The Future of Reiki Practice

As we all move forward through this pandemic, I wanted to ask this group for their thoughts, ideas and decisions they may be making in how they will be practicing Reiki in-person if you choose to do so.

Below is a compilation of resources I created for my own practitioners enrolled in The Reiki Training Program.

Those of us who practice can attest to Reiki’s benefits in reducing stress and promoting healing, necessary in any time of crisis. This recent article in The Atlantic also reinforces the popularity of Reiki in traditional healthcare.

Any profession or vocation that interacts directly with people incurs a risk. Here is information on what percentage those risks are.

In scouring allied health profession websites for guidance (as there was scant information to direct Reiki practitioners) I found these guidelines from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW):

The WA state Dept. of Health has posted these guidelines for massage practitioners. What stands out for me the most is the requirement for therapists to change their clothes between sessions. If Reiki practitioners were to adopt this guideline, perhaps we would wear scrubs?Masks for both practitioner and client are recommended as well as the sanitation and hygiene mentioned above.

What are your thoughts on having more air filtration in your practice office/room?

Here’s an article on what Chinese Medicine has found in treating COVID-19 along with the recommendation of NOT using an elevator as it is a transmitter of the virus. So if you have an elevator in your building, you and your clients should use the stairs for now (if they or you are able).

When should we begin offering sessions? When testing/contact tracing in place? I feel all practitioners should purchase liability insurance if they haven’t already. Also should we have liability waivers for our clients to sign? ‘Hold Harmless Agreement’ is the legal term, releasing us from liability should a client become ill and contract tracing links that back to your office?

Please feel free to contact on the above and together, as a Reiki community, we can create a safe and healing future for everyone. For additional training in Ethics, Guidelines and Planning Your Practice you can visit The Reiki Training Program, offering WA State Certified Practitioner and Master Programs.

In light

Eileen

Photo and text Copyright 2020 Eileen Dey Wurst

Making a New Way

Photo by Markus Bürkle on Pexels.com

Finally, I feel like I am able to start planning for the next phase of the Reiki work I do.  Just like everyone else, I’ve had to process all the information and feelings and then find a way to adjust to all the recent rapid changes in our world to the best of my ability,.

You might know that I created a virtual support groupto help others through this process of dealing with the COVID-19 response.  Being featured in the Guardian was a highlight but helping all those that have come has been the true reward for me.

By the grace of synchronicity, my month of March was not a ‘teaching month’ for Reiki.  I had deliberately kept that schedule free to be available to both friends and family going through their own transitions.  Who knew?!

But as I look ahead at the rest of spring, I realize in order to keep teaching Reiki in a healthy, safe, and supportive way, it needs to go completely virtual.  Now, many Reiki teachers have been offering online classes for quite some time.  I always appreciated the option to teach in person.  So, for me, going virtual is most definitely novel Reiki training!

Online learning is definitely it’s own medium.  The positive aspect to this is that Reiki flows through time and space, so the energy itself doesn’t require you to be ‘in person’ with a teacher to learn it.

I’ve looked into pre-recording classes and offering them as webinars and it doesn’t jive with how I feel this healing system is best experienced and integrated.   It’s that difference between live and recorded music.  I also have always structured my classes to meet the needs individually of each student, each class.

That individualized attention is probably one of my hallmarks.

A Reiki class, however, isn’t like a straight lecture or strictly hands-on arts class.  It’s got both qualities and then some.

The way I teach in person is a combination of lecture, practice, ritual, sitting down, standing up, lying down and moving around.  It’s serious, it’s funny, it’s inspiring, it’s transformational.

So all those elements will go into the online format.  The video is important, but there will be times when just audio is only needed and periods where there is only silence and the student is having their own experience.

It’s a good challenge for me to continue to develop curriculum in this manner.  I’m grateful that despite the seeming limitations of social distancing and staying indoors, it affords me more time to work on this project and bring another form of The Reiki Training Program to the world.

I’ve already had several weeks of the Virtual Sharing and Healing Meditation Circles to explore how technology can assist teaching  best ways to convey energy healing practices through online learning.

