Joy of weaving

Floor rug

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My desire to weave came from the need for a rug during lockdown. I could not go anywhere to look at a rug and feel it. One day it finally dawned on me that I could weave one myself. I started googling to learn how to weave a rag rug. I chose the simplest technique I could find. I did not have to buy any materials. All I needed was some old clothes, fabric scissors, four safety pins and willingness to weave.

Once I started to weave I have not been able to stop. It helps me feel better when I feel unsettled. It helps me to stay focused while I am listening on a zoom call.  I wove this rug while attending online Instinctive Meditation teacher training. This rug is woven using clothes that would have been thrown away. Most of them were loved so much they were worn out. They were not fit to give to a charity even. It helps me feel better about playing a small part in reducing clothes going to landfill.

When I weave, sometimes it feels as if parts of my being are being woven in a new way. Sometimes when I weave with clothes that belonged to elders/ancestors it feels as if some family/ancestral healing is happening. Weaving can feel very healing and transformational.

I love watching how the colours and patterns emerge as I follow my intuition and choose a colour/fabric. I love how I remember clothes lying forgotten in cupboards that I can use to weave. I was delighted to learn this saying through my meditation teachers  – “Begin to weave and God will give the thread.”

Inspired by Reiki Master, Master Weaver and my Reiki great grand mother, Wanja Twan’s 90th birth anniversary celebration, I am offering a day infused with Reiki and weaving. All are welcome. You do not need to have learnt Reiki to join us.

Wanja wrote how ‘people did not know they could do all that they managed to weave, that all the colours, designs and creativity existed within them. It was just a matter of being shown and helped along a bit and everything would unfold’. Please let me know if you would like to join us to allow your essence and creativity to unfold.

Date: Saturday March 23rd 2024
Time: 11 am to 5 pm
Cost: £80
Venue: my home

All materials will be provided. No previous weaving experience is needed. You are welcome to bring an old/loved garment that you would like to weave with.

If you would like to use your hands to create something beautiful from what may be ready to discard, if you would like to allow your creativity to unfold through weaving, if you would like to experience the joy of weaving with the community using a very simple technique, please join us.

Do let me know if you would like to attend this event. Places are limited, so you would need to book a place by contacting me.

Peace amongst the wars

spring season

Pete Seeger’s song ‘Turn turn turn’ had been playing in my head since yesterday. I finally remembered to listen to it this morning and felt deeply touched by the lyrics:

To everything there is a season
And a time to every purpose under heaven…

A time to kill, a time to heal…

A time of love, a time of hate…

A time of war, a time of peace…

A time of peace, I swear it’s not too late…”

I remembered Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem – Please Call Me by My True Names. I was reminded of his teaching – ‘how we cannot separate ourselves from the world around us, even those who do harm.’

It is my turn to experience creation exactly as it is, from exactly where I am.

My wish/prayer at the Pisces New Moon – May I feel oneness with even those who do harm. For I can only heal myself. May I welcome and embrace the part of me that does harm, may I be able to give it a voice and listen to it for it is a part of my wholeness, it is part of the wholeness of life. May I welcome and embrace the inner conflicts.

Oneness does not come easily in this realm of separation and limitation. Maybe, just maybe, it is a tiny bit easier in the Pisces season – season of healing, season of unconditional and universal love – Pisces being the sign of imagination, art and empathy, collective consciousness, and forgiveness.

Please join me if this resonates. Please make your own wish/prayer for the world at this New Moon.

Here is a link to Pete Seeger’s song – Turn turn turn. You can also listen to the poem – Please call me by my true names – in Thay’s voice in the link above.

Finding our centre with Guided Meditation and Zen Calligraphy

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Receiving news of someone suffering is never easy. Lately I have been hearing of many people going through a crisis. It can be overwhelming. I started wondering about how to be. I started asking the question – What is this about?

Eventually it dawned on me that each unsettling news is an invitation, a reminder to regain my centre, be there, show up from my centre as best as is possible. It is not easy but I am learning. At times it seems as if I am being shown the next step on this path. Honing this ability seems much needed with the chaos and turmoil all around us.

The phrase ‘being in the eye of the storm’ came up. Just the thought of being in the serene, unshakeable, unwavering space seems amazing! I cannot help wondering if it is easier to be in our centre than we can imagine! What if we already have this ability and we need to simply let it surface from the unconscious to conscious awareness!

I remembered a poem by the Mystic Sufi poet Kabir from India:
Chaaki chaaki sab kahein, kili kahe na koye
jo kili se lagaa rahe, vako baal na baanka hoye!

