Enjoying the Moment

Well, life is really kicking up the pace right now and, I must, admit I’m loving every minute of it.  Just under a year ago I was wondering whether I should give up my part-time job and immerse myself in Reiki and now my life has moved in ways I would have never thought possible.

Our Como Centre for Enlightenment is up and running, although we still have our launch event on 15 June.  Organising this event has pushed me into doing things that I’m not totally comfortable with.  I am not happy asking people to do things for me, asking for favours, selling stuff, that kind of thing but to get this event off the ground I have had to do it.  I have asked people to put up posters, sell tickets, even buy tickets!  I have had to promote our centre and advertise our event – all things that I’ve not done before.  Of course, I haven’t had to do it all alone – Gill, my partner in Como - has been working hard too and we hope that all our efforts will not be in vain.  Gill reminds me that I have to trust, and yes I do, but there’s a thin line between sitting back and trusting and getting off your backside and making it happen.  I’m still trying to find that line!

We now have our second event in the planning stages – a Holistic and Spiritual Fair.  No good sitting back on our laurels, we have to come up with ideas that keeps everyone interested and happy.  Again, I will be asking others to do things for me and that really doesn’t sit naturally with me.  I would sooner do things myself than ask but I’m beginning to realise that I can’t do it all and, actually, some people do like to be asked for help and feel involved.

So I’m getting to know me a little more, finding out what I’m good at and not so good at, and stretching myself just that little bit more.  I’ve no idea what I’ll be doing in the future, what kind of events we’ll be running at the Centre, of how successful it will be, but I do know that I am having so much fun.  So I will live in the now and enjoy the moment.

Using my Intuition

Gill ran our Spiritual Development Group last night and choose to work on developing our intuition.  We started in our usual way with a little prayer, asking for help and protection, and then we had a short guided meditation.

She brought out some Tarot Cards and told us that we were to try to use our intuition to give a reading.  Now Gill had used the Tarot Cards many times before so was quite used to doing card readings but, although I had my own pack, I had not used them for over 25-years and certainly could not remember their meanings.  But Gill reminded us that it was not the literary meaning of each card that we were looking at, we were going to use our intuition too.

In turns we left the room while the remaining three each chose a card.  Coming back we first tried to pick up on the energies and then place each card with the correct person before going on to give a card reading.  I was the last to have a go and felt a little hesitant as everyone before me had been quite remarkable in their interpretation of the cards.  

Hmmmm, I thought, this would be a bit tricky as I don’t class myself as very intuitive at all.  Oh, I had gut feelings but intuitive?  Nah!  However, I was keen to have a go so held my hand over the faced down cards.  Ooooh, how strange, the middle one did feel different and I can’t really explain how.  I even matched it to the correct person and, again, I can’t tell you why.  I didn’t even give it too much thought, but then perhaps that’s the correct way to do it – take your own thoughts out of it completely!!

So I found the card and matched it with the correct person, but I still had to interpret the card, based on what I could see and how I felt when I looked at it.  I started talking - and didn’t shut up.  I honestly don’t know where those words came from  - well, I do really.  I was being guided and I listened !!!  I was amazed, but this was just one card, wouldn’t work again.  Oh but it did.  Gill confirmed that each of my three interpretations were spot on.  Wow!!

We then did a fun thing – out into the garden with paper and ink and like children we made ink blot pictures.  Back inside and we discussed each “picture” in turn.  Although we each saw a few  individual things, on the whole we tended to see as one.  Then, amazingly, we all let our intuition take over and started to read the ink blots.  I’m not sure what psychologists would say about that, but I was totally gobsmacked!

It just goes to show that, when you allow your intuition take over, let your guides help, and stand back – then wonderful things happen.

The Next Step

The next stage on my journey has just began and, yup, it’s taking me even further out of my comfort zone.

Once I had decided to allow Reiki to take me where it wants to, things have just gone from better to better.

Around 6-weeks or so ago my friend Gill and I started talking about a possible joint venture whereby we could help support and guide those about to embark on their own spiritual journey.  We were both Reiki Master Teachers and had a wealth of spiritual experience between us – was it now time to start helping others?

Well there’s no time like the present so this week we announced the formation of our own Centre for Enlightenment.

I placed my trust in my “people” and asked for help on how to get the Centre off the ground.  We needed a launch event of some sort and had no idea what we could do – they did!  They put the idea in my head and, oh boy, was it a good one.  But I was unsure whether it would happen and was hesitant about making that first approach.  But they had given me this idea so the very least I could do was to try – I made the first approach.

Dominic C. James is a Reiki Master and author of The Reiki Man.  His second book is due out later this month and he lives in my area.  I needed to contact him and ask if he would be willing to be our Guest Speaker at our launch event.  I sent an e-mail.

As soon as I hit that send button my brain kicked in with “it will never happen”, “he’ll charge too much”, “he’ll say no” and on and on it went.  I checked my e-mails every 5-minutes for a week – no reply.  That’s it, he wouldn’t do it, he didn’t want to know – Gill and I would have to come up with another plan for our launch.  One morning last week I was mulling over what kind of event we could come up with and what a shame that Dominic didn’t want to do it as he would have been so perfect.  So I asked for help to come up with another idea.

An hour later I had an e-mail from Dominic – yes, he would do it!!!!!  I was overjoyed and once again my people had come up trumps.  But I had forgotten that Dominic was a Reiki Master too and a very spiritual person – it’s in our make-up to help when we can.

