Reiki for Self-Care

Friday, June 25th, 2010

What do you do to take care of yourself? You may exercise, eat right, meditate or a variety of other activities which offers relaxation and the opportunity to ‘unwind’.  May I suggest that you consider adding Reiki to your daily practice?

Reiki, defined as Universal Life Energy, is an excellent addition to your daily routine. When I teach Reiki I always encourage my students to give themselves Reiki every day.  Reiki is a gentle, hands on healing technique which offers balancing of your life energy. You don’t need any special equipment or tools to do Reiki. Simply your time and intention. It doesn’t get much better than that!

When you give yourself Reiki you learn to become more aware of your own energy, when you are out of balance and the subtle shifts as you come back into balance. Reiki helps you on all levels, the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. And here’s another wonderful detail, you don’t need to know where the imbalance is or on which level you need to heal. Because Reiki is channeled through you from our Higher Power, it goes where it’s most needed for your highest good.

You may want to spend an hour or more giving yourself Reiki everyday, or you may only spend a few moments with Reiki. What sort of time do you want to give to yourself? It’s all up to you and it’s always going to work for your benefit. Personally, I often give myself Reiki while I relax in the evening, even while I’m watching television or reading a book.

Once you’ve been attuned to Reiki, by taking a Reiki class, you will discover that it’s available to you at any time, simply hold the intention that Reiki flow and the energy flow begins. Ahhh, love that!

As always, I encourage you to take excellent care of yourself. I’d also like to suggest that you consider adding Reiki to your daily routine. It’s a lovely addition and an excellent method of self-care.

Namaste,

Sandy

A Kind Word Changed My Day

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Generally speaking, I wake up before my alarm has the chance to ring, however, on this particular morning I couldn’t seem to open both of my eyes at the same time. I heard the alarm and instead of turning it off, I selected snooze…three  or 4 times. I didn’t actually fall back to sleep, because each time I knew I was getting nearer and nearer to the time I actually had to leave the house and that thought was making me anxious. Yes, the life coach inside of me knew the easy and best solution would have been to talk to myself about the advantages of getting up, and then sit up, but I simply didn’t.

By the time I did get up I was running late for meeting with one of my favorite non-client groups. Things weren’t progressing particularly well. My watch battery had gone dead, my hair, well let’s not talk about what my hair was doing, and did I mention that I couldn’t find my glasses? I got to the meeting and had to ask one of my friends to set my alarm reminding me of departing time. I couldn’t do it myself because I couldn’t see the teeny, tiny buttons. No glasses means no bi-focals, means no clear vision… When I was asked a simple question I was all foggy and it was just about all I could do to speak my name coherently.I sooooo felt like I needed to go back home and begin my day all over again.

Then it happened, the magic which changed my day. I like the gentleman who was sitting next to me, he’s a bit quiet, means what he says when he does speak and is a man of integrity. In short, I like and respect him and what he has to say. He paid me a compliment. Nothing huge, but a very nice, sincere compliment. My whole day completely changed. Every time I thought about it, I smiled. I felt calmer and more self-confident. From that point on my day went better than I could have imagined.

My point here? Our words have strength, they affect others in ways we often don’t expect or even imagine. hurt someone with a thoughtless or curt comment, damaging their self-esteem and perhaps inflicting long lasting damage. However, if we offer a sincere smile, a friendly compliment or offer a kind gesture we may change their day. Which of course this person may then pass along to the next person, etc. Hmmm, it seems to me we have the opportunity here to change the entire world, one kind word at a time.

By the way, that compliment I mentioned, it’s almost a week later and it still makes me stand a little straighter and smile. Thank you my friend.

Namaste,

Sandy

You are an Energy Super Hero

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

I was reminded by a wonderful gentleman the other day of the power we have over one another. Pull out your super hero cape; you’ve got the power too.

Did you ever go into a room and know that something very unpleasant was going on, even before anyone said a word? Perhaps the room felt tense or just generally unwelcoming as you entered. You were feeling the energy of at least one person in that room, possibly that of everyone in that room.

Alternately, do you know someone who just makes you feel silly happy to see them? Most of us know at least one person like that; we are truly blessed if we know many. These people share their loving energy as naturally as you and I breathe.

Sounds like super powers to me. You have this power as well. Experiment a bit if you don’t believe me. Go into a room and smile; deliberately think of sharing loving ‘vibes’. Most likely you will quickly notice that others are smiling back. Probably approaching you, offering hugs or handshakes. You are sharing your loving energy and infecting others with it. Wahoo!!! You are using your super powers whether you are wearing the cape or not.

You do this innately. But here’s the cool part. Now that you are conscious of this ability, you can be very deliberate about it as well. Naturally, I encourage you to use this power for good, not evil.

Take a moment before you enter a room, answer a phone call or start a conversation. Consciously align your thoughts to the vibes you want to give out. If you want to be cheery, recall a happy thought, notice that feeling, intend to share that energy with those you are about to speak with and put a big smile on your face. It will come through loud and clear. If it’s your intention to spread calm, take a few deep breaths; remember a place or occasion that made you feel calm and content. Hold on to this feeling and intend to share it with others. You’re on!

