awareness

Shielding is a common practice in new age and energy medicine communities. Simply put, it’s a matter of using your attention, intention and some form of life-force energy to create a barrier of sorts, protecting your energy field from the flotsam and jetsam of the world around you.

Given the amount of emotional leakage out in mainstream society, it makes perfect sense, especially for those of us who are sensitive or empathic. I, for one, do not wish to experience all the emotions of all the people whose paths I cross throughout the day. And I certainly don’t wish the amalgam of all that energy to clog my chakras or seep into my cells.

So I learned to throw on a bubble, reinforced with Reiki to protect my meticulously cultivated inner peace. Over the years, I learned to build a semi-permeable bubble so that I wasn’t isolating myself from experiences that would benefit me or opportunities to transmit healing energy. I just wanted some control over what was allowed to enter or exit my system.

I chose to be the Gatekeeper rather than the Velcro.

I don’t believe that there are many folks who have the skill and concentration necessary to deliberately engage in psychic attacks, nor would I even be on their radars. Yet there are a lot of hurt people out there who project their pain and others who seem to enjoy brewing up various miseries and flinging them about haphazardly. This is what concerns me.

Many years ago I had a roommate who carelessly caused me harm. It wasn’t intentional, but nonetheless that’s what happened. When she told me about the consequences of her actions without claiming responsibility for them, I found myself facing a choice of swallowing my feelings or expressing them. In an amazing feat of adulting, I managed to calmly say, “I’m angry about this.”

The surge of life-force that accompanied this simple disclosure was amazing! I was so proud of myself for speaking up. Not yelling. Not name calling. Just a basic sharing of a truth. I was indeed angry and despite extensive training in burying it inside me, I did not wish to do so anymore.

She was shocked. I don’t think anyone had ever been honest with her before about such a radical thing as emotions. She had the good grace to admit that my response made perfect sense and right there before my eyes, a shame spiral took hold.

And it got ugly. We never had a conversation after that, but I’m pretty sure that knowing her action caused very specific, albeit unintentional, harm activated a chain reaction from the powder keg of suppressed feelings within her psyche.

From that day forth, I sensed a petty, mean, spiteful vibe wafting off of her which might have been comical if it hadn’t been so darn unpleasant. Of course, my righteous indignation and newfound exuberance likely did not help matters. So I did the sensible thing and powered up a shield, sealing my aura, chakras, meridians, organs, all of me off from the potentially overwhelming yuck in the house.

I knew I needed to move out and soon, but these things aren’t always as easy as one would hope. For the better part of two months, I exerted a fair amount of my attention to protect myself from her shame projected outwards.

And then one day, I had a very rude awakening. Just like in that terrifying movie from the 70’s where the disturbing phone calls were coming from inside the house, I realized that I’d sealed myself in with all of my own energy, with no exhaust fan. So I was steeping in my schadenfreude and righteousness and immature grievances. Oof.

I may have been right. I may have had truth and justice on my side. And… (I fortunately realized before too much time had passed) I was choosing being right over being happy. Because happy I was not. And I was marinating in this lack-of-happy, sealed in nice and tight.

I immediately switched my focused to sealing Reiki energy in the bubble with me to saturate myself with healing throughout the day. It was a huge upgrade! Instead of working to keep the unwanted energies out, I concentrated on keeping the Reiki close.

It’s easy for me to tell this unflattering story as many years have since past and I’ve done a lot of work around releasing this particular rotten egg energy from my heart and mind. I have a greater awareness of the products of my thoughts and feelings and how they contaminate or enhance my energy field. I’m much less likely to generate a sh** storm and allow it to muck up my aura thanks to the ongoing support of Reiki.

So before you go caulking all the nooks and crannies of your energy field, take note of your mental/emotional state and ask yourself if you want to be locked in with all your thoughts, stories and beliefs. The conscious and the unconscious ones that lurk in the shadows. Maybe you’ve already gained mastery over your mind and cleared the depths of your emotional swamp and have nothing but love oozing from your pores. If not, maybe consider leaving an escape hatch or a vent to release any of the toxic gasses that are coming from inside your own house.

The Hazards of Energy Shields

Shielding is a common practice in new age and energy medicine communities. Simply put, it’s a…
Yesterday I lost hot water.

