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Patience for the Better
February 23, 2014

Patience for the Better

Be patient, things will change for the better.

Good things come to those who Believe, better things come to those who are Patient, and the best Things come to those who Don’t Give Up. Zig Ziglar

My life is a little topsy-turvy right now. I wrote a poem about this in my last blog post. I just experienced a dramatic job loss, a sudden burning of all that I had built over the past year, at the hands of a boss who had given up compassion and care and turned to greed and concern only for The Bottom Line. Her betrayal takes the breath from my emotions and my body. But she cannot touch the breath of God which sustains my spirit body. I may explain more of this story later, but I am learning to exhale and leave it to the hands of our benevolent and all-wise Creator.

I had two job interviews in the last week, and both invited me back to second interviews, so my chances of getting a new job are strong. The Better is coming. I am just waiting for the confirming phone call. But the waiting can be so torturous.

Two quotes came to me today to help me on the journey of uncertainty. Be patient, things will change for the better. This is a cell phone wallpaper I found reminding me to practice patience as I embrace the unknown Better. Even as the last Minnesota snow storms dump on us, I feel the trees releasing energy, buds eager, but patient, to break open at the ends of tender new twigs. I need to learn wisdom from the patience of the trees, as the spiritual season in my life changes from winter to spring. There may be one last snow storm yet, but YHWH, my loving provider, is plowing a path for me through the deep white. The colors and life of spring will always come. No matter how black and deep the winter, the Better will always come.

Good things come to those who Believe, better things come to those who are Patient, and the best Things come to those who Don’t Give Up.

This quote, by author and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, also talks about patience in waiting for the the Better. But Believe is another key word here. I have taken a Reiki healing journey of belief over the last five years. I have hurled my body off the cliff and waited for the angels to catch me in a faith-dance with the Creator. It strikes me that this is the second temptation with which the devil tortured Yeshua, but I think there is a secret lesson; in his hidden and lonely learning years, Yeshua had already mastered this lesson, to let go and be caught by the hands of blind faith. The devil was mocking him and mocking the provision of God.

And so the great tempter tempts me. He tempts me to give into worry and crawl back to the slavery of Egypt. God is my provider, but the tempter tells me that the job is my provider and I am a fool. But I will believe, and I won’t give up, and I will wait for God’s best things to come for me.

I leave winter behind me and turn my face toward the spring.

It will be a spring of healing. I have walked through a valley, a winter of my soul, and I am emerging on the other side with a more developed, more profound understanding of Reiki. A bandaid can never replace surgery for cancer, and Reiki will never take root in a soul that has not been plowed and planted by trials.

If you are experiencing hardships, a dark winter, my friend, look deep and practice patience as you wait for the Divine healing and the Better.

Photo used freely, courtesy of appelcline on sxc.hu

The Bus Stop
February 18, 2014

The Bus Stop

She sat on the corner of the bench, fidgeting nervously as she waited for the bus.

I was a graduate student, studying music. I had left my car at home that afternoon and taken the bus to school for the week’s masterclass.

I had performed from the bottom of my heart. But the masterclass teacher had ripped apart my performance, picking at the length of my eighth notes and the sloppy edges of my articulation. Tiny details, but enough to make or break someone in the cutthroat world of classical music. And he should know. He was renowned in the music world, he had performed big gigs with big orchestras. My dream. Or was it? Now I found myself at the bus stop, warm tears threatening to overflow my eyes onto my cold cheeks in the brisk Michigan autumn.

“Details, Amy, details. Practice more. Technique. Your musicality is great, we can feel the emotions in your music, but details. You’ll never make it without the technical details.” The words echoed through my head like a hammer smashing and splintering glass. The glass of my psyche, which I always willed to turn to steel. They always told me I was too sensitive. Words of the masterclass teacher, words of many of my other professors throughout my high school and college musical years. I wanted to quit. I wanted to run away. I wanted to leave my clarinet case right there at the bus stop and run home, or run somewhere else, run anywhere. Run until the pain would stop.

I noticed the woman sitting next to me. She looked sad, too, another soul lost in the sea of broken dreams. I breathed deeply and said a small prayer for her. Reiki. I did not know much about energy healing at that time, but I knew the power of prayer.

A minute later, a bus showed up. Not my bus, but the woman stood up to talk to the driver. “Where is bus 75 tonight?” she asked.

“Sorry, ma’am, that bus came by fifteen minutes ago.”

“Oh, no, is there another bus to Haslett tonight?”