The gentleman that I spoke about earlier has come to realize this power in a very profound way. I applaud him for recognizing and wanting to share this with others. He now makes a very conscious point of starting conversations with a smile and asking for the other person to share something good that has happened to them today. I love that! He’s automatically releasing any thoughts or feelings of negativity, asking for and giving thoughts of happiness or joy.  He’s not only feeding his own sense and feeling of well-being, but he is sharing that same gift with others at the same time. Well done my friend!

This awareness strikes me on all levels, particularly professionally. As a Reiki master, I always encourage my clients to deliberately release any negativity they no longer need and to allow themselves to accept  positive energy as they are ready. As a Reiki teacher I encourage my students to develop awareness of their own energy so that they offer only healthy, positive energy to others as much as possible. Of course any of my holistic life coaching clients hear the same thing.   These energy shifts may be subtle, but they influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Powerful stuff.

I encourage you to consciously put on your cape every day. Take a few moments to think about what you would like to project to others as well as what you hope to receive from your interaction with others.  See what happens. Make a few mental notes, and notice that the more deliberate you are about sharing love, compassion and joy the more you receive of the same.  I’m willing to bet that you will very soon realize just how much you are able to positively influence the outcome of every situation. Intend to share, focus on those thoughts and feelings, notice the results, offer gratitude and begin the process all over again.

Try this for a day or two, I bet you’ll be hooked. I hope so. Then go on, share the secret with someone else. You’ll be giving them their very own super hero cape.

Warmly,

Sandy

Vision Boards

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

I love vision boards! In fact I just made four new ones the other day.

What are vision boards? They are basically a visual guide to help you manifest your best life.

Vision boards are always a surprise to me. The process is really very simple. First of all, I put on some music that feels good. It might be meditative, or energizing, depending on what appeals to me that day. Then I find several poster boards. They can be plain white or colored. This last time I used 3 different colors. I didn’t really make a decision to use colored boards; I simply laid out a variety and selected those which attracted me without thinking about it. The next step was to gather magazines, photos, and ‘things’ that made me feel good. Then the fun started.

I went through the photos and pulled out a few that I liked, some I cut up to use though I didn’t know just how I would use them at that point. Next I went through several magazines. This should be a relaxed, fun exercise. I tore out pages that attracted me for a variety of reasons. Some were simply pretty; others interesting and still others shouted at me that they showed something that I absolutely wanted to bring about in my life.

Next began the process of assembling my boards. I didn’t know how many I would create when I started so this was all a work in progress. I laid out pictures, words that I had cut-out, objects that needed to be a part of these boards. Moving everything around until it felt just right. Then I simply glued everything into place and finished off with writing on my boards where it felt right. My boards have pictures, writing, stones and words, simply things that speak to me.

When the process was complete I actually had 4 vision boards. Each one focused on separate areas of my life. One was about home and personal. Another focused on my business. A third was all about travel and the final board focused on my life coaching and Reiki business.

Now, to use these vision boards. The purpose of making the vision boards is to become clear about what I want to manifest in my life. After all, how can I bring about desired results if I have no idea what those desired results are? This process is very free flowing; I simply explored and felt my way through. For example, I want a new car. I don’t need a new car, lol, but I do want one. I’d like a convertible please. As I flipped through the magazines I pulled out pictures that made me smile when I first saw them. I wound up with pictures of 3 cars, 2 of them convertibles and one in particular is a red convertible. Yahoo! I cut each of them out, added my picture and now when I look at that board I am actually able to see myself driving those cars. It makes me very excited! I feel myself smile automatically when I look at the vision board and it makes my tummy get all fluttery, sort of like Christmas morning when I was a little girl. I know that we get what we ask for, what we expect in this life. So, I’ve decided to ask for and expect things that I want. Like a convertible.

By focusing on these boards every day for a short time, giving thought to vacation time with my husband (one of the items on one of my vision boards), allowing myself to experience the emotion that these experiences bring up I am actually bringing each and every one of these experiences closer and closer. I don’t think about them as something that is going to happen in the future. Oh no, I allow myself to experience the thoughts, feelings, smells and touches that each of these experiences brings about right now. That’s what brings them about.

I update my vision boards when it feels right. I may keep a vision board only a few days, a few months, or maybe years. It’s very exciting to look back and realize that something I originally thought of as a dream has become my reality. And of course that simply keeps the process moving along, bringing in more of what I want to experience.

The vision boards have become wonderful tools that I encourage all of my life coaching and Reiki clients to use. I also offer workshops for vision boards as I find that they are powerful tools for anyone to use.

This week I encourage you to make a vision board. Some variation will of course work as well. Consider collecting a model car that looks just like the full size car you want in your driveway and put it into a special box that you focus on every day. Any variation of this process works. It’s really all about allowing yourself to experience the reality of your dreams coming true. And then they do.

Warmly,
Sandy