Prayer Candles

I am always telling people that I will light a candle for them...and I do...because the energy that fills the candle, the faith behind the energy, can change someones life.

I don't think I've actually ever given directions for creating a prayer candle on this blog though...

Of course, the easiest way to start is with a store purchased candle but if you have the time and ability to make your own beeswax or soy candle...go for it! The more personal your candle is...the better.

Choose one that fills you with the emotion you are trying to evoke with the candle. For example, when I am seeking safety or protection for my home or someone I love, I will often choose a spice scented candle because it evokes strong memories of family (pumpkin pies at holiday time)...When I want to charge my relationship I will choose a scent more primal, more exotic like patchouli or frankincense...but most importantly, choose the scent you can identify with. There is no right or wrong...

However, that said...if I have a financial need (a new job for instance or extra holiday money), I always choose by color first (GREEN) and scent second...

When you are ready to fill your candle with intention, find a quiet place or in an emergency try to at least quiet your mind...

Hold the candle between your palms, rolling it so that you are feeling every part of it while you focus the power of Reiki into the candle (just as when you are giving Reiki to a person.)

You can anoint your candle with oil, drawing the Reiki symbols above and below and around the circumference of the candle (you can do the drawings dry as well if necessary.) When you feel your candle is full...state your intention and "seal" it into the candle with three finger "taps" (I will also usually chant the name of the most relevant Reiki symbol)...

When you have "prayed in" the full intention that you are willing (and please, make sure you word your intention VERY carefully...I have had many students call and say...this didn't work because...and after carefully asking them questions discovered that it did work...they got EXACTLY what they'd asked for...even though they'd "meant" something different than what their words had "said."

Never doubt the power that your words have.
Believe in the power of your faith in the power of Reiki in your life.

You know the secret to molding and shaping the events that make your life and that is a giant responsibility. Use your Reiki wisely and for the betterment of all concerned.

Establish A Sacred Space

Attunements are just the beginning, regardless of which level you are at. The only difference between a beginner and a Master, is that a beginning Reiki practitioner must conscientiously choose to do Reiki every day, must sometimes force themselves to do Reiki everyday, and a Master lives Reiki every day. Reiki is as much a part of a master practitioner’s life as breathing…

I tell my beginning students, “Set up your Sacred Space immediately and then get in the habit of going there every day, even twice a day. Fill your space with things that will please your senses…scent, light, color…fill your space with those things that in your mind and your thoughts make that room holy ground.”

Let’s think about that for a moment. Your sacred space is your holy ground. Cleanse it, charge it, care for it…love it…invite in Reiki, invite in your Spirit Guides, Ascended Masters, Beings of Light…invite in the Creator.

This is the place where you should feel most at peace, most at ease, more yourself than anywhere else. Your Sacred Space is your spiritual home.

This is the place you will want to use your Reiki.

In the beginning you will have to make yourself go to the space…but after you “experience” the difference merely having such a place to “Be”…you will be drawn there and soon, it will be the place that you want to be.

My mornings begin in my sacred space. I light incense, meditate, remember, and thank.
My evenings almost always end there.

I hope you will take my advice and start setting up your sacred space today. If you have questions about setting up your sacred space, feel free to call me.
Remember, the attunement is just the beginning of your sacred journey.

White Magic...Spells...Ethics...

I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to...busy summer, busy days...but that isn't really an excuse because I am so passionate about Reiki and the healing that has taken place in my life because of Reiki...

I feel like I should be doing more, giving more, teaching more...
That isn't to say that I don't use Reiki daily and some days more than others...only to say that I wish I could impact the world more than I am. And then there are days that meeting one person, touching one person makes me feel like I have changed the world(the Universe)in some profound way...but maybe only I changed.

Yesterday, I had a very distraught woman call asking for a psychic reading and having her just utter those worlds my third eye flared to life and I knew so much more than I wished to...I touched my forehead asking for a softer reading...and asked her if I could just throw the (tarot) cards for her. She agreed and I laid out a reading...the cards were for me proof of what I already "knew" in my mind...