My next virtual Reiki 1 class will be April 5^th.  Reiki 1 will provide an overview of the history and background of the healing system, instructions for self-practice and guidelines in working with others, pets and plants/spaces.  Attunements (empowerments) will be given as well as plenty of practice on one’s self and others in the class.

If you are interested to attend, you can sign up here.  All classes included continued mentorship through email or teleconference and participation in online circle sharing.  No pre-requisites required.  Be prepared to be surprised!

Copyright 2020 Eileen Dey Wurst

 

 

Ancestral Healing Meditation

From our monthly 4th Reiki Circle last night.  We opened by calling in the energy of all the directions.  Then, I began the meditation:

Envision a great tree magnificently standing at the edge of a field.  As you approach it, you are humble to it’s enormous trunk and branches.  This tree is ancient and has been here a long, long time.

As you approach, you offer a blessing to this great tree of cornmeal or tobacco.

With your hands folded in Gasho, you ask the tree for permission to enter into the earth realm, beneath the ground, down deep where it’s roots are connected to healing mother Earth.

The tree permits you to begin entering down deep into the earth, into the depths where the traces of your ancestors have lived and now lie.  Their mortal remains now part of the Earth.

I invite you to call upon the ancestor line you may be working with or feel most connected to-on your mother’s or father’s side or perhaps a spiritual lineage, such as that of the Reiki founders.

All those who have gone before are connected to you and now you to them.

They have had their own challenges when they were alive, and now have much wisdom to pass along to you.  Their experiences have taught the how to navigate the world with more ease.

I invite you to be open to the wisdom they have to share with you and also to ask any questions you might have for them to hold and reflect on.

As you connect to these ancestors, always ensure they are bright light.

Let yourself receive this guidance now.  Not forcing anything, but naturally allowing what needs to unfold to do so.

Ancestors often communicate in symbols colors or feelings, so notice what you notice if you attentions is drawn to any of these areas.

Give yourself permission to receive this wisdom.

I will play the drum for several minutes to allow any additional information that might need to come through. (Drum beat for 3 minutes)

Now, coming back to your breath, to your body in the chair, your feet on the ground, notice where you are now in body and mind.

Take your time coming back.  Rub the tops of your arms and legs and take a stretch if you need to.

Take this experience into the Reiki sessions we will now share in.

(We concluded the circle with giving each other Reiki sessions and closed each of the directions).

If you’d like to join us, we hold ancestor Reiki circles every 4th Wednesday, 7-9pm Georgetown Reiki Circle, 5701 3rd Ave S.  www.reikitrainingprogram.com

Copyright 2019 Eileen Dey Wurst, M.A, LMHC text and photo.

 

 

Seattle Brought the Party!

Over the weekend, several Reiki Fellowship members and myself attended the 35th annual NW Reiki Gathering in Breitenbush, OR.  It was the first time our group had attended.

Spread out over 4 days, over 90 participants came from around the world to connect, learn and exchange healing energy and ideas.  The founders of this gathering were from the Reiki Alliance, an organization set up by the Reiki grandmaster Hawayo Takata ( who was trained in the lineage of Reiki system founder Sensei Usui).

This traditional aspect of the Reiki Alliance permeated the gathering.  Timed hand placements,  Reiki performed in silence, emphasis on the Reiki precepts, and much acknowledgement to the past lineage bearers consumed the program.

Our Reiki Fellowship is a hybrid of Reiki Alliance principles and non-traditional techniques.  We were welcomed to the gathering, but felt cautious and discerning eyes watching us for the first days we were there.

I am grateful to our community, because were were a source of support during the early days of acclimating to an organization that was in the middle of changing (the recent leader had passed away and a new representative had just been elected).

The speakers chosen for this gathering, 3 men, actually were a hybrid of old and new school Reiki in their beliefs. Because this panel was male dominated, it was off-putting to many of the women and representatives of the LGBTQ community present.

But I suppose, all the different challenges that occupied this gathering, also permitted stronger bonds amongst community members to occur.

Our group met and exchanged information with almost everyone who had attended.  They now know about the only licensed vocational school of Reiki in the PNW, The Reiki Training Program and our work with hospice and veterans.

