Being a Healer in an Age of Unity

As a helper and healer in the world, we are sensitive people, to both emotions and to the world we live in. The effects of the recent attacks on Paris and the mass shootings in the US have shaken a bit of my own confidence in humanity and for a world based on peace, rather than violence.
I see this same emotional angst in many of the clients I serve. When I first went into private practice, it was in the year before 9/11. After that fateful day, I saw firsthand how clients were dealing not just with their own issues but with this greater problem, terrorism, now brought front and center into their psyche.
Then, of course, there were all the wars we became involved in. I continued in my service work as counselor, Reiki practitioner and teacher to the public at large, but I felt a greater calling to offer help to those who were on the frontline.
That lead me to approach the Veterans Administration to offer Reiki classes and sessions to veterans, as the war(s) to come I forsaw having many soldiers returning needing deep healing. My colleague Michael Emanuel and I taught many veterans throughout the years and this year we received actual funding for veterans to pursue Reiki practitioner or master training.
It’s an accomplishment that came out of wanting to help heal a bruised and battered world.
This time around, with the rise of Daesh, the Syrian crisis, the bickering and posturing of politicians over what to do, I’m feeling a calling to global healing work again.
I am not a historian or a politician. I am a teacher and a healer, so those are the skills and abilities I continue to offer.
The vision for this global healing work is still forming. Like my experience with the veterans, it continues to evolve.
I was going to title this blog ‘Being a Healer in the Age of Terror’, but realized that the word ‘terror’ just reinforces itself. A key to dealing with the tragedies that occur in the world is to find a sense of unity. Reiki circles offer such a sense, a possible project could be organizing a day of Reiki circles across the country. Any volunteers? But I have other ideas just beneath the surface, and will give space for them to come forward. It all starts with a thought, then it can turn into a vision then it can become reality.
But I welcome thoughts and opinions on how you might see healing work being of service during this next evolution in the Age of Unity.

Image credit COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – MARCH 14: People of different faiths form a peace ring outside the synagogue where a Jewish security guard was shot last month in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 14, 2015. (Photo by Recep Yasar /Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

The Semi-Permeable Membrane of Separation: Finding touch through technology

When we are physically separated from a loved one, for an extended period of time, there is a feeling within of loss. The routine of connection has been disrupted. There is vacant space in the moments once filled by presence.
And yet, they still exist in the world, living and breathing. The connection is still there, despite lack of words or direct emotion.
It reminds me of the experience of when a loved one physically dies, the same detachment from presence, yet with those experiences, I still feel connection.
When my grandmother died, although deeply sad, I felt her transition. We had lived in separate parts of the country for years, with some visits in person. But we had cultivated a relationship despite lack of physical presence. We spoke on the phone, we wrote letters. We held each other in our thoughts. She never used social media, so we ‘touched’ each other in the ways she knew the best.
Now it is I that hold her in my thoughts. I don’t know what or where her soul has gone, but her impact on my life remains within me. When I think of memories with her, they make me smile, they make me cry, they validate who I am and who I was through my life.
But most of the living beings we know and love whom we are separated from have a sort of semi-permeable membrane through which we can connect called technology. Whether that is by phone, text, email or social media, it is a way of maintaining touch through this medium.
Yet, the substitute can be two-dimensional. What adds the third dimension? I think it is love, laughter and light.
These three elements can only be ‘shown’ through actions rather than automatic responses.
For instance, I’m a fan of friends leaving comments on the Facebook posts I make rather than just ‘liking’ everything. What do they think about it? What does it bring up for them? Those comments add a 3rd dimension.
Yet, we default to what is easiest, perhaps even what feels ‘safe’. If we comment on the social media membrane, we are letting ourselves be heard, be witnessed, be vulnerable.
Friends and family at a distance connect through these membranes, but if we were in person, would we really ‘like’ everything that is said? Wouldn’t that just be boring?

I am a writer and a counselor, so words are my tools I work with every waking moment.  It’s how I find meaning in the world, it’s how I keep touch on others and where they are.  Feedback is my lifeline.
So, like with this blog, I always welcome comments.

