Help Heal the Planet! Tomorrow’s Gong Bath!

Tomorrow, world-wide there is going to be a focus on Earth Healing and manifestation of protection for Mother Earth.

In the UK, pagans are campaigning against Fracking and doing a ceremony along with many other groups and individuals around the world. The intention is for protection, loving compassion and unity, synergy of our energies working in the world to manifest a sustainable future.

I have been asked by my friend Michele in the UK to share this with all of you, and everyone else who is not attending who may want to take a moment tomorrow to focus your intentions. Michele has asked us: “If you can also use your gong meditation on Saturday (& to ask the people with you) to send their intention for protection of our Mother Earth, their heartfelt healing energies, send them out on the waves of your gong sounds.

I think we all can do something tomorrow to help facilitate this and allow this great wave and vibration of healing to ripple across oceans, countries, and towns everywhere!

Tomorrow I will be meeting at the Troy Heartspace Yoga & Healing Arts Center at 4pm for a healing Gong Bath Mediation!

My intention will be for protection, love, compassion, unity and healing for my companions, friends, family, and all other beings on this planet.

“The sound of a master quality gong induces a state of spontaneous meditation and relaxation that facilitates the movement of chi or prana (positive life energy) throughout the body. This effect promotes vitality, healing, and awakens the consciousness for transformation.

The gong bath is a one hour immersion in sacred and healing sound wherein the gongmaster activates the full sonic potential of the gong and bathes the listener with sustained waves of primordial sound. The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. 

Based on ancient wisdom, the gongs vibrate at the same frequency as the body allowing the body to heal itself. The sounds and vibrations of the gong create deep relaxation and state of meditation by altering brain waves from a Beta (waking state) to Theta & Delta (deep meditation). Science teaches that during these brain frequencies we access our deeper subconscious and superconscious and they are key states for healing.

During a gong bath, listeners typically experience a sense of connectedness and peace as the sacred sound of the gong clears blockages and restores the free flow of vital energy throughout the body. Listeners have also described out of body experiences, seeing beautiful colors behind their eyes, along with symbols, images, and past life impressions. With its ability to induce a spontaneous meditative state, the gong offers listeners access to parts of the mind that are usually closed, resulting in a sense of expanded awareness and higher consciousness.” –Earth Gong Bath

All a listener needs to do is relax and let the sound bathe the body and carry the mind.

Gong sound can be used to rebalance and tone the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. It is an excellent therapy for stress related issues, depression, fatigue, anger and hostility, feelings of fear, separation and loneliness, along with many other conditions related to the lack of balance and harmony in the body.

And I might add, it is an excellent way to rebalance our planet as well. 

So, tomorrow, won’t you join us?

Take a moment tomorrow, even if it is a brief moment to connect to this beautiful green & blue planet that we depend on for our very survival as a species. Take extra care to do something to help heal the planet whether that is to send out your prayers/blessings/intentions, organize your own healing session, recycle, or any number of other ecological activities.

Together we can help not only heal the All Mother, but also ourselves in the process.

Namaste.

Photo courtesy of Sunrise Ranch

NEW Page: Local Resources!

(Photo courtesy of the Times Union)

I am excited to say that I am now studying at my Reiki Okuden Level! (Second Degree Reiki)

As such, I am learning so much more than I did in my First Degree Level and and learning many new techniques. Reiki II is all about doing Reiki professionally, and as such there are many therapeutic interactions including compassionate listening and compassionate responses.

One such compassionate response is “What organizations or agencies might offer information and support?”

As a Reiki Practitioner, it is vital to have on hand a local list of resources for your clients. 

Locating resources is a very empowering. Helping clients and people find the the necessary help that they need that  is outside of our scope or medical practice is important because it allows them to make the first steps toward empowerment. Below is the list of local references that will be a permanent page for reference above.

If you are a Reiki Practitioner include on your own list contact info for accredited or well-known and trusted practitioners. Pick holistic physicians, homeopaths, chiropractors, acupuncturists, holistic practitioners, herbalists, nutritionists, massage therapists, aromatherapists, and reflexologists. Also another vital resource is including agencies in your area such as Alcoholics Anonymous, incest recovery, domestic violence, and shelters.

As Reiki Practitioners, we cannot fix every problem, but having a resources list will help to show who can. 

