The Difference for Me between Karuna and Usui Reiki

I became a Karuna Reiki Master Teacher last year and had been Level I & II for almost a year before then.  The difference I noticed almost immediately after becoming Karuna Level III & IV was I began rocking, swaying and vibrating when doing Reiki, meaning, when I was working in particular areas of a clients body, I would either start rocking back and forth (pretty intensely at times) swaying back and forth or rocking so intensely that the only word that can describe it is I would actually "vibrate"!  

The vision my guides gave me was of someone panning for gold - you know how you put the sand/dirt in a sieve and shake it back and forth until all the junk is sifted out and what remains is the gold nuggets!  So when I was doing this rocking, swaying etc stuff, the energy was rocking the toxins, stuck negative emotion energy and so forth up to the surface to be released.

In the past several months this hasn't happened much and I wondered what had shifted.  Then I began working on a lot of new clients and it is starting up again.   I think everyone else I worked on had already been cleared enough to not require the more intense and aggressive energy.

So I was wondering if anyone else who is Karuna has had any kind of experience like this.   I also got a ton of what my "woo woo" friends call "downloads" when I was doing so much of this kind of work.  I was given information on many things or had many things clarified for me.  One of them was the fact that the only one doing any healing during a Reiki session is the person receiving the session, we are just the conduits or channels for the energy.  When we connect them to the energy while facilitating a Reiki sessions for them, they pull the energy down through us, we are not in any way "putting" anything into them or manipulating the energy or their energy.

I know many of you will be rolling your eyes and going "duh" but please REALLY read what I wrote carefully and slowly.  I've been teaching Reiki for many years, I tell my students that we are conduits, channels, etc., but the way my guides downloaded this information was much deeper.  It has to do with why it is incorrect for Reiki practitioners to call themselves healers, with fully understanding how Reiki works and how to empower your client.   If you explain to them that they are in charge, they, on on an energetic and spiritual level are making the decision of what takes place during that Reiki session not you, then they will be much more relaxed, much more open and much more receptive and you have just empowered them to take charge of their own healing!

Other healing modalities are telling people that Reiki practitioners push energy into them and manipulate their energy.  So no wonder people come to us a little fearful, a little unsure if this is really safe or desirable and are therefore on their guard when getting up on the table.  Once you empower them by telling them nothing happens here that you don't want to happen here, you are deciding on a soul/energetic level what you are ready to heal and release today, you can palpable feel the guarding melt away and the tension and the session goes much easier, they open up to fully receive.

I'd really love to hear from other practitioners what kind of differences in the energy they have noticed after becoming Karuna.  I am going to be teaching my first Level ! & II class soon so also anything anyone wants to share about that is very much welcomed.

My Journey with Crystals and Stones

MY JOURNEY WITH CRYSTALS AND STONES

From of a very early age I was very drawn to nature – gathering wild flower bouquets for my mother (when she and I had major seasonal allergies) tending to a wild bird with a broken wing, or gathering a jar full of bees (to my nannies chagrin).  When we moved to the town where I eventually ended up going to junior high and high school, I took long walks by myself and drug home pocketfulls of stones I found lying along the side of the road and elsewhere. 

On one of my wanderings, I discovered the town’s local rock shop and spent enthralled hours drooling over the stones and crystals and talking to the owner’s head off and watching how he tumbled stones in the back.   I remember bringing him handfuls of one particular stone I found in large quantities along the side of the road and he told me it was some sort of calcite that was found everywhere in the area.  I remember buying one of those boards with the stones glued to it, with their names spelled out underneath.   Then I became a teenager and lost interest in them altogether. 

Several years ago we were forced to leave our home in Illinois because it was inundated with toxic mold and ended up moving to Wisconsin.  One of the jobs I was able to get right away was working at Mimosa Books & Gifts as a sales clerk, later becoming Assistant Manager.  I was very drawn to all the stones and crystals in the store, spending a good amount of my paycheck on handfuls of tumbled and rough crystals/stones or pendants and rings.  One day, the resident psychic/medium Akeeya started doing Crystal Healing classes. I took a class and was hooked.  Then I hosted a two day workshop with the owner of Free Spirit Crystals of Butler, Wisc., at a local venue and became a Level I Crystal Healer (and added a lot more to my collection!)