(Isn’t it amazing that such a thing as hot, running water is even possible? It’s easy to forget what a blessing this truly is. Until it disappears, that is. Then it becomes very apparent!)

Before that happened, my busy day got rearranged, leaving me with a few spare hours in the afternoon. Curiously, I had a nudge to shower and wash my hair. Weird. I usually shower before bed and wasn’t planning on messing my masses of hair, but whatever. I’ve learned to listen to the nudge.

As luck would have it, I was in the shower, longer than normal as hair washing is a bit of an ordeal when you have lots of it, and the water began to cool.

I was in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing to notice that there was a problem.

Coincidentally (ha! I don’t believe in coincidence), a part that was needed for my refrigerator shelf that had collapsed earlier in the week (was this all part of the plan? 🤔) just arrived and my landlord was sending over the handy man to replace it shortly.

We chatted about the water and he turned up the temperature on the heater. This made no sense to me- clearly the heater is defective, it didn’t just turn itself down mysteriously. But these are the steps you need to go through as a renter.

Unsurprisingly, there was no change. But since I got my report in when I did and got myself showered in advance, there is no actual problem. Just a repair that needs to happen.

And that’s scheduled for today, most likely when I’m at work, meaning minimal disruption for me.

This story doesn’t really merit telling as nothing really happened. And, for me, that’s generally how it goes. When I follow my guidance, there are no big dramas to report. Things don’t always go as planned, but they work out one way or another, without a big production.

So next time you have an urge to do something out of the ordinary that might not make sense, consider what future inconveniences you might be avoiding.

The trick is in slowing down and paying attention so the messages can get through the mental clutter. If you like hot showers, maybe it’s time to start your intuition training!

Reiki can help calm the monkey mind and connect you to that inner voice. If you don’t have the pleasure of living near Philly, there are always remote sessions, which are an amazing way to get synched up with your inner wisdom.

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I’ve compiled all the intuition chronicles into one place for your convenience. They are not linear, so I’d suggest letting your inner compass guide you to the article that is most aligned with your current needs.

Intuition Chronicles:Listen

Intuition Chronicles: Start Small

Intuition Chronicles: Heron, Duck, Turtle 🙂

Intuition Chronicles: Awaken Inner Guidance

Intuition Chronicles: A Dream Directive

Intuition Chronicles: The Basic Skills

Intuition Chronicles: Using Reiki to Connect

Intuition Chronicles: Start with the Basics

Intuition Chronicles: The Cell Phone Edition

Intuition Chronicles: Reiki Can Help

Intuition Chronicles: The Rearview Mirror

Intuition Chronicles: Following Through

Intuition Chronicles: It’s Not Always About Me

Intuition Chronicles: The Hot Water Episode

Yesterday I lost hot water. (Isn’t it amazing that such a thing as hot, running water…
Intuitive guidance has become so woven into my daily life that I often don’t even notice it anymore. I don’t mean “don’t notice” as in I ignore it. No way! I mean “don’t notice” as in it’s become the water that I swim in; so much so that doesn’t seem unusual anymore.

I practiced my skills until they became second nature. Just like I don’t have to think about tying my shoes, catching messages from sources beyond my ego-mind has become embedded into my life.

If you’re just getting started, it might feel frustrating that you need to do the equivalent of playing musical scales and conjugating French verbs. Repeatedly.

But for most people, that’s how it goes. Yet, what often happens is that someone gets a wild hair to tap into their previously estranged intuition for the purposes of making The Biggest Decision Ever.

Should I move to Australia? Sell my home and travel with the band? Marry a guy I met last week who feels like my twin flame?

That’s a pretty big ask. It’s unlikely that you’ll trust whatever answer comes through. With good reason.

I suggest starting with the small stuff. For example, earlier this week I felt a nudge to cook a batch of chickpeas. I had no use for them at the time, so it didn’t make sense, but whatever. I froze them. The week before, the same with pesto.

This week I got a head of radicchio in my produce delivery and went in search of a recipe online because I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. Apparently it pairs well with pesto-flavored chickpeas. 🤔

Just the other day, I had a niggling feeling, as if I had forgotten something important. After confirming that my work schedule was indeed synched with my calendar and there was nothing urgent pending, I sat with that feeling. It urged me to go to the store. Not the closest one, but whatever, I know better than to argue!