To be a Reiki Practitioner, we need to understand that our role is to do Reiki sessions. We are governed by our scope of practice. If you have more credential then so be it. But the legal waters that surround our profession are still in an abstract realm of understanding. As healers, we need to be careful for our own safety, which includes being pulled into our client’s dramas. If we do this, then our clients become dependent upon us, which can lead to unhealthy codependent relationship that we may wish never began in the first place. (Believe me, I’ve been here already. Crisis calls at 4am are not too welcoming if they start happening on the norm.)

By staying emotionally detached and being a grounded healer will help not only the client, but also the healer. 

My teacher has taught me that if you find that you are taking on other’s emotions and being swept up in their drama and problems, it is extremely important to release them from your aura.

Acknowledge the information that is being presented to you, what wisdom can be gained from this, remembering your boundaries, then let it go. (Follow up with an aura cleansing.)

I hope this helps you as it has helped me help my patients even more. With time and practice, we learn all these lessons on what we can call the bumpy road of the healer. But with compassion for our clients and for ourselves, and tooled with the necessary resources, we will make waves. Waves for leading people to be more in control of their own healthcare.

Namaste! 

You have the courage and strength and beautiful vulnerability to take charge of your own healthcare.

Alcoholics Anonymous 
(518) 463-0906

Abusive Incest Recovery
For free, confidential support call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1,
chat online, or send a text message to 838255.24-hour Crisis Hotline 214-941-1991

The Acupuncture Office
Acupuncture, Suk Jok Acupuncture, Medical Qigong, Chinese Herbs and Nutrition, Micro-current Light Therapy.
518.785.8999 – 15-B Century Hill Drive, Latham, NY 

Center for Natural Wellness School of Massage Therapy
School: 518-489-4026 Massage Clinic: 518-489-4068 – 3 Cerone Commercial Drive Albany, NY

New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-942-6906 Check out their website for local Rape Crisis Programmes

Delmar Wellness Center 
Chiropractic, Therapeutic Nutrition, Online Consulting, Medicinal Herbs, Detox, Weight Loss, Touch, Energy Healing, Art Therapy, Skin Care, Ear Candling
518-439-5077 – 323 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY

 Equinox Domestic Violence Hotline
518.432.7865

Equinox Domestic Violence Shelter
Note: For Men, Women & Children, the Shelter is at an undisclosed location. Please call for assistance.
518.432.8950

Healing Arts and Chiropractic Center
Chiropractic • Acupuncture • Massage • Allergy Ear Candling/Reiki • Spinal Decompression
 (518) 458-9113 – 3 Computer Drive W, Suite 126A
Albany, NY

Heartspace Yoga & Healing Arts
(518) 512-3390 Albany Heartspace: 747 Madison Avenue. Troy Heartspace: 10 2nd Street

Holistic Physicians, Acupuncturists, Chiropractors & Massage Therapists
Click the link to see local Capitol Region Numbers & Addresses

Homeless Shelters & Services
Homeless Travelers Aid Society of the Capital District
(518) 463-2124

Hopeline Suicide Hotline
1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)

Key 2 Joy Wellness Community Center
Yoga, Meditation, Massage, Facials, Hypnosis, Reiki, Qigong, Tai Chi, Kirtan, Sound Healing
518-598-6968 – Shaker Pine Plaza145 Vly Rd. #6 Niskayuna, NY 

Stram Center for Integrative Medicine
Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, Many Massage Therapies, Guided Imagery, Homepathic Therapy, IV Therapies, Naturopathic Medicine, Nutritional Counseling, Pain Management, Reiki, Primary Care 
(518) 689-2244 – 388 Kenwood Ave, Delmar, NY

The Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386
For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth

Veteran’s Crisis Line
For free, confidential support call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1,
chat online, or send a text message to 838255

Victoria’s Essentials®
Aromatherapy, Bach Flower Essences, Psychotherapy, Counseling.
(518) 438-7089 Vickie Gardner Nichols. 

Reiki and the Family

Here is a very interesting article about how to use Reiki with your family and to teach them so you can create a harmonious and compassionate Reiki environment with your loved ones whether they are family or friends. I have often wondered what my life will look like int eh future and I can only hope to see Reiki’s continuous role. Often, I find that I tell others that I do Reiki, but they really do not know the full extent to welcoming it into one’s life. It may be a bit woo-woo at first, but once you read the science, and experience it for yourself (and see it help others) you begin to trust this centuries old technique and healing therapy.

The following article is from The International Center for Reiki Training by Kathie Lipinski, RN.

