Happy holiday!

Whether you're celebrating this day as Halloween, Samhain, or in some other way, we hope you enjoy the festivities! We're taking the rest of the day off, so look for this week's edition of The Reiki Digest here and in your inbox by Monday.

The Celeb-Reiki Report

It may seem silly to even suggest that the tabloid gossips have stepped over the line in their dogged pursuit of certain celebrities. Of course they do -- that's their job. But we can't help thinking that those who are criticizing this week's Celeb-Reiki, Jennifer Aniston for spending money on the care of her ailing dog Norman. Far beyond Hollywood, from Ireland to India to China, in Polish, Spanish, Japanese and German -- just to mention a few of the reports we've seen -- tongues are wagging about the $250 the actress reportedly spends each week on Reiki, massage, and acupuncture for 14-year-old Norman. Hey -- he's 112 in dog years, he's ailing, she loves him and can easily afford the treatments. So what's the big deal?

Calendar glitch

We have a slight glitch with our Reiki Events Calendar -- all the times are supposed to be local, but for some reason the only time zone it recognizes is Greenwich Mean Time. So if it appears that an event is scheduled for 2 a.m. or some other odd hour, please read the listings more closely to find the correct local time. We hope to have the problem solved soon. Meanwhile, please include the event time near the beginning of your listings.

To become eligible to list your Reiki circles, clinics, classes, and other events, send an email to editor @ thereikidigest.com with your name, address, telephone number, and email address for our files. You can choose the contact information that goes into your listings.

Submissions wanted for the Carnival of Healing

Time to fire up the old calliope once more and spin some cyber cotton candy: Next Saturday the Carnival of Healing will pitch its virtual tents once again here at The Reiki Digest, and that means we're inviting our readers to join the fun by submitting a post from your web site or blog to the Carnival.

The Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of blogs across the Internet featuring information about healing, self empowerment, and spirituality, coordinated by Phylameana lila Desy, About.com's guide to Holistic Healing. It travels constantly through cyberspace, landing at a different blog each week.

Click here to submit a post.

Participating in the Carnival is a great way to draw new readers to your web site, make yourself more visible online, and find other natural healing practitioners you might never have encountered otherwise.

To get a better idea of what the Carnival is all about, check out this week's special Halloween edition at Therapeutic Reiki.

The weekly waka

A shiny jawbone,
with six smooth teeth still attached -
the weather’s turning
- I put it in my pocket,
a heron rose in silence

(By Beth Lowell)

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

This week's specials

Many thanks to this week's featured advertiser, Gaiam.com, for their support of this publication.

Gaiam.com is the leading source for natural living products on the web. There are many, many things we like about Gaiam: great eco-friendly products, efficient and friendly service, the easy-to-use web site, and especially the philosophy behind the company. Here's how they put it: "At Gaiam, we believe that all of the Earth's living matter, air, oceans and land form an interconnected system that can be seen as a single entity." Reiki practitioners everywhere are familiar with that concept.

Speaking of interconnected systems, Gaiam and other advertisers help make it possible for us to bring you The Reiki Digest free of charge each week -- and they offer some great specials for our readers. You can keep the energy flowing by taking advantage of those specials and shopping with our advertisers. Thanks for your support!

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, Gaiam is offering shipping for only 99 cents through December 9:

And through November 11, you can get $20 off a purchase of $100 or more:

Gaiam's interconnected system includes the Gaiam Yoga Club, which brings acclaimed teachers Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman into your home via online classes to help you create and maintain your own home yoga practice. And if you click below, you can get a free trial to decide if it's right for you:

But that's just the beginning of the learning opportunities Gaiam offers. There's also Gaia Illumination University, offering more than 75 transformational online self-paced classes:

Then there's Gaiam's Earth Cinema Circle, a DVD club with an earth-friendly difference:



Gaiam also has an "As seen on TV" division, offering such fitness products as The Firm and The Wave:





Many thanks to Gaiam, and to our readers!

