So I’m drinking a big glass of water tonight before I do my self treatment. Water really does make a difference, it’s just like after working out or getting a massage, your body really needs plenty of water when practicing Reiki. I’m glad that it’s supposed to rain overnight as well, my flowers need it as much as I do. Mother Nature will provide what we need, and we need to be good stewards of what we have as well.

Reiki flows along with the water, in fact, I like to give my glass of water a shot of Reiki before I drink it. That way I get that healing energy flowing within my system as well. All I do is hold my hands together with thumbs touching above my full glass of water for a few minutes to send the Reiki energy to it. It’s a nice to have small ways to keep up my practice like this, and receive an additional blessing during my self treatment. My CD that I like to listen to when doing meditation or energy work has the sound of running water. I really love the mood it sets.

So today I can say that I’m grateful for water, and the way it quenches my thirst, helps me to stay cool, and bring me joy. Today during lunch I watched a group of Canadian Geese by a pond under the shade of some birch trees. It was a beautiful scene. Water represents the flow of emotions and women’s spirituality. That is the significance of the Suit of Cups in the Tarot. Without water we cannot live. Whether we swim, drink, skip stones, sing in the rain, or just watch the geese playing, we are all blessed by water. So drink water and be filled with Reiki!

Suze has a philosophy, people first, then money, then things. And by people she means start with yourself and your own financial situation. I’ve worked hard on building some financial stability over the past two years. But now life has thrown me a curve ball and I’ll be looking for work in about four months or so. I’m going to look at getting some higher education as well.

To deal with the stress of the situation, I’m learning to cook healthy foods and work out regularly. I want to be in better shape physically to tackle the job hunt that’s in my future. Reiki is my other tool to destress, and I’m really glad to have it at hand. The twice monthly Reiki Shares are really fantastic, we had five people last time! Can you beleive it? And it all ended with a wonderful group hug.

I’m just really excited about the future, and learning to be my own hero. It’s late and time for bed, and some good dreams about my future.

A boy’s life hangs in the balance in New Ulm, Minn., this week as a court decides if he should abide by the advice of prominent doctors or that of a group claiming to be American Indian healers whose website the boy’s mother says she ‘found on the Internet.’

The Internet is a funny thing. Perhaps Colleen Hauser, the mother of 13-year-old Danny, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma, also looked a little deeper on the Web and discarded critical opinions about the group, the Nemenhah Band…many, including Native Americans, take issue with a family that chooses the claims of Landis, who has been convicted of fraud for misleading investors in an alternative-health mushroom-growing business, instead of Mayo Clinic doctors.

One is Al Carroll, a Mescalero Apache, Ph.D.-holding author and Fulbright scholar who moderates a website (www.newagefraud.org) dedicated to exposing people who exploit American Indian traditions for profit.”

I really understand both the family and the Dr’s point of view. As a Reiki practitioner, I always tell my clients that Reiki is complimentary to traditional medical care, not an alternative or replacement. When the car breaks down you have to take it the mechanic. When you take care of the car better, with oil changes and regular maintenance, you’ll be less likely to need the mechanic as often. Traditional medicine is like the mechanics, it can help fix things that go wrong. Reiki is just some good self care, like using the right kind of gas and oil in your car, and getting a tune up every year.

My hope is that this boy will get all the medical care he needs to survive this difficult disease, and I’ll be keeping him in my prayers as well. The New Age movement has been a funny thing, some really wonderful things have been brought to light from the gathering together of inquisitive souls. One of those things is Reiki, which came from Japan and was in the U.S. from the 1940′s, long before the big New Age Boom of the 1980′s.

It was also the first time many people had been exposed to Native American beliefs and practices, which was wonderful to see a different way to look at life and spirit. It does make me wonder, though, how many people died as a result of following the advice of a Christian “faith” healer. Con artists can call themselves anything to try and weasel and trick people out of their money. Too bad they don’t always stop there.

Wishing you all health and wisdom in all you do…Namaste.