Lily ... Sister Lily of Divine Healing

Great Spirit ... Dad ... Gayle ... you've got this one, right? You've got Lily, right?

I've got Kanen.

Who's got me?

Always seek the highest good.

Our incredibly amazing Lily died on Thursday morning in her sleep. I want to send thanks to everyone who has offered extra love and compassion, I want to tell some of you that I understand that you are unable to feel so deeply as you have avoided the situation. All of the LOVE that we have truly felt and will continue to feel and the healing that is surely supporting us is appreciated. It is remarkable kind. Our strength in facing this is growing and at times we have no strength at all.

I am only writing today to let you all know of this huge change in our experience.

Lily's departure was not a complete surprise to us as she had almost ended her earth walk two months ago. She was not young, growing much older each day it seemed ... giving us just a few glimpses of her playfulness here and there. Her health was depleting almost daily. Her last few months were very difficult for her and for us. She more often than not didn't even want to go places with us. The awareness of this was undeniably noticeable and it is difficult to feel the pain and sorrow in this moment in time.

The UPS man delivered bottles for some of my "magic potions" yesterday and when I opened the door I automatically reached down to place my hand at her back as I always do when someone comes to the door. She didn't come around the corner to bark. My touch on Lily's back was always more for the delivery people or clients arriving for sessions and it was always for their comfort or lack of it when facing a BIG BLACK DOG, not to hold Lily back. Lily was a lover.

Lily came into our lives after I had lost my Father and my dear friend Gayle. At the time I knew that my heart was in need of a greater healing than I could conjure up. We adopted Lily (she really adopted us however) to help keep my heart open (to help her see that her ability to LOVE was more than enough). Lily kept my heart open and then opened it more and more and more, all the way up until her last expression of love towards me on Wednesday night.

My Father passed September 5th of 2005. My friend Gayle passed August 15th of 2006. Lily passed just a day or two shy of right in the middle of those two dates. I am sensing the reason why ... I sense that she left when she did to let me know that she filled in the middle of those experiences with her love. She did fill in the middle of those two experiences with her love with more love than I could have imagined.

There is so much more that I could share ... say ... about her. She was the most amazing of all dogs, she was my familiar, my companion day in and day out. In the five years that she was with us, there wasn't a single day that she and I were not together. She was at my side always. Lily was a Spirit Being and an amazing healer, holding the most sacred of spaces during so many healing and counseling sessions, she was so often right at my side, or the side of the client in session. Lily was so strong, the deeper the emotions and the need for healing, the closer Lily came into it to support. I am not sure how I will work alone now, as she was present during so many sessions. I knew that when she would circle my healing table while clients were on it that she had determined that a specialty clearing was required for the client. I had noticed over the last few months that she was preparing for retirement.

Lily was a pure Ceremonial Leader. She was a High Priestess. Her placement in circles and ceremony was profound. If I was in meditation she would sit at my back, if there was two of us in circle she would take the third position. If there was three she would take the open direction and act as a gate keeper. If there was a large gathering ... she would find her way in if she wanted in, always with the utmost of respect. Many times she would circle the circle, setting the energy.

Lily was an integral part of our home, our family, our lives. She was a Sacred SIGNIFICANT Other and a true companion, a holder of the most unconditional love for us. We are so grateful that she blessed us with such deep and loving relationships. Our cat Violet has been deeply effected also, only drinking water from Lily's bowl now and pausing to yowl in the hallway where Lily would lay. It is wonderful in its sadness and truth.

Lily was/IS so much more than a dog. We miss her so much!

So, when you come over for a visit, when you arrive for a gathering or a class/workshop ... please hold the silent space of knowing that Lily won't be answering the door. Thank you. It will help us out a lot by not asking us where she is or what happened. It will really help us out by not asking us how we are doing ... right now we are doing what we should be doing and that is crying a lot when we forget that she isn't here. Please honor our need to grieve ... as long as it take. Lily was a constant companion and a best friend to my son and me.

