21 Days of Healing

I am in the middle of teaching a Reiki Level 1 class.  Not only do I encourage the students to give themselves Reiki for 21 days after they receive their attunements, but I do that for myself right along with them.  So you can do this after receiving an attunement or start for yourself at any time.

Why 21 days?  Some research has shown it takes 21 days to form a habit.  This is a nice way to begin to develop a regular Reiki practice for ourselves, just like meditation, yoga, or other exercise and energy work.  And are we completely healed and good to go after 21 days?  Of course not. One of the wonderful things about Reiki is that we will always have it and can use it on ourselves whenever we need it, because as my dad says, "Some days are diamonds and some days are stones."  The most spiritually symbolic reason to offer yourself 21 days of healing is to honor Usui Sensei's time spent meditating on Mt. Kurama as he received Reiki.

It has been a good week to begin with the official start of spring by the equinox.  This is the time of year, according to Chinese medicine, to focus on cleansing our liver, a big elimination organ.  It's time to begin eating spring greens to cleanse our bodies, and begin spring cleaning to cleanse our homes. It's a great time to begin 21 days of Reiki for yourself to cleanse your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energies.  May the season renew and refresh you!

Reiki Level 1 Class in Clarkston this March

We had a fun time at the Reiki Demonstration last Friday at Yoga Oasis!  Eight of us had some time to talk about it, ask questions and receive some Reiki energy. Now we are getting ready for a Level 1 class in March. If you are ready to learn Reiki, the class information is listed below. We will be at Yoga Oasis again.  They are located in the same building as Pete's Coney on Dixie Hwy, downstairs and around back.

Email me if you would like to sign up for the class: jenniferwoodwardharris@gmail.com

Here are the details!  

Reiki Level 1

Date & Time: Saturdays, March 12 & March 19 from 1 – 4:30

Cost: $150

Supplies needed – Wear comfortable clothes, and bring a notebook and writing utensil. A manual is provided.

 Instructor: Jennifer Harris

This course is an introduction to Reiki.  You will learn about its history, the body’s energetic system, and how to give a Reiki session to yourself and others. You will receive the Usui Reiki Ryoho Level 1 attunement and have hands on practice giving Reiki to yourself and others during class. You will receive a copy of The International Center for Reiki Training’s Reiki the Healing Touch: First and Second Degree Manual as the textbook for the course.

Back in the Saddle

It's been a while since I've updated the website.  Life takes you where it wants you to go and usually it's not where you were planning to be.  Reiki has still be a regular part of my life over the past few years, but it has been a personal journey.  I still give myself Reiki frequently and have been meeting monthly with a friend to exchange the energy.  It has been a nice regular practice, but the last few months people have been reaching out and asking me more questions about Reiki and where to get it or learn more about it, so I decided to do a little more teaching again.  The folks at Yoga Oasis in Clarkston have been kind enough to share their space and let me be the host of this February's Health & Wellness Series by giving a Reiki demonstration free to all who want to learn more.  Also, I'll be teaching a Reiki Level 1 class there in March.

Check out the Current Schedule page for all the details.  Hope to see you there.

A quote from Elizabeth Gilbert

I really enjoyed reading Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir, Eat, Pray, Love.  In the 90's, I could relate to Bridget Jones' search for meaningful work and love.  In the following decade it was Elizabeth Gilbert's spiritual journey that resonated with me.  A couple weeks ago she was featured in Time Magazine's "10 Questions."
This is what Gilbert had to say about exploring spiritual ideas:

"I think I'll be exploring those ideas forever.  I've spent my entire life chasing wonder, and to me that word is synonymous with spirituality.  I don't know what else there is to talk about."

Rewriting the Reiki Ideals

Mikao Usui is credited with creating the Five Reiki Ideals in order to address the mind and spirit in order to help the body to heal iteself more effectively.  In the translation that many students are taught the language includes "do not" a few times.  For many students this doesn't resonate well with them.  Often I encourage people to rewrite the principles into language that brings them peace.  We know when the words we say bring us mental relief rather than straining and resistance.

