First Community Reiki Clinic in Ludlow

This month I ran the first community Reiki clinic in Ludlow.  Having booked the room and put out publicity and a request for practitioners to help at first I had no response, so imagined myself sitting alone in a room with an empty treatment couch.  However I'm happy to say this was not the reality!

I was delighted when two of my students got in touch to say they would come and help give treatments.  On the day one of them had a cold, so very sensibly decided not to come, so that she wouldn't pass it on.  So there were two of us giving the treatments.  I had decided on a time that would follow on from the community lunch that is held at Rockspring Community Centre in Ludlow, thinking that some of those who came for the lunch might also enjoy a Reiki treatment to follow. 

Following the model of other Reiki clinics around the world we scheduled 30 minute sessions for each person.  The room was booked for 2 hours, so with the two of us giving treatment together this meant we could do 4 treatments. 

Then the day before I received a phone call from one person to say he wanted to book a treatment at the clinic.  He had seen a poster at Rockspring while there for the community lunch.  So I was pleased to go

along for our inaugural session knowing that there would be 2 of us to do the treatments and at least one person to receive.

Jean and I set up the room and I put up notices around the centre to help people find us.  Before our due start time two more people turned up - a woman from my Singing for Lung Health group and her husband.  As our 1st customer had booked his session for 1.30 pm we treated one of them at 1 pm and the other had to wait until after the other treatment - they were able to watch the treatments as they waited.

As we were treating the first customers two more people came!  This posed a slight problem as we were supposed to finish at 3 pm, which left only one further 30 minute session.  However I was able to extend our time (and Rockspring had kindly given us use of the room free for this first session) so that we could offer a treatment to everyone who came.  They too waited patiently and quietly, observing the other treatments.

It made me realise that more practitioners are needed to offer treatments, so that we can be doing 2 or 3 at once and therefore offer Reiki to more people.  Three of those who came this month have already booked to come again next month which leaves only one appointment available if we only have 2 practitioners again!

So 5 people who had never received a Reiki treatment before had the opportunity to do so and all said that they enjoyed the experience.  Although this session was free, several of them also wished to make a donation, so we have a month's room rent in hand going forwards.  This means that we can offer lower cost treatments without a concern about making a loss.

So if you are a Reiki student, whether 1st or 2nd degree, and can get to Ludlow on a Thursday afternoon to help with the community clinic your hands will be most welcome!  It's good practice and you will hopefully learn from the experience as well as offering the wonderful gift of a Reiki treatment to people who need it.

"Kindly and gently place the hands"*

When those we love are ill or in trouble we can feel helpless and upset.  Whether it’s a temporary illness like the flu, an accidental injury like a cut hand or a more chronic illness like arthritis, there’s a natural human desire to offer kindness.   When friends suffer serious illness like cancer or a bereavement, we often yearn to help, but don't know the right words to give comfort.  When children are ill or injured it can be particularly heart-rending.  What can we do?

Those of us fortunate enough to have learned Reiki can 'kindly and gently apply our hands' and offer this wonderful healing of life energy.  No words are needed to give and receive comfort.   

In the Reiki story we learn that, after discovering that he could heal himself, founder Mikao Usui was presented with the opportunity to give help young woman suffering with a tooth abscess.  Kindly and gently placing his hands on her face he found that the healing energy that filled those hands was

also beneficial for others, as her pain quickly eased.  So began the healing art of Reiki treatments for other people.    

Shortly after this he was able to treat his friend the abbot of the monastery where he had been studying.  The abbot had arthritis and this time the healing took longer, but was still effective.  Thus Dr Usui learned the difference between treating acute and chronic conditions.

In a similar way my first experiences of how Reiki works was with friends.  The first people I treated were those in the same Reiki class as me.  We met up every Sunday for several months to practice with each other, sharing experiences and reminding each other of the hand positions.  This was my first experience of Reiki community.

