Shot from a cannon

I said in my earlier blog that my introduction and initiations into Reiki were like being shot out of a cannon and they were. One Sunday in January of ’01 I went to lunch with a friend. Her plans included a Psychic Faire after lunch.. My plans did not. My friends was quite forceful and I was not the one driving so we went to the faire. I entered the faire pouting and protesting. I was a sweat lodge, meditate at the stream kind of chick.

Walking into this place was like wading into the fresh remains of a bad sinus infection. Snake oil salesmen on the right and Goddess Candle Wax Readings on the left and deep in the midst of the neon-rainbow-chrystal-bling-bling was this dude with dreadlocks playing the didgeridoo and his magically calm and somewhat surreal partner giving readings. I could somehow relate to them so I did.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a strong affinity for snakes, snake medicine, dragons flight and the ever so sacred kundalini energy. I worship and place myself before the Prime Creator’s God and Goddess. Candle wax is the effect of a lit candle and I love candles. Neon warns us of road hazards. Rainbows are beautiful and the chakras are most significant. Crystals are so cool … I have them all around my garden. It was the combination that got to me and that psychic faire was where I got my first Reiki treatment. The dreadlocked dude and the surreal psychic were Reiki Masters and quickly enough they became mine.

I went from that quickie Reiki session at a Psychic Faire to the Master Level initiation in 6 short months. My Masters felt certain that I was “ready”. I had no idea what that meant. With my heels planted firmly in the earth I got “ready”. Looking back I have often questioned what “ready” was. I cannot answer that question any better today than I did then … I just know “now” that I am here “now” and how I got here was right.

Have you ever been shot out of a cannon?

I haven’t either but imagine it … there you are … all dressed up for this big event, maybe wearing a nifty spandex high-kick jump suit with a wide collar and matching boots. You have a helmet … a freaking helmet that matches your jump suit and your boots. It's like dressing up for Easter Sunday only better.

Everyone is watching. You realize you are at least one cell shy of a full brain but you drop feet first into this cannon and you wait.

5 …. 4 …. 3 …. 2 …. 1 … B A N G !!!!!!

You are forced forward into space in an unreal state of time, noise is weird, time is slow, everything is passing you at an unrealistic speed, you have never seen people look at you this way, you have never seen people this way … whoa, pay attention now, right in front of you … the T A R G E T !!!!

SHIT … you hit it !!!!

There is probably a bit to clean up after you hit a target.

The speed of my initiations was like being shot out of a cannon and amazingly enough I hit the target. The target being Reiki. Reiki with an understanding of its purpose. Reiki with an intention to share its highest good with others.

Would I shoot my Student’s out of a cannon?

What if a student showed up for class all dressed up like class was a big event, wearing a nifty spandex high-kick jump suit? What if the jump suit had a wide collar, flicked up in the back with the points of the collar pointed to their ears and they had on matching boots? What if they had a helmet on, a freaking helmet that matched their jump suit and their boots? What would I do? … (call 911!) … I would lovingly unbuckle their helmet and sit them down on a soft pillow on my floor and I would ask them to take a few deep breaths. On their second or third really good breath I would ask them to encourage their brain to hold that deep breath until they find the still point between it and their next breath. With a student like this it might take more than a few deep breaths. When they found the still point between breaths I would ask them to take off the boots and the helmet and join me for class.

I might learn a lot from this student.