Kathy’s Reiki Story
How Did I Get Here?
I have always been intrigued by the healing arts, but always felt separate from them. Other people do them, I participate in them. Massage, meditation (limited), therapy and prayer were about the closest I came to understanding what receiving “healing” looked like. My mother passed away suddenly in the fall of 1997, she had just retired in June and was looking forward to traveling with my father (her husband of 42 years.) As often happens after a shocking event, I felt pushed to discover meaning in my life. Why are we here? What are we up to? What is my purpose? What am I committed to? How are we connected to the afterlife? How can I connect with my Mom?
And so my journey began.
Here’s the short version. As I took an honest look at myself and my life, I realized I had accomplished a lot, but few of the rewards brought me real satisfaction. This was not acceptable. I was committed to discovering what DID bring me joy and real peace of mind. I made some difficult life choices and started getting my hands on books, attending seminars and having real conversations with friends and family about what mattered most to us. What I discovered is this ~ living a life of purpose brings me joy. Empowering others to discover their purpose in life and to live a life they love is what I chose to be up to in this lifetime.
Why Reiki?
Upon this discovery of purpose, I began a mission to figure out how I would express it in the world. What better place of discovery than a log cabin in Ely, Minnesota with some of my dearest friends (also known as the Ya Ya’s – stolen from the title of the book, The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood). As we all sat on the dock with our feet in the lake water, contemplating our future as 50 year old women, my friend Jo mentioned she had added Reiki as part of her massage business and offered to give us all a reiki treatment the next day. With no massage table, she improvised. She put an air mattress on the dock, stepped into the lake and proceeded with our individual treatments. I had never experienced a connection quite as profound as I did during this treatment. It felt as though I had a flow of love between myself and a higher source. I was moved to tears. I told Jo I felt reiki might be a calling for me. She said not to worry about it, reiki will call me. And it did. And here we are!
Now What?
I knew NOTHING about reiki other than my experience of it. Seriously. Nothing. I couldn’t even tell people what it was. I had no idea how to find out about it and where to get trained. With the support of my friend Jo, I went online and found The International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT), and picked a class nearby. I went to a healing night that was offered the night before the class to make sure it wasn’t weird or uncomfortable, which it wasn’t. I enrolled in the class starting the next morning.
Reiki 1. I learned what “ki” was. I learned I could strengthen it and I discovered I could really FEEL the energy. Finding out how reiki began and how it evolved was fascinating. I was glad that Reiki 2 was the next day!
My Reiki Master, Jessica Miller, describes her discovery and love of reiki history:
“I got very interested in the history of Reiki. When I first learned of Reiki, I was told that everyone who did Reiki in Japan had gotten together in a room during WW2, and that room had gotten bombed, which ended reiki in Japan. So in the mid 1990’s when we found out reiki had not died out, but had gone underground I was fascinated. In 2001 I spend a week in Japan, spending most of my time in Tokyo and 1 day in Kyoto, where I climbed Mount Kurama (where reiki started). Once was not enough, so I spoke with William Rand at the International Center for Reiki Training about bringing a group there, and we planned an excursion for that same year. In the meantime, I discovered a Reiki school in Japan I could train with if I went ahead of the trip by a couple of weeks. After completing the class, I had some time and so I did the only thing I could figure out – I climbed the mountain where Mikao Usui had received Reiki. And then I climbed it 21 more times, adding one more time on my last day which made it 22.”
(An excerpt from Reiki’s Birthplace, A Guide to Karuma Mountain by Jessica Miller)
Reiki 2. I learned the three basic focusing symbols and began to experiment with them. As I connected more powerfully with reiki and my love for healing, I knew I was well on my way to a new chapter in my life.
How Did I Get Here?
I have always been intrigued by the healing arts, but always felt separate from them. Other people do them, I participate in them. Massage, meditation (limited), therapy and prayer were about the closest I came to understanding what receiving “healing” looked like. My mother passed away suddenly in the fall of 1997, she had just retired in June and was looking forward to traveling with my father (her husband of 42 years.) As often happens after a shocking event, I felt pushed to discover meaning in my life. Why are we here? What are we up to? What is my purpose? What am I committed to? How are we connected to the afterlife? How can I connect with my Mom?
And so my journey began.
Here’s the short version. As I took an honest look at myself and my life, I realized I had accomplished a lot, but few of the rewards brought me real satisfaction. This was not acceptable. I was committed to discovering what DID bring me joy and real peace of mind. I made some difficult life choices and started getting my hands on books, attending seminars and having real conversations with friends and family about what mattered most to us. What I discovered is this ~ living a life of purpose brings me joy. Empowering others to discover their purpose in life and to live a life they love is what I chose to be up to in this lifetime.
Why Reiki?
Upon this discovery of purpose, I began a mission to figure out how I would express it in the world. What better place of discovery than a log cabin in Ely, Minnesota with some of my dearest friends (also known as the Ya Ya’s – stolen from the title of the book, The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood). As we all sat on the dock with our feet in the lake water, contemplating our future as 50 year old women, my friend Jo mentioned she had added Reiki as part of her massage business and offered to give us all a reiki treatment the next day. With no massage table, she improvised. She put an air mattress on the dock, stepped into the lake and proceeded with our individual treatments. I had never experienced a connection quite as profound as I did during this treatment. It felt as though I had a flow of love between myself and a higher source. I was moved to tears. I told Jo I felt reiki might be a calling for me. She said not to worry about it, reiki will call me. And it did. And here we are!
Now What?
I knew NOTHING about reiki other than my experience of it. Seriously. Nothing. I couldn’t even tell people what it was. I had no idea how to find out about it and where to get trained. With the support of my friend Jo, I went online and found The International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT), and picked a class nearby. I went to a healing night that was offered the night before the class to make sure it wasn’t weird or uncomfortable, which it wasn’t. I enrolled in the class starting the next morning.
Reiki 1. I learned what “ki” was. I learned I could strengthen it and I discovered I could really FEEL the energy. Finding out how reiki began and how it evolved was fascinating. I was glad that Reiki 2 was the next day!
My Reiki Master, Jessica Miller, describes her discovery and love of reiki history:
“I got very interested in the history of Reiki. When I first learned of Reiki, I was told that everyone who did Reiki in Japan had gotten together in a room during WW2, and that room had gotten bombed, which ended reiki in Japan. So in the mid 1990’s when we found out reiki had not died out, but had gone underground I was fascinated. In 2001 I spend a week in Japan, spending most of my time in Tokyo and 1 day in Kyoto, where I climbed Mount Kurama (where reiki started). Once was not enough, so I spoke with William Rand at the International Center for Reiki Training about bringing a group there, and we planned an excursion for that same year. In the meantime, I discovered a Reiki school in Japan I could train with if I went ahead of the trip by a couple of weeks. After completing the class, I had some time and so I did the only thing I could figure out – I climbed the mountain where Mikao Usui had received Reiki. And then I climbed it 21 more times, adding one more time on my last day which made it 22.”
(An excerpt from Reiki’s Birthplace, A Guide to Karuma Mountain by Jessica Miller)
Reiki 2. I learned the three basic focusing symbols and began to experiment with them. As I connected more powerfully with reiki and my love for healing, I knew I was well on my way to a new chapter in my life.