To make a long story short, the woman's fears involved her marriage, the other woman, and what the other woman was capable of...

Fears I hear repeated over and over by so many clients.
What I usually say is "Hug yourself, Love yourself enough (respect yourself enough) to walk away from this man...because he is damaging you..."

From my experience, no woman wants to hear this. They want the magic elixir to save their marriage...to make their husband have eyes for them and only them again...

Few are brave enough to ask me for a spell.
She did.

I tried to explain my feelings on white magic, black magic (and gray magic)...
I tried to explain that any spell designed to affect his free will really wasn't in her best interest but that I would more than gladly prepare intention candles for her healing because that was truly what was needed. Healing to replace the energy he'd sucked out from her...healing to reinstate her mind, her body, her spirit to wholeness...

She begged and pleaded fr a spell and in her instance (because she so fervently believed that black magic was already being used) I wavered...but only long enough to smack myself in the head and tell myself "NO!"

Their are ethics to what I do as a Reiki practitioner...
I am no mere white witch.
I am no mere black witch.

I have the power of the entire universe at my disposal and with that power comes responsibility and self-control. Reiki heals. But in the wrong hands it can be changed and manipulated (one of the reasons Reiki is actually feared in some of the rural areas of Japan.) It is easier for Americans to embrace the white light and believe that with the true pureness of intention Reiki heals in a way that is for the good and betterment of all concerned...and that's exactly what I strive for...

It's all about intent.

Lughnasdh Blassings

Blessings on you and yours and
We Celebrate the First Harvest
Blessed Be

I am glad to have the ancient fire festival days to help mark time around my calendar. And this August 1 will be especially poignant because as Randy and I walk the protection circle around our house, I am certain both of us will be thinking similar thoughts. How thankful we are to have found each other and how much we will miss each other while he is away for business the next six weeks...

We will harvest some of the vegtables from our garden (of which I made a dinner of grilled eggplant, greenbeans, fried green tomatoes, and salad last night)...

I hope to make a corn sheaf dolly to save until next spring when I will return it to the ground...

We will sit around a fire, much like our ancestors did, facing the fact that autumn will soon be upon us...

If you want to learn more about Lammas/Lughnasdh

The Best Life Ever...Is Possible

Two Friends in Two Days in NEED!
When a friend calls sobbing asking for reiki or a friend emails desperate for answers, I know that I am walking the right path because in so many of the instances, I have walked in their shoes and I know the answer to their need.

BTW, I say that with the utmost humility and respect because it has been a long , treacherous, painful journey for me to get to here...I walk a sacred path...we all walk a sacred path...and embracing our divinity is huge...embracing the fact that we have the power to shape our own lives, and our world is even more huge.

Of course, my immediate reaction was to light candles and send reiki (I also did "live" reiki with one of these two friends)

But the bigger part was to teach them how to embrace their own power...
This is the advice that I emailed to one of the friends and is worth repeating here for anyone who would stumble upon it.

Here is the original question...
"How can I change my luck (life)?"
And the answer is as simple as, "Start creating the life you want."
How?
That takes three steps to start...Protect, Thanksgiving, Empowerment:
(my email answer starts here)
This is a long note!!
But everything in it is important for you to do to transform your life (and your luck)...and it is a lifestyle which is what this path is about not just a singular spell...
FIRST:
GET RID OF THE NEGATIVE:
Do a house cleansing and then do a cleansing of the entire circle around your property immediately! Night time works for the yard or your neighbors may ask questions...

BTW THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THINK YOU CAN DO FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!! I feel it is so important, I repeat every full moon! But it can be done anytime!

HOME/FAMILY/LIFE PROTECTION
Do you have a sage bundle? If not, just light five incense and wave them together to make a lot of smoke...

You may already know how to do this but I'm going to walk you through it just in case... starting with your body...smudge yourself that just means run the incense or bundle around your body thinking the thoughts that you are cleansing yourself of all negativity including any ill-luck that anyone may have purposely or inadvertently dumped on you.

