REIKI

Reiki  (pronounced Ray-Key) is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.

My good friend and neighbor, Dr. S, is a Reiki Master. As a practicing veternarian and feline specialist, she became interested in Reiki to enhance healing practices for animals she treated. She also studied for and obtained a theology degree to minister to members of the Christian church she attends. As her experience in the Reiki field grew, she opened a practice to treat people and animals using Reiki and color therapy. Although I was aware of her gift of healing and her ability to see a person's aura, I was skeptical about the practice . . . until my dad died two years ago. Daily mass, meditation, or therapists could not help me shake the tremendous sadness, guilt, and loss I felt. My friend suggested I see her for a consulation and session. With nothing to lose, rosary in hand, I scheduled an appointment.

Tinkling chimes, healing scents, calming music, and luxurious surroundings eased my anxiety about the session. We spoke for a few minutes. I lay, fully clothed, on  luxurious linens covering the examination table. She covered me with a sheet and told me to breathe deeply. She began the session by laying hands on my feet while invoking Jesus and the angels to heal me of the bad energy. Still skeptical, I let her continue. As she lay hands and prayed over my body, I dozed off for a few minutes. Her coughing awakened me. She excused herself, left the room to get water, returning to complete the session by laying hands under my head and invoking spirits to heal me.

She then invited me to sit in a chair across from her so she could consult with me about the session. I looked at the clock and was shocked when I realized I had been asleep for an hour and a half. I thought that perhaps I had been hypnotized. Inquiring about my feelings, she told me that many persons had surrounded me in the room.

Dr. S told me that Jesus, Michael the Archangel, my guardian angel. and four other people were there. Angels teased a tall man with black hair about why he was so quiet when all he did was entertain them with stories and jokes all day. He was concerned about my health and wanted me to know he was watching over me. An elderly woman of Spanish descent, named May, caressed my head. A beautiful blonde young woman in her twenties who had died soon after she was born, my guardian angel, told me that she watched over me every day. A tall, middle-aged man said he missed working with me at school and chatting with me on the phone.

My dad was a raconteur [storyteller].  My maternal grandmother's name was May Segura [Spanish]. My sister Wanda's beautiful blonde baby died at birth. My good friend and colleague John died unexpectedly of a heart attack a few months before Dad died. My husband and I had driven to his home to pick him up to take him to the lake with us. When he didn't answer the door, we called emergency services who discovered his body.

My neighbor and Reiki master knew my Atlanta family, but she did not know any of the particular information about my Louisiana family or about my friend John. She told me that after death young people appear older and old people appear younger. She told me she left the room coughing because when she lay hands on my neck, much bad energy flowed out. I had to have time to process this experience. I felt rested and relieved when I left. To this day, I still contemplate about this experience and wonder about this treatment as a healing process.

One of my best girl friends, who memorized the Bible and enjoys sharing an occasional glass of wine with me, told me the devil was going to come after me if I continued this travesty.  I did participate in meditation classes for a few months while I healed. Time does heal, and my Reiki experience was an interesting adventure. If anything, it did create a diversion in my thinking as I dealt with my dad, Homer's, death.

When I was much younger, I wondered how I would be affected by the deaths of my parents. Grieving the loss of a parent is extremely difficult.