Separation

When I blogged the other day about my son being the other side of the world and how much I was missing him, I was quickly reminded that I had not told you the full story.

You see, I did have another son but he was “born asleep”.  It’s not that I had forgotten about him as he’s with me constantly, but I've always tended to keep our closeness to myself. 

Dealing with my separation from Adam was extremely hard to cope with.  I didn’t understand why it had to be that way.  I thought I had lost my child forever.

I now know that's not so.  Ok so I couldn’t hold him, comfort him, raise him, etc, but I do still feel his closeness and I now know that he is not lost to me. 

He had a purpose when he was with me for those months that I carried him.  I didn’t know that at the time, but I do now.  I don’t know what his purpose was, but maybe I will one day.  I'm told that these babies who come but never touch the earth are really special, they are free spirits, but I need to do a little more investigating on that one.  What I do know is that I haven’t lost him, we are separated in this lifetime but not for ever.  My love for him will never die and we will be together at some point.

My second son is still with me, albeit on the other side of the world, but I don’t have to wait so long for us to be together again.   I will see him, talk to him and hug him again in this lifetime.  He, too, had a purpose for coming to me, although again I’m not sure what it is.  Maybe it’s to help me to deal with separation which, over the past few days, I have been working on.

I have given birth to two sons in this lifetime.  Both of them I love to pieces, but both of them are physically away from me.  So I’m dealing with it.

Other Side of the World

I have just one son and I love him beyond reason.  He’s a man now, but will always be my baby.  Now I’m sure at this point all you Mums out there are in total agreement, so you’ll understand how I felt last year when he announced that he was off to Brazil for six months. 

Of course I didn’t want him to go, Brazil was the other side of the world and all sorts of nasty things could happen.  And, to be completely honest, I was afraid that he would meet a nice Brazilian girl and want to stay!

But I never really had a say in the matter and, to be honest, neither should I have.  He was an adult, it was his life and he had every right to make his own decisions without any angst being put on him by an overbearing mother.  But that didn’t stop me crying buckets when we said goodbye back in October.

Within my spiritual development I know that attachment is not good and that we all have to deal with separation at some point in our lives.  As mothers we all know the pain of separation, even an hour away from our new born is difficult.  We constantly feel that we shouldn’t be too far away in case we are needed.  As a spouse and partner the pain is immense when separation takes place after a lifetime together.

I do believe, however, that separation is only temporary – at some point we will be re-united.  But knowing and feeling are two different things.   We are living in the here and now and the pain of what we have to cope with is sometimes very difficult.

I know that my child is only about a 12-hour flight away, should he need me.  But next week I will be in Singapore – a bigger distance from my baby!  How pathetic am I?

But at the end of the day, he is living his life and I am living mine.  I enjoy every moment we spend together and when we’re apart I look forward to the next time we’ll meet.  But I have to let go, and I am learning to do this.

My love is with him constantly, as it is with all who I am separated from.

The Generosity of Strangers

One of my hobbies is family history research.  A couple of weeks ago I was searching for someone in particular and was glad of the help of a friend.  Searching the internet she found someone with a box belonging to one of my ancestors.  The person who owned the box was not a relative and just wanted to give the box and contents back to a family member.  I contacted this stranger straight away but thought I would be out of luck but no, the box was still there and as I was a direct relative the stranger was happy to let me have it.

How lucky was I!  But above all, what a wonderful gesture this stranger was making. 

I am constantly amazed that complete strangers often give much more than they realise.  May it be a smile, a kind word, an act of kindness, it makes such a difference to our lives.  All too often we are rushing about, coping with the trials and tribulations in our own lives that we tend to forget that others are dealing with problems and issues that we know nothing of.  We could all do with stopping and thinking a little more, often just a smile, a touch and the words “are you ok” will work wonders.  We all respond well to the support, care and love from others so  it seems only fair that we try to give a little back. 

From now on I will smile more at a stranger, I will offer to help where I see someone in need, I will place a hand on those that need comforting and I will listen to others.  We can do so much without doing very much at all.  If we all tried a little harder to do a little more, how much better would society be?

More about Angels

I met Jane in November and we got chatting about this and that.  She told me that she had been having problems with a “presence” in her house and it was affecting her children.  Her young son, James, was having real problems sleeping and had started refusing to go to bed at night because of these people in his room.  Jane resorted to letting her younger child, Jessica, sleep in the same room to give James a little comfort, but it was far from ideal.  Jessica started to refer to the people as James’ friends and it became apparent that she could sense them too but didn’t seem quite so bothered by them as James.  Jane’s husband was totally freaked out by the whole thing and wouldn’t even discuss it.