It is amazing how many times I have heard her over the past few days, expected her to be in my sons room, wondered if she needed to go out, checking her water bowl, wondered how she is. Not seeing her check to see what I was doing.

We have created an altar in the front room for Lily, with our favorite picture of her there and a few sacred items to hold our hearts open for her. Lily's ashes are there too. They will remain there until we decide where to spread them, yes ... spread them at her happiest place to be ... and for Lily that place was always right by our sides, within inches preferably. She may just stay right here. When you visit, and see the altar ... please feel free to send Lily your love.

..........

Dog Medicine ~ Jamie Sams

Be loyal to yourself.
Be true to others.
Bolster your integrity.

Dog, you are so noble. Until the bitter end, your medicine is the teaching us of being a true and loyal friend.

Dog offers innate loyalty.
Dog embodies loving gentleness.
Dog is the guardian of ancient secrets.
Dog reminds us of our sense of service to others.

A tolerant Spirit dwells in the heart of every canine.

Lily was a Wolf Spirit too. Four out of five vets said that she was part wolf. My vet of 24 years had claimed that "the wolf" would be a problem. He was so wrong and I was so happy to fire him. She was always(during my childhood) with me in my dreams, she was always at my side while I turned my life into my dreams and she will always remain by my side until we meet again in the dream realm, as everything now is the dream realm.

Wolf Medicine - Jamie Sams

Wolf ... Teacher, Pathfinders, Moon-Dog of my Soul. Howling, singing, teaching how to know.

Find new paths and options.
Break through.
Be a role model.
Share your inner knowing.

..........

If you have a dog, love them twice as much today and every day.
If you don't have a dog, love another persons dog twice as much today and every day.
If you don't own a dog, consider owning a dog, they will change you for the better and we all need that, to be better and for you to be better too.
If you see a dog treated really well, thank the person who treats the dog really well.
If you see a dog treated badly, get the dog away from the bad person and report the bad person to the authorities who treats them badly.

All in all we are very grateful and very happy that Lily was such a complete part of our lives. In truth ... I have no idea what we are going to do without her.

Lily's eyes were open when she died. I believe that she was looking at her light.

Blessings, love and more,

Laurel

August 15th ... how could I resist

Gayle ~ I have decided to send your Spirit Body or your essence a communication via the ethereal atmosphere of the internet. I trust in doing so that the love and light of this will gather up there in the great imagisphere of the universe and you will then collect the good intention of this message whenever you want to.

This is sent as a way to update me of my progress since you passed, I have done really well with the promise that you made me make. You either already know, or you are so far gone in your next lifetime that the thought of me is faint if at all.

I upgraded my website over the past few weeks, and I pledged to a launch date of today. I made it just in time to honor you, publishing the changes at 12:36 this morning. I have grown so much more over this past year. I am glad that you would be happy. I am in full blown loving service. Thank you again, for wanting me to do this.

I have yet to find my partner, my "sacred significant other" as you also made me promise that I would do. I wonder where that promise has gone, but then again I have really only focused on the promise to walk in loving service. For as much work as it has been for me to change for the highest good perhaps now the next work will be connecting with "him".

I hope he understands that I am writing a book now, in addition to looking for him.

I have taken on a deeper love, a sacred significant relationship with Plant Medicine. Of course you know this too, as you placed that sticky Pine Cone in my hands when I left your home the day of your memorial service. The Pine Cone, sacred geometry, the pineal gland activation ... the shut down of your brain, the activation of your light body. The day soon after you passed when your essence came to visit me at work to give me all of the information. That was the same day that you asked me to call Jamie, she had to return to work for the first time and you were worried about her. That day you also saturated me with all of the images of natures patterns. That was intense to say the least, you taught me so much that day, showing me all of the things that I never understood before about geometry. I had no idea that a Pine Cone in 2006 would turn into a profound healing work today. There is so much more about this that you know.

