I myself did take Celtic Reiki through an online ad, distance attunement and everything. I received a very nice certificate and an PDF download of the manual. My Celtic Reiki Teacher seems like a super cool person, and I did feel the energy during my attunement.  I looked for a local person who practiced Celtic Reiki and couldn’t find one at the time. The pictures of her space and her cat, the whole atmosphere looks like a cool place to learn Celtic Reiki. But since she’s halfway across the country, the commute seemed a little far. Over a year has gone by and I don’t think I’ve visited her website once, or emailed her or received an email from her. If she were local, I think we would have gotten along great and even become friends. But because it was long distance, and the attunement a one shot deal, we never had a chance to build any kind of relationship.

Maybe I’m old fashioned, maybe I just am learning to love the company of others as I grow older. What I do know is that it’s hard to talk about the nuances of working with a healing modality in person, and even harder to describe in writing.

The advantage of learning Reiki in the comfort of my own home included lower cost and convenience. The disadvantage is that I didn’t have an opportunity to create a symbiotic relationship with this Reiki Master. I don’t care how much you email each other back and forth, nothing can replace a real world hands on experience of learning from another Reiki practitioner. Relationships that are limited to emails over time will trickle off until you may  not remember your Reiki Master’s name unless you look at your certificate.

We are in a digital age, obviously I have embraced much the internet has to offer with my blog, facebook, and twitter accounts. It’s a wonderful tool for written communication. But there are so many other ways we communicate, verbal, non-verbal, you can’t really get a feel for someones personality online. Case in point I have a friend who online is very conversational, direct, and sarcastic. In person she is very, very, shy. Those who know her online would never know her by her quiet hello, and single word responses.

I value my relationships with my Reiki teachers, and I’m glad that I made the choice to go with in person training whenever possible. I’ve learned a lot by reading other blogs, books, and even renting some DVD’s as well. But nothing compares with working with other Reiki practitioners, which I do twice a month in my Reiki Share.

So much of the digital age is replacing the old, now that Kodachrome film has been discontinued we have to say goodbye to the unique quality of the color prints. Renting videos for a fun night at home has to be pre-planned or ordered online to watch on your computer. I miss the experience of going to the DVD rental store, strolling through the aisles, laughing at oddball titles,  the excitement of the new releases and finding the perfect movie. That’s almost all gone now.

A few pictures on a website, or a DVD that I put in are a poor substitute to the real thing. I also missed having another student in class, asking the questions that I didn’t think to ask. Now that I’m a teacher myself I’m committed to providing a hands on kind of training to all my students. I’m learning so much from them in turn, about balance and friendship and Reiki too. It’s worth it to have a class in person, it’s about building a spiritual community and not just a personal practice.

When it comes to making choices for myself, however, I also try to employ at least a little common sense and logic. But if something looks good but feels bad…that’s when intuition trumps logic. There have been times when I tried to make the intelligent decision and lay aside my doubts and fears, only to discover that my doubts and fears were correct. Intuition can warn you off of making horrible mistakes. A term that I’ve heard of in regards to business decisions is you “swallow the deal” and if it makes you feel queezy, it’s best to pass this one by.

Sometimes I run into people who make all their decisions with their intuition, and appear to have made some foolish choices. I find it best to weigh the consequences when my first instict says to go for it. There have been times when I just see what I want to see, or my ego gets involved and I confuse that for intuition. I try to get a second opinion from a trusted friend and intuitive in these cases now. All of us have our blinders on sometimes, even Reiki Masters, and knowing when to ask for help comes in very handy. Ultimately, the TANSTAAFL principle really does apply in most situations.

There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

I do believe that the Universe wants what’s best for us, and our narrow viewpoints can limit what is possible. At the same time, I don’t trust everything that is written on the internet, especially when it involves some kind of monetary investments or business decisions. As an artist, I was often approached by licensors to use my artwork in manufacturing different products. In one instance, I signed a contract that I regretted later. My friend gave me a reading and warned me against it, and I ignored her advice to my peril.