When we met, Jane was at the end of her tether and didn’t know what to do to make these “people” leave.  She, too, could feel their presence and had asked them to leave but to no effect.  I explained that, in my experience, these people lingered close to property and earthly things because they couldn’t accept that they were dead and they didn’t know how to leave or what to do next.  It usually took someone who knew what they were doing to coax the “people” to leave and to guide them onwards.  As it happened, Jane knew someone who was a medium and so I suggested she ask her to visit the house and see if she could help in any way.

It was about this time that my introduction to the Archangels began.  It seemed everywhere I went, signs from the Angels were leaping out at me.  Now I wasn’t sure about these Angels but I did a little research on the internet and discovered that there were many of them and they all have their own specific work to do.  Archangel Michael protects and cuts the ties of things that we no longer need; Archangel Raphael is the healer and Archangel Gabriel is the teacher and messenger.  There are many more angels who all have their own jobs to do, but they can only help us if we ask them to as they cannot impose on our own free will.  Hummmm!

I began to think more about these angels and I will admit to asking Archangel Raphael to help with a couple of my own health issues, all with good outcomes.  I started to wonder if Archangel Michael might be able to help with Jane’s problem and help to lead James’ “friends” to where they needed to be.  But then I thought that if I mentioned it to her she would think I’d lost the plot and we would not speak again.  But this kept nagging at me, I wanted to help this family and the little boy that was being troubled and afraid to go to sleep in case these “people” took him away.

I next saw Jane and the children just before Christmas.  Nothing had changed and she didn’t feel she could ask her Medium friend for help.  I also met her husband at this time and he admitted that he was totally freaked out by the whole thing.  Although he couldn’t feel anything, he wasn’t at all happy with the effect it was having on his family.  Archangel Michael popped into my mind and I found myself blurting it out to Jane – this was a bit bizarre as I hadn’t decided at that point to say anything.  I explained to Jane what Michael could do and told her to ask him to help in cutting the earthly ties of these “people” so that they could go on their way and take the next step in their journey.  We agreed she had nothing to lose so yes, she said she would give it a try.

Jane and I met yesterday and her first words were “your Archangel Michael worked”.  It seems their “people” have left the house and the family have no more problems.  James is sleeping much better and he also asks Michael for protection. 

I am overjoyed that it worked for them as a family and little James is no longer troubled.  Of course I am also very pleased to have proof that Archangel Michael is a) out there somewhere and b) answers our requests.  Yes, I know I shouldn’t need proof but sometimes we all have a few little wobbles.  I must just add here that Archangel Michael is not mine – he is here for everyone, but you do have to ask him for help.

Jane also told me yesterday that she is now so keen to explore and discover all things spiritual that she has joined a meditation group and, at her first session, had such an amazing experience.

So if you need protection, healing and guidance – all you need to do is ask!

366 Reasons to be Grateful

At the beginning of January I was inspired by a friend to keep a Gratitude Diary.  In Reiki and spiritual development we are encouraged to be grateful for our many blessings in life and, indeed, there are many things in this life that I am extremely grateful for.  But could I find something for 366 days?

The answer to that is – I don’t know.  I have started well, but then we are only at Day 16. 

Every day I wake up I wonder what my blessing today will be.  Sometimes it is so obvious that it smacks me right in the face.  Other days I drift into the evening and nothing is forthcoming.  These non-forthcoming days are usually the ones I spend at home, where I have little interaction with the outside world and few opportunities for the spur-of-the-moment happenings.

It’s those days where I start reflecting and thinking a little deeper about all sorts of things.  As I sit here now, gazing out of the window and waiting for a bit of inspiration, I’m seeing the garden full of shrubs, trees and wildlife, but how often do I appreciate the beauty of it all?  As I read a book, how often do I think about the complexities of the eyes and the ability to read the written word?  As I listen to the conversation around me, how often do I really hear what’s being said?  How often do I sit and lose myself in music rather than have it playing in the background?

There is much in life to be grateful for if only we stopped and thought about it. 

