For the past two years I’ve devoured Louise Fletcher’s free online art course.
This year she says she got hit by a lightening bolt instructing her to create all new content. She tried to negotiate, but failed, claiming the bolt to be a “harsh mistress”.
It sounds like her muse and mine are cut from the same cloth. There’s no arguing with a lighting bolt. (Trust me, I’ve tried. 😆)
This makes me even more eager to join this year’s series of classes.
I don’t know how to paint. Not really. But I sure do enjoy putting color and shapes on paper and seeing how it turns out!
Creative expression is a fantastic way to alchemize emotions and drop into the moment. Pleasure and joy are tremendous medicine for many ailments. They all open us up to the flow of life-force energy.
If you think that sounds great but don’t know how to begin, I highly recommend signing up for the Creative Reset. What do you have to lose but inhibition, self-doubt and fear?
Louise Fletcher, lovely human being and art teacher
For the past two years I’ve devoured Louise Fletcher’s free online art course. This year she…
Reiki is an ancient healing practice that allows initiates to tap into universal life-force energy and direct it with our intention and attention.
The form of Reiki healing as it is commonly practiced here in the west has its roots in 20th century Japan. Usui Sensei, beloved founder of the practice (not the energy, the energy was/has always been available in nature), had a spiritual awakening while fasting and meditating on a mountain.
Reiki was the result of this awakening. He developed a style of accessing and utilizing this life-force energy that was very useful. I call it “traditional” Reiki.
It is a very linear process. Step A, B, C, etc. It works very well for people who like structure and want to know exactly what comes next.
Fast forward 100+ years and jump over to a very different culture, a different landscape, a different pace, in a world with very different needs; traditional Reiki, while still amazing, can feel constrictive to many.
Usui was a student of Buddhism, of meditation, of awakening the vast consciousness found in stillness. Some would call this a masculine approach to spirituality.
Not because it’s for men. No, this has nothing to do with gender. But because in the system of polarity, consciousness, linear thinking, working with the mind is considered to be masculine.
It’s one part of the puzzle of healing, but leaves those of us who revel in the feminine, the dance, the mystery, the depths of emotion and intuition can feel left out.
Neither is right or wrong. Just like night and day, they are both important, yet very different.
I teach a blend of the traditional, formulaic approach and the intuitive approach that has organically emerged in my practice.
I believe that there is something here for everyone and it’s my goal to help students find their own unique style.
Recently I told a student (who is finishing Master Teacher training with me after doing levels 1 and 2 elsewhere) that I almost always start a session at the feet.
She stared at me, mouth hanging open for a moment before sharing that her instinct is to do this too, but she had been chastised in her earlier training that this goes against tradition.
Yes. Yes, it does. Tradition says start at the head. This doesn’t make sense to me for many reasons and I find that beginning at the feet provides much-needed grounding and a less in-your-face start to a session. Literally.
I’ve done it this way for twenty years and it works well for me. My clients seem to enjoy it.
The history of Reiki is riddled with similar stories of evolution: students breaking the mold that was handed down but never really fit.
I offer something different. Let’s call it a buffet. On the buffet you’ll find a structure that you can use to get your bearings. Like training wheels. Then, maybe you learn to let go of the support when it becomes unnecessary over time. You can either continue going in that same direction or allow your intuition to guided you.
For me, this is a very personal practice. The more authentic I am, the more healing energy can flow through me.
If you’ve been trained in a strictly traditional fashion and feel too cramped, I invite you to spread your wings and experiment. The most important thing you can know about Reiki is that it can do no harm. Even when you start at the feet. I promise!
If you’d like to learn a different, less traditional, less restrictive way, what I call a natural evolution for those of us who aren’t monks in Japan in the 1900’s… well, I can teach you.
There’s a level 1 training coming up in Philly. I also teach virtual classes. Live classes, in real time, not recorded. I’m happy to discuss setting something up if that appeals to you.