"Love is blind. Friendship is clairvoyant." This is so true as it was all the truth with you Gayle. You saw me in the ways that I live in today. Amazing! I am still stunned by your insight and your faith in me. You got me good with that final promise, last breath stuff. I still cry and I will always thank you. As much as I understand it now, it still just blows me away.

I used to think that you weren't present for the last 10 days of your life. I now believe that you were busier than ever, working out all kinds of details for the greater ways of all of us that you loved so much. The day before you passed when you called for me, me out of all of the people surrounding you to tell me about karma. I got it. I got it. I finally understand about Karma.

I have added the work of "Dying Consciously" or in the Shamanic Ways, the work of "Death Walking" to my medicine bag. I have done this primarily because of what you taught me in the last few weeks of your life. Through this work, I am not afraid of dying. That may be easy to say as it seems that death is nowhere near me in my life right now. That said, we are really never ever prepared. I miss my Dad so much. He passed right after you did. That was a hell of a time to take lessons from. I am not as emotionally awkward when facing the death of others. I offer support to help people cross over now, but mostly to help the ones who are left behind. You quite possibly know what I have learned, and that is that death is just the birth of the Spirit Body into the Spirit Realm. That makes it all so much sweeter when death is looked at in this way.

Gayle, I believe that you came onto this Earth with an agreement that you would activate me before you died. You did activate me before you died. I am eternally grateful as I cry my annual and traditional August 15th tears now. I knew I wouldn't make it through the day without the sweet cleansing of a visit from you.

It gets better every year, I trust the same for you.

Blessings, love and more ... for eternity,

Laurel

Gayle ... I loved you more than I knew.

Lady Justice ... we're on our heads

A friend asked yesterday ... "To all my metaphysical peeps-Is anyone else feeling this energetic shift? For the past two days things have seemed different... Thoughts?"

I saw this post and I got side tracked in the chaos of my day and didn't get a chance to mail her my thoughts. It seems it rested heavy in my soul as I dreamed the energy/essence of the comment last night.

My "thoughts" yesterday were encapsulated in a BIG GIANT YES to her question and my thoughts were ... 'WTF' the past two days, PAST TWO WEEKS, MONTHS ... YES, all giant sized again.

So my dreams, guides, Dream Guides gave me so much more last night, and the dream world started to unfold the cloth.

For the past two days I have been bombarded with images of Lady Justice and the scales of justice in images, sound lyrics, comments from friends/strangers/radio DJ's and such. I am putting together a "Women's Courage Circle - Rites of Passage" workshop and I was thinking that Lady Justice must have some message for me for this workshop and she does.

She told me last night in my dream ... "The scales are no longer set and balanced. The scales are no longer in place. The scales are upside down on the balance beam and nothing sets on them the same as before. Know that no matter what the portions are, that used to balance the scales ... give no longer means receive ... take no longer means removed from ... nothing can balance because the trays on the scales cannot hold anything now that they are upside down. Everything is different in this Universal Underworld."

In the dream Lady Justice reminded me that I have always heard the word JUSTICE as the wordS ... JUST US ... and that in my many times of pondering the sound of the word JUST US ... it is the break down that is the significance ... it is JUST US that creates the balance and right now, it is just us that care.

I woke feeling so saddened by this and then more feed back started coming in.

We used to live in the balance of give and receive.
We used to live in the balance of love and be loved.
We used to live in the balance of right meets right and wrong meets wrong.

The world is upside down ... LADY JUSTICE is on her head and we are on our heads too!!!

It doesn't mean that we stop giving, that we stop loving ... that we stop doing right.

It means literally and figuratively ... that we TURN THE SCALE OVER to catch what is slipping away.

I printed a picture of Lady Justice today ... from google and I cut and pasted the trays of the scale upside down to see what the image (changed) really was ... I have been using the images to reset the opportunity to give and receive, to love and be loved and for right to meet right ... (forget the wrong).