So my “blessings” will be many over the coming year.  They may be simple, and some may think they’re not a blessing at all, but finding a dress for £3 in the Marks and Spencer sale really gave me pleasure!  Others will be bigger blessings and more thought provoking.

I am posting my daily “blessing” on Facebook and Twitter so if you want to see just what I find to be grateful for, please come and follow me there – just look for Reiki in Wantage.  Leave a comment too if you can identify with any of my posts.

So, 350 reasons to be grateful still to find.  Will I make it?  You’ll have to “Like” or “Follow” to find out.

Just lights in the sky or ......

It’s amazing how a blog subject presents itself when you least expect it.  Last night I saw a very bright light in the sky. It dropped rapidly behind the rooftops and I lost sight of it.  Ten minutes later it re-appeared and whizzed around the sky for at least 10-15 minutes.  My friend and I went into the garden for a better view.  I didn’t think it was an aircraft, it was completely silent and I had never seen anything like it before.  Whatever was it?

Not surprisingly I found it difficult to sleep and my thoughts started to drift towards UFOs and aliens.  Our minds are naturally programmed to find the most logical explanation for what our eyes are seeing and yet, when there is no logical explanation, some still cannot believe alternative options.

Why couldn’t those lights have been from a UFO?  Because we have never had any known encounters with aliens before? Because aliens are just the subject of Sci-Fi books and films?

Now there are lots of things that happen in life that, whilst perfectly normal to me, are deemed as complete chance or coincidence by others.   Personally I think it’s a little naïve of us to think that we are the only life force in the Universe.  Just because we have never seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  I’ve never seen the Northern Lights but I know they exist.

I have a completely open mind, anything is possible until proven to me one way or the other.  Therefore aliens could exist and they may well be highly intelligent beings. They could be of enormous help to us, they could teach us all sorts of things, we could build a mutually beneficial relationship.  But what scares me is that if aliens do exist, and they have the capability of visiting earth, would the powers that be automatically go on the attack and ruin any chances that we may have of opening a dialogue?  Would an alien race be accepted when our world has such deep problems with racism.  Would we accept aliens who do not look, and think, like we do when we are so quick to judge those who don’t conform to our way of thinking?

At the end of the day these are just my thoughts and you will have your own.  Sometimes it’s only when we have an “experience” that we start to think more deeply and question what we are seeing and feeling.  There is so much in this great Universe of ours that we don’t know about or understand, and the future could be so exciting if only we could set aside our pre-conceived ideas and fears.

But all of this doesn’t answer my question – what were those lights in the sky last night?

New Year Resolutions

With only a couple of days to go before we hit 2012 my thoughts, as usual, turn to New Year Resolutions.  Every year I make a few and every year I break them within the first few weeks.

I tend to go for the usual ones, dieting, cutting down on alcohol, being a better person, not judging others, not getting angry, being a better friend, etc, etc.  Such a major task it’s no wonder I was doomed to failure.

But this year has all been about change for me, so my resolutions will change too.  Thinking about them this morning it came to me that you don’t really need to wait until 1^st January to make changes.  Every day is the start of the future so changes can be made constantly.  It seems a waste of valuable time to wait until a specific day to start something new.  Why not strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.  Make that change today, do what you want to do, be who you want to be.  To me life is so short, it races by in the blink of an eyelid.  It didn’t seem that long ago that we were preparing for last Christmas and now another one has gone by.  It won’t be too long before we’re doing it all again for next year.  So in the meantime, we owe it to ourselves to have the best possible year and achieve all the things we would like to.   So my diet started today.

This year my life changed in the most dramatic and positive way.  I gave up my job and re-trained in Reiki.  I have loved everything about my year and so look forward to 2012.  As a Reiki Master I say, and try to live by, the five Usui precepts every day: 

                Just for today do not get angry

                Just for today do not worry

                Be grateful and earn your living honestly

                Be respectful to others

                Do not cause harm to any living thing

So, although I no longer  feel the need to make New Year Resolutions, there is one I will make this year and that is to replace every negative thought with two positive ones!

Good luck with your resolutions.

The Children

During the week I was very fortunate to be able to give Reiki to my friend Gill Moss, an Holistic Therapist and a fellow Reiki Practitioner.  Our conversation turned to my patience, or rather lack of it, and I told her that all I wanted to do was to give and teach Reiki, but it all seemed to be happening  so slowly.  She countered that with “well if you want to give Reiki, why not come along to my children’s clinic on Saturday morning?”

