Whether you experience a 20-minute session or a full one-hour session, the outcome is always so profound. Whether the reason for your Reiki session is for an emotional, physical, or spiritual imbalance, the outcome is profound. Whether you have had a Reiki session in the past, or have never had a Reiki experience, the outcome is profound. The profound healing experience can happen while on the table, after the session, that night, or over the days that follow. These have been the results I have witnessed since incorporating this age-old modality into my practice.
Even if you feel nothing…
When I was first introduced to Energy and its healing properties I was totally oblivious to its existence, let alone the changes it could make to the body, mind, and soul. A Native American lady from Canada spent a weekend showing a group of us how to ‘feel’ energy on objects, plants, trees, photographs, and each other. Through a process of guided meditations and hands-on practice we learned to become aware of ‘energy’. Needless to say, I felt nothing, I experienced nothing and while everyone else was having these amazing meditation experiences, I saw nothing. During the second day, I asked this quiet but confident lady about my grandfather, who resided in the UK and was very sick. I asked her if this ‘energy work’ could help him to feel more comfortable, she said it could. So, did I learn this so that I could share it with my grandfather who had been such an incredible influence in my life?
A Reiki Healing Session
A few weeks later I planned a visit to the UK to visit my family. I told my grandfather about this energy class I had taken and asked his permission to use this ‘energy’ on him. He was a very spiritual man who in the last few months was looking a little older and he was now in a lot of pain and discomfort. He laid down on the bed and I placed my hands on him the way we had been shown in the class. During the session, he appeared very peaceful and calm. After the session, he seemed more relaxed and actually walked without a cane for several days. Was this the ‘energy’? My grandfather’s life was already coming to an end and I knew this wasn’t going to heal him; my intention was to take the pain away. I witnessed a change in him which made me feel like he had received and used this ‘energy’ somehow! He passed on a few months later but is always with me as a very strong influence in my life.
Reiki and Animals
Over the last 9 years, as coincidence would have it (there are no coincidences – everything happens for a reason!), this opened up a whole new path in my life that brought me to where I am today. Through a move to Florida for no other reason than I wanted a change in my life, I met a woman who was to show me how to improve the health and wellness of my animals holistically. I had already lost a dog at a young age to lupus and kidney failure. His passing inspired me to look into canine nutrition and all it had to offer. In Florida, I learned about many other alternative therapies and gained confidence in using them on myself and my own animals. The series of events that led me to this woman and all that I learned is a story all of its own! Needless to say, my own healing practice began, incorporating energy work and alternative therapies for horses and dogs (the people were to follow!)
Reiki for Horses!
Looking back, as we do, Florida was about gaining all of this new knowledge, as 2 years later I returned to the Seacoast to expand my practice. It was an exciting time as my client base grew and I could spend each and every day around horses (a love of mine since childhood), working with their owners to achieve improved health and wellness. Working with physical issues like digestive problems, back problems, etc to emotional issues like aggression, depression, or abuse. The joy of this work is to watch as these animals balance out and these ‘issues’ seem to just reduce or completely disappear.
Relaxation, Rejuvenation, and Peacefulness
In 2005 I was introduced to a lady who is a Reiki Master/Teacher. I had found my next level of learning and spent 3 years under her watchful eyes and trained with her. I learned so much more about the energetic aspects of healing through Reiki and its principles. Learning how the ‘energy’ travels through the body offering a feeling of relaxation, rejuvenation, and peacefulness to the receiver. Incredible results would be witnessed during some of the healing sessions we were a part of during this training. It was important to me that I fully understood the messages I was receiving through my hands from the person or animal that was receiving Reiki. I learned how to interpret that information and facilitate a healing. In February 2008 I became a Reiki Master/Teacher and experienced some incredible changes in my own life as a part of this process. Reiki is a way of life for me, through the meditation practices, the belief system and continually witnessing amazing changes in my clients (2-legged and 4-legged!).
Reiki Recognition
Reiki has now been recognized as a healing modality in the Medical Community and has been incorporated into many hospitals. Reiki is offered to patients undergoing surgery or receiving chemotherapy. The patients are offered pre-surgical Reiki to aid in a feeling of relaxation, and post-surgical Reiki is offered to facilitate a quicker healing time with less medication in some cases. Reiki can work well on its own, or with any other modality or conventional treatment.
Reiki Levels 1, 2, and Master
In Reiki Level I, you are taught about self-healing techniques as we can all apply Reiki to ourselves or others. I now see it as a re-training as we are all born with the ability to apply Reiki whenever it is required. It is based upon a loving, nurturing touch with an intention to heal. Reiki Level II allows you to learn how to listen as you offer a laying on of hands to others. A deeper awareness of your inner voice, intuition, and spirit guides. Reiki Master Level takes all of this knowledge to a much deeper level. In my teaching experience, each level brings an amazing awareness to people of their own inner self and an ability to tap into their own guidance system.
Reiki continues to fascinate me each and every day. I have met some incredible people along the way and continue to attract great experiences and opportunities to my life… the journey continues.
By Michele Lowry
**This article appeared in The Reiki Times, the official magazine of the International Association of Reiki Professionals.
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