I get so many requests for and questions about releasing toxic or negative energy. If you’re even remotely empathic, it’s likely that you absorb energy from other folks, environments and situations. It can feel heavy, slimy, icky, and downright gross!
One way to start off the new year on the right foot would be to create healthy energy hygiene habits. I find spending time in nature, under the sky, amongst the trees, and by running water to work magic for me!
Since that isn’t always practical, I made a short video of super-easy techniques anyone can use to clear out unwanted energy.
I misspoke when I mentioned “dry brushing”. The Reiki technique is called “dry bathing”, and is just what it sounds like. Getting clean without water. Anyone can do it!
If you want some professional help or guidance, I can do that too! There are a variety of ways this could happen, depending on whether you want to simply lie back and let me do the work, or learn how to do it yourself. A popular approach is to get a session (remote Reiki or in-person Reiki in Philadelphia) to do a deep clean, followed by a Reiki class or intuitive coaching so you can do the maintenance yourself.
I get it. I understand why folks frequently ask me this question and why they’re disappointed with my response.
No. I can’t fix you.
You’re not broken.
Maybe a bit dented or rumpled or worn around the edges, but I promise, you’re not broken. Your body and psyche may have experience some neglect, abuse, misuse, or trauma, but your soul is indestructible.
Very often the complaints that clients bring to me are the messages their souls are sending, pleading for attention. These aches and pains, neurosis and upsets, are a call for help. I can’t wave a magic wand and make them go away; nor would I if I could! When we ignore these messages, they usually become louder and more insistent in the form of greater discomfort or dysfunction.
What I can do is help you to receive the messages and begin to correct your trajectory. This might be as simple as giving yourself consistent care in the form of treatment or learning how to give yourself Reiki healing energy. Either of these approaches will likely reveal the next steps- things like getting more rest, better nutrition, honoring your feelings and needs, or expressing yourself.
Those are steps you’ll need to make yourself. I can support you along the way and provide nurturance, comfort, and guidance in a variety of ways, and I’ll be delighted to do so.
If your health or life need a makeover, Reiki is an excellent tool to have in your toolbox. But the willingness to make the necessary changes is beyond my sphere of power. That’s up to you.
I can show you the path, but it’s your responsibility to take each step.
Let me know when you’re ready to begin. Wherever you are in the world, you can receive remote Reiki or intuitive coaching. We can also do Reiki-massage or in-person Reiki in Philadelphia.
I like to compare health to a bank account. Many of my students and clients find this analogy to be useful for understanding the benefits of Reiki. In the same way that we grow financial wealth by making more frequent or larger deposits that withdrawals, we can cultivate wellness wealth by accumulating life-force energy. Reiki is a safe and reliable method for amassing health credits.
Instead of relying solely on medical professionals to detect problems during annual checkups, there’s much we can do every day to boost the immune system and overall wellness. The body already knows how to be as healthy as it is able, and we can support its endeavors by giving it the energy necessary to do so. Reiki is a powerful, yet simple and safe, way to help all the body’s systems function more effectively.
Life-force energy (called ki, qi, chi, and prana in other cultures) can be cultivated by lifestyle habits such as eating natural foods, spending time in nature, getting enough sleep, and expressing creativity. I view each of these activities as a deposit into a wellness account.
Conversely, chronic worry and stress, consistent consumption of processed foods, over-giving, and being excessively sedentary can be viewed as withdrawals. Sadly, western culture generally steers us towards a ki deficit by overvaluing productivity and busyness and undervaluing rest and relaxation. In order to optimize wellness, we can take steps to offset this trend towards ki debt.
Granted, there may be factors beyond our control such as genetics, accidents, injuries, illness, and pollution. While we may not be able to change these circumstances, we can do everything within our power to minimize their effects and give ourselves the best possible chance to enjoy the optimal levels of health and wellness available to us.
Given that I far from perfect in my pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and have some chronic health issues that require extra attention, I turn to Reiki to fill in the gaps. Reiki is an ancient healing method, commonly defined as spiritually guided life-force energy. It is easy to learn and complements all other treatments. I know of no other modality that is pleasurable to receive, universally beneficial, and has no negative side-effects.
Reiki is not limited by time or space and therefore can be offered remotely, to be received from the comfort of your home as well as in-person. There are many ways to experience a treatment. Additionally, anyone can train to become a practitioner in a short period of time. During initiation, energy channels are opened, allowing access to this universal energy. Afterwards, making daily health deposits is as simple as inviting the Reiki to flow.
Consider investing in your wellness account consistently. Rather than waiting for an unwanted diagnosis, you can actively pursue the best version of health possible for you. Filling up you ki tank, either as a client or practitioner, is one way to do so with minimal effort and expense. It’s never too late to take steps to cultivate or preserve vitality and health.