Recommended listening: Reiki at a medical conference

Several months ago, I had the privilege of attending a presentation on Reiki by Pamela Miles (author of Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide) and Dr. James Dillard at the Integrative Heathcare Symposium in New York. I wish all our readers could have been there to hear the presentation, too, and in order to share the experience with you, I wrote an article about it back in April that has since become one of our all-time most popular posts.

Now, Pamela has made arrangements with the symposium organizers to make a recording of that presentation available free online. Previously, this recording was only available as a CD for $15, and as one who bought it, I feel that money was well-spent. How wonderful that the recording is now free to anyone who wants to hear it. I recommend it to all Reiki practitioners, especially those who practice (or would like to practice) in a medical environment.

Click here to find out more and listen to the presentation.

Keep in mind that this is a presentation not to Reiki practitioners about medicine, but to doctors, nurses, chiropractors, and other medical professionals about Reiki.

Many Reiki practitioners have also taken Pamela's Medical Reiki training in New York, Baltimore, and other locations. Now she is now working on a plan to make that training available online as a distance learning course for Reiki practitioners everywhere. For more information, visit her Reiki in Medicine web site and click on "Contact Pamela."

What a great gift to the global Reiki community!

Reiki Update Training: At your convenience, and for any level

By popular demand, we are expanding our Reiki Update Training classes!

The first class sold out, and our mailbox is filling with registrations for the second round of training beginning Nov. 3.

Meanwhile, we'll be offering a separate Reiki Update Training program for Level 1 practitioners as well. The first Level 1 Reiki Update Training class will begin January 10, 2010.

Students in both levels of training can participate at their convenience, with five hours of class recordings and a private class web site for assignments, discussion, and resources.

Both levels include a final exam. If you pass it, you'll be eligible for referrals from The Reiki Digest and The Reiki Dojo, as well as listing in our forthcoming directory. And you'll get a certificate of updated training to attest to your achievement and demonstrate that you've met standards over and above your original certification.

Why update your Reiki training?

If you were trained back in the 20th Century, or studied with a teacher who was, it's likely that some of what you learned has since been supplanted by more recently discovered information. Were you taught that Reiki founder Mikao Usui was a Christian medical doctor and university president? It turns out that wasn't the case after all. Or did you learn that Reiki was an ancient Tibetan Buddhist technique that Usui "rediscovered"? That, too, is misinformation (for one thing, Tibetan Buddhism isn't ancient).

Updating your training will also help you better represent Reiki to your clients, students, and community.

In this class, you'll learn:

* The documented history of Reiki
* The truth about the most common Reiki myths
* How to find credible information
* How to keep yourself informed on further developments
* Highlights of the latest Reiki medical research
* Traditional Reiki meditation techniques
* How to get the most out of your personal practice

. . . and much more.

You'll learn ways to breathe new life into your personal Reiki self-care practice, and you'll find out what makes a person a Reiki practitioner (hint: it's not the certificate).

The class is taught by multi-certified Reiki Master Teacher Janet Dagley Dagley, editor of The Reiki Digest and founder of The Reiki Dojo.

The Reiki Update Training is open to all Reiki lineages. We will need to see a copy of your certificate to enroll you.

Only $65

Click here to download the registration form

For more information, email editor @ thereikidigest.com or call 917-512-1330 or
toll-free (in the USA): (888) 316-5853.

Our census continues

How many Reiki practitioners are there in the world? That's what we'd like to know! That's why we're asking all of you to stand up and be counted in our Global Reiki Census. So far we have hundreds, but we know we've only begun to count. Click here to enter your information and be counted today. And don't worry, you can choose not to share your information publicly if you prefer.

The Celeb-Reiki Report: The Reikettes

The famous Rockettes won't begin their annual performances in New York City until mid-November, but the precision dancing-and-singing troupe is not really our focus here anyway.