So on Friday 15 June we will launch the Como Centre for Enlightenment and will have an Evening with Dominic C James, Reiki Master and Author.

Out of My Comfort Zone

Last August I jumped right out of my comfort zone - I left my job to do what I wanted to do!

Reiki.

I had no idea whether this would work or not, but my family agreed to support me in my dream.  At that point I was a Reiki Practitioner so set about advertising and trying to build up a practice.  It was slow, I got a few clients but it was never going to earn me a living.

Earlier this year I finally qualified as a Reiki Master Teacher and thought this would give my practice a well-needed boost and I might finally start to earn a modest living.  Wrong!!

Oh, I had a student and more will come, but I am not going to earn the living that I thought I needed.  Things were not going as I planned.  Reading around the internet I noted that others were running thriving Reiki practices, what was I doing wrong?  This gave rise to some serious self-doubt.  Oh I knew that Reiki worked, I knew that I could channel it, but for some reason no-one wanted me to channel it to them!!  What was wrong with me?

Well nothing was wrong with me, I was just approaching it in the wrong way.  I presumed that I could decide what I wanted to do and all would be well – wrong again.

Some deep thinking followed and slowly I realised that I didn’t control the way I was to work.  Oh yes, I had free will but when I tried to exercise it I was just getting nowhere.  I started to move in a different direction, I began to recognise opportunities when they appeared and I acted upon them.  I didn’t know if it would work or not, but if I didn’t try I would never know.   I joined forces with my good friend, Gill, who runs her own holistic therapy practice and, if you’ve read my earlier blogs, you will know that over the past month or so things have really started to take off.

I’ve now taken “me” out of the equation.  I don’t think it was ever an ego thing, but more one of control.  I’ve always wanted to be in control of my life, to plan and know what the outcome will be!  So, out of my comfort zone again, I’ve removed my expectations and am going with the flow.  I’m learning to follow my intuition and, believe it or not, I take daily guidance from my Angel Cards.

Now I’m taking another leap and, again, I don’t know whether this will be successful or not but I have a very good, positive feeling about it.  Gill and I are about to launch our joint venture and are  in the planning stages of our first event, which is so exciting and I will be telling you more about that soon.

Reiki is still right for me, I know that, and I hope in future I will still get opportunities to give and teach it, but I was wrong when I thought it was my decision that Reiki was the only thing I would do!

Another Lesson in Trust

I was asked, a few months ago, if I would like to give Reiki at a Pamper Evening that was being organised as a fundraiser at a local school.  These were to be just 15-minute taster sessions, I would be in a hall with all the other therapists and I could charge what I liked, although they hoped it wouldn't be too much.  I hummed and hared a bit and then agreed.  The main reason for doubt was my concerns over whether any potential clients would have a good experience of Reiki when there was so much going on around them.

As the day approached I still had mixed feelings but I had committed to do it and so I would make the best of the evening.  I had decided that I wouldn't charge but ask for donations for the Bowen4Children Clinic, where I volunteer Reiki.   I was plagued with doubts and I really didn’t think I would get any clients.  It’s the same old thing with me, although I trust Reiki 100% I always think that no-one will want me and that everyone who does Reiki does it better than I do.  But anyway, I would go and at the very least I would be able to talk to people about Reiki and help spread the word.

The day arrived and I asked my guides for help and to make the evening perfect for everyone’s highest good.  My best friend, Pat, had offered to come with me to give me a bit of support and help in any way she could.  We arrived at the school and was shown, not into the main hall where everyone else was, but into a classroom filled with furniture, toys and other stuff that children need at school.  There were to be four of us in the room, giving reflexology, massage, facial rejuvenation and my Reiki.  We cleared enough space and set up our bits and pieces.  I think we all felt a little tucked out of the way and none of us had any idea of how many clients we had, if indeed any.  I asked the organiser for a list and when I got my copy I was delighted to see I had three clients booked in.  They were fairly spread out so that meant I could give them more than the agreed 15-minutes.  Fantastic!

My first client arrived and I started to work --- and I never stopped!!!  Every time I thought I had finished, Pat told me I had one or two more waiting.  Those three clients multiplied into eleven by the end of the evening – wow! 

Why, oh why do I ever doubt?  My “people” had come up trumps again – they never fail me.  So why do I persistently doubt what I do?  It’s a real confidence thing with me and I will really have to work hard to overcome it.  Reiki works, I know that.  I can channel Reiki, I know that too.  So why do I think people will not want Reiki from me?  Something to work on, I think.

Introducing Clyde

Can I introduce you to Clyde.  Clyde is a beautiful orangutan, he’s around 20-years old and is about the size of a two-year-old child.  Although he’s never done much on a day-to-day basis, except perhaps act as a playmate for my cats, he’s now proving to be a valuable helper.

When I did Reiki 1 I practised hand positions on him, with Reiki 2 I used him for distance healing and then when I became a Master Teacher I practised giving him attunements.  He took all this with good grace!

Yesterday Clyde came out with me for the first time.  I was doing a Master Teacher training day in my student’s own therapy room.  I have to say we picked up some very strange looks as we parked the car at the top of the street and walked to Gill’s.  Clyde seemed quite oblivious to it all.

Gill was a little surprised when she saw him but was very welcoming and even gave him a cuddle.  Clyde really got into the session and cooperated fully.  He received another attunement or two as Gill practised the procedure.    

I look forward to working with Clyde in the future as we train more Reiki Master Teachers.  Who knows, I may even find other roles for him as we move forward.

I wonder how other Reiki practitioners practise??