Then starting at your front door run the smoke around the door into the corners of your house and along the walls in a clockwise fashion, thinking the thought that you are cleansing your home of all negativity but you can also chant the words, "only the light is welcome here, all that is not of the light must leave." ...after you have smudged your entire house then move to the outside. Go out through the back door (or what you consider your "private or family only entrance to your home...the door guests usually don't enter" walk to the farthest side of the yard and from there, walk clockwise with your sage or incense, smudging a "PROTECTION CIRCLE" around your home. You will walk the circle 3 times. The first time chant as you did in the house, the second time fill your thoughts with your loved ones living and past and fill your heart with gratitude for the part they have (are) playing in your life, the third time focus on asking the divine to protect your home, your life, your loved ones form all evil and unnecessary hardship. At the end of your third circle you will walk back to your private entrance. and seal your door with a protection symbol (use whatever you feel is YOUR protection symbol whether it is a cross, a star, a pentacle etc and draw that with your fingertips on your door. You can also do it on each window (moving clockwise) ending at the door you consider the public entry.

Finally, thank the divine for the protection and end with So Mote It Be (say it with conviction) or you can just say "So Be IT." if you are more comfortable with that.

Okay, now here's the PART 2 to all this and this is the most important thing to do for YOU! This is so important that you should do it every day!!! Okay...I'm going to repeat this...so just trust me...DO THIS EVERYDAY!!! The NEXT TWO THINGS...EVERY DAY!!

FILL YOUR HEART WITH GRATITUDE
Take five minutes out of your day, light an incense or spray a fav perfume in the air...transform the spot you are standing into a sacred space...then talk to the divine...but you are not going to ask for anything...this moment is to thank The Divine for EVERYTHING that fills your life with happiness...you will not focus on anything negative...do not be tempted to ask for anything...just start saying what you are thankful for..."This Day" is where I usually start, because I want to remember to be thankful for every day I am given...then I just start listing..."my husband, Randy, my children, Rina, Sasha, Kiya...etc" but I don't just stop with them...add your pets, add in your home, the backyard that gives you pleasure, the friends who have touched your life ... AND THIS IS IMPORTANT TO...if their is anyone who has hurt you ...be thankful for that person and the hardship they have caused you because they have helped mold you into the person you are today (I know it sounds silly but you asked and I can explain the reasons if you want me to)...then end it on this, "Thank you, "Mother" (although whichever word you are more comfortable with) for allowing me to see that my life, my sacred journey, is to be of the light, and I commit myself today, and everyday to the light."

ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE DESERVING!!!
The best way to show the universe (the Divine) that you are deserving (DESERVING) is to start believing that you DESERVE THE BEST LIFE OF EVERYTHING IN LIFE...(okay just tell yourself this every morning...I don't care how silly you feel!) make a sticky note and put it on your mirror so you see it every morning...put it on your screensaver...whatever you have to do...

I could go on for another hour...there is so much you can do to transform your life and see a miraculous change in you and all those around you...but these three should get you going!!!!!!

Let me know how it goes,
Hugs
Re

An Impossible Situation

Concerning the recent situation in Eldorado, Texas and the FLDS. I am sending Reiki to this situation because I really don't know how to even formulate a prayer. I am so internally conflicted.

On the one hand, I believe in the protection of these people's faith. I believe the children and their parents should be reunited.

On the other hand, I am concerned that very young girls are being forced into arranged marriages and possibly raped to consumate those marriages.

My heart breaks for each family torn apart by the raid on their community.

It's My Birthday!

Today I am doublely blessed because it isn't just my birthday, but it is also my daughter's birthday. Seventeen years ago, she was the best birthday present I ever received:)

And even though my husband is out of town on business, I can feel his love from miles away and see the evidence when I look into the backyard at my raised garden beds he built for me before this last trip...and he promised to build another as soon as he returns.

People ask me how I use my reiki in the every day...and really, today is a perfect example...

I woke up this morning, knowing I would spend most of my day alone, and in the past, that would have made me sad, but this morning, I thought of all of the people who were celebrating their births today, and knew that some of them really do have no one to spend their special day with. So, I spent some time, sending them some reiki and hoping they could feel my love from miles away...