Message me if you’d like some guidance on how to get started.
Here we go! A new beginning. I’m heading out to get my boots muddy while the masses are still asleep. But before I go, I wanted to extend an invitation to welcome more good into your life.
Gratitude is an amazing practice. It’s a powerful way to shift my vibration and attract to me more of what I want. (Worry does the opposite!)
Can you find 10 minutes today, to start your new year off with an intentional action of creation? Rather making a dry list of the usual suspects, my suggestion is to really dig deep, to tap into your inner realm, and savor the feeling of gratitude. Turn it up! Let it loose. Roll around in it. Drink it in.
You might not see immediate results. But done on the regular, this works magic! It’s not a tool for bypassing troubles, fears, or pain. (Although that might be suggested by law of attraction misunderstandings.) Nope, this is not an either/or situation. It’s a both/and situation.
I can experience both pain AND gratitude. Gratitude for the pain is probably a leap in the now, but might become apparent in hindsight. I’d suggest starting with something easier if you’re new to this.
Gratitude for my happy place by the creek comes easily and effortlessly.
Gratitude for the sun and air and rain that allows plants to grow and animals to thrive. Gravity. That’s a good one! I don’t often think of it, but without gravity things would be somewhat challenging!
So this is not an invitation to escape your problems, but to offset the effects of stress and chaos. Yes, the mortgage needs to be paid and the children need to be fed. Rinse and repeat. Why not raise your vibration, feel as good as you can about yourself and your circumstances, and deliberately influence your future while chopping wood and carrying water?
There’s still time to sign up for my NYD Intention Setting event on Meetup today at 3 EST. I have a juicy plan lined up and Reiki standing by to enhance the process.
Instead of making resolutions to change your behavior this year that fizzle out in mid-February, I’d like to invite you to try something different, an approach that addresses the reasons for that fizzling.
Setting a goal without getting in touch with your deeper desires, values, fears, or unconscious beliefs won’t have much oomph to it.
Getting to know your “why” (why you are planning to do this thing and what the overarching benefits are) and your “why not” (why you aren’t already doing this thing and the feelings around that) can help preempt self-sabotage. Add in some flexibility, reasonable expectations, and an embodied experience, and you have a lot of oomph on your side.
I’m hosting a free event online on NYD where I’d lead us through this process. Doing this kind of work in a group can be fun and helps us to take ourselves less seriously. Details and registration here.
I’ve also made this short video to get the inquiry started. Grab a cup of tea and a notebook, find yourself a comfy spot where you can have 10-15 minutes to look within and get clear about where you want to go.
I’ve already done my process. I realized that all of my goals fell under the umbrella of “self-compassion”, meaning that if I were unconditionally kind to myself, all of the other shifts would happen automatically. Sweet! Now I only have one goal to focus on, but a variety of options for how to practice.
If you’re anything like me, you need some sort of balance between structure and flexibility. Too much rigidity = rebellion. Too much freedom = chaos, Netflix, and potato chips. 🙂 Balance seems to be a moving target for me, but giving myself the opportunity to experiment is very empowering.
My next tip is to set the bar low. Make agreements with yourself that are doable and set yourself up for success. It’s unreasonable to expect that you’ll go from zero to sixty in a minute. If, for example, you’re wanting to begin a meditation practice, aim for 5-10 minutes per day with the option of working your way up. Committing to lengthy sessions right off the bat is a recipe for trouble.
Finally, bring out the big guns by activating your imagination, emotions, and 5 senses by envisioning yourself having, being, or enjoying your dream. Feel it. Make it alive in you, and drink it in. Make an imprint, a sort of mental snapshot, in your mind.
I hope you find this helpful! I am always amazed at what I learn about myself when I do this process. If it seems like too much effort, you’re invited to borrow my intention and opt to be kinder to yourself in the new year. Can’t go wrong with that!
I’ve already chosen self-compassion as my theme for 2023. I’m guiding a group on New Year’s Day in my Meetup group, and figured I should do my own work ahead of time. I chose the solstice for my introspective inventory of what’s going on in myself and in my life and what I’d like to call in for next year.
What came up for me is a desire to be 100% on my side, 100% of the time. I saw so clearly how I sometimes reject my feelings when they are uncomfortable or inconvenient and how very unkind that is. I had the image of shoving a lollipop in a little girl’s mouth with the intention of stopping her tears. NOT how I want to be responding to my own emotions!
I made short video of a process that I use to cultivate compassion. It’s so simple! And we don’t often see it modeled in our culture, so it might seem completely foreign. I feel confident that everyone can learn how to do this with some practice.