A few years later, I took another a Crystal Healing correspondence course with Master Crystologist Ashley Leavy (now co-owner of Mimosa).   I also have been hosting Crystal Healing Classes in my home that Ashley teaches and I am greatly looking forward to hosting a series of three Crystal Reiki classes here, starting in March.

I began incorporating crystals into my Reiki practice, and placed a crystal grid in my healing space and another grid under my Reiki table. I had a Feng Shui consultant come in and learned about placing certain crystals in each room to enhance the flow of energy better in them.  I also place crystals/stones on my clients during Reiki sessions when I feel guided to do so or they ask me to, but recently I felt it was time to step it up and put all this education to good use.  So I began offering Chakra Healing Crystal layouts to my Reiki students and friends for free in exchange for feedback in preparation to begin offering them to the public.

The results have been astounding.  I had no expectations going into the sessions, as I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the feedback I am getting is blowing my mind.  People are reporting being able to “feel” the energy of the crystals shooting off in all directions, pulsing energy from the crystals, seeing colors behind their closed eyes, feeling things leaving their bodies, having visions and more.  I had no idea!

I feel very confidently that it is time to offer these three crystal layouts to the public – Chakra Healing, Chakra Balancing and Chakra Activation.  Simply put, Crystal healing works on the principle that the crystals vibrate at a higher frequency then we do because they are absolutely perfect, being made of a duplicated pattern of molecules and when we place them on our bodies by wearing them like in a pendant, in a medicine pouch, earrings, bracelet or they are placed on our bodies during layouts, then our body is “entrained” to their vibration, thus raising ours. 

 For more information on Crystal Healing and these layouts, please visit my website and look under the “What is Crystal Healing” tab. Some of these layouts are recommended for people with ADD, anxiety, fatigue, under a lot of stress, but anyone can benefit from these layouts.               

I personally believe that the Creator (Source of all Wisdom, Divine Mind, Great Spirit, whatever you want to call Him/Her) has put all these crystals, stones, herbs, oils, plants, flowers and more on this planet to help us.  To be used to heal us, and nourish us.  I am very grateful for all the teachers and opportunities that have come my way to bring me the knowledge of the uses of all of the Creators gifts.  

    WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A REIKI SESSION

Over 100 years ago, a Japanese Buddhist Monk by the name of Mikao Usui put together a system of hand applications and meditations for self-actualization that is now a major healing modality, known far and wide as Reiki (Ray-Key) or Usui Reiki. Long lists of the benefits to be derived from having a Reiki session or becoming Reiki (taking a Reiki class so you can channel the energy that is known as Reiki) can be found in any Reiki book or magazine out there.

If you’ve never had a Reiki session or never even heard of Reiki, you are in the minority these days.  Reiki Practitioners and Reiki Master Teachers abound and the numbers of new ones are growing daily.  So what is the attraction?

Reiki is easy to do and easy to learn, unlike some other healing modalities that have you jumping through hoops to achieve similar results or a near facsimile.  Having studied several of them myself, I know of which I speak. The benefits are off the charts and anyone can become Reiki and do Reiki on themselves, family members, friends or pets and more. There is no age, sex, religion, ethnicity, fitness level or any other restriction to becoming Reiki.  An open mind and an open heart is all that is required.

To start with, your body has a natural healing process already in place which can only be activated when you are completely at rest, relaxed and calm.  When you cut yourself you heal or are cut open for surgery or have a cold, flu, etc, you heal.  What is one of the most common recommendations by doctors when you are ill besides drink a lot of fluids (which Reiki practitioners will always tell you to do) - REST!  To quote one of my favorite Yoga teachers Lilias Folan, “to rest is to heal”. 

When someone is channeling Reiki for you the energy takes you to that calm, relaxed, restful place so that your natural healing process can kick in and it enhances it.  Many people fall into a very deep sleep during a Reiki session (we call this “Reiki Slumber”).  Deeper healing takes place when you can relax and allow yourself to drift off and it gets the ego out of the way.  A nationally known Reiki Master Teacher said she gives kudos to any Reiki practitioner whose clients fall asleep under their hands. I wholeheartedly agree.