Over the years I have reworded the Five Ideals several times, each time meeting me where I am on my own spiritual journey.  Here is the version I am using right now.

Just for today,

I choose peace.

I choose joy.

I choose gratitude.

I choose kindness.

I choose love.

Stop Studying and Start Practicing

Don't get me wrong; there is value in studying and learning.  Without it we wouldn't have the knowledge, information and tools to try new things to help ourselves grow and change.  However, it's really easy to get stuck in a safe place and wonder why we aren't making any progress. That safe place is a perpetual state of research and study, and since we have more knowledge and techniques to help us along on our journey we can mistakenly think we should be getting better. The truth is nothing can change if we don't DO SOMETHING with all the new things we've learned.

This is a rut I get stuck in time and time again, especially when it comes to my own healing.  For years when I wasn't feeling well and the lab tests said there was nothing wrong, I gradually began to take matters into my own hands by learning about complementary and natural medicine, natural products, and suggestions for diet and exercise. Truth be told, I did way more learning than actually trying out the ideas that I learned. Instead of giving myself Reiki every day I would do it once every couple of weeks or once a month, but I would read about it constantly.  I would read about different meditation techniques and rarely try them.  Every source tells you how important exercise is, yet I would say I felt too tired to even go for a walk. I know how important it is to eat more fruits and vegetables, and it never stopped me from eating at fast food restaurants.

Now in some ways the above paragraph is me just beating myself up again for not being perfect. I did learn a lot and have new things that are a regular part of my life that really make it better - like yoga, Reiki and eating gluten free. Lately, I am trying to apply the simplest practices into my daily life (like walking, meditating, and being in the present moment) and to worry less about studying new things. Am I perfect? Absolutely not. And Big Bird from Sesame Street gets it right, because "Everyone Makes Mistakes." There is still more I can do, and little by little I keep on getting better. Balance really is the key.  If you don't look for new ideas, it's easy to get stuck in a rut.  If you don't practice new techniques long enough or with enough regularity you may not receive the benefits you were looking for and give up on something that may help you. Know when you are stuck and do something about it. Don't punish yourself.  Do the best you can.  And like Nike says, "Just do it!"

Different Aspects of Healing

Through my years of practice I have experienced the different types of healing that Reiki can manifest in us.  I have often used Reiki to help with physical healing to relieve my itchy allergy eyes.  It has helped me to concentrate and focus when grading those end of semester research papers.  Reiki has even helped me come to terms gradually over time with emotional and spiritual matters.  But Reiki is not the only tool I use to help me along through life.

Recently, I began using The Grief Recovery Method to work through some emotional wounds from the past.  A friend recommended it to me and offered to work through it together.  It is hard work.  Sometimes it is sad and a little scary to face the darkness, but I know it has to be worked through.  It can't be avoided, walked around, or buried.  I had a picture with a quote by Robert Frost, "The best way out is always through," from an artist I found at the Ann Arbor Art Fair years ago and found it so beautiful.  But a few years ago I couldn't stand it.  Actually, I realize now I couldn't handle going through the pain of my grief.  There are days I'm still not sure I can stand being with the pain, but I know in order to get to the other side I must go through it. I'm thinking I might need to reorder that lithograph and hang it where I can see it everyday.

In working through The Grief Recovery Method, it addresses emotional healing.  Last week I heard a podcast from Sounds True's Insights at the Edge that dealt with the physical healing that needs to occur to finish releasing the emotional residue from trauma. Now not all emotional pain is trauma, but I'm no expert and really can't speak to that. Dr. Peter Levine and Dr. Maggie Phillips address that very clearly in the podcast.

What I am learning is that using only the Grief Recovery Method alone will help with the emotional pain from loss I have suffered in the past.  But to complete the healing (and maybe get rid of some of my yucky headaches), I need to find ways to address the pain from a spiritual and physical perspective too. Physical exercises to shake away the pain and continuing in earnest with my spiritual practice should help. I don't have the complete answers yet, but serendipity seems to be guiding me along with just enough information to travel the road to recovery.  For all of us, it is so important to pay attention to the things around us and what we hear, watch and experience.  The miracles are all around us if we just slow down and pay attention.