My personal journey to discovering Reiki started about five years ago when I was nannying for my first family after nursing school. The family's across the street neighbor, Kevin (who was a hospice patient and had terminal cancer), was looking for a home health aide to help care for him while his wife was working out of town each week. Since I had just left nursing school I felt it was something I could really do and I really liked Kevin; he reminded me of my dad and I was excited to be using my nursing skills to help him. Part of what I would do with Kevin was to bring him to doctors appointments and therapies. It was with Kevin that I first learned about Reiki. Kevin would go to Reiki once a week. I didn’t know anything about this healing modality but I began to get curious as I watched, week after week, it would lift Kevin’s spirits, make his personality bubblier and more talkative, and decrease his pain where he would need less if his pain medications. It basically brought him back to life and renewed his desire to be here still for almost the remainder of the week (until his next session). I remember asking Kevin about Reiki and him telling me he thought it was mumbo-jumbo at first too, until he did it and found so much benefit from it. I stayed with Kevin and continued taking him to Reiki every week until he passed away around Valentine’s Day in 2015. I felt honored to get to help care for this father and husband during the last months of his life. And I wouldn’t know then just how much his experience, openness, and honesty about Reiki would help me years later.
Fast forward to four years later and I would’ve never imagined but my own child would be a hospice patient and I would be searching for some type of modalities to help her and my family get through this stage of life. It was two weeks after we got Luna’s fatal diagnoses; two weeks we sat with and waited for Luna to die; Two weeks of hoping that hospice would take us on as a charity case (we didn’t have insurance at the time) and two weeks of being utterly alone with our dying baby as we never ended up getting hospice in Indy and we’re really left to be figure out Luna’s dying journey all on our own. We were in such shock. But as those two weeks went by and we realized we were going to be on our own, hospice would not be coming and as Luna’s seizures became more and more controlled; it seemed that death was further and further away, We started searching for healing modalities, practitioners, and healers of all kinds who wouldn’t give up on Luna so easily (as conventional medicine had) and see her for the living child she still is. That’s when I remembered Reiki... and shortly after that, we found Lyn.
I knew immediately that Lyn would be an angel for us in this journey with Luna. I could feel her energy so strongly through her website, I knew she’d end up being the right match for our family Reiki master. I text her and we made arrangements to go and meet her and discuss Reiki and all she could do for our family. Secretly, I was hoping it was something we could do as a family and not just for Luna, because truly, Glenn and I needed the lift and healing in our hearts and souls just as much as Luna needed it. Lyn was so intuitive herself, that she already knew that I would be asking this and that we needed help as a family, and not as single units. We spent a couple of hours getting to know Lyn and learning about Reiki and how it could help us on our journey with Luna and how it could help Luna herself. After our first meeting we scheduled our first session with her just the next day. I must say it was so refreshing to meet somebody like that, living in Indiana, where it felt like people like Glenn and I are far and few between. With Lyn, it felt like we were at home, with our people, with someone who understood us and how we look at the universe.
So from that session forward we went in for weekly family sessions (they lasted anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours a session) until we moved away from Indy. You know, I’m not sure that Lyn fully understands how much she means to us and how grateful that we are for her to have come into our lives when she did and for her to have helped us in the ways that she did. We will forever be grateful to you Lyn.
The healing and growth that both Glenn and I received in our Reiki sessions with Lyn are almost indescribable. At times, we would both get into such deep meditations and have such profound revelations and knowing’s, and healing, and connections with Luna’s higher self and others who watch over and guide us, that it almost fell unreal. Going to our sessions with Lyn kept us lifted through all the tragedy we were experiencing. It helped us to stay grounded in the moment; it helped us to understand the bigger picture and that we are all so connected energetically, vibrationally, and spiritually. It helped us understand that even if we lose Luna physically we will never lose her fully. It was during our family Reiki sessions with Lyn that I’ve had some of the most profound connections and knowing’s with Luna and those who guide and watch over us.