One of the highlights for me was on the last night of the gathering.  They held an 80’s themed dance party (and you know I love the 80’s!).  All our our group was out on the dance floor, being silly, having fun, dancing with one of the speakers and making a lot of people put aside beliefs for a moment and just bond through the medium of dance.

One of the participants came up to us afterward and said ‘Seattle brought the party!’.

Bringing joy and light has been our way each time the Reiki Fellowship has gathered.  It appears we have accomplished that mission!

We’ll continue on with our work in the world in Puget Sound, where our home base and community is.  Next year, we all agreed to resume our regularly scheduled summer retreat.  Stay tuned for details and in the meantime….

Always walk in your own integrity, your light will shine forth evermore!

Copyright Eileen Dey Wurst 2019

Diving into Reiki: A blast to the past

In doing some spring cleaning of old files I came across this keynote speech I did for the One Gathering back in 2007.  And yet, the sentiment is timeless.  Enjoy!

We are connected to everything.  I know that sounds cliché, but its so true.  I’ve been practicing and working with the Universal Energy of Reiki for over 10 years and I’ve come to understand this connection.  But recently, I completed my scuba diving certification and through this process I came to tangibly experience what I’ve come to embody as a Reiki practitioner and teacher.

Floating through the infinite expanse of the ocean, one begins to imagine what it is they want to create.  Think of  starfish, a starfish appears.  Watching your bubbles cascade upwards, one sees physics in action.  Sinking to the bottom of the sea floor, one is reminded of gravity effecting all the earth, everything.  Seeing a starfish engulfing a clam, the process of living and dying is present in from of ones eyes.

Reiki is like this circle of life, it is ever present, ever existed.  It permeates all of the world, we need to create the space and place to dive in and experience this phenomena.  This gathering, all of the OOL and volunteers have been aware of this process of working with energy.  Coming together, we all create a field of potential, channeling this energy into a space of intention.  The intention is to lift the vibration of all who are present.  To raise consciousness.  To allow for a transcendence of physical and mental limitations.

Like the scuba diver, one is able to become neutrally buoyant in a sea of healing energy.  What does not serve you can leave, falling away effortlessly.  What is true to your essence remains.  That is the heart of Reiki.  It leads you to the place you were meant to be.  What do you want to manifest?  Like the popular book and film, ‘The Secret’, working with the energy of Reiki allows one to attract and be attracted to that which is of the highest good.

But it is not a manipulative energy.  Like the ocean, it just is.  You can’t force the ocean!  There are no boundaries, there is just infinite, infinite potential.  Like outer space.  On my CD, Permission to Receive, I guide listeners on a cosmic journey to their inner and outer space.  This vast expanse is our true realm.  This physical, 3D realm in which we spend the majority of our lives only represents one view.  Dive deep into the oceans, cast out into the stars….these places are not just physical manifestations, they exist within the soul of each and every one of us.  When we take this journey, we transcend our boundaries.  We become aware of what this gathering is all about…that we are ONE…we are not our ego identities….we are not are personalities…these are colors of the rainbow each and everyone of us represents at any given point in time.

Give yourself permission to receive the experience of universal healing energy.  This is your birthright.  When one takes a Reiki class, one is opening their mind, body and spirit to the force that is all around us.  As one progresses along the Reiki path, the power of attention and intention become ever more a working reality.

I wish I could take you all to the bottom of the Puget Sound, where I was just a few days ago, in a warm, insulated, wetsuit, of course!  Somehow, being in the substance of water makes the concept of ‘ki’ and what it is that much more visible.  The dive team, a collection of random individuals, came together and became a connected unit, much like we are today.  We are in a sea of ‘ki’, we just can’t ‘see’ it, like we could if we were all in the water.  We could see particles of plant life floating about, random fish darting here and there, bubbles of oxygen rising from our tanks, floating to the surface and releasing out and merging with the air.  ITS SOOO VISUAL.  Can you see what I am describing?