As I pulled up, I notice an employee carrying in bouquets. Fresh flowers bring me a lot of joy, so I’ve been treating myself to them lately. But the last batch seemed kinda old and didn’t last very long before getting wilty, so I hadn’t bothered since then.

These were just delivered, were as fresh as possible, and I could feel a surge of YES! in my body when I saw them.

One more. Yesterday I was sent to another store, this one even farther away (by city standards, farther = 6 miles instead of 3, but adds on 20+ minutes of driving time), only to find that almost everything on my list was on sale. I saved a hefty chunk of cash because I listened to my inner nudge.

So here we have three incidents within the span of a week that were all pretty minor, simple domestic tasks, that made my life better somehow, but had no pressure involved. This is how we can grow our Trust muscles. By practicing in the arena where the consequences are minimal, following through, and recognizing the rewards.

Do this for a while and you’ll get good at noticing the nudges and then when a big one drops, it will be a lot easier to catch it and say, heck yeah, I’m moving to Philadelphia.

(That happened to me 11 years ago!)

I’ll note that in addition to practicing in the shallow end, I’ve also made myself available to receive these messages. That comes from cultivating presence, awareness, and a willingness to be guided. You can ask all day long for the intuitive suggestions, but it doesn’t do much good if you’re running around putting out fires constantly and don’t notice when they arrive.

I’m working on a mini-workshop about presence, synthesizing all the body-mind-spirit tools I’ve collected over the past few decades. I have a lot to say about this, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, heed those inner nudges and do your best to take guided action. Maybe even keep a log so you have handy dandy “proof” to refer to when you doubt yourself.

It’s hard to argue against your knowings when you can look back at a series of beneficial experiences that resulted from following your gut.

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Intuition Chronicles: Developing the Basic Skills

Intuitive guidance has become so woven into my daily life that I often don’t even notice…
I’ve been collecting life-force energy for some time now. Having more deposits than withdrawals is part of my healthy aging plan. I think this is a brilliant strategy for wellness of all kinds, but is particularly important as we age.

What most people think of as “aging” is what I see as the compound interest of lifelong energetic debt. We can get away with neglecting of our bodies, even abusing them, for some time, but eventually the consequences catch up.

Every decision we make can include an awareness of this simple math. Will this action yield more or less healing energy in my system?

Don’t get me wrong- I’m no teetotaler. I don’t always opt for the supremely healthy choice, but when I don’t, I do the math first to decide if the results will be worth it.

Today, I went out for lunch. I usually prepare my own meals, but for the past 24 hours, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about bread. Very strange. I wondered if perhaps it was my body speaking to me? More likely a long-silenced part that never got onboard 25 years ago when I learned I had a wheat sensitivity. Whatever, the thoughts became a craving and I figured a sandwich would do the trick.

I knew that mediocre bread wouldn’t cut it. And gluten free bread isn’t usually great. It’s either crazy expensive, has questionable ingredients to make up for the gluey gluten goodness that traditionally holds bread together, or crumbles in your hands. I couldn’t think of any way to satisfy this desire at the grocery store and I had nothing at home that would suffice.

So off to the bakery I go. I chose what would be considered healthy fare by any American standards. Chicken salad on walnut raisin. Not a hoagie (hero, sub, grinder or bun the size of my head), just two slices of bread. It was most satisfying and quelled that incessant loop in my head.

As I stood up to bus my plate, I had to cough. This is highly unusual for me. Suddenly, there was a lot of phlegm in my throat. As I walked out the door, I noticed I was sniffly. Shortly thereafter, I was gassy. And then my ears started to itch.

No big deal, really. My body can manage all of this. But it’s using life-force to do so. I don’t need to feel guilty or worry or make amends. It’ll all even out if I offer an extra deposit- such as time in nature or meditating.

If this was my habit, though, it’s easy to see how I’d eventually end up in life-force deficiency. And I’d get chronically stuffy, which could create the perfect environment for a virus to move in. Or I could medicate the symptoms, ignoring the root cause and accrue even more problematic symptoms.

