank heavens for the internet these days, having done a bit of research the experiences I’ve had recently seem to be relatively common amongst people who meditate regularly or who use Reiki.

Since my Reiki attunement I often find myself at 4 am in those moments when I am definitely awake, but on the borders with sleep, watching pulsating clouds of vivid colours swirl past my eyes, a bit like the effect you get if you dip a paintbrush with paint on it in a glass of clear water. However, over the past few days I have had the impression that not only am I seeing ‘energy’ but that there is something, for arguments sake lets call them spirits, because I don’t have another word to describe them, trying to explain something to me.  A few nights ago, whilst in a deeply relaxed state but very much awake I was enjoying the healing and loving sensations that accompany these colours when I started to ‘hear’ blocks of thought inside my head.  I heard them in much the same way as I would my own thoughts but they just seemed out of context, out of place, like they weren’t my own thoughts. I had the impression someone, multiple someones in fact, was ‘talking’ to me, but couldn’t quite get a handle on it; what was coming through was too muddled with my own thoughts. 

In my mind I said ‘This is all very well, but I can’t work out what is you speaking and what are my own thoughts, you need to make this easier for me’. Almost immediately, when the next block of thoughts came through they were accompanied by a wave of energy that swept through my entire body, deep, warm, reassuring, loving, bordering on sensual. I can’t claim to understand any better what was being communicated although at one point I ‘heard’ part of a man or boy’s name that bears no relation to anyone I know (Michael somebody…). I’m none the wiser, but nevertheless I felt that someone was trying to tell me something.

At one point, I felt that I was hovering way above my body.  I couldn’t see myself, like you often read when people describe such out of body experiences, but there is no doubt in my mind that I was separate from my physical self.

Some moments later – and this may have been a dream – I found myself briefly looking down at a scene from many centuries ago.  There was a man and a dark haired boy, dressed as if they had come from Roman times.  I can’t say any more, it was very fleeting, and may well have been imagined.  But given that it happened around the same time as the other sensations I’m noting it here because my instinct is that it was linked. I’m certainly not usually given to such vivid dreams.

So there you have it. I genuinely believe this to be a real experience, not some sort of hallucination. I told my husband about (parts of) it the morning afterwards; he looked at me like I’m losing the plot! (But then later went on to tell other family members about how great, if odd, his experience of Reiki massage has been). If nothing else it might help the psychotherapists when they have to analyse me! I’m sure there will be plenty of people who will dismiss this as ridiculous attention-seeking. But there will equally be others who understand my journey, and who ‘get’ my compulsion to share.

Barefoot Satsang

A couple of weeks ago I attended a ‘Barefoot Satsang’ http://barefootsatsang.com/ over the internet . It was marketed as people coming from all over the world to meditate together and to send healing thoughts for the world. It seemed liked a lovely concept and although I wasn’t sure whether I would notice anything or if, as a beginner at all this, I would make any difference, I was intrigued and wanted to learn more. I loved the meditation, and loved the feeling of coming together for the good of the world and humanity.  I don’t think it was intended in any sense other than to be healing, helpful and constructive but it sat a bit uncomfortably with me when we were asked us to imagine ourselves as angels who had fallen to earth ‘and to try to sense and visualise ourselves and to feel the weight of our wings. In my book ‘fallen angels’ have never been linked with doing good (but having said that I’m not very well read in these things)! Leaving that to one side, the sense of coming together for a common, healing purpose was very powerful and when we all moved our hands in a clockwise motion I felt an incredible surge of energy under my hands.

I guess there is no real way of measuring the immediate impact of our joint meditation, but I can say that for around a week or so afterwards I felt far more tired than usual, and quite drained of energy. Unlike the Reiki, which leaves me feeling invigorated (in fact, I’m learning to be careful about practising Reiki late at night if I want to get a decent night’s sleep) this seemed to draw on my own energy as well.

First Reiki on a pony

I’ve been feeling more and more comfortable using Reiki on people, so thought I’d give it a go on a pony who has come to us for breaking. Perhaps not the most sensible choice to start with, he is a very nervous character and has been quite problematic. However, instinct was telling me that there is something that is blocking his relationship with humans, that there was a reason for his lack of trust.  He has been particularly difficult to put a saddle on; no matter how quietly and how often we approach it, each time it’s like the first time and progress has been particularly slow.  I know his owner had someone in to break him who tried to do it all in one session and spent 2 hours trying to get a saddle on him, which has clearly left him with some bad memories.