Here is my attempt at translating it – The two plates of a traditional flour mill(chaaki) are like the heaven and Earth. We are between these two realms. Those of us who get caught between the two get crushed. Those who stay aligned with the centre, the centre axis (kili), do not get crushed/harmed.

I invite you to an in-person session to invoke and strengthen the intelligence inherent in the body to be centred and aligned with the centre axis. Please join me, let’s explore this together.

Date: Sunday March 31st. We will be exploring this with Guided Meditation and Zen Calligraphy. We will be brushing the Zen circle – Enzo.
All welcome. You don’t need to be a Reiki student to join this session.
Time: 11 am to 5 pm
Cost: £80
Venue: my home
All materials will be provided. No previous calligraphy experience is needed.

Please let me know soon if you would like to join us, before March 31st, 2024.

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Power of practising with community

silk rug

How are you? Are you feeling the intensity? I am. I am practising accepting, welcoming and integrating it. It is not easy. But it is inspiring me to do a second degree Reiki treatment for myself everyday for at least one week, this week of the new moon on February 9th.

I could do it by myself. But I have experienced the power of practising with the community, even when we are not in the same physical location. New moon can be a time of new beginnings. I also find astrology super helpful at such times to figure out the next step. The text in purple is about astrology.
If you are interested, the New moon is in the sign of Aquarius. Aquarius is about the power of coming together as a community/collective, work together for a better world, seeking solutions that benefit all. So I am inviting you to join me. Let’s practise together.

I have been wondering about why does this New moon feel so intense. Then I realised the planet Pluto moved into Aquarius recently, January 21st. Pluto represents transformation, endings and new beginnings. Apart from brief time spans, Pluto will stay in Aquarius till 2044. So we really need to take on board what Pluto is helping us to integrate. It seems to be a time for purging, letting go of what is no longer serving us and create space for the new.

The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was 1700s. So we will not have this experience again in this lifetime. In Aquarius Pluto seems to be asking each one of us to play our part, to trust and hone our creativity, our intuition, our connection to the Divine. In this digital age of artificial intelligence, we seem to be called to deepen our innate intelligence. If you know your natal astrology chart, you could look up which house does Aquarius represent and what other planets do you have in Aquarius.

So I invite you to practice together to heal, nourish and strengthen ourselves, prepare ourselves for what is needed at this time.

This invitation is offline. There is no online session and it is free. We simply practice at 9 am local time for 30 minutes with the knowing that we are practising with the community. You are welcome to practise at a time of your own convenience if you are unable to do 9 am. Please feel free to do what you can, when you can. If you are a level 1 Reiki student, you are welcome to join with first degree Reiki self treatment.

You can let me know if you would like to practise together. I will also set up a WhatsApp group to allow us to connect with each other to share our experience, ask questions. Do send me your phone number if you would like to join the group.

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Reiki Master Wanja Twan’s 90th birth anniversary celebration

You are invited to an online celebration of Reiki Master Wanja Twan’s 90th birth anniversary. Wanja was one of the 22 Reiki Masters initiated by Mrs. Hawayo Takata.

Birthdays can provide an opening for blessings from our ancestors and elders to come through. Perhaps some special blessing is coming through the opening of Wanja’s birthday that is needed at this time.

This celebration is open to all Reiki students. Wanja’s daughter, Reiki Master Anneli Twan is going to join us. When Wanja retired from teaching Reiki she passed the stewardship of the Twan Reiki Lineage to Anneli. Wanja’s daughter-in-law, Reiki Master Michelle Beauregard will be with us too.

We will self treat, read excerpts from Wanja’s books, and share memories of Wanja. We will also be able to listen to a recording of Wanja’s voice in the oral tradition.

Date: Tuesday February 20th, 2024
Time: 7 pm GMT, 8 pm CET, 11 am PST, 2 pm EST
duration: 75-90 minutes
cost: free

Let’s honor the remarkable life and legacy of Reiki Master Wanja Twan.

Register now to receive the zoom link and mark your calendars for this special online event!

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Value of weaving

Begin to weave, God will provide the thread’. When I discovered this phrase recently, it felt as if this is exactly what I have been experiencing while weaving. When I begin, I do not know what colour or fabric I will use next. I never buy the fabric. It is always old clothes, used and worn with love. I still continue to be amazed by how I start to find fabric around the house, clothes that I had forgotten about! Sometimes a theme that is playing in my life seems to be woven into the next round of the spiral.

The rug I began weaving around the new moon in December 2023 had quite a lot of colour in the middle, just like a star. Then I found a purple silk saree that had belonged to my mother-in-law. It was quite old and the fabric was falling apart. It could not be used as a saree anymore. So I decided to weave it in the rug.

