I love how Reiki works, but especially in unexpected ways.  Tania Bakas, from www.givingwithin.com and fellow C.R.A. member, and I were at a Wellness Fair together this past Spring and Tania had just given a woman a 15 min. Reiki session. The woman was very relaxed and loved the experience. She then spoke of how she sort of half heartedly expected it to help her neck.  She said her neck was still sore, not her throat, but her neck – the muscles, tendons etc. felt very tight.  I suggested that the woman might want to massage the acupressure point on her ear that relates to the neck and Tania suggested the woman might want to massage the point on the base of her thumbs.  As the woman lifted her hands to do just that, we noticed that she had finger rings on both of her thumbs that were so tight they left deep indentations. Tania pointed out that there could be a correlation between the tight rings on these points and her sore neck muscles. She said her neck was never sore in the morning – she took her rings off at night before she went to bed, but put them on in the morning and by the time the evening came around her neck was very sore. What an ‘ah ha’ moment for us all! So did Reiki help her neck? Absolutely – just not in the way she expected. I love how Reiki works!

We all have great experiences that we could put into very short excerpts. Sure there are some wonderful ‘big’ and exciting sessions/experiences we have, but it’s the little moments that add up and help us evolve through our Reiki practices. If you have a Reiki Moment you’d like to share, please do.  I look forward to reading it!

‘til next time,
Reiki Blessings,
V

Today, as I sit in Ghasso saying Mikao Usui’s 5 precepts, I focus an especially long time on “Just for today be grateful.”  While I think we should be grateful and I want to be grateful, all the time, I find that there are times when it is certainly challenging.  Last night, someone stole all the cushions from the chairs on our front porch.  What’s to be grateful about that?

My initial thoughts: What the? How dare they! I can’t believe it! That’s not fair! Why would they do that? Who would do that? And a few other words I won’t repeat. But because I am who I am, I wonder what am I supposed to learn from this? How can I be grateful? And so I continue thinking… and feeling…

One thought wants to believe that someone took them because they wanted them for their own chairs because they didn’t have the money to buy their own. Compassion.

Another thought says they took them to sell to someone else – ok, I can still get my head around that – the person who will buy then will get them really cheap and that’s ok because they also, cannot afford to buy new ones. A little compassion, mixed with frustration at the person who’s selling them for money.  Money that they either need to feed themselves, compassion again, or for drugs.  Hmm… sadness and compassion because they are in fear; and frustration because there’s nothing I can do to help.

Yet another thought knows that only one cushion was new, the others were really old and worn. So chances are they have just been thrown in a ditch somewhere.  Anger.  What a waste of good cushions and such a detriment to the environment! More anger.

I could go on but I stop.  What am I doing? Why am I spending so much energy thinking about who and why? I’ve been making up stories.  What really happened to the cushions?  Possibly, something that I haven’t even made up.  Who knows?  But what I do know is that in only a few moments I’ve made up three stories that may or may not be true. And does it really matter what the ‘real’ story is?  Will knowing actually make it better?  It’s only my mind that’s creating the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ feelings depending on the story I am telling.

So.  What’s to be grateful about today?

Well, as I focus back on what could I be grateful for when someone has taken something that doesn’t belong to them, I realize that I’ve calmed down and settled into two things:

I am grateful to not think about it; and divert my focus to many wonderful things –the home I live in, the food I eat, my body, and the relationships in my life, the weather – rain or shine, or just being alive.

And I am grateful to think about it, make up stories, feel the feelings, and then let them go.  I am grateful that I’m learning that when something beyond my control happens I do have control over what I think and do in reaction to it.  While it may not always be easy, if I am patient with myself, I will allow myself to process the experience and release what is no longer needed.

I take a breath in… hold for a few seconds… and then blow out:

“Just for now, I am grateful”

“Nothing has ever happened or can happen to you that is not a gift and a blessing, but it’s difficult to be thankful until you find the hidden benefit in what may seem at first to be a negative event. Gratitude makes you present with whatever you are doing. You are not here to run away from sadness to happiness. The only thing that truly satisfies the soul is love and appreciation.” – Demartini

‘til next time,
Reiki Blessings,
V

Something else that Reiki continues to teach me is the ever-evolving ability to discover more about myself.  Learning to listen comes into my awareness a lot these days. I’m learning to just listen, observe and pay attention, not with judgment but with a kindness and gentleness that I didn’t know I had.

I teach effectively and communicate quite well, but what does that really mean and how is that related to listening and self-growth? Many of us already know that a big part of being an effective communicator is to speak clearly, clarify by asking questions, and to listen to the other person by being open to learning from them, too.

But how often do we really communicate with self, at all, let alone effectively?  It should work the same way as with others, shouldn’t it? We talk to ourselves all the time, usually in the form of thought, but not always.  Now here’s an interesting belief – My granny used to say it was ok to talk to herself but (don’t you just love the ‘buts’?) but…..she would only be considered crazy if she answered back.  Really?

And how well do we listen to ourselves?  Well, we listen to the self-talk when it’s negative and it’s often in the form of the accusing ‘second’ person tone: Who do you think you are?  What makes you think you deserve ……?  You’re too sensitive, emotional, fat, talkative….  You’re not ……… enough.  We often have difficulty listening when we perceive it’s positive. And the times that we do, our self-talk voice takes over and tells us we are in ego.  Well it’s right we  are often in ego, but we are in ego when we have negative self-talk as well. So think about how it would feel to listen to a positive voice… You’re wonderful, beautiful, deserving, already perfect!

And that’s just verbal communication.  What about nonverbal? Our body communicates with us all the time.  It’s hungry, tired, happy, and sad, comfortable, in pain; relaxed, stressed, muscles are tight, loose, sore…  Or the hairs stand up on the back of our neck or arms, a gut ‘feeling’ to do or not to do something – intuition.

By learning to listen to ourselves, even if for just a moment at a time, to start with, we become more in tune with life – our lives.  As we practice more we can tap into unlimited sources of creativity.  Now that’s fun! And when we are having fun, we are being present and in the moment. And sometimes, more than you may think, when we just stop and listen, we find the peace that is already within.

“Listening” quotes from some well known people:

• “Learn to Listen” Dr. Gabor Mate When The Body Says No
• “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak” Epictetus
• “If you listen to your fears, you will die never knowing what a great person you might have been” Robert H. Schuller
• “Let me listen to me and not to them” Gertrude Stein
• ”Listen to your intuition. It will tell you everything you need to know” Anthony J. D’Angelo
• “Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don’t have to do anything else. We don’t have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen” Margaret J Wheatley

So I continue to learn to listen and observe not just others around me, but me.  Just watching myself do what I’m doing, feel what I’m feeling, experience what I’m experiencing and  forgive if I ‘think’ I should be ‘something’ else.  Basically just “Be”.  Och..….. there’s that word again:)

‘til next time,
Reiki Blessings,
V