I thought of my friend Mika, who carries a digestive enzyme supplement with her for times like these. There are definitely ways to mitigate less than stellar decisions. But what I really want to point out is that I recognized these symptoms because they aren’t the norm for me. Many people wouldn’t identify phlegm-iness as a result of food choices.

The more active I am in building my life-force savings, the more obvious the costly fees are because the contrast is so great.

There is no one-sized fits all life-force savings plan. I’m not suggesting that you don’t eat out, or you don’t eat chicken salad sandwiches, or you go wheat- free. But I am suggesting you do some detective work, some experimenting, and begin an honest exploration into your expenditures and investments.

If you find yourself digging in your heels, unwilling to give up certain behaviors you know to be problematic, that’s ok too. To balance things out, you can put your focus on life-force deposits. So rather than taking something away, you can think of adding in a beneficial practice like yoga or tai chi. Or build a monthly session of massage and/or Reiki into your budget and calendar.

Find ways to make more deposits, even if your withdrawals remain the same, and you’ll accrue wellness credits over time. The benefit to quitting the habits that have less than desirable results, at least for a few weeks, is that your body can recalibrate and you’ll be better able to notice its reaction to something as simple as eating a sandwich for lunch.

Accruing Life-Force and Healthy Aging

I’ve been collecting life-force energy for some time now. Having more deposits than withdrawals is part…
I just got back from the most glorious hike. It’s drizzly and cold here in Philly, but it’s my day off and I wanted to go to the woods. While I was trekking through the trees, I chuckled to myself about descriptors people often use for days like today.

Dreary.

Miserable.

Dreadful.

Come on, now! You can write a story in your head about it being a miserable, rainy day, and it will most definitely be true for you.

But is it True, with a capital T?

No!

It’s rainy. It’s wet. The sky is gray. There are mud puddles. The fallen leaves are slippery. These statements are objectively True. That means I need to dress appropriately and be careful where I step on the trail.

So I did. No biggie. And you know what?

Nowhere did I find any misery.

Instead, I found fresh, clean air. Mud puddles! (My inner child was delighted to have a splash.) And magic. That’s the story I told myself, and for me it became True.

I did pass a couple along the path and we all agreed that it was wonderful being out there without much company. The fellow said that the rain keeps the amateurs away and we all had a good laugh.

As adults, we have myriad opportunities to stretch our comfort zone and rewrite our stories. If we don’t, the zone shrinks over time and we begin to lose freedom of choice. It’s up to each of us to recognize how much discomfort we can face in order to grow and build resilience. Or we can wallow in our restrictive demands for comfort and forever remain an amateur.

For me, hiking in a drizzle is not much of a stretch. Perhaps that’s because I have a great affinity for water and a disposition and constitution that enjoys the cold. There are other areas of life that are much more challenging for me, and this new insight has all sorts of ideas brewing about how I can better meet them with grace and willingness if not ease.

And it all begins with the words I use to describe the event/situation/environment I choose to face. Will it be dreadful or simply unknown? Dreary or just wet? Miserable or potentially magical?

You tell me.

(Please do! I’d love to hear what words you use to rewrite an old story that keeps you from experiencing absolute freedom. What’s your rainy day equivalent?)

Love Me a Rainy Day!

I just got back from the most glorious hike. It’s drizzly and cold here in Philly,…
I had a great time sitting by the creek yesterday. I call this video: Mixed Doubles Synchronized Swimming. There are three pairs of mallards enjoying a cold sunny day.

Aren’t they adorable?

If you didn’t know that they were feeding themselves, wouldn’t they look ridiculous? Turning themselves butt up, heads submerged in frigid water seems an odd sort of behavior, no?

It got me thinking about how much energy is wasted judging other people’s actions when we don’t know the full story.

Of course, the flip side of this is how much energy is wasted worrying about what other people think. These ducks, I can assure you, did not concern themselves with my opinion of their swimming routine. I doubt they cared what the robins and sparrows thought either.

A few weeks ago, I had FOUR flies in my kitchen. So annoying. I didn’t want to kill them, so I opened the window and used a kitchen towel to try to chase them out. I laughed, thinking that I must look utterly crazy to any neighbors who might have caught a glimpse of my shoo-fly dance.