A few days later I realised that I had started reading the book ‘In the light of a distant star’ by Wanja Twan, in the book club with some of Wanja’s Reiki Masters at the time of the New Moon in December 2023. Before being a Reiki Master, Wanja was a Master weaver. Wanja was also a wonderful mystic. The book is quite magical. Reading it with a group makes it even more magical. And the cover of the book is purple!

I feel grateful for my Reiki lineage. Around the time Wanja discovered Reiki, she also found her way to the meditation practice of Siddha Yoga. Thanks to Wanja saying yes to Reiki and dedicating her life to Reiki, not only do I have Reiki, I have weaving and meditation in my spiritual genes too.

I started weaving during lockdown when I needed a rug and could not go out and buy one. It occured to me one day that I could make one myself. Google helped me find a very simple technique to weave a rag rug. A few months later I discovered the practice of Instinctive Meditation and learned about the value of weaving. A very practical need transformed into a love of weaving. I had started to weave with old everyday clothes that were not suitable for donation even. Then I started to weave with old silk sarees and scarves. As I weave sarees and scarves together worn by me and my family, it feels as if there is some ancestral healing happening.

I am grateful to the Radiance Sutras School of Meditation (RSSM), the meditation community of wonderful teachers and students that helped me learn
“Divine Presence vibrates in the impulse to weave, the many threads we gather, and the perfection of the Design.
Cherish the impulse, honour the threads, and come to honest gratitude for the noble design.”

I am sure that the saying ‘Begin to weave, God will provide the thread’ has many layers to it. I feel grateful for having experienced this layer. I feel that the weaving process is not just meditative and therapeutic, it is also very symbolic. Sometimes it seems as if I am weaving the old threads of my life in a new way, inviting beauty in, and the invisible thread of Divine Presence is being woven into each creation.

If you are feeling the impulse to weave, please let me know. I would love to weave together.

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Awe and Wonder with Reiki

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Reiki offers a whole range of benefits at every level that we need – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Some benefits we are conscious of and some are yet to be revealed.

The day after exploring the Aspects and Elements of the Reiki practice with some Reiki students, I feel as if a framework/structure has been put in place inside me for the essence of Reiki to thrive. The Nine Elements of Usui Shiki Ryoho define the form of the practice. The Four Aspects of Usui Shiki Ryoho help express the philosophy and deepen understanding of the system. Together they define the practice of Reiki, Usui Shiki Ryoho that is practised in the spiritual lineage of Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata, Phyllis Lei Furumoto and Johannes Reindl.

Previous Lineage bearer for Reiki, Usui Shiki Ryoho, Phyllis Lei Furumoto gave us the four aspects and nine elements. She also gave us the phrase balancing form and essence through Reiki Talk Shows. Today I feel that while we focussed on the form, the essence of Reiki has been strengthened in our being.

Serendipity had recently led me to an article written by Reiki Master, Paul Mitchell The Usui System of Reiki: A Return to the Sacred. In Paul’s words – ‘The practice of the Usui System brings us back in contact with mystery. It brings us back to a sense of awe and wonder in the face of that which we know is bigger than and beyond the scope of the human mind.’ Paul is one of the 22 Reiki Masters initiated by Mrs Hawayo Takata. He has also held the role of Head of Discipline with the lineage bearer for the Office of Grand Master (OGM).

Learning about how experiencing awe and wonder can be a doorway to our wellbeing, I remembered a phrase I heard many years ago about Reiki from Rick Bockner, another one of the 22 Reiki Masters initiated by Mrs Hawayo Takata about Reiki – ‘Experience the wonder and wonder about the experience’. Practising Reiki for over 22 years now, I have been experiencing many many benefits. Today I realise that my ability to experience awe and wonder was also being honed over the years. I have been looking for awe and wonder in the external. It is indeed easier to connect with awe and wonder in nature. But awe and wonder is all around us, in simple everyday life, in our body. It is easy to experience and wonder with Reiki, through the simple act of placing Reiki hands on the body.

Learning Reiki helps us experience the benefits of Reiki at a time of one’s own choice and convenience. It is also possible to experience awe and wonder through receiving a Reiki treatment from a Reiki practitioner.

Today I feel inspired to invite you to SOAR – a Space Of Awe and wonder with Reiki. This acronym came to me today. You are welcome to SOAR by learning Reiki or experiencing a Reiki treatment. Please contact me or find a Reiki teacher/practitioner near you.