Reiki is an ancient healing practice that allows initiates to tap into universal life-force energy and…
Once again, guidance has arrived for me, seemingly out of thin air. As it happens on a daily basis, there is no doubt in my mind that it isn’t a coincidence that odd things catch my attention as I’m going about my days. If you’re interested in intuition and receiving Divine Guidance, I have a story for you.
A few weeks ago, I was out for a walk in Nature, visiting the creek. I noticed a man gazing at the flowing water and (in my head) heard “What’s he looking at?” in a tone distinct from my usual voice.
This got my attention! He didn’t appear to be overly friendly, so instead of saying, “Hey mister, whatchya looking at?”, I lingered until he moved along and then I took his place at the fence.
Holy #@$%! (That was definitely my own voice.) There’s a heron standing in the creek! In the six years I’ve frequented this park, I’ve only once seen a heron here.
I was transfixed. I wanted to share this exciting news, but all the people passing by were plugged into devices or conversations, so instead, I enjoyed this visitation in quiet reverence.
I noticed how he (yes, that’s the sense I got. I have no proof, but it felt right to call him a he) stood upright, very still in the middle of the creek. Watching. Waiting. Fishing, obviously, but in a very dignified way.
Not like the ducks I see every day who look like they’re bobbing for apples or the smaller birds who dart around constantly.
No, this guy was letting the fish come to him.
“I’m gonna just stand here until my fish comes by,” seemed to be the message he was transmitting.
I eventually moved on, keeping one eye of the path, the other on the creek.
Soon I saw a big lump of … is that a duck? Very unusual. Especially as I only moments ago thought about the amusing upside-down ducks I often see here, with their heads underwater and butts in the air.
This duck was all tucked into itself, sleeping on a log. A sitting duck. That phrase describes someone who is exposed and vulnerable. And a few feet away, on that same log, a turtle. Sunning himself, as they do. This guy had stuck out his neck as if watching over the duck. Very curios indeed.
Heron, duck, turtle.
There’s a message here.
I just KNEW it.
I could do an online search for “spiritual meaning” of these animals, but I prefer to work with my own personal Lexicon.
What do they mean to me?
I’m not going to get into the whole interpretation. It’s directly related to the new moon intention I set recently and more personal than I care to share online. The process was simple, though. I spent some time with my journal brainstorming about “wait for the bounty to come to you”, “sitting duck”, “stick out your neck for a friend” and in a few minutes had a reasonably clear insight about action to take in conjunction with the seeds I planted on the new moon.
While I’m not publishing the complete message, I did want to share this as a sort of formula: being open to intuition, catching the clues, and working them out for myself.
Most importantly, I was available to receive the message unlike everyone around me who was focused on their exercise, music or screen. I was present, tuned into the environment and available to receive the message.
On my return trip, the heron lifted off and I was treated to the view of his huge wingspan, which caused me to gasp and my jaw to drop. Yet, nobody else noticed. 🤔
I later opened the Merlin app that I use to identify birdsong. I laughed to find the bird of the day is… wait for it… a heron. Coincidence or confirmation?
It’s been some time since I wrote about connecting with intuition. It’s become such a part of my daily life that I don’t much think about it. But it’s come up often in sessions with clients lately, so it was on my mind this morning.
You may be thinking, hey Pamela, you’re always talking about following the breadcrumbs, isn’t that the same as intuition? That’s fair. I often wonder this myself.
Here’s what I have to offer from my current level of understanding. The “breadcrumbs” are from an external source, call it Life, Love, God, the Universe, Spirit, guiding me. I differentiate this from my “intuition” which is the internal nudge I feel to take notice of the breadcrumbs.
Intuition is how I receive Divine Guidance. Lots of people say they want access, but they haven’t practiced being still and quiet long enough for the messages to get through. Like in the good ole days when you actually had to answer the phone while it was ringing to speak to the caller. You had to be at home, ready and able to pick up the phone. You couldn’t be on another call or in the shower or have your hands full, metaphorically or literally.
Nowadays what I see are people constantly consuming (scrolling, watching reels, plugged into podcasts or plain old digital nonsense), which does not leave any space for messages to drop in. If you can’t walk your dog around the block without staring at a screen, well, come on, how do you expect magical information to reach you?