We're more interested in the Reikettes, who'll be performing in New York on Sunday, November 1, at Sweet Blazing Grace, the annual yoga healing benefit for the Institute for the Advancement of Complementary Therapies (I*ACT). The Reikettes won't be singing or dancing, however. They'll be performing Reiki on each participant as the calming conclusion to an all-level Anusara yoga class accompanied by live music. We hope all involved get a kick out of the experience, and we're happy to dub the Reikettes this week's Celeb-Reikies.

Reiki Events Calendar: it's free, but do-it-yourself

Our Reiki Events Calendar is getting livelier with a growing number of listings, and we're hoping more teachers and practitioners will join in to make it the most comprehensive Reiki Events Calendar in the world.

To become eligible to list your Reiki circles, clinics, classes, and other events, send an email to editor @ thereikidigest.com with your name, address, telephone number, and email address for our files. You can choose the contact information that goes into your listings.

And remember: we can authorize you to add listings to the calendar, but while it's a free service, the calendar is strictly do-it-yourself. Please don't send us your events listings by email -- we don't have any staff to post them for you.

Also keep in mind that no qualitative statements (such as: "This is a great Reiki Circle" or "This is the most authentic Reiki lineage") are allowed in listings. Save those for your own web site, and link to it in the listing.

Thanks for your help!

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Jonn Serrie

If your client needs a stronger connection to heavenly energy, if you feel like reaching for the stars, or if it's just a matter of needing a little space, may we suggest the universally popular sounds of Jonn Serrie, who has composed music for such diverse clients as NASA, the U.S. Navy, the Hayden Planetarium and Lucasfilm, not to mention jamming with Native American elders, among many other adventures. Just click on the button to give it a listen!

Many thanks to iTunes for being a sponsor of The Reiki Digest, and many thanks to our readers as well. We get a small percentage of the proceeds from the music you purchase by clicking on our links.

The weekly waka

Autumn

Colours of autumn:
The trees still shine red and gold,
Despite the greyness
Of the clouds and all the rain
Glowing, warm and comforting.

(By Colin Powell)

Click here to read some of Colin's other waka.

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

This week's specials

Many thanks to our advertisers for helping make this free publication possible, and many thanks to our readers for patronizing our advertisers. Thanks for keeping the energy flowing!

This week's special offers:

The Usui Method of Dog Training

By Beth Lowell

There’s no place quite like the woods for quiet reflection. I’ve been spending several hours a day there over the past couple of weeks, walking for miles along the deserted trails with my dogs. I’ve been thinking about a lot of things since Nicole the dog trainer came to see us (see Beth's October 3 article, Walking Meditation).

The fact that her advice boiled down to little more than following the precepts was an eye opener. I started to discover more and more ways in which her dog training methods dovetailed with the practice of Reiki. For one, not concentrating so much on outcomes helped me to enjoy being in the moment with my dogs, whether we were making progress or not, which in turn, helped them start to blossom.

But one of the things Nicole told me to do challenged some of my deepest convictions about dog training. Getting my dogs to walk with me when they refused called for a bit of tough love, which came in the form of coercion. My dogs were not going to get over their fear if they didn’t face whatever it was that was scaring them. If they were unwilling to venture past their comfort zone on their own, I had to make them do it. The theory was that in the process, they would learn that there was really nothing to fear at all.

This conflicted directly with the school of thought I followed that says the best and most humane way to teach dogs and other animals is using positive reinforcement to help them make decisions on their own. Although this method had obviously not been 100% effective for me, I still clung to the belief that there simply was no other option.

I’ve been practicing Reiki for a while, and over time I’ve come to see how certain things have changed through a process so gradual that it has been practically imperceptible, until the day arrives when I notice that things are different than they used to be. Despite my resolve in sticking to my method of training, I had prepared myself to keep an open mind when I met Nicole. After all, I didn’t have to do anything she said if I didn’t agree with it.