If this resonates with you, you might be interested in an upcoming event, an installment of my Holistic Wellness series, which will focus on self-compassion. You can learn more and sign up here. If that’s not your thing, I hope you’ll at least take the exercise from the video out for a few spins and see how it lands for you.
We had some crazy cold temperatures and frigid wind last week. It hasn’t risen above freezing yet, so the gorgeous effects have been preserved. Happily it’s gotten less cold; enough so that it no longer hurts to breathe, and I ventured out today. I documented some of the sights for you to enjoy if 28F doesn’t sound like fun to you.
I actually found myself overdressed once I started moving. I suppose the second wool sweater was a bit too much, and ended up peeling it off and carrying it home. I seem to be more warm blooded than most and have a pretty hearty constitution. I find the cold to be invigorating! And it keeps the crowds down, which is a bonus in my eyes.
Whatever you’re doing today, I hope you’re warm and toasty. May you be peaceful and full of joy.
OOPS! I didn’t publish this yesterday, December 21, which was actually the solstice. Oh well, close enough. 🙂
A significant turning point in the cycle of the year, today is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. That means tonight is the longest night and that tomorrow night will be slightly shorter. The days will become increasingly longer.
It’s a great time of year to turn inward. Our western society does a tremendous job of compelling the exact opposite, but if you tune in to the rhythms of nature, you can sense the pause. The pause is where clarity arises. It’s my goal to use this time of the year to slow down and allow inner wisdom to guide me. Before I begin investing my time and energy in the new year, it really helps to have a grounded and embodied sense of where I actually want to go rather than just continuing on the same trajectory I’ve been following.
My plans for today include venturing out into the cold quiet of the winter woods to refresh my life-force energy and spending some time in community. It’s lovely to be with other folks who are doing the inner work of exploring and releasing the old patterns that are no longer beneficial. I’ll give myself some time to integrate the results before setting my intentions for the new year, at an online event you’re most welcome to attend.
Whatever you do today, or on the days surrounding the solstice, I wish you peace, clarity, and acceptance. This may not be your preferred season, but isn’t it beautiful in its own way, nonetheless? We haven’t yet had any snow to speak of here in Philadelphia, but I think this photo from my last adventure in the woods conveys the spirit of Pennsylvania in winter.
Seasons greetings, friends. Take good care of yourselves.
I’ve been intentionally slowing down for the month of December. I realized that I perhaps overshot the mark when more than 50% of my clients this month cancelled or moved their sessions to January! I wanted to slow down and do less, but SHEESH! not that slow! I’ve since course- corrected and things have been normalizing over the past few days.
During this time of contemplation and introspection, a plan has emerged. I’ve gotten a lot of clarity about how I want to invest my energy in the new year. It will take some time to unfold, but today I’m happy to announce the first step. I’ve launched a Meetup group: Reiki Plus, Online Metaphysical Wellness Group. It’s free to join and I hope to see you there!
“Whether you’re curious about Reiki, wanting to learn more or maybe get initiated, or a practitioner (seasoned, beginner, reluctant, or lapsed), this group is for you! Wherever you are on the planet, there is space for you here. We will be meeting exclusively online.
“Together we will explore tools and applications for holistic healing, personal growth, embodied spirituality, and self-empowerment. While Reiki is the foundation of my offerings, I also “stack” complementary techniques for a synergistic effect. We’ll experiment with different metaphysical recipes to maximize your results: what I call Reiki Plus.
“Uncovering wholeness and worthiness, examining unconscious beliefs and conditioning, regulating the nervous system, and replenishing life-force energy are the goals for our events. No matter what your history, circumstances, or beliefs, I believe it’s possible to use Reiki to experience optimal wellness, joy, peace, freedom, and creativity.
“You’ll find a wide variety of events, including intention setting circles, Reiki circles, group coaching and workshops for folks already initiated, and traditional Reiki certification classes.”
The first event I’m hosting will be on January 1st. I’ll guide a body-mind-spirit centered intention-setting process. I call this the head-heart-belly approach to getting #$^! done. The idea is to get all the parts of yourself on the same side, working together as a team for your greatest good. It’s a practice I do myself every year and have shared with my local Reiki community in the past. I’m expanding the invitation to anyone who’s interested in joining.
If you’re new to Meetup, you’re in for a treat! It’s a great network of folks doing unique work. It’s easy to sign up. The notifications can get overwhelming, so I suggest you make alterations that suit the amount of activity you’d prefer in your inbox.
I have a lot of ideas about what I want to share. The easiest way to keep up with the offerings as they develop is to join the Meetup group. There’s no obligation to ever attend, but you’ll keep your options open. I’d love to have you onboard!
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 