holistic healing

Here’s the thing about Reiki: it’s an amazing healing technique. I’ve personally experienced incredible transformation simply by applying it consistently over the years and I’ve witnessed the same in countless clients.

But it’s not a magic wand. People don’t experience incredible healing while continuing the behavior that caused their lack of wellness. There’s is no escaping the universal law of cause and effect.

Makes sense, right?

You can’t keep eating poison and expect to get well. Health is about balance. Somehow in our modern society we’ve lost track of that. We’ve been ensorcelled into believing that we can carry on dysfunctional patterns and treat the symptoms with pills, and the side effects of those pills with other pills. The proliferation of pharmaceutical commercials has conditioned us to believe this is a normal approach to healthcare.

It is not.

Strangely, we call this covering up of symptoms “medicine” in our society, but it’s definitely not healing. Healing involves cleaning the mess up that’s been swept under the rug and looking at the hidden motivations for continuing unhealthy behavior so we can stop harming ourselves.

Reiki can help with all of that. It helps us get clear about why we’re feeling compelled to do the very thing we’ve promised ourselves we won’t, how to get a handle on the compulsion, and how to face the underlying triggers.

My post about Reiki and bladder issues is one of the most popular articles I’ve ever written. Every month more than one hundred people open it. I’m assuming these are people who suffer ongoing bladder issues that “medicine” has failed to eradicate.

However… zero people have contacted me to schedule an appointment! Seriously, not a single one. I suspect they’re not keen on the idea of looking at the unexpressed anger that I mentioned in that blog as being a prime suspect.

I get it. Nobody enjoys spelunking in the caverns of messy emotions. It’s uncomfortable and inconvenient and might cause a revelation that a relationship or career is just too toxic to be sustainable.

Yet going through this exploratory process, which is temporary (depending on one’s willingness to really face reality and stop feeding the anger) is the solution that will prevent future occurrences of a painful condition.

In holistic healing, we go to the source of the problem to remove the imbalance. That is often chronic stress, unhealed trauma, or suppressed emotions. These factors wreak havoc on our bodies from the inside (via our hormones) until we intervene.

Yes, it’s no fun going there. But neither (I’m guessing) are recurrent UTIs. On the other side of meeting with the anger, or whatever else has been festering deep down, is a sense of freedom that is most delightful.

It’s important to note that you’re not doing this work alone. Reiki is a powerful source of healing energy. It is spiritually guided life-force and it totally works. I have countless texts from clients post-treatment expressing gratitude and sometimes awe about this. Reiki works. But you need to let it in and you need to be willing to meet with the emotions that arise as a result.

You don’t need to do it all at once and it’s rarely necessary to make sweeping lifestyle changes. And for those who are adamantly opposed to addressing emotional factors, consistent Reiki treatment can help manage symptoms. But for true healing, most people need a combination of support from a practitioner and the courage to look within and the willingness to find a safe expression of the pent-up feelings. (I’m a fan of writing expressive letters that I’ll never mail. Then I can ceremoniously burn or shred them. Other people like smashing cheap dishes or hitting pillows.)

About 95% of my clients experience relief after their first session. Shifting the underlying patterns takes some time; usually a series of about seven sessions, depending on the duration and severity of the condition. Often people find the rewards so impactful that they continue on with a monthly-ish maintenance treatment and enjoy watching the benefits spread into all areas of their lives.

Wherever you are in the world, you can receive a remote treatment from the comfort of your own space. If you’re in the Philly area, you can visit me in Mt. Airy.

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Reiki and Bladder Issues, part 2

Here’s the thing about Reiki: it’s an amazing healing technique. I’ve personally experienced incredible transformation simply…
I just learned how to share my newsletters! That’s the place where I announce events and workshops, whereas this blog is more about living a Reiki-full and soul-full lifestyle.

You can check out the latest edition and/or sign up to receive future versions (approximately twice per month) in your inbox.

I have both online AND in-person Reiki 2 certification classes coming up, a Holding Space workshop, a Holistic Approach to Menopause workshop and an online Reiki circle for practitioners on the calendar. You’ll find links to more information and registration in the newsletter.

This message also contains an article about perfectionism and a suggestion for moving towards more freedom and resilience. If any of that interests you, you’re most welcome to check it out.