“No, ma’am, sorry.”

“OK,” she said and limped back to the bench. I hadn’t noticed the limp at first. I had been too self-absorbed in my own thoughts. Compassion and regret flooded over me. What should I care about stupid master classes and eighth notes when a fellow human being was suffering right in front of me?

“Are you OK?” I asked, timidly. I am an introvert by nature, so I struggle to start conversations with strangers.

“Oh, yeah,” she shrugged. “I just gotta get to Haslett. I guess I’ll have to walk again.”

“It’s such a cold night. Can I give you a ride?”

“You have a car? What are you doing at the bus stop?”

I shrugged. “I like to take the bus sometimes, but I do have my car at home. Here comes bus 84. Let’s take the bus back to my place, and I’ll give you a ride.”

“You sure?” She looked at me incredulously. I could tell that she was a woman not used to favors. Maybe her dark skin, her heavy weight, her stooped shoulders which betrayed years of poverty and hardship, worked against her in this rich college town. But why? Didn’t we talk in college about systems of oppression? Weren’t college students known for caring tremendously, radically fighting the System? Did I care enough?

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m sure. Let’s get out of the cold. My name is Amy.”

“My name is J.” she said.

I gave her a ride home that night, and we eventually became great friends. I prayed over her aching knees and other joints, her body groaning under the mental anguish of unrelenting poverty and discrimination. She told me of her struggles to get a job, her struggles to raise her children, and her dark journey of depression when social services took her children away because she could not maintain housing. I cried as she told me of undergoing knee surgery and then being released from the hospital to the street. I could only imagine her pain, but, in sharing the burden, she looked a little happier, a little lighter.

This is true Reiki healing. This is Holy Spirit healing. Yeshua came to seek and to save the least of these, and J. is his best friend. Reiki is holy, and the holy is intricately tied with social justice. I couldn’t pull J out of poverty, give her a better place to live, but I could offer a listening ear, compassion, Reiki.

This is the story of the Good Samaritan. Help everyone you can in any way you can, one hurting individual at a time. Open your eyes to the pain around you, my friends. I know that it can be hard to see others when your own pain is so overwhelming. I certainly struggle with this. But Reiki is a journey as much as it is a healing modality. Let’s link arms on this journey and carry the light of the Holy Spirit into the darkest of places.

Photo used freely, courtesy of that guy A on sxc.hu

Reiki: Realigning the Spirit Body and the Physical Body
January 26, 2014

Reiki: Realigning the Spirit Body and the Physical Body

Every person, indeed every living thing on this planet, is surrounded by an invisible energy body. (Actually, you can train yourself to see this energy, the aura, through your spiritual eyes, but most people still rely only on their physical eyes). This energy body also surrounds the spirit body, connecting the physical realm and the spiritual realm.

I am often asked, what is the spirit body? The spirit body is our invisible consciousness, our higher thinking self, the body we exist in both before and after our earthly journey. Too many people foolishly waste too much energy focusing on their physical bodies, chasing after youthful looks, and even undergoing surgeries to try to look more beautiful, which is itself only a definition invented by one’s society.

Although you should take care of the health of your physical body, you are wise to focus your energy on nurturing and developing your spirit body. This is the consciousness and wisdom you will take with you when you cross over to the other side. Through meditation, prayer, reading, listening to and viewing the works of spiritually wise artists, and communicating with other spiritual seekers, you will develop spiritual beauty, and you will find true wisdom.

When I conduct Reiki healing sessions over people, I sometimes have the impression that the person needs to reclaim their space, to make themselves “bigger.” This has certainly been true for me personally, as I grew up in a family that constantly degraded my physical achievements and mocked my spirituality, saying it was “of the devil.” Consequently, as a young child, I learned to hide, keep my imaginary friends locked away inside, and try to make myself small. This crowded my energy body, and caused wounds in my spirit body.

I believe that most, if not all, chronic pain exists in the spirit body. That is why Western medicine has a hard time healing chronic pain. I see these issues constantly with people seeking Reiki healing. I am glad that they discovered Reiki, because I believe energy healing holds the key to realigning and spacing out the entire energy body for healing of both spirit body and physical body.

I knew one woman who struggled with headaches so severe that she could not work or even get out of bed for days at a time. She had visited many doctors who had given her many drugs and even recommended delicate surgery. But still, she struggled with pain. As I worked with her through Reiki, she shared with me some of her past, dealing with parents who belittled her intuitive spirituality and her love of art.