The truth is that while the Universe wants what’s best for you, many people out there do not. They may say that they love you and stroke your ego. It feels good to hear those things, and it’s easy to get caught up in a bad situation as a result. I’m learning as I go in this life, as we all are.

I have given readings to people who have already made up their minds about something, and they ignore or argue with the advice that I have to offer. Having done the same myself, I have compassion for them, and I do my best to impart the information and let them know how the situation appears on an energy level. Some people get readings to validate their decisions, and when the reading disagrees with that, they really don’t want to hear it. 

Emotions are often confused with intuition, and it’s taken a lot of practice and meditation on my part to differentiate between the two. One thing that I’ve learned about my intuition is that it operates outside of my emotions. A strong intuition tends to give me goosebumps, while a strong emotion can overwhelm my common sense.  It’s a balancing act, and I use logic and intellect to detect fraud and deceit. They are very handy for that.

Recently I had my intuition and intellect tested in regards to a new healing modality someone introduced in my Reiki Share. I approached it with an open mind, though ultimately I didn’t care for the results. I developed a mild headache after receiving the treatment and didn’t feel the energy that I normally do during my Reiki Shares. I later did some research on the Internet and was not able to confirm the claims that were proposed as to the effectiveness and science behind the modality.

All practitioners of complimentary therapies like Reiki have to be well educated in their modality, and have the documentation to back up any claims. Intuition does not count as documentation. Many of these modalities use scientific lingo in order to promote expensive products, and we must be very wary when dealing with this. We all end up looking like Flaky New Agers when we buy into what is essentially a marketing gimmick. High cost for classes, retreats and products really should be a big red flag for us. We need to use all of our brains, not just the creative intuitive side, in testing for the  truth.

Please see the Center for Reiki Research for evidence based research of Reiki as a modality for improving wellness.

It’s all about the path, and it can take you around the country or around the world as you search for deeper meaning in your life. I myself traveled around the Midwest as an artist, and even as far as Portland Oregon for the Faery World Festival once. Now that I’m firmly settled, I really enjoy listening peoples stories about where they’ve been, the people they met along the way, the the lessons that they learned. So last night I learned a little about Biodynamic Farming and Gardening which was a delightful surprise. It goes hand in hand with community supported agriculture a.k.a. CSA. From the website:

…biodynamic farming and gardening looks upon the soil and the farm as living organisms. It regards maintenance and furtherance of soil life as a basic necessity if the soil is to be preserved for generations, and it regards the farm as being true to its essential nature if it can be conceived of as a kind of individual entity in itself — a self-contained individuality. It begins with the ideal concept of the necessary self-containedness of the farm and works with furthering the life of the soil as a primary means by which a farm can become a kind of individuality that progresses and evolves.

Like Reiki it is a practice that is true to nature and maintains a healthy balance for a full and robust life. This is a really fascinating approach to farming and gardening, which includes an appreciation and reverence for the presence of life in all things.

Tonight I went for a run/walk as I am training towards a 5K run with my co-workers from my day job. It was good to get out into nature and challenge myself a little. While I passed the suburban lawns and gardens, I enjoyed the view of the efforts of both the humans skill at creating a beautiful garden, and the plants enthusiasm in growing extra tall and wide in this years summer weather. Spring came early in these parts, and the fullness of the plants certainly testifies to this. Including the weeds.

As I step up my training and my jogging bursts become longer and longer, I find myself up for the challenge. I give myself little pep-talks as I go, and inch my inch, yard by yard, block by block I progress. While I didn’t accomplish everything I had planned to do this evening, I feel very good about taking care of myself with exercise, and spending time outside.

Now I sit here in front of the computer and my calf muscles are tightening up, so I’m due for a good stretch before bedtime I think, and then a nice self-reiki session to get ready for a busy weekend.