What is a Reiki Soundscape? Find out 5/17

What is the Soundscape?  It’s a gathering of Reiki practitioners giving and receiving sessions while live, acoustic music is played accompanied by participants chanting, adding the sounds of bells, singing bowls and didgeridoo.  Here is a video from a past scape.

More than twelve years ago, the then-beginning Reiki Training Program held it’s first Soundscape in a 750 square foot cottage in the heart of the University District in Seattle.  Perhaps six or seven practitioners were in attendance for a Reiki circle when spontaneously, they started to pick up the drums, singing bowls and rattles that were lying around the living room.

Each session a practitioner received went to a deeper level, the intentional sound healing and the power of the Universal energy mixed and mingled and became something more.

After the two hour improv experience, we all looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s do this again!’.

And so, for the next year, we met at each other’s houses, brought our instruments and experimented.  Eventually, some musicians found out about the event, and brought their own skills and abilities into the mix.

Word started to spread of our ‘Soundscape’ and this grass-roots circle had to find a bigger venue.  Enter the era of holding Soundscapes in yoga studios.

From Greenlake to Ballard to Fremont, we began to hold these ‘happenings’ every month in various yoga studios.  People would bring their massage tables, as the group suddenly went from 6 or 7 to over 20 attending.

But the grass-rootness still remained, and participants always were encouraged to add their sound or rhythm to the existing music.  Reiki was still, always the foundation of the practice.   Month after month, we were all renewed in community sound healing.

Now, every 3rd Friday, including this upcoming May 17th, we will hold these scapes throughout the year.

Tasara Gen has been instrumental in bringing both her musical talent and visual art to the event and this month, Paul Che oke ten Wagner will be bringing his incredible gift of Native American flute.  I look forward to diving into the journey once more and hope you can attend!

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

Letting go of the Tomato

Growing up in New Jersey, the tomato is kind of the state fruit.  In the summer time, everyone seems to grow and share them and throughout the year you just take it for granted you are eating them with the majority of your diet:  pressed into pizza, mixed up with meatballs, dressing chicken parmesan, drenching linguine, blanketing spaghetti, dancing with tortellini, baked in ziti, crushed up in chicken paprika, or sipped slowly over ice with a stick of celery in your spicy tomato juice cocktail.  Sigh.

Basically,  you are one with the tomato.

And that tradition I took moving to Washington all those years ago and found to my delight the Northwest also had a love of the tomato in kin with their Northeast brethren.

And then the biochemistry of age began to descend upon me, and certain foods and drinks I once loved no longer honored my physical being.  Letting go of each has been a process, and now, it seems, just in the last few weeks, the tomato is to be the next.  My body simply goes into extreme indigestion and manifests allergy-like symptoms after I have delighted in consuming the beloved “apple of gold”.

There was no warning for this, it just started to happen.  I’d enjoy my meal and then suffer the consequences.

My whole being cries out “Noooooo!  Not the tomato!”, but even as I write this, I can feel my gut sighing relief that it will have respite from the acidity that it no longer needs.

The world has more options for special diets:  gluten-free, meat-free, dairy-free, fat-free…but there is no substitute for the tomato.  No tomato-free or faux tomato products.  The recommendation is to remove them all from your diet and at some point gradually reintroduce them.  I can’t even think of that right now after several nights of such discomfort.  So, I sigh again and realize I have to say good-bye for now.

But not just any good-bye, this food has been a friend, a constant, and a companion to all the comfort foods I love so dearly.

So to do this properly, I offer this Solanum lycopersicum plant  the lovely poem by Pablo Neruda:

Ode To Tomatoes by Pablo Neruda

The street
filled with tomatoes,
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhaustible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it’s time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.

copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

Reiki may not be the path for you

These are the words I had to say to an inquiring student recently.  You might be surprised I’d actually say something like that, I was, but let me give you an idea of how the conversation went and you be the judge.  Let’s call the student “Sam” to make this easier:

Sam:  Hi, I have been having experiences with energy and want help with it.

Me:  Hi Sam, thanks for calling, what kind of experiences have you been having?

Sam:  I can move things around in the room.  Does Reiki make things catch on fire?

Me:  Wow, that’s quite something Sam.  No, Reiki doesn’t make things move like that and it doesn’t ignite things.  Are you doing that with your energy practice?

Sam:  Sometimes.  I’ve made things disappear and levitate too.  Can Reiki do that?

Me: Sounds like quite an energy practice Sam, no, Reiki doesn’t make things disappear.  Reiki is Universal Energy and it is used for healing oneself and others.

Sam:  But can it be used for entertainment?

Me:  Hmmm, if you are asking if it can be controlled or manipulated my answer is again, no.  Sam, perhaps Reiki may not be the path for you.  There are many paths of learning energy healing, Reiki being one of them.  Perhaps you might have more resonance with Shamanism, hypnotism or something similar.

Sam:  But if it’s Universal Energy maybe I can make it even bigger.

Me:  Sorry Sam, there is no ego in Reiki, you can’t control it like that.  There is no agenda.

Sam:  Can you clear my chakras so I do Reiki?  What am I feeling right now?