The level of coercion involved turned out to be far less traumatic than I’d come to expect based on past experiences with trainers who used punishment to train dogs. It required about the same amount of pressure that a parent might use in insisting that their shy child board the bus alone on that first scary day of school. And like the children who soon adapt to getting on the bus and learn that it can actually be fun, my dogs started to learn that they, too, would survive and could actually enjoy themselves. I could see their hesitation lessen and their willingness to strike out on their own in new directions increase. This result turned any notion about what I thought was right and wrong in dog training on its ear.

It was both a humbling and a frightening experience that created an immediate shift within me as opposed to the more gentle ones that had taken place quietly over time. It wasn’t pleasant to learn how closed minded I’d become despite my best intentions. By thinking that there could be only one way of training, the one that I knew, I had unwittingly eliminated the possibility for something else to exist that might be just as useful, or more so.

I also recognized that despite practicing the precepts (or attempting to) that it’s possible to have an Achilles heel, or two. Life can’t really be separated into different compartments where different rules apply. I think sometimes it’s easy to do this without realizing it. The precepts are useful in every aspect of life, just as I learned, from of all people, a dog trainer.

Since then, I’ve given myself a good dose of compassion and decided to move ahead rather than continuing to blame myself for not seeing so clearly what now seems like little more than common sense. Despite the painful lesson, I’m celebrating how something as unlikely as dog training could come together so perfectly with Reiki to give me exactly what I needed (and much more than I expected) at just the right moment.

New Jersey-based Reiki Master Teacher Beth Lowell works with animals and Reiki, and is a frequent contributor to The Reiki Digest.

Share your Reiki story with our global Reiki community! Just email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.

We're now available in 50 languages!

The Reiki Digest is now available in 50 languages, thanks to Google Translate. Just look for the handy Translate widget on our web site, in the left-hand column right under our masthead Japanese garden photo.

This new feature gives us yet another reason to express our gratitude to Google, whose vast empire hosts our web site via Blogger, provides our hard-working ace reporter Google News, supports us financially via Google Adsense, gives us our email via Gmail and phone service via Google Voice, our calendar via Google Calendar and our census via Google Docs. Thanks, Google!

NEW: Update your Reiki training at your convenience

By popular demand, we're changing the format of our Reiki Update Training Class. Beginning November 3, all students will be able to participate in the class on their own schedules. Instead of weekly evening teleclasses, the new training format will feature five hours of recorded classes as well as other resources and discussions on our private class web site.

Our first Reiki Update Training Class sold out quickly, and the students are now busy with their final exam. With our new format, students can join anytime and work at their own pace, so there will be no more sold out classes.

We're offering the Reiki Update Training to all Reiki practitioners who've completed Level 2 or above. And at the end of the class, there's an exam. If you pass it, you'll be eligible for referrals from The Reiki Digest and The Reiki Dojo, as well as listing in our forthcoming directory. And you'll get a certificate of updated training to attest to your achievement and demonstrate that you've met standards over and above your original certification.

Why update your Reiki training?

If you were trained back in the 20th Century, or studied with a teacher who was, it's likely that some of what you learned has since been supplanted by more recently discovered information. Were you taught that Reiki founder Mikao Usui was a Christian medical doctor and university president? It turns out that wasn't the case after all. Or did you learn that Reiki was an ancient Tibetan Buddhist technique that Usui "rediscovered"? That, too, is misinformation (for one thing, Tibetan Buddhism isn't ancient).

Updating your training will also help you better represent Reiki to your clients, students, and community.

In this class, you'll learn:

* The documented history of Reiki
* The truth about the most common Reiki myths
* How to find credible information
* How to keep yourself informed on further developments
* Highlights of the latest Reiki medical research
* Traditional Reiki meditation techniques
* How to get the most out of your personal practice

. . . and much more.

You'll learn ways to bring new life into your personal Reiki self-care practice, and you'll find out what makes a person a Reiki practitioner (hint: it's not the certificate).

The class is taught by multi-certified Reiki Master Teacher Janet Dagley Dagley, editor of The Reiki Digest and founder of The Reiki Dojo in New York City.