This morning I drew the protection symbol on my car, as I do every morning, hoping the tires hold out another day, and asking for safe passage anywhere my vehicle takes me today...

After the trip to school but before my hot tea, I charged five incense with Reiki, and remembered those I've loved and lost, and prayed for the safety and health of those who I love and live still...the scent will fill the air all day...and I will smile as loved faces come to mind...

A candle burns for my husband, filled with Reiki and the prayer for his safe return.

A candle burns for my daughter, who, turning seventeen, is just beginning on this great adventure of her life, and that candle is filled with Reiki to light her way along the path and the wish that she will always know peace and love, even during the times when she finds herself alone.

As I watered my garden, I also showered it with Reiki, hoping the healing energy will infuse the earth and the plants to produce an abundant crop.

Wow, it's only 11:22am here...that's a lot of Reiki...and that's also a fairly typical day. Are you using your Reiki?

Did You Participate?

On March 29th We celebrated Earth Hour by turning off all of our lights, lighting candles and enjoyed each others company...

And one hour once a year is a great idea to bring aweness to energy consumption...but what can we do year round? Hubby and I decided a candlelit hour a night for the rest of the year will help us appreciate the hours we spend with electricity (Besides, we both look soooo much better by candlelight LOL)...

But if that is too drastic for your household...here are some things you can do:
Simple things like turning off appliances while not in use and switching your light globes to energy efficient bulbs, will all help us reach our goal of reducing our annual emissions by 5%. Even something as simple as turning out lights when you’re not in a room and switching to cleaner sources of electricity like “green power”, make a big difference.

It Makes Me Angry...

When I think that we have spent so many years trying to help Iraq...
But have done nothing to help Tibet...

Please watch Dave Coustan's video: A Perspective On The Demonstrations In Tibet, From 1997. Now that tension is at an all time high for the region, it is worth taking a look at their struggles and this video is as relevant today as eleven years ago. Isn't it time for Tibet to be free?

Will You CARE?

Tonight I joined an organization called CARE because of two stories I heard about...the first is how Abay, a young Ethiopian woman, stood up for what she felt was best for herself at age eight and refused to go through the ritual female cutting that would grant her entrance to the world of womanhood and how that one decision not only changed her life, but the lives of many...watch her story here. The second story was about Maria Landa of Peru, who had few options in her life until Care helped her learn a trade...following through again to help her gain a loan to start her own business when no one else would loan money to a woman. Here is her remarkable story.

You can go to my online advocacy page with Care and see how I have taken action. There...you too can take action...sometimes signing a petition, spreading the word, or donating a week's lunch money can make a huge difference. Will you care enough to visit my page and sign a petition? Will you be willing to do more and help spread the word?

Muscle Memory...

I should title this post "seven bodies" memory as well because what happened this week applies across the board...

Friday I went to a chiropractor, because although I have managed my pain since a car wreck six months ago with Reiki, I also read through my reiki that some bones were terribly out of place. The chiropractor confirmed through x-rays that my C-i, C-2, and C-3 are in a tragic state that if left where they are would lead to a lot of health problems...so I'm glad I went...and glad he's moving them back to a safer alignment...

However, there's this wonderful phenomenom called muscle memory, where the emotions of tragedy embed in the muscle (also in the seven bodies but that's for later in the blog). So, about six hours after my alignment I was waylaid by a sadness so deep that my heart was literally breaking, memories that I have blocked for two decades surfaced, and all I could do was rock and cry. The emotion from my first husband's car accident twenty years ago that left him a quadreplegic had been held in my neck all of this time and with the movement of the bone came a reliving of all of it...

I tell clients who come to me for Reiki that they may feel emotional...because like my healing event caused by the chiropractors hands...Reiki stirs things up and the path to healing is often acceptance, forgiveness, and release...

A tough order in some instances...

I am so grateful that Reiki can rescue me again, by empowering me to deal with the locked emotions that have been idling inside me for years.