You can discover more about the four aspects and nine elements for Reiki, Usui Shiki Ryoho on the OGM website. You can also find the Reiki Talk Shows and deepen your connection with the nine elements listening to Phyllis Lei Furumoto discuss them with Reiki students/Masters in the oral tradition. You will need to scroll down the page to September 2009. Phyllis dedicated a month to each element. So you will find all the elements from beginning of September 2009 to end of May 2010.

One of the Usui intensives offered by the OGM for Reiki Masters is Usui 1 to explore the nine elements. If you would like to explore the aspects and elements with me, you are welcome to get in touch. I would love to hear from you.

Reiki self treatment and the mind

I am often asked by new Reiki students what should I be doing with the mind during self treatment. In such moments I feel grateful for the simplicity and effortless nature of Reiki practice. I know from personal experience that stilling the mind is impossible, yet Reiki heals despite the mind/attention wandering. I remember Mrs Hawayo Takata’s teaching – hands on Reiki flows, hands off Reiki stops. I share this with the students.

I learnt Reiki in 2001, I have been teaching Reiki since 2008. Over the years I have found it helpful to learn that in moments of stillness and silence, what is held within tends to rise to the surface. The best thing we can do is to welcome it. I remember my Reiki grandmother’s (my Reiki Master’s teacher) words – Reiki cannot put in something new in us, it brings up what is already within us.

I feel as if I got another piece of the jigsaw when I learnt that the mind needs to go through the layers of turmoil to be able to get to the inner stillness. What is needed is the ability to observe the wandering of the mind. What is needed is trust in the innate intelligence of the mind. If I can trust the intelligence of the mind and the effortless nature of Reiki practice, together they can help me come home to inner stillness/light.

All I need to do is to practice

  • without expectation of how my experience should be
  • welcoming what shows up, trusting the interplay of ReiUniversal life force and Kiindividual life force, two very intelligent forces that each one of us has been blessed with.

Perhaps the time needed to reach the inner stillness is the reason behind the teaching to self treat for 40-60 minutes. If it is not possible to make this time daily or on a regular basis , perhaps we can try to self treat for 40-60 minutes as and when it is possible. A good time to try the longer self treatment may be when the mind seems unsettled or when we are struggling with some physical symptoms. After all the mind and body are deeply interconnected.

Please remember that some Reiki is better than no Reiki. So do continue to self treat for the time duration that is possible for you. Sometimes it is difficult to find the time, and sometimes it is difficult to make the time for self treatment.

If you are struggling to make time for self treatment, especially for a 40-60 minutes self treatment, it may be easier to self treat together with other Reiki students in the group energy.

There are two options to self treat together with the community without leaving the comfort of your own home:

  1. Spiritual lineage bearer, Johannes Reindl offers online Reiki self treatment circles every Monday, 10 am and 6 pm UK time. You can sign up to his mailing list to receive the invitation with the zoom link. If the link does not work, you can try email.
  2. The Reiki Association offers online Reiki self treatment circles every Wednesday 2 pm UK time for its members. On the last Wednesday of each month, the circle is open to non members too. You can subscribe to the mailing list for non-members to receive the invitation with the zoom link.

Do you find it easy to self treat? Or does it seem difficult at times? How are you with yourself in such moments? I would love to hear your experience of self treatment, especially about the longer one.

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Thursday Reiki Circle

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I started the Thursday online Reiki Circle during Covid times while I was serving on the Board of The Reiki Association, with the help of The Reiki Association community. Initially it was offered every week. Gradually it became monthly. Last few months I have been wondering about whether to continue offering it.

Margaret Rose, a very experienced Reiki Master and a member of The Reiki Association since its inception is one of the people who has been helping hold this circle. The December session was facilitated by Margaret Rose. Immediately after the session, one of my Reiki students sent me this drawing. I felt so grateful that our time together helped this student connect with her creative flow and brought out this beautiful expression of her inner essence. Her sharing has nourished me deeply. She has helped me see a tangible evidence of the power of practising Reiki together as a group, with the community.

For now, I will continue to offer this circle. To receive the invitation with the zoom link, you can subscribe to my mailing list and/or The Reiki Association’s mailing list for non members.

We send remote Reiki treatment to everyone who joins the session. Reiki students are invited to practise Reiki together. Level 1 Reiki students can join in with self treatment. Level 2 Reiki students/Reiki Masters can join in with the remote Reiki treatment. A strong group energy field is created through the presence of each person in the session where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. And all of us benefit from it.

Every first Thursday of the month, 10 am to 11 am UK time.

Please feel free to invite any friends/family who would like to benefit from Reiki, or any Reiki students who may be interested in joining this experience.