When the trays of the scales of JUST US are upside down, inverted ... they look like trays with little caps on them so that nothing slips away ... JUSTICE is maintained by JUST US.

It seems in my little way ... in my little corner of the world ... this has made a difference.


After all ... JUST US is MINE!

"Summer Soulstice Red Poppy" Flower Essence"

Mother Nature's Red Poppy ... growing in my garden. This makes me so happy! These Poppy's have offered themselves up as a "Special Edition "Summer Soulstice Red Poppy" Flower Essence". The Mother Essence is dancing in a bowl right now and the dance is beautiful as the wind nudges the petals to swirl the flowers in the bowl. She is being supported with quarts charger crystals on each side of her, while being infused with the Sun's eternal light w/ no beginning and no ending, all that we revere of this potent season, all God's, Goddesses and Deities of this season, to bring the Source of the Sun down through the body to send the element of fire to the Root Chakra for purification and healing.

This life is so easy to love ...

Crow ... more from Crow

Saturday May 21, 2011

What would the skies be like without Crow? How would the morning silence break without Crow? Would perception shift accordingly without Crow?

Immediately I take on a random direction, I never did like Scarecrows. They were lifeless, senseless farm land oddities when I was growing up in the Midwest. Hanging lifeless like Christ on a cross in more ways than one, attempting to cast away the truth of the natural world. Ah, I see a parallel without looking and once again it is connected here to Crow Law, Sacred Law, TRUTH. Truth … I like Crow’s and all that sacred law stuff. I was always happy when the scarecrows didn’t work. I like Christ and all his sacred law stuff too.

The night was filled with rain and I was having incredible dreams when Crow woke me up this morning. Didn’t crow know it was a weekend morning and I actually had the day off? Didn’t Crow know that I could sleep in late? What was Crow doing waking me, it was raining, didn’t Crow want to find shelter from the storm and let me sleep a bit more? Apparently not, because Crow was making sounds louder than the rain to let me know it was time to toss out the peanuts in the backyard.

Crow wakes me on any day and every day that I sleep in past breakfast time, Crow breakfast time that is, not my breakfast time. It is all my doing as I have feed Crow and all of his family, Momma’s, Daddy’s, brothers, sisters, young ones for many years now. I have fed his cousins too … the Blue Jay, Purple Finch, Zebra Finch, Robin Red Breast, Mocking Bird, Sparrow, Chickadee (I call them the grim reaper birds, I love their black hoodies), Pigeons, Doves and more. I have made peace with the Pigeons. They are not the smartest bird on the planet and it is not my job to educate them. I still don’t see the reason for 11 of them trying to fit into one bird feeder. I guess that if they do, what am I to do about it?

So Crow woke me, perched on the roof line at the front of the house. I found that amazing as I had slept in the front room that night and not my bedroom at the back of the house. Crow usually wakes me from my bedroom. I was cognitive enough to realize that Crow found me in another room, in another part of my home, to wake me up to feed him. I was amazed at Crow’s intellect and ability.

I got up from the bed in the front room and walked through the house. I walked down the hall into my bedroom where I keep all of the bird seed, bird feed and assorted nuts and dried fruits for the birds. I was surprised that I had on my Uggs. I didn’t remember having my Uggs out of the closet. This was the first clue that I got from my very life like dream. I did not wear my Uggs the night before.

I am stocked like a mini feed store. I am especially stocked this time of year for the Quail too. I love the Quail. I opened my back bedroom doors and started to head to the yard and there was Crow, right at my feet to the left of me. He was bouncing and cawing loudly. As I walked further into the yard I noticed that two more Crows were to my right and they were telepathically letting me know that they like peanuts very much.

This was the second clue that I got from my very life like dream. I could hear the rain in my sleeping mind but there was no rain in my yard. The sky was clear, there was no rain and the sunlight was brighter than the actual time of morning. The sky was actually to light, it was glowing and everything was shiny.

