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It was a typical day at the office. Because I was the manager of our growing mental health clinic, I had the task of interviewing psychotherapists for a new position. During one interview, the candidate mentioned she’d just become a Reiki Master and hoped to integrate it into her work in our clinic, if she was offered the position. I had no idea what being a Reiki Master meant. I responded in a very unusual way when the applicant mentioned something in an interview that I did not understand.
– I did not ask a follow-up question! Because she had the kind of experience our clinic needed, she was offered the position and she accepted it. During her first day on the job, I asked more about the technique she had mentioned during the interview.
She explained Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of energy healing. I had never heard the term, “energy healing” before this moment. She described how she could lay her hands on a person, and Universal Life Force energy came through her hands and went to the area where a person required healing. Because this energy could be relaxing to a client, the energy could unblock a resistance to discuss difficult topics. It could open doors for growth during therapy sessions.
As the weeks passed, this therapist shared stories with our staff about her therapeutic successes, by using Reiki at the beginning of her sessions. It seemed her clients became relaxed very quickly, and they shared more freely. It seemed her clients progressed more rapidly than those who only experienced talk therapy. It was really eye-opening to the rest of us, and we began to think about the possibility of more of our therapists becoming trained in the technique.
This therapist also talked to me privately about the possibility of Reiki helping my legs and my energy level, and she offered to work with me.
I wanted to give Reiki a try, though, so I asked about seeing the person who had trained her. I was very surprised to learn that she had been trained by a Catholic nun - obviously, a progressive one. That fact gave me considerable comfort, in trying to reconcile my Catholic beliefs with this new-to-me energy-healing technique. I stirred up the courage to make an appointment for a Reiki session.
What do you do? What do you say? What do you wear? My head was filled with many questions, and my body was filled with great anxiety. I felt like I was going on a great adventure, but I had no information or details about it. I did not know what to expect. And, yet, it felt like it was something I simply had to do - something, or Someone, was pulling me in that direction.
Within a few minutes, calmness overcame me as the kind and gentle Sister instructed me to lie on the massage table and relax. My first Reiki session was an absolute delight! Not only did I feel more relaxed, but I also felt the tiredness from the daily busyness of my life lift out of my body. The aches and pains in my legs decreased during the session. I scheduled another session for the following week.
Gary also became intrigued and decided to experience a Reiki session, too. The nun also provided Reiki trainings and suggested that we could access Reiki on a regular basis by both of us attending the class and giving Reiki to each other frequently. In the long run, it could save us lots of money. We decided to do it.
Gary’s main purpose in learning Reiki was to help me. He’d always wanted to be able to do more for me, but it seemed there was nothing he could do, except to help more with the physical activities around the house. Reiki could be a whole new avenue of giving me actual physical support.
My decision to learn Reiki involved both my professional life and my personal life. It seemed it would be advantageous for me to have a better understanding of a new method being utilized with our clients. And, I certainly was excited that Reiki may help me in minimizing the post-polio symptoms.
The weekend was meaningful to both of us. We loved learning and using Reiki. It gradually became a significant part of our lives. Gary started to give me full-body treatments, lasting about an hour. I also gave myself brief treatments before falling asleep and upon awakening most mornings, probably about 10-15 minutes each time. As the weeks went by, Reiki became a daily practice. My fatigue level decreased dramatically, and the aches in my legs were less frequent and less severe. The energy level within my body continued to rise. It was wonderful to come home from work and feel like cooking and working around the house again.
About six weeks after our training, on a hot summer evening, I was reading in our sunroom. I lifted my eyes from the page and looked down at my legs, resting on an ottoman. I could not believe my eyes. Could it be true? Have my legs changed? I moved my right leg, back and forth, looking at it from all angles. Remember the bony knob that had been on my right knee, the knob noted by the post-polio doctor in Michigan? The knob that had indicated the joint misalignment and caused frequent pain? The knob was no longer there, it was gone. I called Gary into the sunroom, and he concurred – my knee had changed. It was now aligned properly, looking like my left knee. We were beyond astonished, and we simply stared at each other, in total disbelief. Neither the pain nor the knob has ever returned, to this day.
This was my first physical-healing miracle, a result of the healing energies of Reiki practice. I continued to thank God for this amazing, miraculous gift over and over. It was so exciting to see a concrete result. I was becoming less tired and more energized. It was a concrete sign that Reiki was working for me.
I’ve read, in several places, that the use of Reiki can be instrumental in raising one’s level of consciousness and opening one’s heart and mind to new possibilities. In our Reiki trainings, the chakra system was introduced to us. This system is part of an Indian tradition and is also taught in yoga classes. Chakras are energy centers in our bodies, and each chakra is associated with physical, emotional, and spiritual energy fields. Reiki is sent to the centers where healing is most needed.
Deborah Lloyd is a licensed clinical social worker and works with a hospice agency in Asheville, North Carolina. She is a Usui and Karuna Reiki Master, incorporating intuitive techniques into her Reiki sessions. Additionally, she is a certified holistic therapy practitioner. The book, Believe and It Is True, is the story of healing and life lessons - When the polio trauma strikes the adult Deborah again, she discovers new, exciting ways to heal her body, emotions and spirit.
Published by O Books, Believe and It is True, ISBN: 978-1-84694-855-8, £12.99 | $22.95.
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