If you have found this circle beneficial, please do let me know. You can leave a comment below or send me an email.

Global Reiki Lights festival

floating candles

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Global Reiki Lights festival is an annual offering in December from The Reiki Association. Inspired by previous experiences of self treatment in-person as a group, and wanting to keep it simple this year, I invited Reiki students to join in-person at my home.  After the Reiki self treatment, there is an invitation to light candles near the still point meditation. Rather than give each student a separate candle holder, I chose to offer floating candles in one bowl filled with water. Each one of us lit a candle and placed it in the same bowl.

I was feeling curious about why I made this choice. Understanding started to dawn on reading this excerpt the next day about relationships – “Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits – islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.”

The day after Reiki Lights, I feel that we are all in the same ocean of relationships.

I trust that each one of us who was able to join or wished to join the Reiki Lights was lit up by the healing light of Reiki. One of the invitations was to connect with loving kindness that is present in each one of us and send it to each other and all the places where it is needed in the world at this time. Today my wish is – May the healing light of inner loving kindness radiate in all our relationships.

It feels so appropriate to have this celebration of light at this time of long dark nights in the northern hemisphere. After all light is visible only in the dark.

Deep gratitude to The Reiki Association for continuing this offering over the years, since 2014. It was inspired by Phyllis Lei Furumoto, the Spiritual Lineage bearer at the time.

The Reiki Association welcomes all Reiki students who have received Reiki initiations in-person from their Reiki Master. I have been a member since 2004. There are many benefits of belonging to this Reiki community. Over the years it has helped me grow in many many ways. Being part of this community often feels like going for a walk in woods with many mature trees.

Here is the full excerpt from the book: Gift from the Sea “by Anne Morrow Lindbergh:

“When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity – in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits – islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides.

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Grounding, Centering and Presence – 2

One layer of grounding is our connection to the Earth. Thankfully this intelligence is built into us, each one of us has the sense of gravity. Earth is one of the elements our body is made of.

We connect with the Earth in many ways, more particularly through our lower body. At this time of the year, Universe seems to be inviting us to bring our attention to the lower body.

This morning, during Reiki self treatment, when I became aware of my hands on my thighs, it dawned on me that the body part for the sign of Sagittarius is the thighs and hips. Currently Sun is in the sign of Sagittarius. It changes sign around 20th of each month.

Last month the Sun was in the sign of Scorpio. The Scorpio body part is the pelvis. Sun moves to the sign of Capricorn on November 22, 2023. One of the body parts for the sign of Capricorn is the knees. On January 20th, 2024, Sun moves into the sign of Aquarius. Aquarius rules the calves, shins and ankles. On February 19th 2024, Sun moves into Pisces, the last sign of the Zodiac. Pisces body part is the feet. And on March 20th a new astrological cycle begins with Sun entering Aries, Aries body part being the head!

My invitation is to hold this lightly in your awareness. Bring attention to the body parts the Sun is shining light of awareness on. Allow the attention to continue to move lower down the body and legs over the next few months and be open to what surfaces.

I would love to hear what this awareness brings up for you.

I love how astrology can help raise consciousness and align with what the Universe is facilitating at the time.

Grounding, Centering and Presence – 1

autumn leavesI have been contemplating grounding while healing from an injury to the right shoulder when I slipped on some wet autumn leaves last month. I have found it helpful to realise since this experience that I tend to leave the body and lose my centre when I feel hurt, or when I am leap frogging from one thing to another! Do you know what takes you away from your centre?

Most of us know how valuable grounding is, and we long for it. Just longing for efficiency does not work. In fact it can create imbalance. I am learning to remember the polar opposite for balance, I need to remember the inefficient part also. Trying to hide it, or pushing it away does not help. One of the least helpful things I can do is try to fix it! I feel so glad when I catch myself trying to fix something.

What can help is welcoming this inefficient part, holding it with love and compassion, accepting it in the heart can allow it to be integrated, it is part of wholeness of life. I am learning to give this inefficient part time and attention, give it a voice and listen to it. Journalling can be very helpful with this. Allowing this part to take as much time as it needs can sometimes help the transformation happen in the time needed to blink the eye. I hope and trust that if I can give the inefficient part attention at a time of my choice, it may not need to catch my attention repeatedly and unexpectedly.

There are many layers in the process of grounding, centering and presence. I am asking life to teach me to be present in the moment, in the body and help me find the next step on this path. Perhaps each one of us holds a piece of this jigsaw. I would love to hear what helps you to be present, especially in the moments when the inefficient part shows up!

I love how Reiki can help bring thoughts together and help progress healing.