In between smart phone addiction and living in a cave in the Himalayas, there’s a vast middle ground where we can cultivate capacity to receive. I recorded a lesson and practice on the “why and how to receive” theme and it’s available in The Toolshed. This is my latest offering where I post a practical tool for subscribers each month on a hot-topic.
You can learn to be receptive if you make time and are capable of paying attention. There are tons of ways to do this, so you needn’t visit The Toolshed if it doesn’t resonate. But you’ll likely have to do something. Burning bushes are exceedingly rare and I’ve yet to meet someone who enjoyed an intuitive connection who didn’t have a major intervention in the form of accident or illness who wasn’t devoted to some form of practice.
Sure, like Mozart, some people are naturally gifted, but most of us have to put in the time to develop our skills.
My intuition has been an invaluable resource for me. I usually feel like I’m on my path, moving in the appropriate direction and that everything will work out somehow. When I’m not, I feel like I’m being thrown about without a raft in the stormy seas.
Reiki has been the bridge that helped me get out of the perpetual thought loops and land in my body, capable of intercepting messages.
Getting into a rhythm with treatments or learning to give yourself Reiki consistently (Yes! You can easily learn how to use Reiki. Anyone can do this and I can teach you!) could be the portal you’ve been looking for to access your intuition and its priceless wisdom.
Once again, guidance has arrived for me, seemingly out of thin air. As it happens on…
Just yesterday I was thinking about getting a class on the calendar. Today someone emailed me to ask when the next class starts. For someone who operates on intuition, it doesn’t get much clearer than that!
A fire was lit and the next class has been scheduled. Everything fell together so easily.
I’ve decided to make this a 5 class series as students always want more time to practice and I don’t like to rush.
So if you’re interested in learning how to access spiritually guided life-force energy (AKA Reiki) for healing body and mind, heart and soul, this is the starting point.
We’ll meet on 5 Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:30 at my studio, in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philly.
September 4, 11, 18, 25 & October 2.
I’m offering a $25 discount off of the $400 price through Sunday 8/10. Use the code EARLY-BIRD at checkout.
If you want to read more about the class, here’s where to find all the details.
Just yesterday I was thinking about getting a class on the calendar. Today someone emailed me…
In the past week, I’ve seen 3 clients who are recovering from car accidents and the resulting injuries. Whiplash, neck pain, brain fog and headaches often go hand in hand to create suffering that ranges from uncomfortable and annoying to downright debilitating.
While I’ve worked with whiplash and co. quite a lot over the years, this clustering of clients makes me take notice. I suspect there are more people out there who can benefit from what I have to say.
The body has an innate ability to heal from acute injuries such as this. Yet, this particular group of maladies can linger indefinitely despite getting immediate and ongoing medical attention.
I believe it’s because of the damage to the emotional body and strong feelings of being unsafe in the car or near cars, and how the body tenses up reflexively, attempting to protect from potential harm.
Alas, this protection only adds to the suffering, causing the muscles in the neck and shoulders to lock up, putting pressure on nerves and diminishing blood flow to and from the head. Which is quite problematic as I’m sure you can see.
Treating the muscles can provide relief until the next seeming “threat” causes the overactive defense system to tense, activating the whole cascade of physiological responses.
Chiropractic adjustments tend not to hold because the muscles keep pulling the bones out of alignment, sometimes coming into contact with nerves and triggering a pain-tension-more pain cycle.
Until a sense of safety is reestablished on a somatic level, the loop tends to continue and suffering lingers. By “somatic”, I mean a felt sense of safety. Feeling safe and not just thinking about it.
While our sympathetic nervous system responses are great in times of crisis, they can get stuck in emergency mode, pulling the fire alarm when there is no fire, just a small puff of smoke from the toaster.
We need to speak directly to the body and that requires a compassionate presence, gentle touch, patience and a slow, steady pace. I approach whiplash clients the same way I would a feral cat. Cautiously, with no sudden moves and a soothing voice.
