Reiki rings a bell for Arizona hospital volunteer

Congratulations to this week's Celeb-Reiki, Reiki Master Teacher Mega R. Mease of Tucson, Arizona, this week's winner of a Ben's Bell award in recognition of her volunteer Reiki program at University Medical Center.

"Mega started a group of volunteers that perform reiki on our patients, families and staff. It reduces the anxiety in our patients and the stress level in our staff. She always has a smile and kind words for everyone. The service they provide is invaluable," wrote one of the two nurses who nominated Mease for the award.

The other nominating nurse wrote that with Reiki, "People are able to relax and find inner peace despite the chaos going on around them or in their bodies. What a valuable service to offer people in the hospital during their time of need. You can't get much kinder than that."

We also commend Mega for inspiring those nurses to write such clear and succinct endorsements for Reiki in hospitals!

The Ben's Bells project, established in 2003 to honor the memory of a family's young son, recognizes and encourages intentional acts of kindness. More than 13,000 "bellees," most of them in the Tucson area, have received bells so far.