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I just learned how to share my newsletters! That’s the place where I announce events and…
One of the most common desires I hear from students and clients alike is to be more in touch with their intuition. There is a genuine yearning there, but often a lack of clarity about how to proceed. When people put pressure on themselves to jump from novice to expert quickly and divine answers to major life questions before developing the basics, it can get even more difficult.

Today I want to talk about an important, oft undeveloped skill: listening. One of the biggest difficulties I see that gets in the way of receiving our guidance is being too busy going, doing, thinking, planning, analyzing, etc. for the messages even to get through.

It’s like asking a question and then continuing talking rather than waiting for a response. Our intuition is always available, but we need to learn how to listen.

The other night I received a directive that is the perfect example of how easy it can be. As I was getting ready for bed, I heard, “Check the door.” It wasn’t exactly a voice in my head, but it wasn’t a thought either. A sort of transmission from my higher self, perhaps?

Checking the door is not part of my usual nighttime routine. Since I have a strong habit of closing and locking the door immediately when I arrive home, I don’t check to see that it’s locked before I go to bed. I’ve never once found the door to be unlocked in the morning. And I’ve never seen anyone in my apartment building who didn’t belong here, so it’s doubtful that it would be a problem if it wasn’t locked.

There was absolutely no reason to check the door. It was not a fear-based thought born of reading the neighborhood watch alerts or the news. It was just a simple, clear call to action. Much more clear than my dream messages, that’s for sure! And because I was in a relaxed state, having just completed my evening meditation, it arrived without any interference.

It would have been easy to write it off as nonsense. But this ain’t my first rodeo, so check the door I did. And… would you believe it was unlocked? What?!

This is how we learn to trust our inner voice. By slowing down and quieting the mind so that we can hear it, being open to the messages it’s trying to deliver and trusting that there is a reason for them, even if we don’t understand what that reason is.

Who knows what would have happened had I ignored this prompt. For sure I would have been upset with myself in the morning. Instead, I got out my trusty intuition journal and added a recording of the incident, to further cement my desire to be in communication with my higher self and take action as guided. I’ve acquired quite a bit of “proof” on these pages that reminds me to keep my ears open.

Connecting with our inner wisdom might seem like an arduous and mysterious path, but it doesn’t have to be. Asking for guidance, making ourselves available to receive it (just like we had to do in the olden days when waiting for a phone call!), listening to the answers, and following through. All easy steps, but worthless unless actually taken.

Over time, you’ll begin to trust yourself. That’s where the journal comes in handy. But really, it’s all about practice, practice, practice. If you want to be in touch with your intuition, you have to do the work just as you need to make an effort to learn most new skills.

I’ve found Reiki to be an invaluable tool for helping me to be calm enough to listen and clear enough to understand my intuition better. It helps propel me from just knowing what to do into actually doing it.

Let’s chat about this if you’re interested in adding this amazing tool into your repertoire. Anyone can easily learn how to give themselves Reiki and have lifetime access to healing energy at their fingertips. I’m happy to design a course that will give you the exact knowledge you need to cultivate connection with your inner knowing.

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Intuition Chronicles: Listen!

One of the most common desires I hear from students and clients alike is to be…
It served me well, but after 10 long years, my super duper blender kicked it today. I knew it was coming- there’s been an unpleasant sound for the past several months and I’ve been keeping it together with Reiki and prayers.

But the end was inevitable.

Today the unpleasant sound was way worse, followed by a poof! And then smoke. Sadly, my smoothie was not yet smooth.

But I was prepared for this and already had a plan in place. They offer certified refurbished models online with a 5 year warranty. And a trade-in offer if I mail in the old motor base.

While chewing my not-so-smoothie, I hopped online to place my order before my next appointment. Sound hasty? Maybe, but I use this machine almost every day. It’s a big part of my healthy eating strategy.

I popped my order in the shopping cart and entered my personal info. The “next” button that should have taken me to the payment info page was a dud. Nothing happened, even after several attempts.

Hmmm… I always take note when things like this happen. When the well-oiled cogs of a corporation fail to take my money, I pause. And I reviewed the trade-in offer page. In order to get $100 back from returning the old machine, I had to place my order by phone. The offer would not be valid if I placed my order online. I was stopped in the nick of time from loosing a good chunk of change.

I call this sort of mishap “Divine Intervention”.

I could have pushed through and placed my order if I persisted, no doubt. I’m always free to reject the assistance that comes my way, after all. Sometimes I do, unaware that I’m doing things the hard way till hindsight kicks in.

But today, I paused. And investigated. And saved myself $100!

