When I first heard about reiki, it sounded pretty "out there", but as I learned more about it, I came to realize it's no more far fetched than meditation or yoga. The difference is that meditation and yoga are generally recognized as individual practices, and while reiki can also be an individual practice, many people also experience great benefits when receiving reiki from others.
Reiki only came onto my radar after encountering a few different spiritual and energy practitioners along my meditation journey who told me that I had a lot of "energy in my hands" or "healing hands". Of course I didn't take one person seriously, because I'm pretty skeptical in general, so it took three people mentioning this for me to start exploring what that meant. I've used the "power of three" often in my life to help me sort out what's a fleeting curiosity from something I need to explore more deeply.
Once I learned about reiki as a hands-on energy healing practice, I still wasn't quite convinced it was a path I needed to explore. What did I need to do with a hands-on energy healing practice? I already have a job I love and meditation works great for helping me relax and have more control over my own energy.
As I started to ask around about other people's experience with reiki, the responses from people who actually received reiki or took reiki training were positive and encouraging to check it out for myself. However, comments from people in the medical field produced the most mixed reviews- and when I asked for more information- it usually revealed that they felt like they didn't understand how it actually worked or didn't have enough training and personal experience with reiki. Seems fair, and since I was skeptical as well, it seemed the only way to really understand it better was to receive it and/or practice it myself.
When I was learning how to calm my mind through meditation, it took me about two years to find a meditation guide who helped me really understand and reach that elusive place of deep meditation, so I figured it might take a while to find a reiki practitioner I aligned with as well. I searched the web and found some people who I felt like I could connect with, but for whatever reason, I never got in touch. I was still just curious about it all, and not really committed to taking action on that curiosity. In many ways, I wanted the universe to decide, and to make it super obvious for me so that I could feel supported in the journey at the highest level.
A good friend had mentioned a reiki teacher at the New York Open Center but the teacher wasn't offering any classes at the time. However, a few months later, the Open Center had an open house and the same teacher was providing a complimentary introduction to reiki info session, plus I could get a short reiki treatment from a practitioner that evening as well- so it was a double win with no pressure to commit to an expensive training or course commitment. I could just "feel" out what this whole reiki thing meant in person to see if I aligned with it.
I attended the open house and reiki introduction event with the teacher and still wasn't quite "getting it" from the short introduction, but I was at least a little more familiar with what it looked like and it made me a little more curious about the experience. I also received a short reiki session from a practitioner who was providing "mini sessions" that evening at a third of the regular price, which was about 15-20minutes long and felt relaxing, but nothing dramatic shifted during that timeframe.
The practitioner who was giving me reiki did mention after about 5 minutes that it was my responsibility to be open to receiving the reiki energy- which is probably when I realized that I had put up a pretty big energetic bubble to keep a lot of other energy out. Eventually I felt a little bit of heat exchange in a few areas of my body, but before I knew it the session was over. I decided to ask the practitioner if she noticed anything, and she mentioned two areas which I frequently experience issues with even though there are no visible signs of those issues on the surface. The practitioner's recognition of those areas as needing more attention helped give me a small measure of confidence that there was some validity to the practice of reiki. Yet it still took a couple more pushes of encouragement from the universe to get me to actually sign up for reiki training.
Once Joanna Crespo's reiki training at the Open Center came across my radar for a third time at random, I decided to make a little bargain with the universe as a way to confirm if this was really something I should invest in for myself. I basically told the universe that I would sign up for the class if I saw a certain amount of money in my bank account by a certain date in advance of the deadline for the reiki 1 training registration. On some level, I felt a little guilty making a request that made money the defining factor- but I knew how much I needed to spend on upgrades for my business and I felt like having a little more wiggle room would confirm that participating in reiki training wouldn't shortchange other areas of my life. Sure enough, the EXACT amount of money I asked for was in my account on the deadline- and some of it came from a very unexpected place that hadn't paid out actively for years.
Did I make that happen, or did the universe make that happen?
I've made bargains with the universe before and they rarely panned out so precisely. Either way, I kept my promise with the universe and that's how I started my reiki journey. I've been documenting my experiences in reiki ever since I started and plan to share more with you in the future. It's pretty mind-blowing what I've been able to experience over the last year with reiki.