I also began to offer Reiki to my family, some of whom were not interested in receiving treatment.  This was disappointing, but a good lesson in the need to respect people's individual choices and not be pushy about what I think is best for them!  Other family members were more open to offer of treatment and I have a particularly vivid memory of the first time I treated my mother.

I didn't have a treatment couch yet, so treated her sitting on her bed.  It wasn't very comfortable, but I was keen to share my new skill with her.  She had a surprising experience because she hadn't told me about her back ache, but felt sensations in her body, after which the pain was gone.  Of course I was delighted that the Reiki treatment helped her feel better.

Simply giving kind attention and placing hands gently where it hurts can bring comfort, but Reiki healing does more than this as we connect that person to an infinite source of life energy through us.  The treatment ritual is also a way of accepting what is, of acknowledging this person in whatever state of being they are in at this moment.  This is a wonderful message to offer, especially if a relationship is strained, as can happen in families. It is also a comfort for us to see the person we care about relax as their suffering eases and possibly drifting off into a healing sleep.

So it is a comfort to me that I have Reiki in my hands so I can place them kindly and gently on family and friends to ease their pain.

*I believe these are words Hawayo Takata used about giving Reiki treatment

The mystery of Mystic Order: From Disconnection to Participation

Like  most humans I craved feeling part of a 'tribe', but in early life, at school and university, felt like an outsider.  As a result I would keep myself apart, either by not participating or by acting a role.  Subconsciously, this feeling of separateness made me unhappy.

Learning Reiki began a healing of this sad disconnection, bringing a deeper understanding of what being in community means and how it nourishes me.  I now value and benefit from participating in community in many forms: my students, the UK and international Reiki groups and other communities such as my choirs.  This understanding has come through the Aspect of Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki known as Mystic Order.

In my early years in Reiki, participating in Reiki gatherings was uncomfortable and a struggle.  However in 1994 I attended a gathering with Phyllis Furumoto as special guest.  I was interested in the opportunity to learn more about Reiki from her, so overcame my resistance to be present.  She described the 9 Elements and 4 Aspects of Usui Shiki Ryoho. I recognised the way I had learned Reiki in the Elements and also understood 3 of the Aspects: Healing Practice, Personal Development and Spiritual Discipline.  The fourth Aspect was a mystery: Mystic Order.

Phyllis describes Mystic Order as: "A group of people who share a common practice that brings them in relation to reality beyond the realm of the five senses is considered a mystic order. Though the practice of Reiki employs the sense of touch, the quality of that touch can take us into the realm of union and communion with self, others, and the essence of life. Students experience directly through practice the interconnectedness of being and awaken to the experience of a much greater reality beyond what is known."

The 'reality beyond the 5 senses' is something familiar to me from life in Reiki. It led me to explore the 'greater reality beyond what is known', particularly through my involvement with The Reiki Association.  It was often difficult: like many aspects of Reiki it's the challenge that creates growth!  Feelings I had experienced in communities since childhood became more conscious: not feeling a part of the whole, not being acknowledged or valued and wanting to escape before I was pushed out.  This brought up some of my negative views about myself which was often painful, causing me to hide behind a 'role', such as being the Administrator.

However Reiki helped me to stay in connection, in spite of the difficulty, which brought me to experience and understand the benefits of being in community.  I learned that being part of a caring community is something I need; that to experience the connectedness with a greater whole that goes beyond the senses - even though challenging - nourishes something fundamental in me as a human being.

So, after years of practice, at the recent TRA 25th Birthday Gathering instead of hiding behind a role or feeling separate, I relished the interconnectedness of being in community!  I felt able to participate fully and joyful, receiving nourishment for my soul.  I felt welcomed, acknowledged and valued without the need to perform.  I now understand the value of Mystic Order: it satisfies my human need to be connected with the greater whole, bringing comfort, healing and happiness in return.

More pictures of the Reiki Association 25th Birthday here