I did a few more reality checks and realized that the blinds had been closed in the front room, but I could see Crow on the roof. In my reality check I wondered how I could see Crow on a roof with the blinds closed on the windows.

Right about the time that Crow knew that I knew I was dreaming, he started talking to me. He thanked me for always feeding him and his family. The two Crows to my right went into the yard to eat the peanuts that I had tossed out for them. As the Crows went into the yard other birds started flying in to the yard to eat.

A string of assorted birds of every color came into a line up to eat. The first bird was a bright golden yellow and red peacock. The second bird was a turquoise and magenta pheasant. The pheasant was followed by a couple of Robin Red Breast’s but these Robins had purple and burgundy breasts. A row of Hummingbirds entered the line up and they were taking dew drops of rain off of the lawn like they were nectar from flowers. The Hummingbirds were the usual colors of Hummingbirds but they were lit up like neon signs.

I looked at the Crow to the left of me, in amazement and Crow said to me “It’s your dream.” More birds entered the line up on the lawn and eventually the yard was filled with amazing birds of every color but their natural colors. The golden yellow and red peacock was the most amazing as he strutted around the yard with his tail fully fanned. He was so proud of his feathers.

It started raining and I told the Crow that I was going to go inside now. The Crow told me to have a great morning and he thanked me again for feeding him. I asked him how he knew I was sleeping in the front room and not my bedroom and he said that he looked through the windows to see I was not in my room. I realized that that made sense and I closed the door to enter my room.

I made my way up the hall, through the house and into the front room where I had been sleeping. I could see the bed where I had been. I noted that the blinds were closed and that I would not have been able to see Crow on the roof. I sat down on the side of the bed and slumped over very heavily. I noticed that I didn’t have my Uggs on. I heard the sound of Crow calling to wake me up.

I sat up and woke up. I opened the blinds to the large front window and there was Crow sitting on the corner of the roof line peering into the room that I was sleeping in. He woke me up to let me know that it was breakfast time.

This trip down the hall was done while wide awake, wide awake and in awe of Crows intellect and ability. This trip down the hall, I was barefooted. I was happy to be so trusted by Crow. I was stunned by the dream that I had awakened from, just a few moments prior. In the dream I was wearing the same pajamas. Would I go to the back yard to find peanuts on the lawn, a Crow to my left and two Crow’s to my right? Would I see a golden yellow and red peacock swaggering around my yard?

I opened my back doors to walk into my yard and toss out a cup of peanuts and Crow landed just to the left of me, he had walked across the roof while I walked through my home. Two other Crows landed in the yard to eat. I looked at Crow beside me to the left and I asked him if he had seen me twice already, once in my dream and again while wide away. Crow said to me “you are always wide awake”.

I need to shop for peanuts tomorrow.

My latest Reiki Blue post ...

Reiki ~ “The Secret Art of Inviting Happiness”

Since my last visit to Prototypes I’ve been meaning to post a blog entry. I have considered going a number of directions with this blog. I’ve sat down to write four times and the words simply didn’t flow. My first subject matter, the title of this blog is the only thing that I am called to write about. I initially thought that this subject was just too simple, not enough about the actual experience at Prototypes, too much about me and my experience with Reiki. I am back here at the keyboard (for the fifth time now) to write about my first subject matter and it is flowing, after all how could I write about an experience other than my own anyway?

Mikao Usui is the founding father of Reiki. I am not a worthy historian when it comes to Usui or Reiki so I won’t increase the number of words in this post with too much of the story, even HIStory (Master Usui’s story) in this blog. I will say that in my opinion Master Usui was an amazing man, unique in many ways. Master Usui lived an authentic life of expansiveness and diversity. He forged his own way in the world, sacrificing his own comforts for the highest good of others. He devoted his life to energy healing, healing others, becoming “one with Reiki”. He was a modest Super Human. Master Usui was a great example of living a life of loving service.

