My Reiki Story
In March of 2008, my massage therapist, Tina, gave me two books to read when I went in for a massage. We had discussed my amateur attempts at massage with my family and my interest in it to that degree, but I had never asked for books on that or any other subject. She said she just had a feeling she should share them with me. I told her that I had a stack of children and spirituality books at home that was three foot tall that I needed to read for work, and I didn't know how soon I could get to them. When July came, and I hadn't opened them yet, I threw them in the suitcase for vacation reading, feeling guilty that I'd had them for so long. The first book was Wheels of Light: Chakras, Auras, and The Healing Energy of the Body by Rosalyn Bruyere. I started reading it, but I had absolutely no understanding of chakras at that time, and couldn't make heads or tails of it. The second book was Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide by Pamela Miles. Three chapters in, I knew I was being called to this practice.
I think it's important to tell you here that I started chiropractic care in April of 1982, and had been under chiropractic care for twenty-six years by July of 2008. The healing power of touch was not lost on me at all. The concept of an energy field was foreign to me, but the concept of healing power in human touch was not.
Another concept that was not foreign to me was the concept of call. In Reformed Theology, we believe God ordains us in baptism and calls us to live out our baptism in service in the world. Each of us is endowed with specific gifts of the Spirit in our creation ("Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5), and these are gifts from God to be used "for the manifestation of the common good" (Romans 12:2). The gift of healing is one of those gifts. It comes in various forms, no question. One of those forms, I was coming to understand, was energy therapy, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was being called to learn it and share it with others.
I started investigating Reiki on the World Wide Web, researching other energy modalities like accupunture, accupressure, reflexology, and healing and therapeutic touch more fully in an effort to understand. I talked with people I knew. I asked questions of colleagues in the church. I read everything I could get my hands on. I received a Healing Touch session from the chaplain at our local hospital. I talked with Adrienne Zahner of Integrative Healing Therapy in Olivette, MO, and on September 19, 2008, Adrienne trained and attuned me to Reiki I.
Once my Reiki journey began, I knew I was on the path for life. I studied. I practiced. I explored. I needed to be able to articulate this call to colleagues and friends and family. On May 14, 2009, I returned to Adrienne for my Reiki II training and attunement, and I immediately began six months of intense Reiki Master training. During that time, I spent countless hours reading books I never would have chosen to read on my own. I practiced Reiki, facilitating healing for family members and friends in person and across distances. In August, I took a healing Touch class at Alton Memorial Hospital to learn specific techniques for migraine headaches, but also to explore energy therapy from a clinical perspective, hoping that training would lend validity to the modality for people who needed that connection. On September 20, 2009, Adrienne attuned me to Reiki Master, and I completed Reiki Master Practitioner training. On November 14, I returned to complete the Reiki Master Teacher training. Reiki changed my world from the very beginning. As a side note, I reread Wheels of Light ..., and understood it the second time around! ;)
I am a prayerful person. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in spiritual gifts. I believe in God. But I had absolutely no idea that I could participate with God in this way. There is a story in the Book of Luke (8:40-56) where, in the course of another healing story, a woman touches the hem of Jesus' tunic and was healed. Jesus stopped and asked, "Who touched me?" Peter reminded Jesus that the crowds were pressing in on him, but Jesus said, "Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me." Jesus' energy was surely much more pure and powerful than any human energy, but because of Reiki, I have an inkling of an understanding about how Jesus felt when healing energy moved through him.
When I preach on a Sunday morning, I use the gifts I have been given and the skills I have been taught to exegete a passage and prepare a message that I then deliver to a particular congregation in a particular time and place. In delivering that message, my role as preacher is to take what I have learned and discerned through prayerful study and put it together in a way that is appropriate for my audience, and then get out of the way, and let God do what needs to be done through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through me and each one within hearing. The same is true of Reiki. Each time I administer Reiki, I use the gifts I have been given and the skills I have been taught to assess the energy flow of a particular client in a particular time and place and then manipulate the flow of energy for balance, so that it facilitates the body's natural healing processes. In administering Reiki, my role as healing facilitator is to take what I have learned and discerned through prayerful study and approach and put it together in a way that is appropriate for my client and then get out of the way, and let God do what needs to be done through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through me and my client. I am no more in charge of how healing happens in Reiki than I am from the pulpit, but healing does, indeed, happen in both instances, sometimes more subtly than others.
I have a completely new understanding of healing and my capacity to help others as a result of my Reiki training, and I want to share that understanding with you, so I invite you to read the stories on the "Sharing Stories" page about how Reiki has impacted people with whom I have worked, then call me at 618-410-5060 or email me at [email protected] to make a Reiki Healing appointment. You may just find it changes your life as well!