What prevents us from seeing this and feeling this phenomena is our hard and fast attachment to the ego.  This is a part of our personality that thinks ‘its in charge’.  Its only one facet, like one side of diamond.  Its not the whole jewel.  I’ve often heard EGO stands for ‘Edging God Out’.  God being a force greater than our Selves.

You can use the wetsuit as the analogy of our ego.  It allows one to travel, function and survive through the matrix of the water environment.  It’s a covering, a protection, and a container.  It keeps one’s physical body intact.  Yet, the wetsuit only works when you let some water (ki) into it.  As that water coats your body, the insulating layer of the suit allows the water to heat to your body temperature.  But when it comes down to it, the wetsuit ego, is only one layer on top of the layer of water on top of our physical body, which is basically a bag of water contained by a layer of skin.

When we remove all those layers, those preconceptions, we are exposed and engulfed by the sea of ki, of Reiki, of the Universe.

But unlike being in water, where if we were to remove the wetsuit we would be in peril, when we move the go aside in the air, on the land, we merge with the air molecules…with the oxygen bubbles we can’t see, emitting from each and every one of us, from all the plants, the grass, the trees, the flowers, the water around us.

Let yourself go, feel the force of the energy present in this place, the nature, the people, the intention.  Reiki is about getting out of the way and making space for healing to occur.  Healing means becoming whole.  We come into ‘attunement’, at oneness with our true essence when we do this.

Reiki practitioners and masters (teachers) serve as guides on this path back to source.  We are your scuba instructors.  Take the dive, journey and return transformed.

Copyright 2018 Eileen Dey Wurst

Musings from the Spiritual Path

I remember in 1991 when I first visited Seattle on a family vacation how radiant and lush the landscape and views were.  I had travelled many parts of the globe by then, and yet touching down here at that time, I felt a deep sense of home.  The land whispered to me, “Come back”.

It took eight more years, a marriage, a divorce, a graduate degree and being introduced to Reiki before I was ‘ready’ to begin to grow roots here.  This internal preparation with external transition was the first manifestation of my spiritual journey.

The first decade in Seattle was about clarifying my vocational vision and stepping into the role of leader in establishing the Reiki Training Program.  Along that path I explored  much of the NW back country and became attuned to the seasons and weather here.  My artist self gained traction through various creative pursuits.  I travelled through Asia and South America with expanded awareness of other healing traditions.

Personal relationships ended, deepened or started anew.  My Reiki work and fellowship began to expand with the publication of my first book and guided meditation CDs.

Over this last almost-decade, a whole new spiritual path has begun.  It did require me to professionally ‘own’ both my counseling and Reiki paths with the state’s requirement of licensure.  That path has provided me with a whole other world of gratifying healing work and experience I never would have gotten from the Reiki path alone.

My home went through multiple transitions from becoming a public workshop and healing space for students and clients into a humble but creative ceramic arts studio.  Family health crises dominated these years, but developing sober strategies enabled an ability to drop further into witnessing.  Despite those tragedies, travel also occurred, to the Mediterranean and all throughout the Baltic.

Again, personal relationships ended, deepened or started anew.

I’m taking a moment today to just catch my breath, looking back with clarity and looking forward with fresh and curious eyes as to what lays in store.  I couldn’t possibly have predicted any of the profound experiences I am grateful to have had when I first walked this land.

I am prepared to be surprised at what comes next.  In gratitude for the journey…..

Image credit

Copyright 2017 Eileen Dey Wurst

Self-empowerment through Reiki

Over the years I’ve read and heard many people discount the validity of Reiki.  Saying that when you open yourself to being a channel for Universal Energy, you let ‘everything else’ in.  As a teacher and practitioner since 1997, I can say I have yet to encounter any harm that has occurred in working with Reiki.  I’ve taught 1000’s of students.  I feel honored that I learned to work with Reiki in a safe and supportive environment from my teacher.  She emphasized taking your time in between Reiki workshops and practice, practice, practice.  Bring your questions to Reiki circles, which serve as continuing education for the Reiki practitioner.  When unsure, take a break.  Ask for guidance, and return to practice again.

This is the model the Reiki Training Program is founded on.  Continued growth and learning, stretched out through time and mentorship.