Me:  Sam, sorry, this is just a conversation, not a session.  If you want that work, you’ll have to schedule an appointment.

Sam:  Maybe I can teach you what I know, would you like to learn from me?

Me:  I’m sure you have much to teach, but I don’t work like that.  My role is to be one’s teacher of Reiki in the tradition I was trained in, like I mentioned, this might not be the path for you, but I am sure you will find a teacher and a path  that can honor the gifts and talents you have.

Sam:  Well, thank you.

Me:  You are welcome Sam.

And then I spent the rest of the afternoon contemplating and hoping that Sam would find a teacher that could assist him in getting to know himself and handle his own ego.  I could feel his manipulation attempts, it’s not the first time I’ve encountered this in the realm of things New Age, but it’s been rare.  I usually have just walked away, but this was a phone call and I tried to be as polite and honest as I could.

I’m not the teacher of such things and as such, walk a different path.  My hope is that Sam walks a path that can honor him and the world we live in.  So mote it be!  Thoughts?

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

Breaking away to come back together

Yesterday with unseasonable weather topping 87 degrees in Seattle I played a little hookey from work and took a mini-road trip up north to lovely Camano Island.  I didn’t have clients until later in the day, but the act of ‘breaking away’ still made me feel a bit nervous, excited and yes, guilty!

As I drove along the highway, mile by mile, song by song on the radio, my guilt started to lessen and I began to enjoy the process of letting go.  Working from home requires me to be more vigilant about taking breaks and without a ‘boss’ it’s often been a challenge to give myself this permission.

Having sober, self-honoring fun without an agenda had been too long coming.  I took in the day to the fullest, hiking along the beach, inhaling the Sound and being grateful for having this time to myself.

I didn’t have unlimited time, but enough that upon my return I could energetically feel my whole being filled with light, space, happiness, and joy.  It was a high like no other.  It sounds so simple to do, but making that time and then taking that time are two different tasks that often don’t come into play.  I was happy I honored my intuition that said ‘you must go!’.

The lesson of breaking away to come back together.  I need to revisit this often!

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

Becoming transparent

For me, the process of restoration of my sanity and my soul has been one of becoming transparent:  being vulnerable to be seen and yet still maintaining one’s boundary and integrity of self.

Too often it’s been easy for me to ‘hide’ behind words or appearance, yet inside my emotions are barely in check and sometimes, depending on how anxious the circumstance was to me, I felt as if I wouldn’t be able to endure the situation without some kind of substance or substitute to make it through.

And then I began being serious to embark on the path of letting go.  First I journeyed through the healing art of Reiki, which taught me to surrender my ego at the door.  This force is greater than me, so I’ll just get out of the way and let it do it’s job.

This spiritual path has allowed incredible changes in my personality and relationships to take place, and yet, there still was this nagging void I’d encounter in situations that provoked my anxiety.

I tried a lot of different methods to understand this void, to get to the root of what it was about:  hypnosis, therapy, holotropic breathwork, sound healing, psychic readings, shamanic rituals, art therapy, were some to name a few.

Some methods would give glimpses of insight, but nothing held for long.  The void would return.  It never occurred to me to simply let the void be, to shine through me rather than have to fill it up, with something or someone.  Simply put, to be transparent.

Through additional bodywork,  continued Reiki and 12 step meetings I’ve been able to come to this truth, and as I have, this transparent quality continues to emerge.

It’s very Reiki-like.  Being present, not having an agenda, being honest and allowing oneself to be witnessed.  There is a great degree of liberty in this place.

For me, it’s allowed the void within to have space, to be seen.  It is becoming part of the fabric of  my own translucence.  Each day I give room and gratitude for this process that continues to evolve in becoming transparent.

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Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

Letting go of denial

Denial is is asserting that a statement or allegation is not true.  Denial can help us in times of crisis, because it allows us to not get consumed by the emotions of the circumstance and take action.  Or, it can give us time to process information, like when someone we loved has died, we might be in denial about their death until we can have the space we need to mourn.

But then there is denial of habits that are harmful or not self-honoring.  Eating too many sweets, watching too much TV, saying one thing, doing another….in my case this blog is about when I had to refuse denying there was anything wrong with how I consumed alcohol.

And I so don’t want to admit that!  I love a glass of chilled wine in the summer!  Listening to the birds, relaxing in the sun, enjoying the fresh air of the evening.  That’s true, but what’s not true is it wouldn’t have been one glass…it would have been many.

Those of us prone to addiction can relate.  All the myriad of ways in which we convince ourselves that what we are consuming is ‘normal’, warranted, justified-It’s summer!  It’s my day off!  I worked hard!  etc. etc.

One such lovely, beautiful day I was not working.  I had had too many glasses of wine for no real reason other that my body craved the intoxication.  There was no control any longer.  That particular day I didn’t care, but the next morning, waking up to that familiar haze of remorse, I made a commitment to do something about this.  I wasn’t going to handle this on my own any longer because it had not worked.  I had lost control over how I consumed.