In March of 2008, my massage therapist, Tina, gave me two books to read when I went in for a massage. We had discussed my amateur attempts at massage with my family and my interest in it to that degree, but I had never asked for books on that or any other subject. She said she just had a feeling she should share them with me. I told her that I had a stack of children and spirituality books at home that was three foot tall that I needed to read for work, and I didn't know how soon I could get to them. When July came, and I hadn't opened them yet, I threw them in the suitcase for vacation reading, feeling guilty that I'd had them for so long. The first book was Wheels of Light: Chakras, Auras, and The Healing Energy of the Body by Rosalyn Bruyere. I started reading it, but I had absolutely no understanding of chakras at that time, and couldn't make heads or tails of it. The second book was Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide by Pamela Miles. Three chapters in, I knew I was being called to this practice.
I think it's important to tell you here that I started chiropractic care in April of 1982, and had been under chiropractic care for twenty-six years by July of 2008. The healing power of touch was not lost on me at all. The concept of an energy field was foreign to me, but the concept of healing power in human touch was not.
Another concept that was not foreign to me was the concept of call. In Reformed Theology, we believe God ordains us in baptism and calls us to live out our baptism in service in the world. Each of us is endowed with specific gifts of the Spirit in our creation ("Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5), and these are gifts from God to be used "for the manifestation of the common good" (Romans 12:2). The gift of healing is one of those gifts. It comes in various forms, no question. One of those forms, I was coming to understand, was energy therapy, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was being called to learn it and share it with others.
I started investigating Reiki on the World Wide Web, researching other energy modalities like accupunture, accupressure, reflexology, and healing and therapeutic touch more fully in an effort to understand. I talked with people I knew. I asked questions of colleagues in the church. I read everything I could get my hands on. I received a Healing Touch session from the chaplain at our local hospital. I talked with Adrienne Zahner of Integrative Healing Therapy in Olivette, MO, and on September 19, 2008, Adrienne trained and attuned me to Reiki I.
Once my Reiki journey began, I knew I was on the path for life. I studied. I practiced. I explored. I needed to be able to articulate this call to colleagues and friends and family. On May 14, 2009, I returned to Adrienne for my Reiki II training and attunement, and I immediately began six months of intense Reiki Master training. During that time, I spent countless hours reading books I never would have chosen to read on my own. I practiced Reiki, facilitating healing for family members and friends in person and across distances. In August, I took a healing Touch class at Alton Memorial Hospital to learn specific techniques for migraine headaches, but also to explore energy therapy from a clinical perspective, hoping that training would lend validity to the modality for people who needed that connection. On September 20, 2009, Adrienne attuned me to Reiki Master, and I completed Reiki Master Practitioner training. On November 14, I returned to complete the Reiki Master Teacher training. Reiki changed my world from the very beginning. As a side note, I reread Wheels of Light ..., and understood it the second time around! ;)
I am a prayerful person. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in spiritual gifts. I believe in God. But I had absolutely no idea that I could participate with God in this way. There is a story in the Book of Luke (8:40-56) where, in the course of another healing story, a woman touches the hem of Jesus' tunic and was healed. Jesus stopped and asked, "Who touched me?" Peter reminded Jesus that the crowds were pressing in on him, but Jesus said, "Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me." Jesus' energy was surely much more pure and powerful than any human energy, but because of Reiki, I have an inkling of an understanding about how Jesus felt when healing energy moved through him.
When I preach on a Sunday morning, I use the gifts I have been given and the skills I have been taught to exegete a passage and prepare a message that I then deliver to a particular congregation in a particular time and place. In delivering that message, my role as preacher is to take what I have learned and discerned through prayerful study and put it together in a way that is appropriate for my audience, and then get out of the way, and let God do what needs to be done through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through me and each one within hearing. The same is true of Reiki. Each time I administer Reiki, I use the gifts I have been given and the skills I have been taught to assess the energy flow of a particular client in a particular time and place and then manipulate the flow of energy for balance, so that it facilitates the body's natural healing processes. In administering Reiki, my role as healing facilitator is to take what I have learned and discerned through prayerful study and approach and put it together in a way that is appropriate for my client and then get out of the way, and let God do what needs to be done through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through me and my client. I am no more in charge of how healing happens in Reiki than I am from the pulpit, but healing does, indeed, happen in both instances, sometimes more subtly than others.
I have a completely new understanding of healing and my capacity to help others as a result of my Reiki training, and I want to share that understanding with you, so I invite you to read the stories on the "Sharing Stories" page about how Reiki has impacted people with whom I have worked, then call me at 618-410-5060 or email me at [email protected] to make a Reiki Healing appointment. You may just find it changes your life as well!
Julie participated in the 25th Seminar for Certified Zentangle(R) Teacher Training in June, 2019, trained by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. In addition to creating art as a personal spiritual practice, Julie also incorporates the Zentangle(R) method in Prayer Art Retreats in a variety of contexts, including church groups, friend gatherings, and at a local art gallery. Check out the Upcoming Events page for a calendar of events, or use the Contact Us page to inquire about scheduling an event with your group!
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