The Reiki Digest for December 6, 2006: Brought to you by...

Welcome to the first annual Holiday Shopping Issue of The Reiki Digest, brought to you by our very first sponsor, Dancing Light Candles of New York City.

As you know, The Reiki Digest is a free, advertising-supported publication, and we thank you for patronizing our advertisers. This special issue puts the spotlight on some of the products and services available here, along with personal reviews and recommendations, just in case you might be buying gifts (or a little something for yourself) this time of year.

There's a level above advertiser, however, and that is a sponsor: an advertiser who not only places an ad but makes a special offer to our readers. A sponsor also gets my personal endorsement. Ads can be bought, but my endorsement can't.

Why would Dancing Light Candles choose to sponsor The Reiki Digest? It's simple: Dancing Light Candles contain an extra ingredient: Reiki. So our readers are more likely to understand the value of that ingredient.

How does the Reiki get into the candles? I asked Dancing Light Candles founder, Reiki Master Jean Bromage, to explain:

When I started incorporating Reiki into my candle making process, something completely shifted for me. I was finding myself more focused and grounded when I made the candles, and the energy was opening me up to both my spiritual and my creative self making my craft that much more playful. This process became even more enjoyable during the year I was doing the Reiki Master program because I found myself reconnecting with my magical child that can see the endless possibilities. The tools I gained as a Reiki Master helped me to channel my intentions and the Reiki energy more deeply into the candles. Each day as I prepare to make a new batch, I call in the Reiki and ask for it to bring to my work area a deep sense of joy, love and abundance. As I feel the energy come through me, I know something very special is taking place. While I don’t necessarily know who will end up with each candle as I make it, it is this sense of the sacred in everyday life that is being translated into each candle connecting both me and the customers to the joy and abundance that spirit offers us.

Candles have a long history and have been used throughout the ages for both religious and secular purposes. They open our environment up to something that is soothing and healing and can connect us with our inner selves. Light and color are very therapeutic and so it only made sense to me that I should channel the healing light of Reiki into my candles. Each night, before placing it in the melter, I bathe the candle wax in Reiki energy. As I add the colors and the scent to the melted wax the next day, I channel more Reiki through my third eye before pouring the mixture into the molds. It is at this moment of blending everything together that I will receive a sense of what symbols, shapes and colored light spirit is asking me to add. As I continue to stir and blend everything together, I often times enjoy a beautiful visual in my mind. For instance, as I blended the mixture for my sugar cookie candles the other day, I had a beautiful vision of Saint Nicholas sitting at a kitchen table and enjoying a plate of cookies with a cold glass of milk. The little girl inside of me giggled with glee and said, “Yes, that is what the smell of sugar cookies should bring to mind.”

So, as my Dancing Light Candles are sent on their sometimes long journeys all over the world, they are not only being wrapped in tissue paper, boxes and ribbon, but also in a layer of Reiki energy blessing them and protecting them so they make it to their intended destinations. While it is nice to think of them traveling by a magical sleigh ride and being delivered through a beautiful fireplace instead of going by trains, planes and automobiles, I know that there will still be a great sense of magic once they are opened and glowing in someone’s home.

I've known Jean and her products for about a year now and received a couple of very nice table sessions from her as well, so I can personally attest to both her Reiki and candlemaking skills. Since I'm not familiar with candlemaking myself, I asked her what makes Dancing Light Candles special. Her reply:

The pillars and votives are made with a highly refined paraffin wax that burns evenly and doesn't smoke.

The pillars burn straight down and rarely drip unless burned for more than 4 hours.

The fragrances in the pillar and votive candles last the life of the candle and can be enjoyed without overpowering the senses.

The colors used create a beautiful glow, making them much more visually enjoyable than the competition.

The aromatherapy jar candles are made with soy wax and all natural essential oils making them all natural.

The jars come in a beautiful bulb shaped jar that gives them a classic look.

All the candles are made with cotton wicks and are therefore lead free.