I knew about twelve-step programs from my work in social service and had gone to some as part of my graduate education.  It was time for me to work on this habit that startled me by how it took over a beautiful day that could have been devoted to anything else but that consumption fest.

And so I went to a speaker’s meeting at AA.  For me, it was a safe entry point because you sit an listen to two people tell their own stories of ‘hitting bottom’ and their process of recovery.  I wouldn’t have to say anything or (heaven’s no!) introduce myself, “Hi, I’m Eileen and I’m an alcoholic”.

At the meeting I found out about all the other meetings that happen every day and eventually found one close to my home that actually had a meditation practice as part of their program.

Hearing the stories of other members during subsequent meetings, I heard myself through their words, their struggle with control, their impact on relationships, work, productivity, creativity.  I was not in denial any longer but acceptance of my own addiction. I feel when that happens, when we acknowledge we are no longer in control true healing can begin.

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

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Restoration instead of Recovery

In the dictionary recovery means “The act of returning to normal”.  However, anyone who has embarked on a path of recovery from addiction might tell you that 1.  There is no such thing as ‘normal’ and 2. Returning to normal is impossible.

What is normal in the first place?  Were you normal to begin with?  Who’s definition of normal are we talking about?

I propose instead to call the process of healing from addiction as one of restoration, which according to the dictionary means “The act of making new”.  The path of sobriety is one in which one’s world view, lifestyle and habits must change, be made new. The old ways don’t work any more.  It is time for restoration.

Just as we use the term ‘restoration’ for healing environmental devastation,  the recovering individual must take on the path of restoring their habitat, their self-worth, their perception of the world.

This is what I have found walking on this journey, my life absent of alcohol.  I knew it was time to change when drinking ceased to be something casual and social.  It had started to become a habit.   A habit that started to turn self-destructive and impacted all my relationships in some way, most of all, my relationship with myself.

I was tired of drinking to feel good, reduce anxiety, relieve boredom, blur reality, give me energy, put me to sleep, make me feel confident, etc., etc. etc.

I had tried to moderate my consumption over the years, even joining and later facilitating a Moderation Management group, a support system for attempting to control drinking.

But if you are prone to addiction, whether that be through genetics or culture or both, there is no control.  It is an illusion.

I can only speak for myself, but getting involved in the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous has provided both a program and source of support to to restore my world and my life to sanity.

I’ll write about this in another blog, but taking the step of attending the first meeting was huge for me because I had to finally admit the truth of my habit.  I am happy I didn’t have enter AA under any legal circumstance because going into the program voluntarily keeps me honest in this work of restoration.

Each day is now one in which I evaluate my choices, my decisions, my thoughts.  Making new ones instead of old ones that were leading me down a path I didn’t want to go.  New growth can occur from this restoration and with new growth comes transformation and release from what no longer honored me.

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey
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Welcome gentle snow blessing!

I’m witnessing the first Seattle snow this morning out my bedroom window.  It’s always lovely to see when you know it’s not going to accumulate or you have to shovel but you can appreciate the snow for what the snow is.  The quiet, light  and frosty blanket of white covering my the winter ground.  It reaffirms for me to continue the inner work I have started this season.  Spending much time in reflection, contemplation and meditation.  In Reiki parlance, I’d call that ‘Honoring the Pause’.

There have been several community gatherings and prayer circles I’ve been attending that support this inner state and I feel grateful for having been invited into their warm and nurturing embrace.

I think the snow in the time I have written this is now ceased, but it’s memory is still there, if only for another hour, saying to me, rest, rest, go within, become frozen and still, if only for the moment.

I honor this message.

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey

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Where does Reiki come from?

When I teach Reiki, I make a point of talking about all the world cultures that have used energy as part of their healing systems.  In China, it is called chi, in India, prana, and in our own Western civilization, the first physicians in ancient Greece talked about the 5 elements which included ether, which is similar to the same concept.

Reiki is equivalent to all these different words and descriptions.  What distinguishes Reiki is the system in which it is taught and practiced.

Students receive attunements, which are empowerments for their own subtle energy systems, helping to open them as channels to work with this universal life force.

The practice of Reiki is also very passive, it’s not directive, which is quite different from other systems.  The practice of Reiki is about ‘holding space’ and ‘being present’.  The practice is about offering healing energy for the highest and best good rather than ‘making something heal’ or removing something bad.

But where does this universal life force coming from?  It just is.  It’s always been.  It’s what connects the heavens with the earth.  It’s what allows all life forms to thrive.  The founder of the system of Reiki, Mikao Usui, had a satori, or illuminating experience on the sacred mountain, Kuryama in which he was infused with this energy.  He showed his students how to work with it and that is what has been passed down over the decades, teacher to teacher, teacher to student, student to student.

Copyright 2012 Eileen Dey

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Join the party as revamped MOHAI reopens

After 13 years, I finally made it to the Museum of History and Industry.  What a gem of a museum.  It makes me proud of being an adopted Seattlite and of all the wonderful inventions and technologies that have come out of this rich and entrepreneurial area.

For more info on upcoming events visit:

Join the party as revamped MOHAI reopens | Entertainment | The Seattle Times.

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