Making way for something new

By Beth Lowell, Managing Editor

After completing my first Shinpiden training in 2008, I wanted to get my hands on as much information about Reiki as I could. It seemed that each of my Internet search results had one thing in common – article after article I found had been published by The Reiki Digest. One such search yielded a book review and at the bottom I read a note from the editor, which welcomed reviews by readers.  

I didn’t hesitate to contact Janet Dagley Dagley, editor and publisher of The Reiki Digest to find out more. Since I’d just recently met Janet during my training, reaching out to her was like reaching out to an old friend, and to my delight, she agreed to let me have a go at it. What better way to learn about the many aspects of Reiki from practitioner/writers around the world - and get books and CDs for free?

Through time, my participation in The Reiki Digest grew. Along with writing reviews, I partcipated in Waka Fest and started to contribute articles, mostly about my practice with animals. But along with these I couldn't help but explore the many facets of Reiki that continue to fascinate me, like how intuition develops as a result of practice, and the professional and moral consequences of if and how exactly to share it. Through interaction with practitioners around the world my experience with Reiki deepened.

I became a contributor, a guest editor, contributing editor, and finally managing editor. I met so many wonderful people through this endeavor – either in person, online, or by phone and I was able to renew ties with many Reiki colleagues I have met along the way as well. I was pleased and grateful to have found my perfect niche in the Reiki world.

Through this period, The Reiki Digest responded to reader response and moved from a weekly to a monthly publication and subsequently offered Reiki practitioners from around the world the opportunity of reaching out to the Reiki community through their contributions as guest editors, and after that, the option for them to become contributors who submitted several articles throughout the year.

Although I had no preconceived notions about our team of writers, month after month I was so greatly inspired to find how each had truly embraced the essence of Reiki and integrated it into their lives.

The decision to conclude The Reiki Digest as it now exists unfolded in an organic way – it seemed the logical choice for the time, and while it was at first a frightening and sad thought, it bloomed into a beautiful space for new adventures and opportunities.

The Tao says that when we lose something we love, it’s making way for something new.      

I’d like to thank all of our readers for their support throughout the years, our writers, guest editors, and of course, our waka contributors too. Most of all I’d like to thank Janet Dagley Dagley for creating The Reiki Digest, which has served as such a font of reliable information, a source of credible and responsible reporting, for her guidance in both editing and Reiki, and also of course, for offering me the opportunity for being part of it all.

I’d like also to say not goodbye readers, but rather, farewell, and may we meet again!