It is said that Master Usui was approximately a decade into his walk with Reiki when he determined that even with the difficulties he had experienced along the way, Reiki had given him the greatest happiness of his life. He knew that loving service, helping others, promoting energy healing, being One with Rieki, living his life as he was meant to live it had established an art. After ten years with Reiki Master Usui decided that Reiki was “The Secret Art of Inviting Happiness”.

My last visit to Prototypes was on Thursday, March 31. I started the day with the open mind to share with the women at Prototypes whatever my heart spoke of Reiki in the moment. I knew that I would offer an introduction to energy healing, the importance of patterned breath and breathing deeply and fully. I knew I would encourage the women to breathe in this way so that they could engage easily into the center of their being, at the heart beat itself and from there, they would become more present in their bodies.

During the day leading up to my visit to Prototypes I found myself filled with serenity while walking step by step through my life. I was working my basic tasks of watering my garden, cleaning my dog’s teeth, feeding the backyard menagerie of bird life and doing basic household chores. The day was one of our first really warm days of spring, and after many, very many days of chill and rain, I was delighted to take in the warmth of the sun on my body and the beauty of the clear blue skies above me. I was joyful and simply happy.

I paused at one point to consider my happiness and I thought of my walk with Reiki. I thought of how my life has changed so much over the years (a decade) and I thought of my pleasure in my work tasks that used to be more of a pressure from work tasks. I acknowledged my growth and I realized that I had found myself living Master Usui’s claim, that Reiki, when practiced devotedly over time is “the secret art of inviting happiness”. I decided in that moment that I would share a bit that day with the women at Prototypes about Reiki being this secret art form, leading to happiness.

As always, one good direction heading towards Prototypes can easily go another good direction once you enter the doors there. As I mentioned in my last blog the women are often experiencing one form or another of stress or anxiety, they have a multitude of thoughts on their minds, they have come from an assortment of previous environments and they are easily distracted. They appear to lack a deep, long attention span and rarely are they present in their bodies. It is always amazing to witness the massive energy that a group of these women can show up with and I love this.

This day was no different than the others with the women entering with their own experiences front and center for them. This day included the majority of these women working to organize a large rummage sale that was scheduled to take place at Prototypes the upcoming weekend. The day was warm and the women were all affected in one way or another by the rummage sale organization and by the warm weather.

Allison Stillman was right by my side as usual … OH THE JOY OF HAVING ALLISON STILLMAN RIGHT BY MY SIDE … and Allee worked her magic in bringing the Prototype women into circle. The group energy was WILD. It was particularly hard to get the group focus together and some of the women were completely interested in Reiki and others were in their chairs and completely out of body, many appeared to be completely out of the room and not at all interested in Reiki.

I began talking about breath and working with the women to get them into their bodies and to get the Reiki flowing. One by one the women connected in, even the women who were out of body and the women who appeared to be out of the room eventually came into the room and into their bodies too. Keeping the women on track for breath alone was not easy so the challenge was there to get them to consider working with energy for healing.

The group eventually became receptive and it was beautiful to see these women support themselves in a greater calm, a more present state of being and these women created change that affected the change of the entire room and each person in it. One woman was very resistant to it all; typically this woman has remained resistant to me, to Reiki and any idea of energy work, energy healing and self healing. She has been consistently difficult to try to keep on track and she has been unwilling to conform to group activity. She is not obnoxious or rude in anyway, she simply has and holds her own agenda.

I was verbally guiding the women with deep breath work, connecting them to the heart beat and working with them to sense the energy in their bodies. The group was cooperative and most of them were very successful in feeling their individual energy field. These women were markedly affected by the calming nature of this basic practice. The one woman continued to be demonstrative and kindly combative with me. I kept at the process, encouraging them all to stay with in, focusing now on the woman with the greatest resistance to it all.

I talked to the women about feeling the energy. I asked them to feel the physical body, to feel the emotional and mental state that they were in. I asked them to feel for a shift in energy in and around them. It was all positive at this point, even the gently combative nature of the one woman, as she caused me to go deeper with the other women who were present.