Copyright 2015 Eileen Dey

Healing the Healer: How to use Reiki guidance to heal your body and your client

This blog written by Reiki Master and Fellowship member Jacquie Hansen.  In our world around us if you have been tuning into news one of the leading causes of disease is inflammation in our bodies. This has many causes that separately would not be a big deal but when put together is a caustic combination. This combination is stress, chemicals and pesticides in both food and environment, and an overall lack of self-love. Reiki is an amazing healer and has been shown to greatly reduce inflammation in the body and activate the parasympathetic system to help us heal. But what do we do when we (or our clients) are systemically inflamed? I want to share my story and how Reiki and my Reiki guides have shown me how to heal through the use of therapeutic nutrition.
My Story: In my experience I was born with an overgrowth of candida and fungus that I spent my life learning to heal and learn from. My journey has been frustrating at times and I felt more than once that there was no way to cure my disease. But I kept challenging the Universe, tuning into Reiki, asking the question: what would help me heal? Through this earnest question I learned so much about nutrition (even to get a degree in nutrition), candida, fungus in the body, anti-inflammatory diets, and new innovate ways companies are providing products that are affordable and will finally allow me to heal the body. I know that I needed to be healed, to be free of inflammation so that I could more fully and calmly live in this world. So I share this with you to give you some nutritional advice I learned along the way and also ways to navigate the vast amount of knowledge and “experts” there are out there ever ready to give out advice and charge you a lot for it.
Throughout this journey I have shared some insights with friends and family but never sought out to “show the world” what I know. It’s been a slow guidance and really until the last 6 months or so that it’s been trickling into my Reiki Healing practice. So it feels like a natural shift and not contrived. I am fully convinced that in completely committing to healing my body I am healing our world.
Case Study: While conducting a treatment with Susan (name changed for privacy) I was able to tune into her needs. She was having symptoms of pain in arm and shoulder. She was also highly stressed. Now I believe that her guides using nutritional knowledge I already have gave me insight into what she needed. I was guided to suggest a Tumeric supplement to naturally help with pain and inflammation in her body. It was exactly what she needed.
Be your own guiny pig. From my study of yoga the philosophy has encouraged self study. To try things out on ourselves and see how we feel after. I also am a scientist by nature so this route appealed to me. I noticed when I worked on a farm in Costa Rica and at fresh food daily I felt so good, energized and I felt Reiki strongly. When I returned I made an intention to find fresh foods and not have it be costly. So I learned to forage for edible weeds and even volunteered at a local organic farm. I was also introduced to the concept of “superfood” green powders. I balked at this due to the cost but even the expensive brands are about $1 a serving which is a lot less than I spend on a coffee or smoothie. I’d rather be putting lots of nutrition in my body than a cup of coffee or tea daily. I also experimented with this and noticed more energy, a better feeling of well-being, and better regulation of my body temperature. Another experiment was using raw turmeric in smoothies. I went from being mostly dependent on ibuprofen to not having used any for about a year. It’s amazing stuff! One more huge shift was when I started using probiotics. I had always bought the cheapest out there and had no positive results. But when I started buying a more expensive kind, I really noticed a difference. The brain fog I had been living with was lifted, I felt smarter and clearer than I ever had in my life. I have since moved to a cheaper and possibly more effective one. I suggest when doing and trial run with anything new it’s important to try something for at least 5-7 days and journal how you are feeling and doing. If possible do it for a month so you can really notice the shift. It takes 28 days to cycle our cells and fully renew (in general for most of the body) so this is a great way to experiment to see if something is working for you!
Things to try:
Tumeric: reduced inflammation, pain relief. I recommended raw but isn’t everywhere (I get it at my local CO-OP). Consume with white or black pepper to increase the absorption of the vital chemicals.
Supergreen powder. The one I use daily is Skoop as they also have a great support for local farmers (full disclosure I also am a rep). Syncro-Genesis is also great and the owner’s blog is extremely insightful.
Foraging. I got my start from finding a foraging book for my local area. Each place is different so search out local experts and go for a walk with them!
Support local farms; Community Supported Agriculture(CSA). If buying a box seems too costly consider volunteering or splitting one with a neighbor. It was a great way to support local community and eat super healthy food!
Probiotics. 2 kinds I use: Garden of Life, Raw Probiotics and Garden of Life, Ultra Primal Defense.

Reiki Review of 2014

Here it comes.  The end to another amazing, challenging and eventful year.  When I reflect on all the wonderment that’s occurred, I’m happy I’m taking a pre-Christmas pause in lovely San Diego to compose this.

So here goes:

January:  We started off with Reiki circles at the charming Ravenna Healing House.  I couldn’t be there, as my family life was taking a turn, my Dad’s health was in a tenous balance, with many months of surgery and rehabilitation on the horizon.  Our Reiki classes and Soundscapes continued on, sparkling into the year ahead.

February:  A month of love and light, and yet, what I remember best is Valentine’s Day Reiki sessions!

March:  The beginning of working with some awesome Reiki practitioners and mentoring students and putting positive intention toward increasing my counseling work.

April:  I went on a women’s retreat to the Camp Brotherhood sanctuary in Mount Vernon and set my sights on holding a Reiki Retreat there later in August.  It is a truly magical and restorative place and I can’t wait until next year for our return!

May:  I moved one office into West Seattle Wellness and a whole new group of colleagues and clients opened up.