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How to be with what is happening in the world at this time

I have been wondering how to be with what is happening in the world at this time. Lots of questions are coming up for me at this time. What is my role in all this, if any? How to be with my wounds, pain and suffering so that I do not inflict pain and suffering on others. What role does compassion have in situations like this, if any. How can I not take what is not mine, how can I not give what is not mine to give! It is not easy, I am trying to stay present as best as is possible, somehow trusting that guidance for the way forward is available in the present moment.

I feel that just as we are in this Universe, the Universe is within each one of us too. Perhaps each one of us holds a piece of the Universe within our being. Maybe this is why self treating, self healing can help make a difference in the world. I do realise that it may sound unbelievable to many.

There are more questions than answers in me. In such moments, when life is bringing big issues our way, when it may feel really difficult to hold it together by oneself, I find it helpful to practise with the community. Somehow the sacred group energy created by each presence in the circle can make it easier to figure out the way forward. I was reminded of this by a Reiki student today who asked for a Reiki circle as she is struggling with what is going on currently in the middle east.

I would like to offer a space online to gather as a community and immerse ourselves in Reiki. Please bring the questions that are moving through you at this time. We will hold them in our heart together and stay open to receive the light that is coming through. The light is always there, but it is more visible in the darkness!

Date Tuesday October 31st, 2023
Time: 7 pm GMT

You can subscribe to my newsletter email, if you are not on my mailing list already, to receive the zoom link.

I found it helpful to listen to Carolyn Myss talk about living in the era of the unthinkable. Listening to her helped bring these thoughts together. She spoke about the power invested in each one of us. She reminded us of raising our consciousness to a level where we can learn to co exist, where we can learn to be with our wounds without wanting to inflict wounds on others.

I find poems very healing, especially in difficult moments. May you find some comfort in ‘The Peace of Wild Things’ By Wendell Berry:

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

You can listen to the poem in Wendell Berry’s voice on The Peace of Wild Things | The On Being Project

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Solar Power and birthdays

sunflower

I have believed for a while that there is an opening for something significant to come through on birthdays. At a recent Reiki Share on a full moon, one of the Reiki students mentioned it was her birthday. I realised that it was also my brother-in-law’s birthday. Another person in the circle mentioned it was her sister’s birthday the day before. As you can imagine there was a lot of birthday energy in the circle :)

During the circle it dawned on me that it wasn’t just any full moon, it was full moon in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac. It was the beginning of a new lunar cycle, it felt like a cosmic birthday for all of us!

The next morning I woke up with gratitude in my heart – gratitude for simple things that I take for granted; like the bed, my home, for waking to a new day, the dawn – yes I woke up early! And then it dawned on me that Sun is the source of our power. Each morning, we have an opportunity to receive a boost of power from the Sun. Perhaps it is part of our life purpose to receive this power from the Sun consciously; to know that it is available unconditionally and abundantly; to trust this power is serving our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of all our loved ones. As Reiki precepts remind us, perhaps this is part of how we  -Earn our living honestly.

Today I cannot help wondering – what if we can welcome each dawn, each morning with gratitude – gratitude for the boost of solar power, the connection with the spark of creation, the opportunity to awaken to something new, to open our perception to see the blessings all around each one of us. As one of my meditation teacher Dr. Lorin Roche says in his book ‘Radiant Sutras’ –  “Instinctive Meditation can help open perception in a way that creates joy at being alive, at even the simplest things in life, and this deep appreciation tunes the body so it can produce soma, the intrinsic chemistry of delight” – what we know as the chemistry of endorphins.

My wish on this cosmic lunar birthday is for all of us to receive the solar power that is needed for the next annual cycle and feel empowered to use it with love for the highest good of all.

Deep gratitude for Reiki, Instinctive Meditation, Astrology, all my teachers, everything and everyone that has helped me reach this point in life and especially to the people present at the Reiki Share.

Reiki Master Rick Bockner’s 75th Birthday celebration

Reiki Master Rick Bockner

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Please join us for an online celebration of Reiki Master Rick Bockner’s 75th Birthday. We will be together in Reiki, share memories of our time with Rick and listen to some of his music.

Date: Friday September 15th, 2023
Time: 5 pm to 6:30 pm UK time, BST; 9 am PST; 6 pm CEST

Rick’s birthday is actually on the 19th, but he is having a triple bypass heart operation on the 18th of September. As you can imagine, there is a lot going on for Rick at this time. So I am inviting you on the 15th to help create a healing wave of love so that Rick goes for the operation on the 18th feeling loved and supported by the Reiki community.  Rick says that he will be able to join us on the 15th. Here is what he said when I proposed organising this celebration – ‘The online birthday party sounds wonderful. I will be there if I can. It is nice to know that you are all there with me. Much Love to all my friends there‘.

