My adventure into Reiki began last summer when my doctor dismissed me without solving my problem. I had been out of work for 10 months with a work-related injury and I was still having tremendous pain in my arm. My mental state was one of chaos. How was I to get help with the pain when NO Doctor would touch me because it was a workman’s comp. case in the workings?
I started researching Alternative methods of healing and a book fell into my hands called: Reiki for beginners by David F. Vennells. To my surprise Reiki, pronounced RAY KEY, is an ancient form of hands-on healing.
Rei meaning Universal and Ki meaning Energy Live Force which caught my eye. “Universal Energy Live Force”, an energy force within us and without us to be use for our highest good. Now that I have the book and some knowledge, even though I didn’t understand it; Where do I go on from here?
I took the easy way out and typed Reiki in my search engine and all kinds of web sites appeared. Talk about feeling like a little girl in a candy store…so many sites to read, and the more I read, the more I felt it was right for me within. All my inner being became aflame every time I read something about Reiki. I needed to speak personally to someone who could help me to understand Reiki but there was no one in my small city. Again I turned to the web and found some message boards where I made contact with some Reiki Master Teachers.
In one of the messages boards a name kept appearing and my heart kept saying, “send her email,” so with the prompting, off went the email. In just a very short time she was teaching me about Reiki Energy Healing.
To quote the Author, David F. Vennells, of Reiki for Beginners page 1-3: “Modern physics tells us that beyond the level of the smallest particles of matter, energy exist everywhere, in the air we breathe, in our food and water, and in light from the sun. Even inanimate objects possess a low or slow frequency of energy. Reiki fits perfectly into any lifestyle materially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Reiki gives us exactly what we need as individuals, helping us develop our unique qualities. talents and ambitions in a way that brings us closer to our own limitless potential and inner nature, the bond we share with all living beings.” Now that I am beginning to understand Energy, How do I get it to heal my arm?
My new found friend explained to me that I could go to a Reiki Practitioner who would give me a session. A session consist of lying on a table, with all you clothes on, or sitting in a chair, and the Reiki Practitioner lays her/his hands on 12 chakras, places where energy can enter or leave your body. The idea is to balance the energies in your body. Reiki goes where it is needed for your highest good in body, mind, soul or spirit. The other alternative was to become a Reiki Practitioner. In order to facilitate a continuous healing in me, my choice was to pursue becoming a Reiki Practitioner.
To become a Reiki Practitioner means that you have to find a Reiki Master Teacher who is willing to teach you and attune you to Reiki. Attuning is when the Reiki Master Teacher performs the task of transmitting the Reiki Energy to you and then she shows you how to call upon Reiki to minister to yourself and others this Gift of healing. There are three levels in Reiki—Level 1, 2 and Master. Not all Masters are teachers. Some prefer to just do Reiki Sessions for the benefit of others and some like to teach.
My daughter and I Flew to Oregon to take classes and be attuned by my online friend. She is my Master Teacher. We were taught how to administer Reiki to ourselves and others. When we came home my husband was experiencing pain in the knee which was just operated on so a Reiki Session was given to him….His pain went away. His friend who was in severe pain came to the house and received a session and when he got up and stood up his comments were, “I can now bend my knee and it doesn’t hurt. Besides that, all the pain in my hip is gone.” No one knew that he had hip problems, we thought it was just his knees like my husband. My niece with MS could not raise her hand over her head even to brush her hair but after a session she had no problem raising her hand over her head. Many beautiful things are happening for the highest good of all.
Natural Healing, The Reiki Touch, is for everybody. I’ve mentioned a few of the physical effects that it had but for me it has worked on a deeper level, a spiritual level. I am seeing myself for the first time…..all the goodness I was created with that had been buried for so long. I was not given life to be a door mat for everyone. What an AWAKENING !! My nervous system is calming down. Yes, I take medications but Reiki works with the medications for my higher good. I do not get so tensed with new changes. I am free to roll with the punches instead of the punches hitting me in the gut. When my arm pains me I hold the area that has pain with the other hand and send Reiki to it. The pain lets up. During periods of Stress, Anger, Frustration, Depression, Anxiety, etc. I go to my bedroom, sit quietly for a few minutes to try and center myself, then I give myself Reiki and when I leave my bedroom all this garbage is gone and I can function again.
Reiki is for everyone, Caregiver and Carereceiver alike. I have just mentioned how Reiki helps me. I am a Caregiver to my mother-in-law who has Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), Chronic Lung Disease (COPD), A Valve Disorder (MPV), Arterial Fibrillation, and others. I also care for my husband who has had 2 Knee Replacements in the past year. He has OsteoArthritis. When my mother-in-law has pain I place my hands on her where the pain is and it goes away. Same with my husband as I have already mentioned above.
If Caregivers want to help themselves and their Loved Ones they can benefit by becoming Reiki Practitioners. Reiki is a Natural Healing Technique and it is given to humanity for its highest good.
By Lydia Joan Croteau