I cried when she told me of the poetry that she wrote as a high schooler that is still locked away in her dresser drawer, unseen and unheard. She needs to write, our world desperately needs her voice. No wonder she has headaches. Her spiritual voice is constantly struggling for release, but her energy body is misaligned by the damaging words of others. I used my hands to smooth out the disturbances I felt, and I encouraged her to go home and write. She did so, and slowly her headaches began to get better. Today she is able to work most of the time, and she only takes minimum pain medicine. The Holy Spirit is wooing her in love to come out with her voice. I think it is amazing.

Friends, if you are struggling, meditate on making your energy body bigger, taking up the room in the world for which it was meant. Create art and release your voice to realign your energy body. Flow in the love of the Holy Spirit and seek Reiki healing. Your life will surely change.

Picture used royalty-free, courtesy of k vohsen on sxc.hu

The Journey of Holy Spirit Reiki
January 10, 2014

The Journey of Holy Spirit Reiki

Reiki is a journey.

Reiki is a healing practice, but Reiki is also a lifestyle change. Reiki is an invitation into a healing dance with the Divine, a gentle tango with the Holy Spirit leading each step.

I so often see Reiki advertised as a quick solution to pain, like taking an aspirin, or, even worse, as a weight-loss method. Reiki is not a flippant “New Age” healing modality. Reiki is a powerful divine energy, the ancient practice of the laying on of hands. I believe Yeshua used Reiki as he healed the masses of people. But he didn’t just give them a quick fix; he often preached about the hard road, the lonely road, the trials to enter the kingdom. Reiki brings healing, yes, but Reiki also brings spiritual responsibility.

A Reiki session is just the beginning of the divine journey. If you contact me for a session, I will lead you into the dance with the Holy Spirit and leave you in her loving embrace. Your earthly cares and pain will melt away as you learn to flow in the healing dance.

I am a Reiki master, so I have followed this path for a long time. As a born healer, the Holy Spirit taught me this dance from a young age. As a child, I explored the world in wonder, learning secrets from the buzzing of the bees and the whispering of the trees. I have also felt the pain of others from a young age. I am an empath with a heart wide open to experiencing the pain of others while I lead them on their own path. I also learn new things from my Reiki clients and friends every day. The journey is eternal.

I believe that YHWH created us with a deep need for each other. This is not a popular idea in our individualistic, ego-driven Western culture. Compassion, sacrifice, and empathy bind us together. That is the power of Reiki healing, the Holy Spirit Reiki journey. Competition and ego drive us apart. When Reiki is sold under the spell of this energy, the result is dangerous. There are many people who tell stories of harm from negative Reiki energy. My heart cries for those wounded souls.

I invite you, friends and strangers alike, reading this blog to join me on the healing journey of Holy Spirit Reiki. It is a mystical, wonderful path, full of joy and sometimes heartache. But the end is true healing and true enlightenment.

Insomnia: A clouding of the crown chakra
December 4, 2013

Insomnia: A clouding of the crown chakra

I look forward to resting at night. I want to enter the dream world, to visit the place where I put my physical body to sleep, and to awaken back into the spirit realm from which I came and to which I will someday return.

I have vivid dreams in colors beyond the grasp of human words. I dream of myself in the future, with children around me, souls I will guide and teach and perhaps babies I will welcome into my family. I dream of myself in the past, meditating under iridescent trees, staring into lakes mirroring depths of never-ending wisdom. I dream of fighting epic, fantastical battles of good and evil, scaling walls and jumping over roaring fires to rescue people from demonic forces. I learn secrets and explore worlds that I struggle to hang onto when I awaken once more.

But sometimes I have trouble accessing this place. Maybe I am too connected in the physical world, worrying about too many things. Is my life going the way I imagined? Am I happy here? Will I be able to pay my bills? How can I make my world better when I constantly bump up against a societal matrix that clips my wings and cages my freedom-longing soul?

I struggle with insomnia and sleeplessness, as do many people in the United States. A quick Google search shows that pharmaceutical companies rake in $2.7 billion dollars per year in sales of drugs to treat insomnia. There are many, many websites offering helpful advice to fall asleep. Much of this is good advice: keep your sleeping quarters pitch-dark, as any light can affect your sleep, turn off electronics an hour before bed, keep a normal sleep time and routine, use warm baths to calm down. I follow these tips. My favorite routine is to practice mediative yoga and drink chamomile tea before bed to calm my mind and prepare myself for a restful state.

