In 1992 I decided to become a Reiki practitioner. By that time, my meditation practice had been established for a few years and I felt impelled to expand my understanding and experience of spiritual life.  Reiki was attractive to me because it is an energy modality, involves no dogma or belief system, and as the parent of a young child I wanted my loving touch to also be a healing touch.

In a nutshell:  Reiki is a hands-on stress-reduction technique that promotes healing, discovered by Dr. Mikao Usui. In my experience and practice, Reiki is not so much something one studies and trains in as something one is initiated into and then practices. Because Dr. Usui was Japanese, he brought an Eastern sense of order and hierarchy to this modality (think martial arts), so practitioners are initiated into Level 1, transmitting the energy through the hands in close proximity to the recipient; Level 2, adding the ability to transmit the energy through time and space; and Reiki Master, enabling a practitioner to attune other practitioners into Reiki. Each attunement ritual revealed a new message to me.

At my Reiki 1 attunement, the Reiki Master led us in a meditation during which she invoked the protection of the Archangel Michael’s silver sword of justice and St. Germain’s violet flame of Self-transformation.   She directed us to place ourselves in a crystal bubble, our personal sanctuary, in a color of our choosing.  I prepared to place myself in an emerald-hued bubble, green being my favorite color.  However, my bubble sparkled in silver and violet iridescence.  Even as I surrendered to this vision and rested in my safe bubble sparkling with the colors representing our invoked protectors, my chattering mind kept going to “I must be in the wrong bubble.”  The next day, mother’s day, a friend stopped by with a gift from the ashram we spent time in.  The gift: a necklace of iridescent, silver and violet sparkling crystals.  To me, it was a confirmation that I was getting the message.

I remained a Reiki Level 1 practitioner for almost a decade without feeling the need to move on.  I became interested in, and studied, essential oils and their healing properties.  Whenever anyone felt ill at any office where I worked, I became the first aid stop!  As a Reiki 1 practitioner and aromatherapist, I was able to help alleviate many people’s minor discomforts. I felt in my element!

Then, in early 2001, I came in contact with a new Reiki Master and felt it was time for the Level 2 attunement.  At that attunement, I very clearly heard the message: “You are a healer.” At first, I thought it was the Reiki Master saying those words to me…but it wasn’t.  The voice was not an external voice: it came from within.

That summer, I continued practicing Reiki and exploring healing modalities.  I took part in a sweat lodge in the company of healers from many different traditions that strengthened my conviction that I am here to help. I felt I was being prepared for heavier work to come.

September 11, 2001 happened.

In the aftermath of the attacks, like so many of us, I felt the need to DO something! At that time, there was an alternative health care center, The Olive Leaf, that became an organizer and facilitator  for many complementary and alternative health care providers to volunteer their services to assist in the rescue and healing process.  From September 18, 2001 until December 20, 2001, I was one of those people offering assistance both at Manhattan’s Medical Examiner’s Office and at Pier 94, which became a clearinghouse for people directly affected by the attacks.  The details of this experience, however, are a subject for a future post.

It was during this time that I was clearly directed to seek the Reiki Master attunement, even though it had been less than a year since the Level 2 attunement.  I consulted with my Reiki Master and he agreed that it was my time to move forward, and so I became a Reiki Master in November 2001.  The message I received at that attunement was “You are a healer and a teacher.”

I continued to study and incorporate what I learned into my practice, and to share what came to me.  A colleague introduced me to Bowen, an Australian bodywork technique that in one session had me feeling like I was in a brand new body. I had to learn this to help other people feel that good! Opportunities started coming to me not just to offer treatment but also to teach what I had learned and experienced over the years.

My dear friend, Pat Tortoricci, and I shared our love of food, cooking, and the bonding that happens in the meal preparation process in workshops that we called From The Kitchen Into Your Heart: A Metaphysical Journey. We offered our workshops across the country as we delved into what it is that nourishes us when we engage in feeding ourselves.  We organized retreats for women as oases for self-care and support to carry us in our daily lives.

In 2010, I began exploring the teachings of Joel Goldsmith and Mary Baker Eddy with my Reiki Master, which focused my attention on yet another level of understanding,  leading me to identify and listen to my small still voice. More on this in future posts.

Looking back, I realize that my life, like most lives, has been one of transition.  Transitioning from childhood to adulthood.  Transitioning from being a single woman to parenthood.  Transitioning from a limited understanding to another, more expansive understanding. Transitioning from separate physical and spiritual experiences of life, to an integrated experience of Life.

Recently I heard my latest message: “I am a Transitional Coach: helping to transition from who you think you’ve been to who you know you are.”