Not every obstacle is a blessing in disguise. But perhaps some are worth taking a moment to explore.

So Long VitaMix

It served me well, but after 10 long years, my super duper blender kicked it today.…
I’ve been working with my dreams for the past several years. My practice is somewhat sporadic as often I’m more interested in sleeping than capturing any messages that come through. Nonetheless, most nights, with the assistance of my Reiki superpowers, I ask for some sort of guidance or healing when I go to bed, and an array of helpers (my Dream Team) consistently provide words, images, songs, and bizarro movies that I attempt to decode.

The other morning I caught just a fragment of a very vague, but elaborate, dream. Curiously, it had nothing to do with what I had asked the previous night. When I referred to my journal, I realized that a few days earlier I had requested information about the chronic low back pain that has been active lately after years of hibernation.

It helps to remind myself that the subconscious, like healing, doesn’t operate in a linear way, nor on a schedule that makes any sense to me. But, hey, who am I to question such things? I do my practice the best I can and trust that my soul has its own agenda that is likely based on deep wisdom and infinite power. It’s quite a relief to know I don’t need to know all the details!

What came through was my hosting a dinner party on a chartered bus. Huh? Haven’t deciphered that bit yet! But a man came up to me and introduced himself as Dr. Joe Hart. (I somehow knew it was that spelling and not Heart.) He asked me to touch the area of his back that correlated to the area where I felt pain, and then showed me a stretch. A stretch I have been neglecting lately, but has been tremendously helpful in the past.

Naturally I’ve renewed my commitment to doing that stretch daily. But there’s more! I searched for the good doctor’s name online and the first entry was a professor of orthopedic surgery who had written a few articles about knee injuries. Hmm… I had a right knee injury about 5 years ago that was acting up. So much so that I haven’t been hiking in ages, and my right quad and hip have been wonky. Which is directly affecting my low back.

I almost gave up writing this post at this point because I’m not sure what follows is going to make sense to anyone but me. While I was taking a break from seeking the right words, I found a notification in my inbox from a friend’s blog. She had just posted about a dream. It follows, doesn’t it, that someone who takes advice from their dreams also notes synchronicity, right?

So here I am, giving it my best shot.

I don’t follow medical research speak, but I did scan the first article I found written by my dream doctor. He used the phrase “quadriceps inhibition” which spotlighted the memory of a video about back pain treatment that I had recently watched. The video mentioned “reciprocal muscle inhibition” and suggested a quad stretch I enjoy and a strengthening exercise (bridge, ugh!) that I do not. Being human and perfectly imperfect, I skipped the bridge, despite it also being suggested in the Integrated Positional Release treatment for low back pain that I’ve been utilizing (sans bridge).

That’s three different references to quads and this simple exercise that I’ve been avoiding because it’s difficult for me. A long history of yoga practice has taught me that the challenging poses are the ones that are often most helpful for me. Lord knows I don’t need to do any more of the easy ones! (Savasana anyone?)

I’ve been editing my well-researched and self-prescribed therapy and eliminating the challenging bit that could be very helpful just because its challenging. Not so smart, eh?

So that’s a lot of words to say that this dream pointed me to an exercise that had been recently suggested twice elsewhere and not done once. (Rolling eyes emoji here!) It would probably be smart to follow up on “reciprocal quad inhibition” and see if there’s another useful rabbit hole from that mash-up. Yet, further research can also be an avoidance strategy that keeps me from doing the darn bridges! Which, btw, aren’t so bad once I get going.

My point is that I needed to follow the clues to get the gold. The soul doesn’t generally offer instructions in the form of clear directives; it often speaks in metaphors, and, since it runs through the labyrinth the subconscious, it’s highly subjective and flavored by the other ingredients floating around in there.

Sure, there are dream dictionaries one can reference, and sometimes there are universal themes that are fairly obvious. But I’ve gotten my juiciest messages by using Reiki at night while asking for some help, doing my best to capture the stories that come through, developing a habit of writing them down in the morning, and putting on my detective’s cap. Of course, none of that helps unless I follow through with the prescribed action.

It might sound like a lot of effort, but it doesn’t seem that way to me. I view it more as an opportunity to connect with my soul and reap valuable rewards while I’m asleep (!) than as work. It definitely helps the process to not take myself too seriously.

Give it a try and lmk how it goes. And if you have any ideas about why I was hosting a dinner party on a moving bus, I’d love to hear them!