But I think that there is another dimension to insomnia, a spiritual dimension. I believe that insomnia has to do with the clouding of the crown chakra. Our crown chakra connects our physical body with the spiritual dimensions “above” us. Physically, the crown chakra is located immediately above the pineal gland, which (among other things) regulates the sleep cycle. Some people argue that the pineal gland involves the third eye chakra, and I believe there is some involvement with that as well. Both chakras are necessary to access the spirit realm. Our souls connect “up high” through the crown chakra, and we “see” the mystical realms with our third eye. We close our physical eyes in sleep and open our third eye.

For right now, though, I will focus on the crown chakra. If there is a clouding or a closing of this chakra, then it will be hard for the person’s soul to access the spirit realm. I think this affects sleep, which is a journey into the spirit.

I personally sometimes struggle with a clouding of my crown chakra as I battle worry and worldly concerns. One of my greatest heart concerns is social justice in my neighborhood, my country, and on the whole planet. I carry in my heart the stories of struggle and injustice of friends and strangers everywhere. When I dwell too much on this and lose my awareness of the perfect peace and justice of the high dimensions of the spirit realm, my crown chakra becomes cloudy. I believe that Yeshua struggled with the same thing, and he spent long hours in mediation to reconnect with YHWH and the Holy Spirit to refresh release all of the stories and human suffering he saw and carried in his spirit.

I have the most issue with insomnia on Sunday evenings, going into Monday morning and the new work week. I have a day job as a preschool teacher. I love the children with all their raw energy, enthusiasm for life, and developing imaginations, but the job itself has many frustrations and difficulties inherent in working for a corporation. I tend to worry about this on Sunday nights as I go to bed, and the worry closes off my crown chakra causing sleeplessness.

Furthermore, I believe the Sunday night experience is compounded by group-think. We are all connected spiritually, so we feel each other’s thoughts, concerns, and pains. On Sunday night, many people are worried or upset about the end of the weekend and returning to their jobs the next day. This lack of contentment in the face of the work week is a serious problem in modern society. We have traded spiritual truth and oneness for greed and competition to the point that everyone, no matter their personal outlook, is forced to play the game. I am sure that many people toss and turn in bed on Monday night, feeling the weight of society and losing spiritual connection through the crown chakra.

If you are struggling with sleeplessness, try to calm and quiet your mind before bed. Meditate on unblocking the crown chakra and establishing a strong connection to spirit. Meditation is a great tool to open all of the chakras and balance the physical and spiritual parts of your existence. Here is a meditation for restful sleep that I will be using right along with you.

Sit or lay in a comfortable position, preferably in a darkened, cool room.

Put your hands over your heart and feel the warmth and love emanate from your heart throughout your entire being.

Slowly close your eyes and focus your vision inward and upward. Place your hands gently over your eyes. Feel the healing energy soothing your eyes to rest. Feel the energy prepare your body for sleep.

Imagine your crown chakra opening up. Soak up the brilliant moonlight, as all the clouds gently float away. Your reception to spirit is wide-open and full of light.

Now imagine your third eye opening and gazing on the beauty and wisdom of the spiritual realm. A place of peace and understanding awaits as you gently drift away from the weight of the physical realm. Let go of your grasp on the physical world, all your worries and concerns about your life. Embrace peace and love.

Let go of the past with its cares and its mistakes that were your tutors and companions on the journey.

Let go of the present with its cares. Do not worry about provision. The sacred Father looks after the sparrow. The holy Mother nurses the universe at her bosom. You are a beloved child and you have all you need.

Let go of the future with its cares. The future will bring hope and understanding, one step, one day at a time.

Now slowly move your hands up and rest them on the top of your head. Allow the healing energy and love to fully open your crown chakra and release any lingering cloudiness or misconception.

Feel the deep sense of peace, like a vast, untouched ocean, asking in the last dusky rays of the closing day. Allow your mind to stay in this place of peace. If you begin to see visions of the spirit realm, allow them to unfold. Imagine the vivid colors, the wisdom, the peace, the love. Stay there and play for a while.

When you are ready, slowly bring your awareness back to the present. Feel the heaviness of your body, the slowing of your thoughts. Slowly, slowly open your eyes and prepare for bed in your personal routine. If you are doing this meditation while you are laying in bed, you can keep your eyes closed and allow the visions of the spirit realm to carry you away to the dream world.

