measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ebb and Flow of Energy This entry is my November collaborative entry for [paganspeak]. Despite all of the religious foundation for Wicca, when people think of Wicca and Witchcraft, they think of huge cryptically written tomes of spells, candles, and bubbling cauldrons. It's not about religion-- it's about cool, creepy stuff. It's about making things happen that you want, right? To heck with all of this God and Goddess stuff. That's religion. That's not Witchcraft! As what often happens around Halloween/Samhain, people who recognize the pentacle around my neck ask me if I'm a Witch. I say yes. And then they start going through a barrage of questions about can I do this, and can I do that, and yadda yadda yadda. They're vastly disappointed when I start replying no. What do they want? Me to lie about my lifestyle and make them more glorious than they actually are? I'm the epitome of a Klutzy Witch. As my dear boyfriend Erich jokes, "you who has problems walking on level ground dear.... (insert thing I shouldn't be doing here)." My handwriting tends to be uneven and messy, so I'm not exactly good for writing parchments. I can't remember tarot card meanings and get senses on them to save my life. I tried runes, and while I found some understanding of them, divination just doesn't seem to be the thing I have interest in. I do believe that everyone in this world has an innate drawing to a personal magickal skill, but not all recognize or acknowledge this talent. Fewer pursue development of it. The key is to find the thing that you're both interested in, and seem to have some sort of connection with. There are many types of healing in the world. I think part of my knack for it came from growing up with a doctor as a father. He helped people (being an OB/GYN specifically). He took care of people and tried to make them feel better. And in return, doing a good job made him feel better (albeit stressed). So this practice was a Good Thing to me. My professional talents were not going to be to follow in my father's footsteps. Like I said-- I'm a klutz. No one would want to allow me to have a surgical knife in any way, shape, or form. But there are forms of healing that are much more empathic and gentle. And these were the ones that I focused on. Most of my healing practice is rooted in Reiki. Reiki is a type of hands-on healing and energy work that has its foundations in Japan, but now is practiced all over the world. By it's design, Reiki is not Pagan per se. But the teachings of the discipline are very adaptable to Pagan work. The philosophy with Reiki is to use the life-force, known as ki (Japanese form of chi) to focus on a place within the body which is out of balance, and bring it back into balance. It is gentle, it is relaxing, and it's beneficial to both the person receiving the Reiki and the person who is laying on hands. My introduction to Reiki began in 1996 with a college friend, Ivanna. The women in her family practiced Reiki, and each had been trained by the same Reiki Masters as part of a family tradition. When it was her turn to take the classes and receive basic training, she extended the invitation to me to join her. And so, five years ago this weekend, I hiked down to New Jersey to take Reiki Level 1 over the course of two weekend evenings. During and after the class, my mind was connecting how these methods could be incorporated and used to enhance my rituals of faith. And over time, my methodology of doing Reiki treatments have deviated enough from what I trained in to not actually *call* it Reiki anymore, since my practice is interwoven with my religion (Reiki is not). I place my hands in the positions that I was trained (with a couple of exceptions which I found both awkward and a bit jarring to both myself and the person I was healing), but I also incorporate Pagan practices in prepping for a healing, such as casting a circle and invoking the protection of the Gods and the Elements to assist in the effectiveness of my healing work. I use the sensations I feel returning to me as signs of when to move onto the next hand position, whether an area may need some extra time or refocusing, etc. These are all things that develop over use of healing. The trapfall of Reiki training, as I discovered, is that it gets quite elitist when looking for people who will train you. As in any medical field, Reiki has several different forms of practice, when underneath the foundation is the same-- to heal. These different schools of practice often resort to claiming they're the only true way of Reiki, and manage to discredit themselves while doing so (if Reiki is natural energy, there can't possibly be only One True Way with Reiki). Reiki training comes at a price-- often $150 or more, and many people out there trying to make a buck off of Reiki will tell you that it's best to get multiple levels of Reiki treatment. And honestly, unless you're looking to be a professional hollistic medicine practitioner or for your own growth and development, you don't need Reiki Master status. Level One teaches you everything you need to know to do healing for yourself and others, explaining the concepts for those who aren't familiar with the concepts ki and energy. The beauty of it, for those who are drawn toward healing arts, is that it's something that can be done by anyone. Literally anyone. My four year old cousin has placed her hand on mine, and I've felt the energy flow through her... and she neither has trained in Reiki, nor has any knowlege of what it is. The concepts are easy to understand, and the practice of it is as simple as placing your hands at points on the body. The energy flows through you by itself-- you're just the garden hose pointing the energy to where it needs to be concentrated. To this day, I remain what is considered a Reiki I level practitioner by official certification. Part of this is because I have felt no need to take further levels, part of it is the physical cost of courses, and part of it is my need to rebel from what I see as elitism. I may possibly be training in Level II within the next few months, but only when I feel it's an appropriate time for me to take on another level of training and incorporate more into my type of healing. I am fortunate to have a co-worker who is a Reiki Master who has offered to help me with that training, and understands how I've altered my practice for my religion. At the end of the day, my practice of healing is not for prestige. It's not an attempt to justify my status as a "True Witch" to do spellcraft. It's about helping others and myself along the journey of life. Becoming a healer is part of my journey to fulfill a need to be a good person, and part of how I live by the Wiccan Rede and the Threefold Law. I help others with kindness and love, so eventually I will receive the same love and kindness in return. 11:15 a.m. - 18 November 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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