Meet the Dream Team

I’ve been working with my dreams for the past several years. My practice is somewhat sporadic…
Whoop whoop!

I’ve scheduled a Reiki 2 class for my Philly area friends. Anyone who has previously taken a level 1 certification training, with me or another teacher, is invited to attend.

Many students who join this training are eager to do remote treatments so they can send healing energy to friends and family from afar. It’s pretty amazing and we have a lot of fun with this.

But that’s not the only benefit of this training.

The distance symbol can also be used to send healing back to traumatic moments, mitigating the present day effects of previous woundings. We can give ourselves the acceptance, understanding, love and attention that we wish we had had in the past.

It can also be used to deposit Reiki in the future to optimize each day or smooth the way through upcoming challenges. And to secure parking spaces and restaurant seating in advance. 🙂

I use the power symbol each time I get in the car to build a protective force field around me. It also amplifies traditional healing and space clearing endeavors. And so much more!

And the mental/emotional symbol is quite useful for treating anxiety and depression, while simultaneously cultivating focus, clarity, and memory. Because it looks like a creature with an open mouth, I imagine it munching up limiting beliefs and cultural conditioning just like PacMan.

Of course, this is just the teaser! We spend quite a bit of time getting to know each symbol and how we can use them in a variety of ways.

Intrigued? We’d love to have you.

5 Thursday evenings from 6-8pm September 14, 21, & 28, October 5 & 19 (no class on October 12)

I’m offering a $25 early bird discount off the regular fee of $275 through August 24. We meet in my Mt. Airy office, near the intersection of Germantown & Mt. Pleasant Aves. I support your comfort to provide the best learning opportunity, so whatever you may need to make that happen is welcome. Let’s chat if you’re unsure if this is a match for you.

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Announcing In-person Reiki 2 Certification

Whoop whoop! I’ve scheduled a Reiki 2 class for my Philly area friends. Anyone who has…
Fatigue is one of the more common ailments that brings clients to me for treatment. Very often people have been through a barrage of testing and are told there is nothing wrong. Gah! This is so frustrating. Just because the medical system can’t find a cause doesn’t mean there isn’t one. I think we can all agree that when someone is so exhausted they can barely function despite getting adequate sleep and nutrition, there is indeed something wrong.

If we look through a holistic lens, we’re more likely to notice dysfunction or imbalance that exists in the mental, emotional, spiritual, energetic, relational, and lifestyle areas. Correcting any of these conditions can have a profound effect on physical health and overall wellness. Reiki is a very useful tool for doing that.

First and foremost, it’s a gentle infusion of pure life-force energy which can begin to shift chronic energy depletion.

Second, it releases stress and tension, which are gigantic drains on our systems. Chronic stress is the equivalent of having a gaping hole in your fuel tank. No matter how often you fill up, gas is just sloshing out all over the place.

Third, it can help dissipate blockages, allowing for a more healthy flow of energy. Common blockages include unprocessed trauma and suppressed emotions. These form a sort of coagulation of life-force which can impede the flow.

Fourth, Reiki can help balance hormones, which have a tremendous effect on our energy levels.

Fifth, it fosters better quality sleep. ‘Nuff said.

Sixth, it can activate clarity and enable access to intuition, helping us to see where and how our energy is being wasted or siphoned in our daily lives. Very often there are some uncomfortable conversations around boundaries that can help protect our energy levels. Saying yes when we really mean NO! is a tremendous drain of energy. Persistent over-giving when our tanks are empty takes a toll on our bodies. We need to rebel against the BS cultural conditioning that it’s better to give than receive and prioritize our own well-being.

I could probably keep going, but I imagine you get my point. It addresses the inflow and outflow of energy and supports a healthy balance so that we can thrive rather than merely surviving.

Perhaps the best thing about using Reiki as a treatment for fatigue is that it can be administered remotely. Yup. You can stay at home if you’re unable or just uninterested in venturing out into the world and receive a session from the comfort of your own space. Just like a automatic deposit to your bank account, there’s nothing that you need to do!

I’ve found that when somebody has been chronically fatigued, it can take three or four sessions for a shift to be noticed. Then gradual improvements are reported. When the client is able to remove some of the worst energetic vampires and willing to meet with the stored emotions that arise, a more balanced flow becomes the new normal.