Kathy is an ICRT Licensed teacher and a holistic nurse in private practice on Long Island, NY. She can be reached at KBLIP@aol.com

Reiki is a gift that we give ourselves and it increases for us when we can share it as a family. Not just the typical mother and father and children, but also significant others, and the many people we often consider family.

My first “students” that I attuned as a new Reiki Master in 1995 were my husband Bob and son Johnnie (7). Although they didn’t fully understand what Reiki was all about and what I was about to do, they were willing to support me in my journey as a teacher. I cannot begin to tell you the joy that I felt as I prepared them to receive this gift. Tears flowed from my eyes as I attuned them. I felt the joy and the coming together as a spiritual family. The remembering of who we are at our soul level and why we come together in a family was the gift of their attunements.

Later that year, when I attended a Karuna Reiki® workshop, I was told during a meditation that my son Matthew, at 4 years of age, was ready to receive his attunement as well. He has brought much insight ever since (and many laughs) about how to use Reiki.

How we use Reiki as a family is that we pick a time and share Reiki with each other. The boys are much quicker in their giving and receiving since they are pure channels. They feel the energy come in and out. So a typical sharing can last just an hour. We usually scan each other to find the areas in need and then allow the Reiki to flow there.

Whenever I am teaching, someone always gives me Reiki before class. It helps me to be a more clear channel and for things to flow smoothly.

If there is an illness or injury, whoever is available at the time will give Reiki. If we are all available, we give the person as much Reiki as they want. This has worked well with the kids and sports injuries and fevers and colds. We have found that the illness works through the process quicker and injuries heal faster.

A friend of John’s recently broke her wrist. He went to her house and gave her Reiki. He is usually shy about sharing it (he’s a teenager now) so I was quite happy when he told me what he did! He said she felt the heat and the energy and enjoyed the “treatment.”

When one of the boys has an exam in school, we make time to send Reiki to them. We send the mental/emotional symbol for relaxation and clear thinking. A few weeks ago, when John was taking his Math Regents exam, Bob and I stopped what we were doing and sent Reiki 5 minutes before the exam began. John told us later that he felt this energy come over him and he felt really good taking the test. I also send the boys Reiki when they are into sibling rivalry and fighting. Again, I use the mental/emotional symbol to help heal the relationship and ask for the best outcome.

We also send Reiki as a family to other family members in difficult times. When my cousin died this year at 46 years of age, it was a difficult time for the entire family. The boys and I prepared them emotionally and asked that we give ourselves Reiki for a few minutes before we went in. I also asked them to bring Reiki in, fill themselves up with it, and then let it flow from them to our relatives and friends who needed it.

We also send Reiki to anyone in the family who is sick or in distress. We just stop what we are doing, invoke the distant healing symbol, and think of the person or situation and let the Reiki flow. We always ask for the best outcome and let Reiki do what needs to be done.

When Bob has important business meetings, or travels, the boys and I send Reiki for a successful outcome or safety. When I travel to teach, they send me Reiki as well.

What I have found is that the use of Reiki in the family helps us all to be more understanding and accepting and compassionate with each other. It helps us really focus on the love we feel for each other.

An interesting family experience was when I gave my niece a Reiki session (she is 30) and she loved it! I explained what Reiki is and that we all do it. She then said, “I always knew there was something special and different about your family!” That was one of the best compliments I ever had! We have since had many interesting conversations and it brought our relationship to a different and more enjoyable level.

One very special family use of Reiki was by two of my students from New England. They took the Master class in December 1997, and their gift to their family for Christmas was the gift of Reiki. On Christmas Eve, they gathered their family together (mom and dad and sisters), talked about Reiki, and then gave them their first degree attunement. Even the cat joined in! That was their sharing of their love for their family. They have shared it ever since.

Some other ways families can use Reiki is if someone is terminally ill or going through radiation or chemotherapy. The family members learn Reiki and are able to give their loved ones Reiki to support their process. They also have Reiki for themselves to replenish their energy and help them keep on keeping on. It is also useful for someone who has surgery. Giving Reiki before and after helps the healing process and strengthens the connection between family members.

Some women also study Reiki so that they can give themselves and their baby Reiki during their pregnancy. What a gift that baby has receiving Reiki even before it’s born!

Reiki is good for all aspects of loving and living together. It helps us to be the people we are truly meant to be. It helps us to remember to be compassionate and understanding and tolerant of those we love and live with.

How do you share Reiki with your family and friends?

Photo courtesy of The Penny House Inn and Day Spa