I wanted to leave it for him to decide whether to accept the Reiki or not, so put him in a large stable with a hay net, but didn’t tie him up. To be honest, the first 10 minutes were quite disappointing. I definitely felt the energy and the heat but he is one of life’s fidgets and wouldn’t stay in one place long enough to sweep his aura, let alone concentrate on any particular region. I was just about to give up and put it down to experience when he moved his hindquarters towards me. Normally, I wouldn’t trust him not to kick, but I sensed there was no fear or malice in him. I immediately sensed a lot of heat in his dock (the bone at the top of the tail). No sooner had I put my hands close (not touching) then he literally rocked backwards into them, leaning right back in a very odd position for a horse, and pushing firmly into my hands.  He stayed like that for a good ten minutes, leaning back and munching on his hay at the same time whilst I felt the Reiki working. As the heat in my hands started to fade he just turned and walked around his box – he’d clearly told me he’d had enough.

His owners have told me that after he was castrated the vet put an elastic bandage on his tail to keep it out of the way during the operation. They turned him out in the paddock and couldn’t catch him again for a couple of weeks so were unable to remove the bandage that was very constrictive.  Apparently for many months afterwards they had difficulty touching or brushing his tail or hindquarters.

Interestingly, I have found him far easier to work with since.  He seems to have far more confidence in me (or maybe he has given me more confidence in myself), and has let me put his saddle on without a protest. I may well try another Reiki session with him in the future, perhaps before we start backing him – I’ll keep you posted.

A dog's life

In my last post I mentioned that when I stroked my dog’s head I felt lots of heat in my hands.  I hadn’t given it too much thought, other than (to my shame) a mild irritation that I had no control over when & where I had the sensations of heat and energy in my hands.
 

The following evening I noticed that our normally very lively little dog was extremely subdued and was unable to jump up onto his chair by the fire. When we tried to touch his sides in front of his hind legs he yelped in pain.  I made a conscious note to call the vet if things didn’t improve but thought I’d give the Reiki a go in the meantime.

I was quite shocked when I approached the little chap after I had done the Gassho that he turned tail and fled from me, as he normally follows me all over the place. That left me in a real dilemma, as I was taught one of the fundamental principals of Reiki is that the ‘subject’ should consent to treatment.  It was as if he was far more sensitive to the energy than me.

 

I decided that the best approach would be just to sit quietly with him without using the Reiki until he understood that there was nothing to worry about. This worked until the moment I placed my hands on him, very, very gently, at which point he yelped and legged it again.  Back to square one. After another 10 minutes or so just sitting quietly with him again I made another attempt, but this time I did not lay my hands on him, just let them hover a few inches over his body. He instantly relaxed and lay on his side to let me pass the heat and energy over him. I was instinctively drawn to the area on his ribs in front of his hind legs and let my hands stay there for a good fifteen minutes. I also felt a sharp stabbing pain in my own chest and unsure how that related to the same area on a dog I put one hand over his chest and the other in the area of his nipples.  The following morning he came to me of his own accord and literally just pushed his bum (root chakra?) into my hands, which instantly started to become hot.  By that evening he was charging around like the loony that he usually is, jumping on and off the sofa (and kitchen table, grr) as if nothing had ever been wrong with him.

I’m still not sure what happened to him.  He was attacked by a much bigger dog a couple of days earlier, pinned down and bitten, maybe it was that, although he’s always getting into mischief and I hadn’t considered it to be anything serious.  Maybe it was an older injury that was brought back when I stroked his head the day before – he was hit by a car a couple of years ago and this was the same area that he had hurt. Who knows? What I do know is that my little nuisance is back making a happy pest of himself again.