Healing Crisis Following Reiki Treatment

I usually tell people that after a treatment or attunement that they will feel rejuvenated and glowing, a feeling of peace and serenity will fill their body and mind; however sometimes after a few hours or even a few days they may feel fatigued or flu-like. This is a natural progression. In alternative medical circles, it is referred to as a healing crisis.

So what is happening?

As your 7 bodies realign they begin to eliminate toxins that have built up and by toxins I mean every type of toxin...enviromental, medicinal, emotional, stress.

You may experience a time of feeling 'different' somehow...minutes, hours, or days. You may feel "fuzzy brained" or fatigued. A healing crisis may have only slight symptoms or they may be quite severe. Symptoms may be include sleepiness or fatigue, dizziness, thirst, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, headache, muscle or joint ache, head or chest congestion, coughing, etc.

In chronic conditions you may experience a temporary worsening of all symptoms and wonder if the treatment was successful.

How can you lessen the severity of a healing crisis?
Expect that it will come and prepare for it. Drink at least four 8 ounce glasses of water within 2 hours of receining the treatment or attunement to help flush the body quickly. Plan a day of rest. Your body will tell you what you need...listen.

After one of my first attunements, I craved Grapefruit Juice. I didn't just want it...I HAD TO HAVE IT. After telling one of my Reiki peers about the experience, he had a wonderful scientific reason for the mysterious craving, of which I remember absolutely nothing...except the part when he said, "You did the right thing, listening to your body."

With more severe symptoms, your body is trying to get your attention. A time of rest and reflection is required, and if making you have a big case of the flu is the only way to get you to stop and listen then that is how your body is going to get your attention.

I cannot stress enough that a Healing Crisis is a good thing.
The desired change is occurring so don't be alarmed. Relax. Let yourself heal.

I always tell my students to be careful what you ask for and how you word the request. It makes a difference. Sometimes just adding the word "gentle" to the healing request makes all the difference.

In most cases, the discomfort will pass in a day or two, sometimes a week, depending on how deeply the cleansing goes and depending on if you recognize what is happening as a Healing Crisis. That is very important in our "take a pill society" because taking that Aspirin, Theraflu, Pepto-Bismol, or antibiotics is not the answer you are looking for and in most cases will delay the actual healing or prolong the crisis because now, not only is your body trying to work the healing of the original intention, but now it is also having to rid your body of all the "extra" toxins you keep adding to alleviate the symptoms.

A follow up treatment of Reiki should help, so call your Reiki practitioner as soon as you realize that you are having a healing crisis.

Mentally help yourself recover. You know what your intention was for the healing, so go to your sacred place and envision a successful healing taking place in your body, mind, life. Imaging the negative influences (toxins) leaving your body. Imagine the negative emotions (anger, fear, hate) that have been holding back your progress leaving you, using whatever imagining works for you ex grey smoke, black ooze...

The most important thing is to realize that you are healing, you are getting your desired answers, you are in control and being empowered.

Goal Setting

I found this picture on the web...coincidentally, today while taking a walk I was thinking about Goal Setting for 2008...not that I wanted to be thinking about such heavy subject matter in the midst of the glorious day we were having (70 degrees in Ohio in January...amazing...but it isn't Global Warming...just ask any politician)...

No, my thoughts were turned to goal setting by the manager of my day job...I have a Goal Setting meeting set for Thurs at 10am...

The problem is that I have absolutely zero interest in goal setting for my day job and 110 percent interest in pursuing my other loves...Reiki and Writing...

So, to come upon this little tidbit of wisdom was an affirmation that I am on the right track...I just need to be patient...and light an intention candle.

Imagine Making New Friends With This Attitude...

Quote Collector

Once I might have said I was religious...because I pray...a lot. But now that I know the difference between being religious and being spiritual, I prefer to say that I am spiritual. So when I tell someone that I will pray for them...or I will light a candle for them...usually what I mean is...that I will be sending them a Reiki healing...