At this point I asked the group to place their hands close to the other hand in prayer position but with their hands about and inch or two apart to see if they felt energy coming from their hands. This request created a sweet experience as the women could all feel this energy. This request created the best experience as the woman that was most resistant to the entire experience literally jumped out of her seat and almost stood completely upright, before she circled back around to her seat to sit back down. She exclaimed that she could feel the energy between her hands. She was none the less “trippin” (that was her word) on the full effects of Reiki, and the Reiki that she was “trippin” on was her Reiki. This woman exclaimed that she felt “high” … “really high” and she asked me … “is this Reiki? Is this Reiki that is making me feel high?” I answered her that she was feeling the natural high of her energy body.

I was delighted at this point.

In less than an hour, again … a large group of women went from one side of the spectrum of energy to another side of the spectrum of energy. They went from stressed out to blessed out. It was wonderful to experience.

I left knowing what I felt. I felt great happiness. I thought that perhaps I am an art teacher instead of a Reiki teacher.

What would the heart do ...

What would the heart do if you decided to really grow?

The heart would rise to 'unmeasurable' heights, it would fall to 'unmeasurable' depths, it would expand to 'unmeasurable' widths and it would beat beyond any capacity that you have known in any previous moment. The heart would reach to the ends of time to gather together the very best of you. The heart would reach from the beginning of the first moment to gather together the very best of you. The heart would call to the angels and the demons for surrender. The heart would support each and every breath that you take with light and love. The heart would open and reveal the soul. The heart would love you ... always and in all ways as you are and of course as you will be too.

So grow, grow now ... grow as you want to ... grow as you should grow, grow as you are called to ... grow now ... just GROW.

Reiki Blue ... with Yoga Blue

Prototypes Womens Center: Breathing and Sharing. 3.14.11

Please visit Yoga Blue @ www/yogablue.org ... it doesn't want to link for some reason. Thank you!

by Laurel on March 16, 2011

I have had the pleasure of working with Allee Stillman at Prototypes over the past several months. Working with Allee is really playing with Allee. Working with essential oils is bliss. Sharing such a profound experience of aromatherapy with the amazing women of Prototype’s has been so inspiring and so sweet.

I have wanted to offer Reiki at Prototype’s since before the first day I played there with Allee. I have wanted into the women’s recovery community to help in some way, any way for almost two decades. Assisting as I have has been richly rewarding, and I wanted to introduce the women of Prototype’s to self healing with Reiki.

My lineage in Reiki is that of Master Mikao Usui, the founder of the way of Reiki. Reiki is a Japanese name and when translated means “universal life force energy”. Master Usui said that Reiki is the container of consciousness. Master Usui also called Reiki “The Art of Inviting Happiness”. Who wouldn’t want to share this? I do. I share Reiki every chance I get.

I immediately shared my desire with Allee and then with Winifred. Both of these sweet women were completely receptive and enthusiastic about this possibility. My first day of sharing Reiki with the women of Prototype’s was yesterday, March 14th, 2011. I was blessed to be joined by Allee, her way of playing back with me I guess.

As usual at Prototype’s, when it is time to start a group gathering with the women immense energy enters along with them. The women enter a large room from two different doors and just about every mood that you can imagine comes with these women. Some of the women are wild with energy, some are exhausted. Some of the women are totally stressed out, some are calm and composed. Some of the women are sweet and tolerant; some are not sweet and tolerant yet.

Getting the group settled in is an interesting task and it can be ongoing. The purpose of my time with these women was to introduce them to a basic awareness of the energy body, the chakra system, the aura. I had a sense about the effort required to discuss energy healing with 15-18 woman, in one hour to work with and all of the above to deal with … my approach needed to be solid.