Love thy neighbour

This morning my seventy-one-year-old French neighbour complained to me that he had a pain in his back/kidney area. My husband had mentioned to them the day before that I had been on a Reiki course. I suggested he should get it checked out by a doctor, but offered to see if I could do anything to help in the meantime.  Again, I felt mildly foolish as I did the Gassho in front of someone who wasn’t family, but found it very easy to mentally ask for help to heal him. No question, I am convinced that this works.  It wasn’t appropriate to give him a full massage, and there was very little time as he was expecting a visitor, so I raked his aura three times and then put my hands straight on his back. The heat was there again, and the tingling in my hands and foot this time accompanied by a sort of dark grey colour in my mind’s eye. I have no idea whether I will have helped him or not, but he certainly felt the energy. His wife kept bustling in and out of the kitchen and kept enthusing that I ‘had been told the secret’, which I find a bit sad. This is so wonderful, and so easy to do that I don’t understand why people don’t share it more often. Imagine how fantastic our world could be if more of us could harness this fabulous energy and heal others.

I’ve noticed today that my hands get hot and tingle even when I’m not expecting it, when I was stroking my daughter’s head as I tucked her into bed tonight, and when I briefly stroked the dog for example.

I did my self-Reiki this evening rather than in the morning to see if it made any difference. This time I left the side light on and had my eyes open for much of the time.  The energy seems to be getting more powerful all the time.  My knees were particularly hot and this time I saw what I can only describe as translucent clouds of colour to the right of me, blues, purples and greens with occasional flashes of gold.

There is no question that this experience has completely transformed my life, and how I think of my spiritual self.  The possibilities for making a real contribution to society and for helping others seem endless.  What an amazing journey I’m privileged to be on.

Taking the Reiki plunge

What a wonderful, awe-inspiring, mind-blowing couple of days I have spent. On Sunday we’d been out at a horse show all day as a family and there had been a lot of stress and conflict throughout the day.  My eldest (very teenage & emotional) daughter had been in tears more than once and the tears were flowing again on the drive home, and she was complaining of backache.  So I took a deep breath and asked if she wanted me to massage her back gently.  Within seconds of putting my hands on her back I could feel the energy pulsing and a gentle heat. She felt it too! We were laughing together, both somewhat incredulous.  I left my hands on her back for the journey home, and just before we arrived I swept her aura and again, she felt the heat. As we were putting the ponies back in their stables I turned around to see her in floods of tears and smiling with pure joy. ‘I felt it, I felt it, it is true, it does exist’, she said.

On Monday I asked if I could practice on my husband and give him a whole Reiki session. I reckon he agreed because it meant he could have a kip half the afternoon rather than working, but agree he did.  I felt a bit foolish as I put my hands in the Gassho position, but seconds after I did so I felt my hands tingling.  As I raked his aura I immediately felt the heat, and he did too.  I found a lot of heat in his head and my hands pulsed, almost as if I was giving a massage without moving them myself. He told me afterwards that when I put my hands over his eyes he could no longer breathe through his nose, even though I was nowhere near his nostrils and wasn’t putting pressure on his sinuses.  He said that when I put my hands on his temples he felt like he was spinning in high-speed. He said he felt rejuvenated and re-energised, he was smiling and relaxed (a real change as he’s normally a grumpy old so & so).

 

When the girls came home from school they asked me to show them what I’d learned and made me promise to give them both a full Reiki massage. I still had a nagging doubt that anything would come of it and that I could really be capable of channelling this energy to actually heal someone. As you can imagine, my mind has been very pre-occupied over recent days with God, source, higher power, energy or whatever you choose to call it, and of spirits. I found myself mentally saying, ‘well that’s all well and good but how will I know’? Only moments later whilst getting something out of the oven I spilt hot fat all over my hand, the one with which I suffer from lymphoedema as well. It was agony and immediately started to bubble up and blister so I put it in cold water but nothing would take the pain away.  The girls started nagging me to ‘do their massage’ and I was wondering whether I’d be capable of even touching them.

Not only did I manage to lay my hands on but both the girls felt the heat & energy. My youngest daughter had the beginnings of a migraine and I was instantly able to tell on which side of her head the pain was. I also found she had a lot of heat in one of her knees; she later told me she often woke at night with growing pains in that leg. She asked me to put my hands on her wrist, which she’d broken this summer and which often throbbed.  Again, there was a surge of heat.  I had kept my eyes closed during the first two sessions with my husband and eldest daughter, concentrating hard for fear of breaking the contact. With my youngest daughter I had my eyes open for much of the time, and when I had my hands on her previously broken arm I saw a blue tinge moving in her arm and in my hands. It’s generally impossible to shut my little one up but her chatting and questions didn’t alter the treatment she was receiving, the heat and the colours and the tingling in my hands persisted regardless of whether I was concentrating hard or not. Again, she finished the session with a contented grin on her face, like the cat that had got the cream. I did not feel in the least bit tired, quite the opposite in fact.