If he is not able to join us for some reason, he will have the recording of the celebration. I am hoping that he will be able to listen to it while recuperating and feel the love.

If you would like to support Rick, he has asked for distant Reiki, you can send him Reiki before the 18th or from the 19th September. Rick says – ‘I do not want Reiki on the 18th so as not to interfere with the anaesthetic. I have seen this happen, and it is not what I want. But after that- bring it on.

You can also support Rick financially by contributing to the Fundraiser set up by Rick’s daughter Amy. This is to support Rick through the three months that he would be unable to work. He will have a lot of medical and other extraordinary expenses. There are so many of us in the Reiki community who love Rick dearly, let’s get together and as Amy says – ‘let’s take the financial stress off Rick so that he can relax fully into healing’.

Rick sends us his heartfelt appreciation.

Please remember to register to receive the zoom link.

You can check the time of the event for your time zone here.

For those who may not know Rick – Rick Bockner is the 22nd Reiki Master initiated by Mrs Hawayo Takata. As well as being a Reiki Master, Rick is a well-known musician and recording artist. If you would like a flavour of Rick’s gift of storytelling and music, you can listen to the Radio Talk Show that Phyllis Lei Furumoto did with Rick. You will have to scroll down the page to find the episode of Nov 27, 2008 where Rick shares one of my favourite songs – Fragments of Perfection. The song is right at the end.

As the lyrics say – ‘Come sit by me and celebrate our fragment of perfection’.

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Forest bathing and Komorebi

Have you heard of forest bathing? Have you ever wondered why its called forest bathing!

I was in Epping forest recently with my husband. As we walked I started noticing patterns on the tree trunks made by the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

holly leaves shadow

I remembered the Japanese word Komorebi. A very rough translation could be ko – it can mean light it is also the kanji for a tree – 木. More can mean to leak out, filter or come through.  And bi,  日 is the kanji for day or sunlight. Bringing it all together, can help us arrive at the common rough translation of komorebi: “sunlight shining through the trees”.

After a while we sat on a fallen tree trunk for some rest and refreshment. We were surrounded by many trees. I could recognise holly, beech, oak and hornbeam.

light shadow on tree trunk

With a gentle breeze, the patterns of light started to move. All of a sudden I could see light dancing on the tree trunks. There was no water around. But it felt as if I was in a deep pool of water, surrounded by ripples. The elements of light and air had come together to help create the feeling of being in water on Earth. In that moment I felt I could start to understand the term forest bathing, the Japanese practice Shin Rin Yoku. I felt that this ripple effect must be happening in my body too but I could not see it in myself. The trees were helping me to see it, they were showing it to me. It was easier to see it on the trees. I had not experienced the dance of light and shade like this before. It felt magical.

I wanted to share this numinous experience with the help of a Mary Oliver poem, and then I found two:

How I go to the wood

Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single
friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore
unsuitable.
I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
praying, as you no doubt have yours.
Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.
If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
you very much.”

~ from “Praying,”

…Just pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

My doorway into thanks for Reiki and the innumerable ways it has enriched my life. For inspiring deep appreciation of other Japanese practices like Forest bathing – also called Shin Rin Yoku; Zen brushwork, also called – Hitsuzendo.  I feel thankful for the Reiki principles – the spiritual teachings of Reiki, especially for ‘Show gratitude to every living thing’, inspiring a deep appreciation of nature. I feel thankful for all my teachers.

I feel thankful to my husband for accompanying me on walks and letting me dawdle and pray as if I was by myself. And finally here is a video of the light dancing and rippling through the trees.

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Inner intelligence and healing

pebbles beach

What is your first thought when you accidentally bump against something and hurt yourself?

Mine often is telling myself off for not paying attention, for not being careful or present, wishing it had not happened, wishing for the pain to go away and soon…

Today as I bumped against a door handle and felt pain, a thought flashed – what if my body wants me to bring attention to the inner intelligence to heal in this moment! It felt as if I was being given this invaluable gift of bringing attention to the inner intelligence of the body and I had been wishing the experience away! I felt grateful for being able to choose what I give attention to in such moments for I know that what I give attention to – grows.

If you have learnt Reiki already, the art of healing, next time you are giving yourself a Reiki treatment by simply letting your hands rest on your body, you could play with letting your attention rest on the intelligence of the body to heal itself.