True, it takes some time and consistent application and often some lifestyle upgrades for lasting results to take root. Just as it’s harder to get out of debt without curbing spending, it’s harder to heal fatigue when dysfunctional relationships or circumstances are not addressed. So it goes with holistic healing- we look at all imbalances from the biochemistry to the psycho spiritual factors. There’s only so much I can do for folks who are committed to unhealthy habits. Those who are serious about getting well realize that if they want things to change, they have to make some changes.

If you’re ready to get started on this journey, I invite you to book a remote Reiki session. You could also come for an in-person session if you’re in the Philly area and need a change of scenery. Once you start feeling better, you might like to learn how to give yourself Reiki. It’s easy to do and no special psychic or mystical powers are necessary.

Reiki has helped me more than any other technique with chronic pain, autoimmune issues, anxiety, and fatigue. And it can help you too!

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Reiki for Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the more common ailments that brings clients to me for treatment. Very…
What a great talk about paradox and spirituality. Jeff comes from a background of meditation, which in my eyes, is a parallel path to Reiki. People come to both practices for all sorts of reasons. Those who stick with it eventually come to see that we practice, not to feel more comfortable or peaceful, but to accept whatever it is we are feeling without needing to make it anything other than what it is.

To use his analogy, we come to be with ourselves as the ocean without rejecting any particular wave. There are no good waves or bad waves. Same with thoughts, emotions, and sensations. Of course, we all have our preferences, and that’s not a problem unless we make the other stuff “wrong”.

Check it out! It’s less than 20 minutes and has the potential to blow your mind.

Jeff Foster on Nonduality

What a great talk about paradox and spirituality. Jeff comes from a background of meditation, which…
I had an epiphany last week, spurred by a bagel of all things.

Not a “the earth revolves around the sun” kind of epiphany, yet still pretty fascinating. To me at least. 🙂

It will sound silly at first, but hang with me. In truth, it really has nothing to do with the bagel; just as gravity has nothing to do with apple trees. It’s really about the message, not the messenger.

For the first time ever in my 52nd journey around the sun, it occurred to me that I could (perhaps should!) put the bagel’s cut surface down in the toaster oven. You might already know that this produces a much improved end result.

Not exactly groundbreaking news, I know.

But what it points to is the questioning of autopilot behavior. I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent and self-aware person. But somehow I live for decades without even considering a simple alternative way of doing something so very basic.

I was reminded of a transformative lightbulb moment I had in college. Sitting in the dorm lobby one day, I met a girl who blew my mind.

Melinda. She was a good friend of a good friend, a self-proclaimed Dead Head who dressed the part. Melinda’s leg were unshaven. She’s probably telling the story of this weirdo girl who stared at her legs in disbelief so many years ago. But until that fateful day, it never ever, not ever, occurred to me that it was possible for women to simply not shave their legs.

Shocking, right?! Liberating too. My inner rebel had a field day.

That was my introduction to the concept of how cultural programming shapes our minds and limits what we believe to be real about the world.

But the bagel was different. We didn’t have bagels when I was growing up. Or a toaster oven for that matter. I never watched anyone in my family or community, or TV for that matter, toast a bagel.

Curiously, I discovered bagels’ crispy delightfulness about the same time as I met Melinda in the NYU dorm. And now these two seemingly unrelated events are forever linked in my mind as exposing my assumptions about “this is how we do things”.

Not a big deal in and of itself. But consider the implications! How much of my life is run on autopilot? A lot, and mostly that’s a good thing. Imagine needing to use the same level of concentration every day that you did as a kid when you were learning to tie your shoes. Or write a sentence with legible penmanship or drive a car. We’d be so focused on the simple, everyday tasks that nothing important would get done!

Autopilot isn’t a bad thing. Neural network grooves help us concentrate on the trickier, more advanced aspects of adulting.

Yet, somewhere in between mechanical compliance and re-inventing the wheel, there lives a middle ground.

I’d like to spend more time there, questioning the limiting beliefs and behaviors that I’ve adopted, often without query. It seems to me that these are the potentially pivotal moments when transformation is truly possible.

Having a daily Reiki practice is what has helped develop my sense of clarity and wonder. If you’re wanting to have Reiki superpowers to use for getting out of your own ruts, join my mailing list to be informed of future classes, both online and in-person in the Philly area. Or sign up for a session and let’s see what we can shake loose together.

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Bagel Magic

I had an epiphany last week, spurred by a bagel of all things. Not a “the…

holistic healing

5 Thursday evenings from 6-8pm September 14, 21, & 28, October 5 & 19 (no class on October 12)