Enjoy the meditation, and I hope it helps to bring you sleep and restful dreams.

Photo used courtesy of milan6 on stock.xchng

Stop the Bleeding
April 12, 2013

Stop the Bleeding

Tears fell down her face, streams watering the fertile fields of her cheeks and mouth. She thought about that night.

That fateful, terrible, wonderful night.

Oh, she loved him. That was for sure.

But why did he have to come on to her like that? Why could she not find the strength to resist? Or did she really want to resist?

The love had overcome her, like the gentle passion of a lone candle. The passion mounted until hot lava filled her body, seeping from her ears and coursing down to her toes.

But single candles have a way of becoming wildfires. The wildfire left its mark in her swelling belly and scattering friends. Even her family threatened to disown her. How could she dishonor us like that? Didn’t we raise her better?

She had felt the quickening, the beginning of a life. She crooned love songs to the spirit growing inside of her. Perhaps this child could make everything all right again. Her lover had left after that night, gone far away on a journey. To where, she could not know. But he had left a life behind. A life that she now grew and nurtured, alone.

Suddenly, he appeared again. He shook her from her bed, ripped the blankets from her body. Moonbeams fell through the window and landed on her naked belly. He stared at the deep mound of flesh, the round mark of womanhood. This was not the young maiden he had left behind. His eyes turned the color of the night sky. His lips curled back in a sneer. The baby kicked inside of her, and the moon hid behind a cloud. She closed her eyes at his rage, bracing for the storm.

She opened her eyes again as a woman placed a warm rag on her head. She felt a burning pain in her abdomen, an emptiness where she had before felt life. No more movements came from deep inside, no more heart kept time with her own. She could not bear to look down at her belly. She could only bear to close her eyes once more. She heard the woman whisper, “Shh. Rest now. It is done.”

She slipped back into darkness. Blood filled her dreams. She screamed out for her lost child, screamed out for her own lost childhood. It was all gone now. What did she have left? She wandered through a field of blood, looking to regain something, some fragment of what was lost.

She woke up and the blood filled the sheets. She screamed out in pain and fear. The woman came and changed her sheets. The woman held her hand over the sunken belly, praying words of comfort, praying for a miracle. The blood kept coming. Sometimes a trickle, sometimes a flood. For years, the blood kept coming.

She became an outcast, a pariah forced to live among the “unclean.” She felt worthless, alone, unloved. The agony in her heart mixed with the burning in her belly. The blood was so painful. She wished she could die, wished she could go to heaven and meet the child torn from her body. She wished that night had never happened. She wished and wished, but all she could do was continue to live among the dead.

She began to hear whispers in the camp. “He is a great healer.” “He can cure leprosy.” “He can drive out demons.” “Some think he is the Messiah.”

She listened and scarcely dared to hope. “But can he help me?” she asked eagerly.

“No one can help you,” came the reply.

“You are the worst of the unclean. You broke the law of adultery, and you killed your child. Not even he can help you.”

The words pierced her soul and brought forth rivers from her eyes. She ran from the camp into the woods. She threw herself to the ground and cried out, “YHWH, save me from this hell”. The leaves rustled and a wind tickled her lips.

Suddenly, a response came back. An almost-silent whisper in her heart. “Go to him. He will heal you.”

“But I can’t do that. You heard what they said. I am a sinner and an unclean woman,” she whispered.

“Go to him. He will heal,” the voice replied.

She rose off the ground and dusted off her dress. Her clothes hung in rags around her shoulders and knees. She could not hide the bloodstains, the years of accumulated pain, the sign of her uncleaness. Shivering, she stepped forward toward the village.

“Stay away!”

“What is she doing here?”

“How dare she leave the camp. She will infect us all!”

The crowd jeered and scattered at her approach. Tears and embarrassment burned her face. Still, she kept her head high, kept her eyes looking ahead. She had to find him. This was her only chance.

Suddenly, she saw him. She walked faster. Then broke into a run. Her heart pounded in her ears, blocking out the screams of the crowd.

If only she could reach him. Just touch him. He could heal her.

She came closer and closer. She tripped over a rock and tore a gash in her knee. Fresh blood mixed with the old blood on her dress. She lifted her head and saw the hem of his robe. She reached her hand out and grasped the hem. Power surged through her body. She felt her womb close up.

The blood was gone.

Forever gone.

She looked up and locked eyes with Yeshua, and she knew that she would never be the same.

Matthew 9:20-22 20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Yeshua turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

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