One of therapies that Gill does is the Bowen Technique and once a month she holds a clinic for children with special needs.  This clinic receives no funding, just relies on donations and the fund-raising events that Gill and her team organise.

So off I went on Saturday morning not knowing what to expect.  Gill and the other therapist were working with two children, two ladies were dealing with the Admin, parents were waiting with their children and one little girl was having a wonderful time constantly running up and down the hall.  Gill asked me to try giving some Reiki to the little girl to get her to calm down enough to receive the Bowen’s therapy.  A tall order, considering she had not stopped since I had been in the hall.  But I sat down and just let the Reiki flow into the room hoping that she would take a little.  After a while she slowed down, came over to the couch and let her Mum lift her onto it.  A couple of seconds later she flung herself into my arms and I was completely lost.  She didn’t stay, but she had made her point.  She got me hook, line and sinker!  She did eventually calm down enough to get her Bowen’s treatment and some more Reiki.

I spent the rest of the morning giving Reiki to the children as and where I felt pulled.  The children were delightful, each different and with different needs.  But I made the Reiki available to them and I never felt any of them blocking it.  They all got their Bowen’s treatments and went on their way.  I really feel that their parents could benefit greatly from Reiki too, but I think that’s maybe for another time.

The work that Gill and her team do is fantastic.  Although the children are receiving their conventional medical care, the holistic therapies are really enhancing their care and the parents are receiving much needed support in a non-medical, relaxed and fun setting.  In December the children will receive their treatments during a Christmas Party – what fun!

So I had a really enjoyable morning and all I had to do was give a few hours of my time and make the Reiki available.  Simples!!

Patience - or my lack of it!

Time for an update and time, I think, to share some deeper stuff with you.  Up until now I have just been writing about experiences I have had, but there’s so much more to share with you.  I’ll still tell you about my experiences, but in between I would like to share with you the things that I am learning on my journey.

One of the big problems I’ve always had is patience, or my lack of it.  I want everything yesterday.  If I want to do something I don’t want to wait until I can start or finish it. I want to start and master it in the shortest possible time. 

I’m exactly the same with Reiki – I want to get to Master Teacher in a couple of weeks!  Never going to happen.  My Reiki Master is fantastic and she does her best to reign me in, my guides are even better – they just will not let me progress until I am ready.  Now I know there are lots of internet sites out there that promise Reiki Master/Teacher attunements in just one weekend but I must admit that just doesn’t sit right with me so I will not go that route.  I’m not saying this approach is wrong, it is just not right for me.  So, here I am learning my first lesson - follow gut instincts even if it means you have to wait a while!!

I know what my goal is – I want to be able to give and teach Reiki to as many people as possible and I want to be able to do it next week.  I beg, plead, rant and rave but to no avail.  Not that my motives are bad, they’re not, but I’m just not ready yet.  I will only progress when I am ready.

This is hard for me because of my natural urge to steam ahead and get on with it.  It’s my second big lesson and I’m having a hard time learning it.  But I am beginning to listen.

Reiki, like a lot of things in life, is not something to rush at.  Learning, like Reiki, does not have an end, we do it constantly whether we are aware of it or not.  Life is like on big classroom – every day something new comes into our lives.  It comes in many forms, something we read, something we watch on TV, something someone tells us.  We need to slow down, look, listen and learn.  If we go full steam ahead, we miss the journey.  We will never learn if we are blinkered and can only see the ultimate goal.  Yes, we can aspire to our goals and we will reach them, but in the fullness of time, when we are fully ready.

I know that if I became a Reiki Master Teacher tomorrow I would be the very best Master Teacher that I knew how to be.  However, if I wait a while, learn a lot more, I can be even better!  If I am to teach others, then they deserve the best they can get.

But don’t give up on your dreams just because you can’t do it immediately – think how much better it will be when you do eventually realise them.  You will have more experience, more knowledge, more confidence and will be in a far better position to meet the challenges that your goal will bring.  Above all, enjoy the journey – it has much to teach you.

Mmmmm, that all seems a bit deep, doesn’t it, but well worth mulling over. 

St Wendreda

During my Reiki II attunement I had the feeling of someone standing at my right shoulder.  I had not experienced this feeling before and so assumed it to be a new guide, here to help me specifically with Reiki.  I mentioned it to my Reiki Master and she confirmed that there was indeed someone standing just behind my right shoulder.  She suggested that, during a self-Reiki session, I ask for a name and who they are.