As I finished the session I realised in amazement that the pain had gone out of my burned hand. When I got up the next morning I saw the burn, which should have been a soggy, painful, blistered mess, had dried up and virtually vanished. This evening, less than half a day later and it is hard to tell I’d burned myself at all.  It is completely painless. To be honest, it has pretty much blown my mind, but has left me convinced of the infinite healing power that has become accessible to me. I won’t even try to understand.

First self-Reiki experiences

I was a bit worried before my first self-Reiki that I wouldn’t feel anything, so I was relieved that when I shut my eyes I still saw some of the colours I had seen during my attunements, albeit much weaker.

 

At around 4am I was woken by the sound of a voice in my head. I couldn’t say whether it was part of my dream or not and know that it sounds really daft but I remember very clearly being told ‘Healer heal thyself’, and then suddenly all the colours came flooding back, but far more powerful than I had seen them before. I lay there with my eyes shut but fully awake for around two hours watching the colours ebbing, flowing and pulsing. I felt incredibly peaceful and secure. At one point towards the end I felt a huge wave of energy.

I carried out my self-Reiki as soon as I got up, but the colours and feelings were very subdued compared to those I’d experienced all night.

At 2am the following night I was woken by a really strong heat in my foot which had been touching that of my husband’s. He’d had a very nasty fall from a roof several years ago in which he completely smashed his heel and has limped and been in quite a lot of pain with it ever since.  The night before he’d half-jokingly said that I’d have to practice on him because it might sort his foot out.  Whilst he was sleeping soundly I lay beside him, feet touching, and again the colours and lights returned, the heat wrapping around our feel as if we’d stepped into a hot bath, and I sensed that my foot was a channel for the energy. A quiet confidence that, yes, maybe I could start to help others to heal, maybe I wasn't going mad & it was possible.

I asked him in the morning if he’d felt anything in the night, but he had slept right through it, although he did comment that his foot wasn’t as stiff as usual when he’d got up.

The first degree

Difficult to even begin to describe today but I shall try my best. I’m not sure what I was expecting from my Reiki first-degree course, it was very different to what I had envisaged but finally it was so much more.  More than anything today has left me stunned that it has taken me 45 years to realise how little I really understand about our world, and with a thirst for more knowledge.

 

I’m not going to go into lengthy detail, as it wouldn’t be possible to capture the day in a quick diary entry.  Laura was completely captivating as she explained a bit about the history of Reiki as we know it today and then went through some of the main principals and golden rules. 

 

Throughout the day I received four ‘initiations’. On the first initiation I had my eyes shut but was aware of a bright white/golden light, quite small, and then started to see colours, primarily blue to begin with.  As the initiations went on so the light became stronger and the colours became larger and more vivid, still lots of blue but gradually adding in purples, pinks and greens, and at one stage, very briefly, a patch of black that flashed in and out. I think I finally understand what people mean when they talk of the third eye, because these lights and colours were viewed by an area midway between my two eyes, inside my head wher my nose is. At the same time I could sort of ‘feel’ the colours within my heart, not all the time but intermittently.  I have the sensation that I am at the very beginning of a special journey and somehow feel innately that these colours and feelings will take on more texture with time. I described it to my daughter this evening and she said it must look a bit like ‘Avatar land’ and that isn’t miles off the mark in terms of colours and light bouncing and flowing through my mind. At the end of each initiation I sat quietly with my eyes shut and continued to see the colours changing shape; it was a very peaceful place to be and I felt slightly reticent to come back to the real world.

After each session I felt a heat in the toes of my right foot, although I have no idea why – to my knowledge I’ve never had a problem in this area.

Towards the end of the day I had a practice on Laura and as I ‘swept her aura’ (the session was in French so forgive me if I’m not using recognised English terms) I could feel a gentle warmth and tingling in my hands.

This evening I still have the warmth in my toes and it seems to be spreading a little further up my foot (although there is no heat when you touch it). Laura assured me that once the channel has been opened I will not lose what I have experienced today, but I’m nevertheless slightly concerned that I won’t be able to feel anything when I start to practice self-reiki on my own. Only time will tell.