Reiki is a brilliant remedy for this conundrum as it both activates the body’s relaxation response (the antidote to overprotective fire alarms) and floods the system with healing life-force energy.
It encourages the muscles to relax, not because they are pummeled into submission, but because when the body feels safe, there is no cause for undue tension. This allows blood flow to normalize, proper oxygenation of the brain and removal of cellular waste from the head and neck.
It’s a way of working with our biology and instinctive responses rather than trying to override them. The former can succeed with consistency, while the latter is doomed to fail.
Once the hyper-vigilance and pain start to diminish, we can then work on the fear that is so common when clients get back in a car or walk along a busy street and deactivate the startle reflex.
One of the most significant benefits of Reiki is that it can be administered remotely, so the recipient need not drive to a session if they are unwell, unwilling or without wheels.
If you’ve been suffering from whiplash and its unpleasant effects, I hope this information is helpful for you. There are numerous ways to work on releasing trauma from the nervous system, but Reiki is the one I know to be both safe and effective regardless of the severity of injuries and the other treatments and medications taken.
I think yoga nidra would also be helpful if you’re looking for a DIY approach. You can find many guided sessions on the free app Insight Timer.
In the past week, I’ve seen 3 clients who are recovering from car accidents and the…
We’re reaching that part of summer when I’m just over it. My resilience for heat and humidity has dwindled and I’m ready for falling leaves and pumpkins. Instead, we have winds that feel rather like standing in front of my blow dryer. 😅
Every morning I go out onto the porch for a sunrise meditation. Lately I feel like I’m entering a swamp when I step outside. At 6am!
Looking on the bright side, there’s no need to hit the sauna. Getting in the sweltering car a few times every day must have some sort of detox effect, right? And going into most stores has got to have benefits similar to a cold plunge, what with the 30 degree temperature differential.
I joke that I now have a 10am curfew. I don’t love being hermetically sealed inside for so much of the day, so I try to get out to the woods early. It’s a few degrees cooler by the creek.
I took a little video to remind me of this little oasis. May it offer you some relief and a touch of nature’s medicine. Imagine yourself being there in person, drinking in the fresh air and cool breeze.
Adapting my routine and bright-side-thinking can only take me so far, though. Let’s be realistic, mint tea and coconut water are refreshing, but they aren’t miracle workers.
Eventually my inner rebel emerges.
“You can’t make me stay inside!”
(It might help to explain that I give my internal voices a descriptive character name and speak of them as separate beings. It’s just a tool for understanding the workings of my mind. It ends up sounding like there’s a full cast in my head. Because there often is! Can you relate?)
Please note, this rebel is the same character who said, “You can’t make me go outside!” when summer began. 😆
She’s just contrary. But the thing about rebelling is… that’s not really freedom. When you’re just doing the opposite, breaking the rules, rocking the boat just to be different, you’re still controlled by the status quo.
Last year about this time, she came out and insisted we absolutely could go for a hike in the 95 degree weather. The hike itself was fine, but afterwards, a whopper of a headache erupted. The end result could hardly to be described as “freedom”.
What I did today was mediate a negotiation. Ignoring, suppressing or overriding the rebel generally fails. At best, it’s energy consuming and not much fun.
Same goes for the inner overprotective mother. She’s the one who’d prefer I remained at a consistent 72 degrees year round. Bah!
So I called upon the inner stern auntie, a role I have perfected in real life with my niece and nephews. I’m fair, but not a softie with them, and this wise, compassionate, mature part of me is best qualified for overseeing arguments between children as well as different aspects of myself.
Rule #1: Everyone has a chance to say their piece.
The rebel wants to go out and it’s past our 😂 10am curfew. Helicopter mom says no, it’s too hot.
Rule #2: We don’t rule things out just because they didn’t work in the past. Instead, we workshop ideas to improve them and plan accordingly.
I’ll spare you the details, but I sorted through options of when and where to go, what to bring, what I could do before and after in order to get a proper walk in the woods without ending up dehydrated and decrepit.
In this way of relating, everyone wins. The parent figure gets to keep us safe, the rebel gets to go out and experience some freedom, the auntie gets to play peacekeeper.