This deep restful sleep has been defined as a kind of meditative or altered state and is extremely beneficial for coping with stress or anxiety (rampant in our fast paced and stressful world today).  Many people report vast improvement of these two issues after having a series of Reiki sessions.  Some even claim that they are able to get off their anti-anxiety medication or anti-depressants or greatly reduce them.

Another widely known benefit of having a Reiki session is the release of trapped emotional energy from the body.  Negative emotions like anger, fear, frustration, resentment, rage, unworthiness, grief or sorrow become trapped in the tissues of the body and cause pain and eventually dis-ease.  The areas where these negative emotions are trapped in vibrate at a lower, less healthy vibration then healthy higher vibrating tissues.  Reiki flows in and dissolves these blocks with heat (when this happens it is common for the practitioner to break out in a sweat as the heat flows out of their hands).   As the heat dissolves the block, the trapped emotional energy or energy block is released and then Reiki floods into the area to raise it back up to a higher, healthier vibration. Some people may start to tear up or even cry when this happens or have a vision or a knowing of the event that took place around the trapped emotions that were released.

Also, the seven major chakras are opened, cleared and balanced and Reiki can act as a pain is reliever, but just like massage, acupuncture or any other alternative healing modality, multiply applications are required, especially for chronic or severe issues. 

Your Reiki practitioner may recommend you consider taking a Reiki class and “becoming” Reiki so that you can do Reiki on yourself at any time, anywhere, any place, especially if you, a family member or pet suffer from chronic health issues. Reiki can also be sent distantly to any person, place or thing or situation (past, present or future – this is called Distant Reiki or Absentia Reiki).  It is not uncommon for someone in transition (leaving the Earthly plane) or someone with a terminal illness to be attuned to Reiki to help ease their suffering or to help them to cross over more easily. Below is a list of a few of my favorite books on Reiki if you are interested in diving deeper

Most practitioners or teachers of Reiki will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you have about Reiki anytime but the best way to find out what it’s all about for yourself is to have a Reiki session.

Reiki for Chronic Conditions: A 3-Step Protocol

Throughout my career as a Reiki practitioner, the majority of my clients have initially sought my help as a result of chronic pain. I’m not typically a person’s first stop along this journey: most people exhaust their traditional medical resources before turning to alternative techniques like Reiki.

But when they do, they’re often satisfied with the relief that follows from even a single Reiki treatment.

The trouble, however, is that the relief you get from that first treatment is rarely enough: chronic conditions require a prolonged treatment regimen as part of an integrated healing program.

Treating Chronic Conditions with Reiki

There’s a specific protocol Reiki practitioners follow in order to give someone relief from chronic pain or illness. Step 1: Give daily (or alternate daily) treatments for two to three weeks until a “healing crisis” occurs. Step 2: Taper treatments to twice or three times per week, eventually reducing overall treatments to once per week as needed. Step 3: Perform monthly ‘maintenance’ treatments as needed until the person’s condition is either healed or significantly improved.

Additionally, it’s recommended that someone within the person’s household -- a family member typically -- be made Reiki so that the suffering individual can receive daily treatments when necessary.

When Reiki Doesn’t Heal Completely

Sometimes the chronic condition is never completely healed. This often occurs because a person’s life contract -- an agreement for certain conditions or life challenges to occur in order to further evolve one’s soul -- does not allow for a complete healing to take place. Life contracts, or Karma, exist for our best interests; Reiki won’t heal the condition completely if doing so will hinder our soul’s growth.

Reiki Practitioners Often Offer Discounts, Trades and Sliding Payment Scales

Because Reiki, at its core, is a humanitarian healing art, most practitioners offer discounts or service fees based on a sliding scale in order to help make Reiki available to all. If funds are still an issue, practitioners, myself included, will occasionally offer to attune family members -- a process that would cost significantly less than would ongoing treatments -- so that finding relief can still be possible. And of course, attuned family members can then benefit from Reiki themselves.