During my session the following day, I asked the guide to come and help me and also asked if I could be told the name and a little more about them.  Again, I felt a very strong presence of someone just behind my right shoulder and this time had a feeling around my chin and neck, as if I was wearing a garment.  That was it, no name and still none the wiser as to who my new guide was.

The following morning, just as I was waking up, I saw words that looked like “St Wendra of Dreda”.  I was a bit taken aback, where did that come from and what did it all mean?  I googled and was absolutely gobsmacked on the hits I got – amongst them was the following:

St. Wendreda was the daughter of seventh-century King Anna, one of the earliest Christian kings. At a time when Christianity was putting down roots among the Anglo-Saxon peoples of England, St. Wendreda and her sisters, Etheldred and Sexburga, were enthusiastic missionaries spreading the Gospel of Christ.

Shunning the life of a princess, Wendreda dedicated herself to healing. She eventually settled in a small settlement called Mercheford, where some humble fisherman resided. Her sister, Etheldred, went on to found the monastery at Elyl, while her other sibling, Sexburga, became abbess of a monastery in Minster.

Later, Wendreda founded a community at March, Cambridgeshire, dedicated to healing. She passed peacefully into the heavenly kingdom, and her relics, enshrined in gold, were buried in the Ely Cathedral.

However, in 1016, the relics were carried off in battle in the hopes they would bring victory. At the Battle of Ashingdon, the conquering Danish king, a pagan, seized the relics, but soon was converted to Christianity. He took the relics to the Canterbury Cathedral where they rested for the next 300 years.

In 1343, St. Wendreda was returned to March and enshrined in the church dedicated to her memory. The St. Wendreda Church stands to this day, and is world famous for its magnificent double-hammer beam roof along with 120 carved angels.

Not only was that so mind-blowing for me but, as a keen genealogist, I have traced my paternal family back to March in Cambridgeshire!

Angels? .... yeah, right!

I’ve been very spiritual for around 30-odd years now, and have a lot of beliefs that many find spooky and, well, a bit potty.  That’s ok.  As long as we keep an open mind, then acceptance will come when we are ready for it.  I like to think of myself as Mrs Average, normal, level-headed and two-feet-on-the-ground kind of person, so I will admit that I do tend to step back from the more “airy-fairy” beliefs.  I tend to draw the line at what I would call “fanciful” things – like Angels!

Now that I am working with Reiki I have been reading everything I can on healing energies – think I’ve just about exhausted Wantage Library!  Wednesday afternoon I picked up Healed by an Angel by Jacky Newcomb.  A lovely book that tells individual stories of healing and spiritual experiences.  At the start of the book the author tells how we all have spirit guides and helpers, and angels.  Well spirit guides and helpers I fully accept and I know I have my fair share of these.  But angels – hmmmmm.  The author goes on to say that you can communicate with your angel, find out their name and sometimes they leave little gifts, especially small white feathers.

OK – nothing ventured, nothing gained so I sat down and concentrated and pictured an angel.  It was the normal type of angel that you find on top of the Christmas Tree because that’s what my idea of an angel is.  I felt someone draw in close but that’s not unusual for me, so I asked for a name.  “Peachy” came straight into my head, I questioned that and got straight back “Yup, just Peachy”.  I was overwhelmed by the greatest feeling of love, which again is not unusual for me.  The song playing on the radio at that time was John Lennon’s “Woman” with the lyrics “I love you” repeated two or three times.

All very lovely but am I now getting a bit angelic? – mmmmmmmmmmmm.  But, I wasn’t ruling it out and all day Thursday I had quiet little words with Peachy.  I went up to bed that night and, as usual, the first stop was the bathroom.  There on the floor was a little white feather!!!!

The lyrics to Abba’s “I Have a Dream” are now running through my head:

I believe in Angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in Angels
When I know the time is right for me

Why did I choose Reiki ....?

I didn’t, it chose me! 

You will know by now (if you’ve been reading my blogs) that I became spiritually aware around 30-odd years ago and my development has been an on-going thing.  I was told by a great healer I once met that I would get back to healing work at some point in the future, but not sure I really believed him at the time.   Sometimes life intervenes and you move on to other things.