A lot of times they take it to mean that I am going to mass and that I am Catholic...
This usually leads to a discussion about Reiki.

so, I'm not Catholic ...
Now that we have that cleared up, I will share with you another one of my collected quotes...another one by Mother Theresa:

"Never give up helping others. We can do no great things; only small things with great love. Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."

What Is Reiki? Know The Answer? Ask Yourself Again...

I am often asked, "What is Reiki?" and of course I always end up explaining more than the person probably ever wanted to know...


But for my students who have completed Levels I and II, who are preparing to go on into their Master's classes, I sometimes think that if they haven't already figured it out...perhaps they should be asking the question again.

Reiki , as taught by Dr. Usui in the early 1920’s is ultimately a path to enlightenment and for most Americans that is a concept beyond their realm of thought. But what else can you call it besides enlightenment, when you realize that all of the gods and goddesses that we manage to worship in our separate religions are One and the Same?


And what else can you say other than Reiki is a path to enlightenment when you realize that in all continents Reiki is practiced regardless of the practitioners religion, creed, race or social status?


I am awed when I look at the big picture, knowing that Reiki has been the one uniter...that as Reiki practitioners we can gather together, knowing that we may worship differently but we call the power of One. As far as I know this is unprecedented behavior in the history of mankind.


So when my advanced students get around to asking, "What is Reiki?" the only answer I can think of other than all that I have already said is this...

As practitioners and teachers of Reiki, we possess a Sacred access to a Powerful Energy that if used properly we could raise the level of consciousness of every single person on this planet.


Can you imagine what would happen then?

A Day That Needed Reiki...

My phone doesn't usually ring before 10a.m., most of my friends know that I'm just not a morning person...writing until 3am has that effect on me... so when my phone rang at 6am... I knew it wasn't a good thing...


So, it turns out that middle daughter went to the ER with the stomach/intestinal bug that seems to be hitting everyone ... (My youngest and oldest also had it but no Dr. visits were required) ...

I realized belatedly that I have been sending Reiki to my grandchildren, myself, and my husband with the intent of keeping us from getting this dreaded scourge and thus far we haven't ... it seems now that I should have been sending Reiki to all of my children who have been ill to keep them from getting worse as my middle daughter obviously has ...

And so Reiki has now been sent ...
if a little late.

Hand To Hand

A Reiki friend shared this video with me this morning and I decided to share it here because we all face adversity, hardship, suffering, pain...and it's what we do with it, how we respond to it...that makes the difference.
This video is called Hand to Hand Ballet. It is inspiring, encouraging, and a beautiful piece despite the pain that brought these two dancers together...

Watch Video Here

More information:
Performed by Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei ....
Interview with Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei and more informations:
PART 1http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=4UuA7qY...
PART 2http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=I5TxNCS...
PART 3http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=LMY_rJX...

What It Means To Become A Energy Worker

I teach Reiki, I feel it is part of my Sacred Path on this earth as a Light Being... part of being a Reiki Master who teaches is too hear people exclaim, "That's so cool! I heard about that. I've often thought about taking a class..."


But that is as far as it goes...

I've stopped asking why because as the years have passed I've learned to be patient and sometimes it takes people time to discover that Reiki is part of their own journey...that they've bumped into me to merely reawaken the idea that was there...kind of like watering a seed...


Part of my path is teaching many Level I or II, only to have that original seed go dormant...

Again, I've stopped asking why because each one of us evolves at a pace that we are able to process...


My path includes being a teacher but mostly, my path has been one of learning patience and perserverence. When I teach, I talk alot about finding one's own Sacredness and embracing that journey... but what does that mean?


I don't have all of the answers, however I do know that we are all on a sacred path and that true path can only be realized through our inner connection to the Creator. That our true God/Goddess connection lies within our soul and finding the answers is as easy as asking ourself (our soul) the question.


Really.
It is that simple.


The problem is NOISE...

.... and DISTRACTIONS....

(and excuses)


When really, we should be seeking silence, calm, and openness to change...


Becoming a Light Being, an Energy Worker, and acceptting the responsibility of our sacredness means that we will change...because our soul will demand it.


Are you ready to embrace your Sacred Path?