Reiki honors and supports an individual.  It is Universal Energy, meaning, it is greater than the ego of the individual.  It has a consciousness that is greater and assists for the highest and best good.  That being said, Reiki honors free will.  An individual can choose to follow through with a decision or not.  Reiki is not religion or dogma.  But when one taps into Reiki, they tend to hear their truer voice.  Again, an individual can choose to listen to that or not.

Reiki flows through the practitioner to the person/client they are working on.   A practitioner does not transmit anything to the client nor does the client leave a ‘residue’ on the practitioner.  As a practitioner progresses through Reiki, they become more sensitive and aware of their client’s emotional states, sharing in empathy, but proper training in boundaries and grounding allow for a safe session to take place.  No ‘backwash’ will occur when a Reiki practitioner is grounded and present and following the basic Reiki Process, which I will summarize as follows:

This energy is greater than you, not about you.  If “you” think you are “doing Reiki”, you are not practicing Reiki.  Reiki is about “being”.  It is effortless.  What does require focus is letting go of the ego.

Let go, and let it flow.  Be curious.  Notice what you notice.  Hold space for the healing (return to wholeness” to occur.  This is a sacred process.  It is quite simple, yet utterly profound.  Take a Reiki 1 class founded in this tradition and you will be on a healthy path of self-empowerment.

I hope this clears up any confusion as to what Reiki is and what it is not, but open to questions and comments!!

Copyright 2013 Eileen Dey Wurst.

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

I learned Reiki, now what?

After teaching a full weekend of Reiki classes I often wonder if students are pondering this question.  I advise to continue daily self-Practice and attend local Reiki circles to keep ‘in the flow’ of the energy, but I often feel they want something more.

That’s my challenge as an instructor, because the ‘more’ is really in the practice.  And practice seems so mundane and regular…and yet, yes, it is, but that’s really what allows students to progress further on the path.

Additional events, like Reiki Soundscape, where musicians play to a Reiki circle are fun excursions, and further opportunities to meet community.

Offering mini sessions to co-workers, family members and friends also can assist in re-creating the experiences that occurred in the training workshop.

Ideally, I’d like to see the tradition of ‘Reiki Dojo’ or practice hall set up, just as there are yoga studios to go to.  But until that happens (such endeavors are small business risks, of course), students can start where they are.

Tuning in to the weekly Distant Reiki Group is one alternative.  Or, they can create a space in their room or home where they devote daily attention to exploring what healing energy can do.

Then, beyond the home, out in the world, nature provides further connection in the offering of Reiki to trees, lakes, rivers, wildlife, etc.

If that’s not available, find your local dog park, zoo, animal shelter, botanical garden.  Any and every living thing will respond to the healing power of Reiki intention.

You don’t have to always do hands-on Reiki, you can offer from afar with the projection of your own mind/third eye or hands held up in offering.

Taking related courses in chakras, meridians and meditation also can assist grasping the power of this technique.

And above all, be patient.  Learning Reiki is a process.  You don’t ‘get’ the whole system in one day or one week.  It takes time, integration, and yes, that wonderful word, practice.

Photo credit

The Global Outcry That Saved the Amazon

2 weeks ago we had our first distant Reiki healing group and our target was the Amazon.  Here’s a story just released yesterday that’s also in synch with our work!!!

Half a million citizens of the world joined with 1,000 indigenous protesters in demanding that Bolivian President Evo Morales halt construction on a highway that would slice through the heart of the Amazon.

Avaaz.org launched the petition that was delivered by staff to top Bolivian cabinet ministers during a long and stormy meeting.

“The pressure worked!”

“Our widespread solidarity strengthened the legitimacy of the indigenous protesters whom Morales tried to marginalize and threatened the president’s valued reputation as an environmentalist,” wrote Avaaz leaders.

Because of the campaign, Morales canceled construction. He repealed the decision granting permission for the project, and pledged to protect the impacted TIPNIS national park and indigenous territory — the crown jewel of the Bolivian Amazon.

Avaaz.org is a 10-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.)

Learn more at their website: www.avaaz.org

Text and photo credit