Around 7-8 years ago I began having problems with blocked ears and sought an alternative treatment to syringing.  I found (some would say by chance but I don’t believe that for one minute) Gill Moss, a lovely lady and holistic therapist, and someone who I would highly recommend (have a look at Mokoia Holistic Therapies www.mokoiaholistictherapies.co.uk).   I booked an appointment for Hopi Ear Candling and emerged from her treatment room an hour later completely changed.  Not only had my ears been unblocked but I had met someone who I felt connected with at a far deeper level.  

Over the next few years I had many sessions of Hopi, all to great effect.  Then, five years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy and, once again, I turned to Gill for help.  She started with Reflexology but at the end of the sessions I knew that I had received much more.  Gill had introduced me to Reiki and my sessions with her had an enormous effect on me, not only did they help me to relax and cope better with the treatments but I felt such a deep calmness and a certainty that I would be ok.

I recovered from the treatment, went into remission and, with Gill’s help, began to put the trauma behind me.  Then my ear blocked again.  Back to Gill for another Hopi session and immediately, as I relaxed, a voice in my head said “How many times do we have to block your ears for you to listen”! I was gobsmacked, amazed and excited.  I think I had always known, on a subconscious level, that I needed to get back to healing, but never connected the events that had lead me to it.  

Gill and I discussed what had happened for some time and, by the time I left her, I knew Reiki had chosen me.

The Circle

Within a few months of becoming involved with the Spiritualist Church, my friend June and I felt it was time to delve a little deeper and progress our spiritual development.  Getting messages from the dead was all very well, but we both had this need to know more and, actually, what was life all about. 

Now, we were very naïve in those days and impatient to get started.  We found another young couple who were just as eager and, ignoring all the sound advice about having someone who knows what they are doing present, we started a Circle.

We hadn’t a clue about running a circle, although we had sat in a few open circles and read a few books.  We went along with what we thought was instinct, but I know now that we were guided.  We knew that we had to sit with love, pure thoughts and intentions and we had to protect ourselves.  The very first evening we said our opening prayer and settled down to allow the energy to build in front of us.  We saw a lot of orange light in the centre that steadily grew and I actually felt a pulling in my stomach.  That was it for the first night – we gave our thanks, closed ourselves down and came back to reality.  I think we were all a little disappointed really although I am sure if something actually happened we would have all freaked out.

We met the following week and went through the same process of opening up and the energy built instantly.  As well as the feeling in my stomach, which made me feel quite sick and I thought I might have to rush out, I felt the pulling sensation behind the eyes – yup the same one that I was taken to Moorfields Eye Hospital for!!  OMG, what was that all about?

The third week is where it all starts to get exciting.  Same process as before, the energy between us a real tangible thing when I suddenly felt something slam against my left upper arm.  As soon as I finished telling the others what I had just felt, June whispered “Oh My God” and described what she could see.  A door had opened to my left revealing a flight of stairs.  At the top of the stairs was the Gatekeeper and lots of people all waving and vying to be heard.  We had made the connection.

That circle continued to meet every week for about a year.  We had some amazing sessions and made some fantastic connections.  We had all started our journey.

Moorfields Eye Hospital

As a young girl, around 7-8 years old, I had a picture of Jesus hanging on my bedroom wall.  I don’t know why it was there, we were not a particularly religious family, and I have no idea of who put it there.

In bed one night I had a strong sensation of something “alive” within the picture and a strong sensation behind my eyes of being pulled towards it.

The next morning I had forgotten all about it and continued as normal, but that night it happened again when I had been in bed for just a little while.  I didn’t like the feeling, it scared me.  I thought the picture would actually draw me into it and I would be gone forever.  This was beginning to happen on a regular basis and eventually I was reluctant to go to bed and making all the excuses under the sun to delay it.  Naturally my parents became worried and so I finally had to tell them about the picture.

At first they just dismissed it as a bad dream and tried their best to reassure me that I could not be taken away by a picture!  I wasn’t sure that I really believed them at the time, as the sensations continued.  Eventually I was carted off to the doctor and made to tell him about the feelings.  He’d never heard of any such condition and promptly sent me to Moorfields Eye Hospital.

My poor Mum, she must have been so worried that I had some incurable rare eye condition.  Either that or I was losing the plot.  At the hospital I had loads of tests, I had to look at lots of images, had drops in my eyes and had lights shone into them.  This went on for quite a number of weeks and at the time it didn’t bother me too much because I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me – it was the picture.  One time my Mum was given drops to put into my eyes just prior to an appointment, only she mis-read the instructions and administed the drops for a week!  For a whole week I couldn’t see a thing, just blurry images – I think I might have been worried just a little bit then.