Of course, the Reiki energy is the biggest draw for the candles. For those who are "feelers", they can often times feel the energy of the candle when they walk into a room where a DL candle is burning. I'm included in that group. When I have my candles burning, I'll leave the room and come back only to feel the Reiki energy come over me. It's different from feeling the warmth of the candle flames. Its the same feeling I get when I call in the Reiki energy.

Dancing Light Candles is offering Reiki Digest readers 10% off through January 31 for online purchases. Use coupon code RD 123 at checkout.

If you're interested in advertising on The Reiki Digest, or even better, becoming a sponsor, please contact me at janet@healingmovement.com or call my office at 201.653.7700, ext. 6.

How about some sparkly crystals to go with that flickering candle? When O Books sent us a copy of Crystal Prescriptions: The A-Z Guide to Over 1,200 Symptoms and Their Healing Crystals for review, I asked Reiki Master Teacher and Crystal Healing Practitioner Margaret Ann Case, proprietor of, among other things, Earthsong Crystal Healing in New York, to look it over. Here is her review, along with a link to the book:




Crystal Prescriptions – The A-Z Guide to Over 1,200 Symptoms and Their Healing Crystals, by Judy Hall, is a welcome addition to any crystal healing library. Ms. Hall’s gift for succinct writing imparts a great deal of information in few words. This is helpful with a topic as esoteric as crystal healing, and a welcome relief from the overly-personal style of many books on this topic, or from ones that list so many properties and uses for each stone that distinctions blur. Ms. Hall’s straight-forward approach makes it easy to determine what stone to use for what purpose, and the information is organized in a clear and easily accessible format.

Part I of the book is a very basic overview of crystals and their use that includes a brief Q&A, some history and background on stones and crystal healing, and how to choose a stone. There is also basic information on the chakras, uses and placements of stones for personal healing, as well as how to make crystal remedies, and how to determine which stone(s) to select for a particular challenge or concern. Part II is a list of 1,200 “symptoms,” which is extremely thorough and obviously based on extensive knowledge, experience, and research.

Although Ms. Hall states at the beginning that the book is a self-help guide for personal use only, and is not a course in crystal healing, greater emphasis and reminders from Ms. Hall on this point is needed throughout the book. It is too easy for people to read a book of this nature and start working on others without a grounded training and the wisdom of experience.

Additionally, a word of caution is needed regarding the terminology used in the book such as “prescription”, “symptoms”, and statements that claim “healing” with crystals and their “important role in preventing disease.” In the United States, usage of these terms and statements, along with the inferred ability to diagnose, is the legal privilege of members of the medical profession and should not be used by any other type of practitioner.

Nonetheless, Crystal Prescriptionsis an invaluable resource for the interested general reader and for the experienced crystal healing arts practitioner. It is a perfect companion to her book, The Crystal Bible: A Definitive Guide to Crystals, and the two together form an excellent reference set on the properties and uses of stones, crystals and gems.

(Reviewed by Reiki Master and Crystal Healing Practitioner Margaret Ann Case of Reiki Arts Continuum.)

Thanks, Margaret Ann.

I'm not the expert that Margaret Ann is, but I love working with crystals and am learning more about them. I often enhance Reiki sessions not only with crystals, but aromatherapy, using only the highest quality therapeutic grade essential oils: Young Living. I even have a little online shoppe where you can buy them..

Life can get a bit frantic this time of year, but a daily meditation practice can help. Check out this simple meditation bench from Gaiam:

Thai Meditation Platform





Or maybe you'd prefer Qigong or T'ai Chi:
:



Finally, an offer of my own this holiday season. Reiki Digest readers can get 10% off any Reiki or Thai Yoga session from me through December 30th at Hudson Healing Arts in Hoboken, New Jersey, or Reiki sessions at my New York office. And if you've read this far, you get a reward: that same 10% off on any gift certificate. Just call my office at 201.653.7700, ext 6. If you're the first to call, you get an extra bonus: a free 15-minute energy balancing with hematite added to any Reiki session or Thai massage. By the way, my office hours are now more flexible in both Hoboken and New York.

Thanks, and whatever holidays you celebrate this time of year, I hope they are filled with love, light, and of course, Reiki.