June:  When Seattle becomes paradise!  It was a beautiful, sunny and warm summer, and I remember many happy circles and sessions with smiles!  My Dad’s health had begun to regain strength and it felt like I could take my first deep breath in many months.

July:  Reiki Fellowship’s annual outreach to the Shoreline Solarfest!

August:  Reiki Retreat!!!  (see April entry)

September:  Left Ravenna Healing House and moved into Fremont Integrative Health Center.  A new chapter for clients, circles and spreading light through Seattle!!

October:  Counseling video unleashed!  Busy classes and circles as fall gains momentum.

November:  Last Soundscape of the year, as we get ready to enter into holiday season!

December:  Here we are, and we’ve got one more Reiki circle of the year!  We’ve got so many new workshops and classes in 2015, please stay tuned and keep being that beacon of healing and peace that the world so needs!

I’m grateful for all the students, teachers, colleagues and friends who have given so much love!  Thank you!

in light

Eileen

 

Sending Reiki to the Ebola Crisis

Join us November 1st, 2014 from 10-11am PST.

I feel it’s overdue for Reiki practitioners called to action to set some time aside to send Reiki to the situation, whether that be to the patients, families, medical staff, research scientists, officials and basically into the future, for assistance, light and compassion.

This being the Day of the Dead, to also honor the victims who have died in tragedy, we honor you.

Join from wherever you might be, 10-11am PST.  Feel free to post comments to the event page.

Thank you for your support!

Cultivating a Successful Healing Practic

Cultivating a Successful Healing Practice Thursday, 10/23 6:30-8:30pm West Seattle http://www.reikitrainingprogram.com/node/50

Feeding the pets of homebound residents:

Feeding the pets of homebound residents: http://hooplaha.com/2014/10/animeals-feeding-the-pets-of-home-ridden-residents/

Back to balance part 2

I’m taking a blog break over this and next week to make time for both exercise and meditation.  I’ll come back a bit refreshed and see what new insights will come forth.  See my post from yesterday on maintaining balance…some times, leaving one thing allows room for others!

Here we go….

 

Living in Balance

“How do you stay so calm?” asked the young print shop clerk I’ve worked with for years.  “It’s right here on the handouts I’m printing”, I said as I pointed to the word on the cover, “Reiki“.  “It’s a method for managing stress”, I continued.  He then told me he needed to find such a technique, as his doctor had warned him he could suffer heart problems from continuing the way he had been going.  “Josh, your such a young guy!  Do you have high blood pressure?”.  Josh solemnly agreed.

Josh, the amazing print shop maverick, who has saved so many classes and events I’vetaught by going the extra mile to make sure all the printed materials were done on time is 28 years old. I suddenly saw him in an even more compassionate light.  He’s told me bits and pieces about his life as we’ve interacted over the years.  I like that about the clerks I’ve come to know at print shops, because you get to have relationships with people who really do make a difference to your life and work.I think the next time I go in I’m gifting him aReiki session, an early Christmas present.  He deserves it.Later in the day, aReiki student of mine also inquired on how I maintain balance in my life, with all the activities and work I do.  I told her it was less a ‘secret formula’ and more a dedication to my own self-care.As I’ve gotten busier over this past year, the frequency of when I receive bodywork has increased.  I get some form of bodywork usually once a week.  Sometimes it’s twice a week.  That’s only 2 hours to the days spent in service as a teacher and practitioner, but those 2 hours are my recharging stations.  Depending on how I feel, I getReiki (of course),massage, Zenshiatsu, or acupuncture.   Those 4 techniques help maintain my energy flow.I’ve mentioned I also shifted my diet about a year ago.  I’m gluten and dairy-free.  I also gave up alcohol.  Amazing difference.  I have more sustained energy throughout the day.And I wish I could say I’m dedicated to a physical exercise practice, but I’m getting there.  It’s hard to find an extra hour for that each day, so my goal is usually 2-3/week.What else?  Attitude.  I’m something like 80 plus days into this happiness blog marathon, it’s definitely helped!  And support from my family, partner and friends.  I feel blessed to be living in balance!Eileen Dey 2014

 

New Program Encourages Young Kids To Read To Homeless Cats

As they are learning to read, kids can be nervous to read in front of people. But what about cats? These opinion free felines are the perfect reading audience for students. Animal Rescue League Of Berks County, Pennsylvania came up with the program Book Buddies, which invites elementary school kids to practice their reading skills on homeless cats. Parents of students participating say that they’ve seen improvement in their child’s reading ability, thanks to the furry, judgement-free environment where they can practice. The young readers are eager to build confidence and learn to read, while cats want the love and affection of a friend. It is the perfect set up!

Great story, read more here.