The journey on life's path is a vast and wondrous experience. We can share that experience in a positive and supportive manner, with all those that enter our lives. We can lead by the example of our lives, without forcing our thoughts and beliefs on others. It is in our best interest to allow others the freedom to find their own way. The details of the experience will differ with each person-thus each person's path is as individual as they are. The only constant is that we are all searching for the meaning and truth of our existence. It is my hope that what I share of my experience, with a single word or a phrase, may inspire others to inform themselves and assist in finding and pursuing the path to their 'better self'. Reiki has reconnected me with the source of knowledge, which has been illuminated by my experience with professional dance training, performing, aerobics, personal training, Yoga, Pilates, and my own healing crisis.
In my youth I was characterized as a dreamer-and I still am. This is the source of my strength. In my dreams I have received wisdom, although in the past I have not felt free to speak of this. I had my first precognitive dream in grade school. In it, I was sitting at my desk at the front of the classroom when the principal entered and explained that we were going to be tested. This was not a test to evaluate what we were learning in school; it was an IQ test, which would draw on the lessons learned in the larger context of life. The next day, sitting at my desk at the front of the classroom, the events of my dream unfolded in reality. To this day, some 35 years later, I still remember that dream and the day's events. It is as if it is happening now: I feel the emotions I felt as a child, when from my wooden desk two rows over from the door I see Sister Francis in her habit enter the classroom.
I was a very positive and happy child. People responded to the unconditional love and acceptance that I so freely offered. They enjoyed having me around. I helped them feel good about themselves. I realize now that, in essence, I was healing them. Reiki provides the opportunity to continue to do so.
I remember in my teens being asked for my opinion by my parents' peers. On each occasion my honest insight and advice was given from a place of unconditional acceptance and love. From an early age I decided to live my life to the fullest, to accept any and all situations that I found myself in. I was all spirit.
Later in my life, when I was studying dance professionally with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, I felt free to share with those around me. I established a connection with people quickly. I was able to 'read' people soon after meeting them...to such an extent that I was nicknamed The Enchanter. When one of my fellow dancers came back from lunch one day, I was concerned that she was not eating enough. I instinctively touched her stomach, and I told her, "Yes, you ate lunch, but all you had was a pear." The friends that were with us were astounded-and disconcerted-by my words. This experience taught me that my forthright approach would not always be acceptable to the world at large; it was, after all, only the beginning of the New Age movement in the mid-1980s.
While studying in Winnipeg I connected with many diverse individuals. It was during this period that I was first introduced to energy healing. A dear friend gave me Barbara Anne Brennan's book, Hands of Light. I did not realize at the time the importance this would have later in my life, or how it connected me to my past. Although I have not spoken to my friend in years, she has had a great influence on my current life. I give thanks to the universe for the time we shared.
At a certain point the demands of the physical realm in which we live become predominant. It is not easy making a living in the arts. That fact, coupled with my own fears and insecurities, led me on a detour. Unique spirit though I was, I engaged with the practical world, taking a job in the financial services industry. I rationalized this decision by making a commitment to gain better communication skills, and to learn how to manage and come to terms with money. I also entered into what would become a long-term relationship. I was faced with dealing with a person so similar to (yet so different from) myself, and in the process lost track of who I was, a process of burying and hiding from myself. Sometimes we can give too much of ourselves while attempting to help others, this is by no means one-sided. I continued to flounder even as the concept of The Serene Way came to me. The process of life occurs at its own speed. This is as it should be; we need only to ride the flow and believe in it and it will carry us forward.
Once I made a commitment to my current path, some 17 years removed from Winnipeg, I received my first degree Reiki attunement. Again, this was done in the company of another kindred spirit who was on a similar quest. That is when the healing began for me. With any healing, a cleansing is integral to the process. For me this occurred during the following two years, and the integration still continues.
It was several years ago that I noticed a lump on my neck. A needle biopsy revealed that it was benign. My doctors insisted on a nodal biopsy to remove the lump. They were so convinced that I had lymphoma that the results were sent back to the lab on two occasions-my doctors were unwilling to believe that the lab had not made a mistake. Again, lymphoma was not detected. The following year I was diagnosed with colitis, an Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which is a digestive disorder that is, ultimately, stress related. During the healing process that I initiated when my body temporarily shut down, I came to understand and appreciate the lessons I had to learn in order to move beyond my physical limitations. Through extensive nutritional research, meditation and self-Reiki treatments, the golf ball-size lumps on each side of my neck that developed after the biopsy have disappeared, and the colitis is now under control. All will be healed.
We all come into the world with the same tools available to us. We are body, mind and spirit. The physical world in which we live places limitations on our connection to our spirit. This connection to the source, our spirit, is filtered through our mind. The rational thoughts of our mind affect the physical body in which we reside.
I have been able to affect a change in my physical body through the connection I have with the source of all knowledge. Pursuing this connection is the path that I am here to follow. Upon recognizing this, I started writing poetry, which was given an award in an international amateur poetry contest, as well as articles about my journey and experience, which have been published by various journals and magazines. The Reiki energy that I have allowed to enter my life has brought with it abilities I never thought I possessed. These are examples of how Reiki can remove the limitations we place on ourselves. I hope that by opening yourself to Reiki your experience will be as positive and invigorating as mine continues to be. Only through self-realization and accepting responsibility for our own actions can we begin the journey on a path to light.
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