If you would like to learn Reiki, you are welcome to contact me. I teach Reiki in-person, mainly in North London, Islington, Highbury. But I am happy to travel if you would like to invite me.

I learnt Reiki in 2001. I continue to be amazed by this practice. The simplicity of it and yet how powerful the benefits can be for oneself and our loved ones. At times, I still can’t believe how fortunate I am/we are to be blessed with Reiki.

Spiky Holly leaves and relationships

Have you ever wondered why not all Holly leaves are spiky! I was delighted to learn from a conservation officer at a local nature reserve recently, that the spikes appear when the tree has been nibbled at.

I had an aha moment when I heard this! So the spikes develop for protection and are part of survival strategy. It felt good to learn something positive about spikes. This made me wonder about us, human beings, about when spikes show up in relationships. I felt if only I can remember in such moments that spikes developed for self protection, and hold both of us with compassion, life and relationships would be much easier.

I am also remembering the Holly Bach essence. Dr. Bach said that Holly is one of the most important remedy – ‘Holly protects us from everything that is not Universal Love’. Apparently Holly can give us strength to bear vexations of life with understanding and tolerance.

If you have a holly bush/tree nearby, do spend few moments near it and stay for a few breaths. Or you may have Holly bach flower essence. You can put two drops of the Holly essence in a bottle or glass of water and sip this water a few times during the day.

As Reiki students, we can also use our Reiki practice to help connect with the heart, placing hands on the heart and self treating, trusting Reiki can help us connect with the Source and Holly comes from the same Source. Reiki also connects us with Universal Love. I used second degree Reiki today for a treatment to heal and reconcile with the spikes in my being.

It is interesting to view this today through the lens of astrology, while the Sun is in the sign of Leo – the body part for the sign of Leo is the heart. And the date today is 8/8! Some people believe there is an energetic portal open on the 8th day of the 8th month that is healing for the heart. It is called Lionsgate portal.

Nature is indeed a wonderful teacher and healer. This healing is of course not limited just to this day, it can be done anytime.

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Community and innate intelligence

What is community? Why do we long for community? Why do we long to find our own tribe, to be with like-minded people where we feel we belong?

The community is not just outside us, it is inside us too. All the cells in our body constitute our inner community. This inner community is nourished by the air breathed out by all the green living things, created with the help of the Sun, moon, oceans and a whole lot more.

This inner community is a super-intelligent powerhouse of transformation. It transforms oxygen received through inhalation, to carbon-di-oxide. And releases it through exhalation to the community of all living things that need it.

To think this intelligence(technology) is built into all living things feels awe inspiring. This innate, natural intelligence is serving us all the time. One of the nicest things is that this intelligence keeps evolving and it helps us continue to evolve as living beings.

Today I feel grateful for this innate intelligence. I feel grateful to all living things that help me breathe and live. As I receive life, I give life. Simply through breathing, through being alive, ‘I Show gratitude to all living things’, I help perpetuate life.

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Birthday Reiki

For a few years now, I have felt that receiving healing around one’s birthday can be especially powerful. I love Reiki. I like to receive a Reiki session regularly, more especially near my birthday.

I immersed myself in Reiki and Calligraphy for four days this year, just after my birthday. It was a birthday present for myself. Something has shifted for me to receive insights through brushing symbols.

Recently I have been treating some clients near their birthday.  I brushed this enzo, Zen circle, at the beginning of this year. Looking at it with a Reiki client recently helped shine some light of awareness on this insight. I feel that around a birthday, as the current cycle is ending, and a new one is beginning, there is an energetic opening. Through this opening we are being given help to prepare for the next year, the next journey around the Sun.

Through this opening, it seems easier to release what is ripe and ready to be let go off, with grace and ease, perhaps even effortlessly, just like a ripe fruit falling off the branch of a tree. As we release what is no longer needed, there is more space for the new that needs to come through.  Receiving a healing session near a birthday can be a symbolic Yes to the Universe – Yes I am ready to receive what needs to come through me, that is unique to me, and can only come through me. Perhaps each one of us is holding a unique piece of the jigsaw of life!

If this resonates with you, do find a practitioner near you to receive a healing session. Trust your instinct to guide you to the healing modality and practitioner that you need, and whether to go before and/or after your birthday. I am passionate about Reiki and would recommend Reiki.

If you are in or near London, you can contact me to book a Reiki treatment in-person. It is good to learn Reiki anytime. It may be even more deeply healing to learn Reiki near your birthday.

If you are not in or near London, it is possible to receive a remote Reiki treatment from me. I love being part of birthday healing.

Do some healing around your birthday. You may receive a wonderful cosmic gift!