The Reiki Update Training teleclass is open to Level 2 and above in all lineages. We will need to see a copy of your certificate to enroll you.

Only $65

Click here to download the registration form

For more information, email editor @ thereikidigest.com or call 917-512-1330 or
toll-free (in the USA): (888) 316-5853.

Calling all Reiki practitioners: List your events in our Reiki Calendar, and yourself in our census

Our two biggest Reiki projects keep getting bigger every week!

Nearly 400 Reiki practitioners have submitted their information for our Global Reiki Census so far. But we KNOW those are just a small minority of the world's Reiki practitioners, so if you haven't been counted yet, click here to fill out our Global Reiki Census form. And many thanks to all those who've stood up to be counted!

Some of the most interesting statistics so far:

57% of practitioners in the census are Reiki Master Teachers

82% are female

31% are between the ages of 35 and 49

3% are over age 75

14% practice Reiki professionally full time

53% practice Reiki professionally part time

Meanwhile, more and more events have been listed in our free Reiki Events Calendar, and the number of practitioners authorized to add their events to the calendar continues to grow. The calendar is free, self-service, and open to Reiki practitioners of all lineages and styles anywhere in the world.

To become eligible to list your Reiki circles, clinics, classes, and other events, send an email to editor @ thereikidigest.com with your name, address, telephone number, and email address for our files, but you can choose the contact information that goes into your listings.

Click here to see all the events currently listed.

Celeb-Reiki radio host gets boot in Minnesota

Veteran Minneapolis/St.Paul radio host (and Reiki aficionado) Kevyn Burger, who documented her successful battle against breast cancer on the air, is looking for new opportunities after she was abruptly dropped by radio station 107.1 FM this week. The station manager said Burger, who had been with the station since 2002, is a "great, professional broadcaster" but her skills and experience "no longer fit" now that the station is emphasizing celebrity gossip and pop culture. Burger may not be a radio host at the moment, but she's still a Celeb-Reiki.

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Kitaro

This week's featured artist is Japanese healing music pioneer Kitaro. Click on the button to find out more. Thanks to iTunes for being a sponsor of The Reiki Digest! Remember, every purchase you make at iTunes by clicking on our links helps support this publication. (And you can listen to samples for free.)

Rest in peace

Reiki practitioner Marge Fleming-Croston, 58, Kansas City, Missouri, September 15, 2009.

Reiki Master Teacher Margaret Marte Strode, Columbus, Ohio, September 16, 2009.

Reiki practitioner Abel Neely Hewitt III, 67, Seattle, Washington, September 18, 2009.

Reiki Master Carol Butler, 53, Ithaca, New York, September 23, 2009.

Reiki practitioner Vonda Jean Anspaugh, 65, Jackson, Michigan, October 3, 2009.

Click here to see all obituaries published in The Reiki Digest since 2006.

The weekly waka

Forge

The heart is the forge
In which we temper passion,
Purge impurities,
And steel our inner resolve
To return hatred with love.

(by budouadana)

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

This week's specials

This publication is available free, thanks to our advertisers. They not only support us, but every week they have some great special offers for our readers. When you shop online via the links in The Reiki Digest, you not only help keep this publication going, but you can take advantage of some great deals. Thanks -- to our advertisers, and our readers!

Blessed: A Reiki story

By Pam Sourelis

On June 10, two of my non-horsey friends came to the country to hang out with my horses and me. We had lunch in town, then drove out to the barn, a self-care arrangement I have on 20 acres about 10 minutes from where I live. My friends had been looking forward to this adventure for about a month, as had I. Being able to share the beauty and power of horses with others is one of the reasons I have horses in my life.

I brought my two inside—Fuersti and his sister Tara. I decided we would work with Fuersti because he is so solid and safe and because he enjoys interacting with people, a kind and patient teacher. We began by grooming him, then moved to the arena, where I showed my friends how to lead him and do very basic ground work (having him stop his feet when they stopped theirs, giving his hind quarters, and so on).