.... Have you ever been unsure about something and then made a deal with the universe to help you walk that path more fully?
(Next... My Reiki Journey Part 2: Living As A Highly Sensitive Person)
Reiki only came onto my radar after encountering a few different spiritual and energy practitioners along my meditation journey who told me that I had a lot of "energy in my hands" or "healing hands". Of course I didn't take one person seriously, because I'm pretty skeptical in general, so it took three people mentioning this for me to start exploring what that meant. I've used the "power of three" often in my life to help me sort out what's a fleeting curiosity from something I need to explore more deeply.
Once I learned about reiki as a hands-on energy healing practice, I still wasn't quite convinced it was a path I needed to explore. What did I need to do with a hands-on energy healing practice? I already have a job I love and meditation works great for helping me relax and have more control over my own energy.
As I started to ask around about other people's experience with reiki, the responses from people who actually received reiki or took reiki training were positive and encouraging to check it out for myself. However, comments from people in the medical field produced the most mixed reviews- and when I asked for more information- it usually revealed that they felt like they didn't understand how it actually worked or didn't have enough training and personal experience with reiki. Seems fair, and since I was skeptical as well, it seemed the only way to really understand it better was to receive it and/or practice it myself.
When I was learning how to calm my mind through meditation, it took me about two years to find a meditation guide who helped me really understand and reach that elusive place of deep meditation, so I figured it might take a while to find a reiki practitioner I aligned with as well. I searched the web and found some people who I felt like I could connect with, but for whatever reason, I never got in touch. I was still just curious about it all, and not really committed to taking action on that curiosity. In many ways, I wanted the universe to decide, and to make it super obvious for me so that I could feel supported in the journey at the highest level.
A good friend had mentioned a reiki teacher at the New York Open Center but the teacher wasn't offering any classes at the time. However, a few months later, the Open Center had an open house and the same teacher was providing a complimentary introduction to reiki info session, plus I could get a short reiki treatment from a practitioner that evening as well- so it was a double win with no pressure to commit to an expensive training or course commitment. I could just "feel" out what this whole reiki thing meant in person to see if I aligned with it.
I attended the open house and reiki introduction event with the teacher and still wasn't quite "getting it" from the short introduction, but I was at least a little more familiar with what it looked like and it made me a little more curious about the experience. I also received a short reiki session from a practitioner who was providing "mini sessions" that evening at a third of the regular price, which was about 15-20minutes long and felt relaxing, but nothing dramatic shifted during that timeframe.
The practitioner who was giving me reiki did mention after about 5 minutes that it was my responsibility to be open to receiving the reiki energy- which is probably when I realized that I had put up a pretty big energetic bubble to keep a lot of other energy out. Eventually I felt a little bit of heat exchange in a few areas of my body, but before I knew it the session was over. I decided to ask the practitioner if she noticed anything, and she mentioned two areas which I frequently experience issues with even though there are no visible signs of those issues on the surface. The practitioner's recognition of those areas as needing more attention helped give me a small measure of confidence that there was some validity to the practice of reiki. Yet it still took a couple more pushes of encouragement from the universe to get me to actually sign up for reiki training.
Once Joanna Crespo's reiki training at the Open Center came across my radar for a third time at random, I decided to make a little bargain with the universe as a way to confirm if this was really something I should invest in for myself. I basically told the universe that I would sign up for the class if I saw a certain amount of money in my bank account by a certain date in advance of the deadline for the reiki 1 training registration. On some level, I felt a little guilty making a request that made money the defining factor- but I knew how much I needed to spend on upgrades for my business and I felt like having a little more wiggle room would confirm that participating in reiki training wouldn't shortchange other areas of my life. Sure enough, the EXACT amount of money I asked for was in my account on the deadline- and some of it came from a very unexpected place that hadn't paid out actively for years.
Did I make that happen, or did the universe make that happen?
I've made bargains with the universe before and they rarely panned out so precisely. Either way, I kept my promise with the universe and that's how I started my reiki journey. I've been documenting my experiences in reiki ever since I started and plan to share more with you in the future. It's pretty mind-blowing what I've been able to experience over the last year with reiki.
.... Have you ever been unsure about something and then made a deal with the universe to help you walk that path more fully?
(Next... My Reiki Journey Part 2: Living As A Highly Sensitive Person)
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