Eventually I was given the all-clear – they could find nothing wrong with me.

It was around the time of the hospital appointments that the feelings stopped.  I told Mum it had gone away, bless her, she was so relieved.  She probably thought it was all psychosomatic!!

I never had those feelings again – until I started to sit in a Circle!

Meet Baby

Baby is a Bougainvillea who had a really bad start in life.  We got her about 3 months ago, a poor little thing with just a few leaves.  We had high hopes for Baby, we watered and fed her, kept her warm, but to no avail – Baby seemed to be dying.  

Last month my friend pulled her from the pot, a bare brown twig, and pronounced her dead.  

“Noooooo, put her back” I cried.  My friend laughed but put Baby back.  The following day Baby and I were on our own and I gave her a burst of Reiki.  I continued to give Reiki on and off for a month, not sure what the outcome would be.  One morning when I checked, Baby began to show signs of life.  I was overjoyed – Reiki had done the trick!  

Here we have living proof that the Reiki life force energy has a profound effect on all living things.

Nobody puts Baby in the shade!

The Reiki Man - A Review

Searching Amazon for my next lot of summer reading, I stumbled upon The Reiki Man by Dominic C James.  I bought it purely for the Reiki aspect and wasn’t disappointed at all.

Classed as a murder/suspense/mystery, it begins with the murder of a billionaire industrialist which leaves the police clueless as the only piece of evidence is a symbol.  Stella, Head of Security and ex-Special Branch, recognises the symbol and contacts her ex-boyfriend – a Reiki Master.  The ex-boyfriend, Stella and a member of Special Branch are then taken into a world where the unexplained happens, ancient powers and rituals abound and danger lurks around every corner.

The book started well and quickly had me hooked with the death of the industrialist – I needed to know how the murderer had achieved his mission.  The main characters were all fairly likeable and the interaction between them was good.  I was really pleased that Stratton, ex-boyfriend and Reiki Master, was a normal guy, likeable and well-grounded with no hint of airy-fairyness.  He had a past to contend with and lived in the real world.  He made Reiki appear perfectly normal, although the book did go into some of the more extreme phenomena that probably only the really open minded would accept.  As well as a spate of murders, nice things happened and, of course, there is the love interest.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely buy Dominic’s next novel.  It’s really good to see Reiki used in fiction and, hopefully, this will catch the interest of many readers and make them want to discover more about this wonderful therapy.

In the Beginning ...

In these blogs I want to share with you my spiritual development as well as my journey with Reiki, and where better to start than at the beginning.

About 30-odd years ago my best friend, June, and I were a little bored and in need of something interesting to do.  We’d tried the run-of-the-mill things that people usually do, such as badminton, horse riding, etc, but none of these lasted too long and we wanted something a little, well, different.  So one Sunday evening we decided to give the Spiritualist Church a go and so took ourselves off to the one in St Ives (Cambridgeshire).  Now at this stage neither one of us had any proof of an afterlife, we thought it was all a little bit spooky, but we did have open minds.  We agreed that we wouldn’t tell anyone anything about ourselves and just see what happened.  That first evening was very pleasant and we were made to feel welcome.  There was a guest medium who gave out messages that people seemed to understand, but she had nothing for us.  We had a cup of tea and then said our goodbyes and left.  I think we both felt a little deflated after that first evening; we talked about what to do next and finally agreed that we would go back until one of us got a message which, we naively thought, would prove an afterlife and that would be that.

June got the message first which, at the time, meant nothing to either of us.  She went home and phoned her Mum who confirmed everything the medium had said.  June had her proof and felt that that was it.  But it wasn’t my proof and she agreed to keep going to the church until I had a message.  It took a few more weeks for me but when I got my message I was completely blown away – it was so accurate.  I won’t go into details of that message now but it was a very emotional time for me and both June and I left in tears (of joy I might add).

We discussed the church, and spiritualism, at length and both of us agreed that we just could not walk away.  We went every week and became more and more involved.  It quickly became apparent that there was more to this than meets the eye and that the odd message from a medium was really just the tip of the iceberg.  And so our spiritual journeys began or, I should say, continued.

I am so thankful that June and I got bored one night!