Then I asked one of the women if she would like to ride. (The other has knee problems, so I knew she would refuse.) My friend was a bit reluctant—my Fuersti is 16.2 or 3, a big-boned TB/warmblood cross—but I assured her that we’d done this many times, that I would lead her around, that it would be like a pony ride. She smiled and agreed.

I remember tacking Fuersti up—a saddle and a caveson with rope reins attached. But there my memory ends.

From what I was able to gather in the weeks that followed, mostly from the friend who was standing at the edge of the arena, when my other friend began to mount, she grabbed the saddle in such a way that it began to slip. I yelled for her to get off, but apparently she was unable to do so, and so I moved to her side of the horse, stood behind her, and tried to help.

What happened next would change my life. My Fuersti, apparently responding to pain (a friend who was caring for my horses told me days later that the muscles along his spine were very swollen) moved in a violent way that knocked my friend off the mounting block and into the sand, where she suffered skinned elbows and a few bruises.

The force, however, traveled through her and into me, sending me “flying” (in the words of my friends) 15 feet across the arena. My flight was stopped by the wall, which I hit with my back and my head. (I wasn’t wearing a helmet because I wasn’t riding.) I was knocked out cold. They say I came to before the paramedics arrived, but I don’t remember. They say I asked what had happened, asked about my animals. (I learned later that my sweet Fuersti had walked across the arena and put his head in the corner; he stood there for over an hour until a neighbor came home from work, and untacked, fed, and turned him back outside.) I remember coming to briefly as I was being lifted off the ground—I was in a helicopter, headed to a trauma center. But the next thing I clearly remember was waking up in the ICU (I thought it was that night, but it was the next night) with two of my former Reiki students, both accomplished third-level Reiki practitioners, standing over me and channeling Reiki to me. Despite what had happened, serenity enveloped the room.

I learned that I’d had surgery, had my spleen removed. (The surgeon later told me, laughing, that I cursed him out when he told me what he was going to do, but I don’t remember.) I also had five broken ribs, but somehow that information didn’t make its way to me.

I spent a week in the hospital, stayed until my insurance company (not my doctor) decided it was time to go. I’d been lying on my back for a week, my hands on my five-inch incision just about all the time, channeling Reiki, and everyone (except me) was stunned at how quickly my incision had healed. Just days after I got home, I could tell from the dull pain and itching that the muscles they’d cut in the surgery were already beginning to heal as well. Two months, they told me; the recovery would take two months. “Watch me,” I thought.

I came along amazingly well, in large part because of the healing I received from my Reiki dog, Elika. She attached herself to me for several weeks, always in physical contact, leaving my side only to eat or go for a walk (which she often protested having to do).

But after three weeks, my progress stopped and I quickly went downhill, ending up back in the hospital ( a different one), where they discovered the five broken ribs, three of which were now displaced, and a lung full of fluid. Six more days in the hospital.

You may wonder how any of this a blessing.

When I hit the wall, my spleen fractured inside its sack. I learned later that if the sack had ruptured, I could have bled to death in three minutes.

While recovering (a process I’m still engaged in), I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of people, my family and friends, of course, but also complete strangers. I learned of congregations praying for me, of friends of friends lighting candles for me. In the hospital the second time, I was told that my recovery process had been reset back to zero, that I could count on two months of pain from the broken ribs. Reiki, prayer, love—the pain subsided to a dull annoyance after 10 days at home.

I know—I teach—that a positive attitude reaps positive results. But I have never been so physically challenged before. The worse the pain was, the more I said aloud, “Thank you for my healthy, healed body.” I refused to own the pain, opted to own the health. The extent to which I did this was a new experience for me. And it worked. Each day, I leapt further into wellness. When I got scared, and I did, I didn’t muscle through it on my own; I called a friend, asked for and received comfort and assurance. I buried my face in my Elika’s fur. I sent Reiki to my sweet Fuersti, to heal his back, to let him know that all was well.