When we moved back to Las Vegas we met with a handful of Reiki practitioners and while they were all kind and wonderful, no one compared to Lyn and the connection we had with her. Despite that, Luna was getting sicker and sicker and it was getting harder and harder to bring her out and about. Reiki practitioner’s that come to the home we’re charging $75-$100 an hour per person and here we are a family of three. It was just not financially feasible any longer. I also noticed, when we move to Las Vegas, that Reiki sessions here don’t always include the intuitive reading side, crystal healing, or sound healing of what we had experienced with Lyn and grown to know Reiki as. For us, Reiki isn’t Reiki without the magical, intuitive side of it.
I knew this was a sign from the universe that it was time for me to become a Reiki practitioner myself.
In 2019 I became a level II Usui Reiki practitioner. We were honored enough to have a local Reiki master, Sheila, come to the house and attune and teach Glenn and I level I and myself to level II as well. Luna was present and so she too is attuned to the healing energy of Reiki. Sheila is a kind, patient, mothering soul and I am so grateful that she was willing to bring these teachings to me as it is several days of 6-8 hours of learning and without me being able to leave Luna for that amount of time, I worried it would be impossible for me to learn at this point in life. But Sheila made sure I didn't miss out on learning this healing energy modality. Then in 2020 I received my Reiki mastership training and am working on completing my Reiki master teacher certification by the end of the year so that I can begin teaching others this amazing, healing tool!
Reiki came in and almost saved our lives in so many ways, and I feel honored to be a Reiki practitioner now. I hope, in the future, I might be able to help another family who’s going through similar tragedies as we are, that I might help them feel like life can still go on during the deep sadness that comes with having a terminal ill child; that there’s a purpose and a plan to all that we suffer through and to know as long as they’re open to it, they’ll NEVER lose their connection with their child.
As a Reiki master practitioner, I use this energy medicine daily in so many different ways. I use Reiki on Luna and myself daily and on Glenn and Marley when they’ll allow me lol. I use it on the donated breastmilk (and on my own when I was breastfeeding Luna), through my feet to our dog Marley (who likes to lay at my feet to get his reiki sessions in), to help my husband balance, open, and align his chakras, on my daughter luna to ease her pain, bring her comfort and peace and knowing. I also use reiki energy to help cleanse the house and my crystals. I use it to strengthen the depth and intensity of my meditations. I send it distantly to loved ones and friends when they're in need.
What is Reiki?
Rei= universal higher power Ki = life force
Most simply put, Reiki is a form of energy medicine (biofield therapy to be exact) that is used as a spiritual healing tool that helps one return themselves or others to balanced functioning on every level (emotional, mental, physical, social, spiritual).
Reiki is closest to meditation then other forms of energy medicine.
It is not a religion and in fact, requires no belief in the practice to benefit from its energies.
It brings rapid relief from pain/anxiety and rapidly reduces stress.
Reiki works to balance our bodies so it can support our well-being and strengthen our natural ability to heal.
The level of the biofield that reiki addresses and has an affect on, is the most subtle levels. And once the energy of reiki is accessed, it gently encourages these levels of the bitfield to return towards balance.
Reiki is only positive, it can only help; it can never hurt.
It is safe during pregnancy, labor, and breastfeeding.
Benefits of Reiki:
supports healing and growth
brings great relaxation
pain relief
anxiety relief
stress reduction
improved sleep
improved digestion
speeds up recovery time
greater sense of wellbeing
can help prevent/minimize autoimmune flare ups caused by inflammation or stress
aides in feeling less depressed
aides in feeling more motivated
aides in going into a deep meditative state
relief from side effects of medications/radiation/chemotherapies
strengthens intuition
encourages the body systems and chakras to balance
aides in expanding creativity
aides in more relaxed healthful breathing
aides in developing enthusiasm to care for oneself better
provides profound peacefulness to one during death and dying
If you're interested in booking a distant Reiki session with me please click HERE to be redirected to the booking page!
References:
Reiki, a Comprehensive Guide (2006). Miles, P.