I suggested breath work first, with deep exhales pushed out to the count of 7 followed by simply allowing the inhale to respond to the count of 7. We went for a series of 6 of these deep breaths and I then asked these women to feel the center of their body, in the chest and to feel the beat of their heart. Two thirds of this group had completely different energy. Of these two thirds they were remarkably calmer and more balanced.

We stayed in the deep breath work and the heart beat while I shared with them about the chakra systems and its beautiful spheres of vibrant colors. I mapped the location of each chakra and introduced the women to the idea of the aura that wraps around their physical body. I suggested to them that they controlled this energy with their breath and they loved this possibility.

Over all and over a short amount of time, the majority of the women in the group were relaxed, more aware of their surroundings, more able to define what they were really feeling, they were more present in their bodies. We stayed with the deep breathing and feeling the heart beat in the chest and this time I was able to talk uninterrupted as they were more focused and more responsive.

One of the women mentioned that she had been stressed and deeply saddened because she was missing her children. She said that she had been very emotional but with the breathing and the energy connection she felt better. I shared with her that because her babies were from her body, that the calm state of her body could be shared with her children from a distance. This became very important to this woman and to a lot of the women in the group.

I shared a story of a time when my grown son was very ill in the hospital. I was unable to visit my son but I spent each evening while he was healing, sending him Reiki from afar. I shared with these women, that I would hold a teddy bear like it was my son when he was a baby and I would rock the bear while sending Reiki to my son. I shared that my son felt this in his hospital bed miles away, the rocking and the healing of his body. I did not tell my son what I was doing exactly, but he knew somehow what I was doing and he could feel it. He could feel my love, my calming presence and he could feel the healing energy of Reiki.

The women who had babies and children left that group gathering with the plan to calm themselves first and then send the calm feeling to their babies and children. I had no plan to tell the story of my grown son and using Reiki on him. Seeing the way these women all responded to the story … I couldn’t have planned better than that.

I can’t wait to go back to Prototype’s.

The Old Woman Weaving

a poem from a dream ... two years ago

one night time while the strong winds came to whistle and to sing
I dreamed of an old woman weaving with sparkling star lit string
weaving the wisdom of the ancestors and their sacred ancient ways
she told me a story of life and death, and the world in the in between days

she spoke of legend and lore, dreams awakened and dreams true
she taught me lessons with value to me, to know what I should do
the old stories were wild and vivid, as she sat low beside a fire
she wanted me to stay free from the aches of my human desire

that night as she was weaving I saw this and it was true
as she sat and spoke so softly, from her lap an animal grew
from the cloth that she was holding, in her hands I started to see
a lynx and a coyote - a strange mix, that she was weaving just for me

as I sat in full attention, without a twitch, not missing a sound
the old woman, she clearly saw me and by her eyes I was completely bound
she looked clear and straight into me as she gave comfort to this animal mix
in this medicine weave she made certain that I noticed what I needed to fix

the lynx she said will give you the secrets of the magical medicine ways
the lynx she said will teach you who to trust in your night and your days
the lynx will hold your tongue for you, so you will be silent and not make a sound
the lynx is crawling in you, yours tracks are different when your feet hit the ground

the coyote is the trickster, the one who runs and plays the odd game
the one that sings the songs at night that connect lonely ones to their shame
the coyote is your worker now, the coyote energy is not that of you
the coyote keeps you safe in knowing, to keep the eye on what other coyotes may do

the old woman then stood before me and she approached me with a walk of grace
she placed the animal medicine on me, wrapped me tightly and then cradled my face
she said this dream, this medicine is yours now you are the weaver of the ancient way
get up, you were awake with me all along as this night has turned into this day

don't resist your passion

Much like a rainstorm rolls onto the vast landscape of a desert,
there is a passion that rolls into the vast lovescape of your soul.

As a rainstorm brings sweet moisture to the land, to the earth,
the passion that rolls into you brings to you a greater life essence for you to fill up with.

The desert does not resist the rainstorm.
Make sure that you don’t resist your passion.