I received lessons in patience. Over the years, horses have challenged me with this lesson many times, but I was challenged anew. I wanted to work at my computer, but I could only sit for half an hour at a time and my eyes and head hurt because my optic nerves were swollen from the impact of head on wall. So I would work for a short while, then lay in my hospital bed in the living room and look out the patio door at the evergreens in the yard, at the rabbits and squirrels and birds, while I smelled the sweet air, stroked my sweet Elika and gave thanks that I could see at all, could feel, could smell, gave thanks that I was alive.

I received lessons in abundance. A healer and writer, I am self-employed and as the workless weeks went by, I started to fret. But I reminded myself of the Reiki principle, “Just for today I will let go of worry” and instead told the Divine One that I had faith in my full recovery. I gave thanks for the work that I knew was on the way. Ten minutes later, the phone began to ring.

I learned again that healing is all around us—in the voices of friends, in the sweet summer breeze, in the touch of my Elika’s soft fur, of her tongue on my face, in the sweet anticipation of being able to see and care for my beautiful horses again one day soon, of the healing visits from my healing partners, two-legged and four-legged, living and passed over.

I learned how amazingly fragile life is. How everything can change in an instant. We have precious little control. We can only live, float, in the present. I am here. I am surrounded by love and light and healing forces. I am blessed.

Reiki Master Teacher Pam Sourelis is a professional Reiki Energy Healer, Animal Communicator, and practitioner of Neuro-Muscular Retraining (movement re-education for animals) based in Woodstock, Illinois.

Dear Readers: Please share your own Reiki story with our global community. Send it by email to editor @ thereikidigest.com.

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.

The weekly waka

deep in the forest
brambles untangle themselves
into a clearing
where treetops form a circle
and the sky, an empty bowl

By Beth Lowell

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Anuvida & Nik Tyndall

This week's featured artists are Anuvida & Nik Tyndall. Click on the button to find out more. Thanks to iTunes for being a sponsor of The Reiki Digest! Remember, every purchase you make at iTunes by clicking on our links helps support this publication. (And you can listen to samples for free.)

This week's specials

Many thanks to our advertisers for their support of The Reiki Digest, and many thanks to our readers for supporting us by supporting them!

This week's edition. . .

Look for this week's edition here and in your inbox on Saturday.

Walking Meditation

By Beth Lowell

Nicole, the dog trainer, came the other week. I needed help solving a behavior problem one of my dogs was having. One of the first things Nicole mentioned on meeting us was that neither dog was getting enough walking. I knew that. Dasher at nine has developed an odd fear of sounds and smells that often prevents her from making it much past the front lawn. Bella, my little seven-year-old agoraphobic, had long ago established boundaries in the neighborhood that she would not cross. Both dogs for similar but slightly different reasons are not always comfortable on the leash and will lunge at things like other dogs, cats, wildlife, bicycles, loud trucks and noisy running children.

I had been diligent in walking both dogs since I adopted them, and had learned guerilla survival tactics in the process, from dodging the cyclists who bore down on us, veering closer and closer, oblivious to the fact that I was desperately trying to scramble to get far enough away from them so that the dogs wouldn’t charge, to weaving in and out of traffic to avoid school children, who not knowing any better, insisted on running toward us to say hello despite my repeated requests that they keep their distance, (not to mention their parents who then shot us dirty looks as the dogs barked and strained at the leash) to honing my senses so sharply that I could detect a moving chipmunk from two houses away or sense joggers coming from a block behind.

I also went to several dog training classes and diligently followed the rules I was given, despite the fact that they sometimes seemed to defy common sense. The dogs became worse than they were before and I soon found the mess impossible to undo.

After a few years, I noticed that the dogs wanted to walk less and less, and I realized our world had somehow become quite small. It wasn’t me as lazy owner who neglected the dogs. I wanted to take them. They didn’t want to go. Like a low-grade, chronic condition that had become the norm, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it started.