There is so much energy that we fritter away every day that can be repurposed for healing, creativity, productivity, and vitality. It’s our life-force! Shall we not try to spend it wisely? Frugally, even?

I hope these ducks can help us all remember to carry on about the day without critiquing things we don’t understand and to do our own thing without concern for appearances.

You do you, little ducks. I’ll be over here doing me.

Lessons from Nature

I had a great time sitting by the creek yesterday. I call this video: Mixed Doubles…
I know it might sound weird, but one of the things I’m most grateful for is the back pain I experienced in my younger years.

Yes, that’s right. I’m expressing gratitude for pain.

Why?

It created a seismic shift in my trajectory.

I seriously doubt I would have learned about yoga, the body-mind connection, food as medicine, bodywork, or Reiki.

I definitely wouldn’t be writing this article, maybe not even writing at all. I wouldn’t have my own business helping others. I wouldn’t even have met most of my dearest friends. 💕

I cannot fathom my life without these treasures. The tools I collected to relieve pain became the backbone of my very world.

I became an empowered, embodied, mindful woman who takes responsibility for creating a healthy lifestyle that supports optimal well-being. I have come to understand that healing is multifaceted, unique, and unfolds over time.

I cannot fathom who I’d be without the journey I’ve taken. Like the Japanese tradition of repairing broken pottery with gold, I myself am improved and strengthened by the trials and tribulations I’ve experienced.

And for having experienced these trials and tribulations, I’ve learned to open to greater joys as well.

Of course, this understanding took time to develop. Hindsight is indeed 20/20. I didn’t feel this way through much of my life.

Which has me wondering, which of the seeming problems in my life/health/world today are actually blessings, only I don’t yet know it?

I suspect that the answer might be: all of them.

Gratitude: an Unusual Spin

I know it might sound weird, but one of the things I’m most grateful for is…
This is a great video from Tosha Silver about sending blessings rather than worry. Both are felt in the energetic realm by both the giver and the receiver. Guess which has a positive effect? Which would you prefer to receive?

I teach this same concept in Reiki 2 classes when we’re delving into the benefits of remote sessions. It’s very empowering to be able to help when your people are struggling. Worry never helps! It’s actually disempowering.

You might have been taught that worrying is a side-effect of caring. This is a mistaken concept and today is a great day to change your thinking. Give it a try. And sign up for my newsletter if you’re interested in starting your Reiki journey in 2024.

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Instead of worrying…

This is a great video from Tosha Silver about sending blessings rather than worry. Both are…
Last week I had a short break in between sessions and took my book outside. I didn’t want to take the time to walk to my usual outdoor bench and instead chose the picnic table at the playground next to my office.

I gave up trying to read because of the kids making a giant ruckus on the monkey bars and was simply sitting there enjoying the sunshine when I noticed I had a visitor.

A praying mantis! Such an unusual creature. I’m pretty sure they’re alien. I mean, those eyes are just too weird. He sat there a while looking at me and then crawled over the edge, presumably under the table. Or into an another dimension. Who knows?!

After I stopped obsessing about the possibility of alien-like bugs lurking out of sight all over the place, I sensed that there was a deeper message to this encounter.

I thought about how still he (don’t ask my why, but this guy definitely seemed like a he) was. How slow and deliberate his movements. I took it as a sign to slow myself down and be more pray-full throughout my days.

I receive guidance like this all the time. From nature and unusual events and characters that cross my path. The trick is paying attention. So often we’re just rushing about going to the next place that we don’t even notice the messages that appear right in front of us.

If had just gone to my normal spot, I would have missed this guy. If I had forced my eyes on my book even though I couldn’t pay attention to the words, I would have missed it too. If I hadn’t heeded the urge to get out of the office, just for 15 minutes, I definitely would have missed all the opportunities to have any live interactions.

If you have access to Reiki, you can do a practice, or series of practices, intending to be a better receiver of beneficial messages. And most of us could probably pay better attention to the world around us, keeping our eyes and hearts open to meaningful signs from the universe. Even the really weird ones. 😉

Insect Intervention

Last week I had a short break in between sessions and took my book outside. I…