After spending some time observing, Nicole asked me some pointed questions. What was the worst thing that I thought was going to happen? I told her I didn’t want my dogs getting into fights. Neither was actually aggressive when you got right down to it, but the leash changed everything. I didn’t want them traumatizing some other dog, or equally as bad, having another dog decide to take matters into his own paws.

Nicole told me it was okay to be afraid, and then she told me that my fear was irrational. Dogs are very good at communicating with each other. “If some dog wants to act like a fool while I’m out walking my dog and charges us,” she said, “I get between them. I don’t get angry, and I don’t get confrontational. I remain calm, but I let them know they’re acting like a fool. Your dogs aren’t out on a kill mission.” I understood that it was my behavior that was affecting the dogs. My fear and annoyance with distractions was trickling down to them and they didn’t really understand what it was that was bothering me. And my guilt about not being able to fix everything was overwhelming.
Nicole didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know, but something about how she told me resonated in a new way. But even though I knew what she told me to be true, I didn’t know what else to do. I had done everything the experts had told me to.

Nicole’s solution was really quite simple. We had to get back to normal. The way we used to be. In order to get back to “normal” I had to re-learn how to act “normal”. I had to pretend that my dogs were “normal” dogs and behave accordingly. I had to lead by example. “I don’t know how you are going to do this”, she said, “but you have to find a way.”

I took Nicole’s advice. I dangled the leash, letting it drag on the ground. Instead of trying to concentrate on a brisk paced walk for exercise, I strolled while the dogs sniffed. When I saw scary things approach, I looked at the sky, like a simpleton. I ambled along without a timeframe. I breathed deeply; my body and mind were relaxed. I saw results quickly.

I was so excited after day one that I couldn’t wait to tell Nicole that Bella had easily crossed her invisible barrier in the park on our first voyage. Once we had crossed the line, I chose a tree in the near distance as our target and we made it all the way to it. I told Nicole that after a few days I’d try to make it to the next tree. But Nicole told me not to do this. Learning, she explained, does not occur in a linear fashion. “Just let it take you and see where it goes.”

Of course, we’re still at the beginning of our journey, but seeing the results are so inspiring that I actually look forward to the challenges instead of dreading them. Bella and I are going places I never dreamed of, and Dasher, who has in the past despised getting into the car to the point of snapping at me, has gotten in quite willingly twice in the last couple of weeks. By taking simple measures I see possibilities I never knew existed.

And, if I start to falter, I know I can just go back to the five simple things that Nicole told me:

Don’t get angry.
Don’t worry
Be honest in your work
Be humble
Be kind to yourself and others

Pretty cool, huh?

New Jersey-based Reiki Master Teacher Beth Lowell works with animals and Reiki. She is a frequent contributor to The Reiki Digest.

Celeb-Reiki keeps fit by walking, and walking, and walking

This week's Celeb-Reiki is Reiki practitioner Annie Burgamy of Orton Grange, Cumbria, United Kingdom, who settled in her home country after traveling the world, but still hasn't quite settled down. She walks about 30 miles a week and says walking it her key to fitness.

List your events in our Reiki Calendar, and yourself in our census

More and more Reiki practitioners have signed up to list their events on our global Reiki Events Calendar -- why not join them? It's free and self-service. To become eligible to list your events, send an email to editor @ thereikidigest.com with your name, address, telephone number, and email address for our files, but you can choose the contact information that goes into your listings.

Our Global Reiki Census is also free. We're asking all Reiki practitioners worldwide to stand up and be counted in the census. If you're not among the hundreds who've already answered the call, click here to be counted.

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Parijat

This week's featured music is Reiki Healing Waves by Parijat. Click on the button to find out more. Thanks to iTunes for being a sponsor of The Reiki Digest! Remember, every purchase you make at iTunes by clicking on our links helps support this publication. (And you can listen to samples for free.)

The weekly waka

Lost on the same path,
my usual train of thought
was interrupted
when a sudden gust came up
and tossed leaves across the sky

(By Beth Lowell)

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

This week's specials

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This week's edition. . .

. . . will be published on Saturday.