This approach works for all sorts of inner incompatibility. When I find myself resistant to doing the thing I promised myself I would or wouldn’t do, torn between two choices or completely clueless about how to proceed, I invite all the characters to a round table session and discuss how to meet everyone’s needs.
This engenders trust in myself and reduces future resistance and outbursts.
I learned this ages ago as an energetic practice of aligning head, heart and gut. Getting thoughts, emotions and instincts all onboard for decisions and actions. Since then, I’ve drawn on the IFS (Internal Family Systems) model. “No Bad Parts” by Dick Schwartz is a good entry point if you’d like to learn more.
The reason I’m using such a minor issue to demonstrate this technique is because I think it’s important to begin with the easy stuff. Jumping in to the deep end can backfire and cause emotional distress and a rift in self trust.
I’m happy to report that I’m back from the woods, showered, hydrated and feeling ready to meet the rest of the day. I’ve learned something about myself and am more likely to be self-compassionate moving forward as a result.
Whatever your day brings, whatever season you find yourself in, whatever inner turmoil might be brewing, I wish you harmony and peace. I hope these words can help you cultivate it.
Cultivating peace and harmony internally is essential to cultivating holistic health. Hit subscribe and stay connected for more tips and tricks to enjoy optimal wellness.
We’re reaching that part of summer when I’m just over it. My resilience for heat and…
Modern medicine is finally starting to recognize the detrimental effects that chronic stress has on our health. Physiologically, it’s clear that living under a cloud of too much to do, too many to care for, too little support and too few resources is a recipe for illness.
We know that the fight or flight response helps in an emergency situation, but when triggered 10 times each day before breakfast, it inhibits the immune system. It reroutes energy that would ideally be used for detoxification, digestion, assimilation of nutrients, cellular repair, creativity and focus and leaves us feeling fatigued, anxious, tense and stuck.
Activating the relaxation response is the foundation of the work I do. The number one thing clients say to me after a session is, “I feel so relaxed.” Or some variation of that. Sometimes it’s, “I didn’t know it was possible to feel so relaxed.”
Fantastic!
And then people generally return to their default patterns which generally do not preserve this relaxation.
I’m not pointing fingers here. We live in a world that promotes stress and busyness as markers of value and dismisses rest, relaxation and listening to the body’s cries for help as weakness. It’s totally understandable that most of us never learned how to relax, why it’s so important or how to keep it once we’ve gotten a taste.
If you get your car detailed, it will look great at first. How long will it last? Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it? It could be a minute or a month, maybe even two, depending on how you use it and your habits.
Same goes with relaxation. There is no one application that is permanent. It’s something that needs to be cultivated. There isn’t a “one size fits all” way to do that, though.
For those who are primed to change their habits and commit to a different way of interacting with the world, a treatment can be a jumpstart into their new routines.
Others will need consistent treatment until they find their footing and can build and maintain their routines.
Others will see a monthly treatment as ongoing support for themselves and all the care they offer to the world.
Others don’t even know where to begin. If this is you, I commend you for reading this far and being willing to consider what might be very much out of your comfort zone.
If your comfort zone has gotten too restrictive and you’re ready to expand it, I’d suggest trying my Reiki + coaching treatment and we can have a chat about small, simple actions you can take as well as fill up your tank with healing life-force energy.
Wherever you are, I’m here to help. There’s no need to worry that you’re too stressed or too anything or not enough of some other thing. We all have to begin our healing journey from where we are. Rather than bemoaning our starting point we can instead use that energy to step in the direction we’d like to go.
Today’s a good day to take that first step, don’t you think?
Modern medicine is finally starting to recognize the detrimental effects that chronic stress has on our…
Today I achieve level 54! That’s 54 voyages around the sun under my belt. How amazing is that?
There are two primary ways of dealing with birthdays and neither suit me.
One is bemoaning the loss of youth and collagen, criticizing the body’s aging process and wishing for the good ole days.
Bleep that! What most people call aging, I see as accumulated toxins and tension, suppressed emotions, buying into BS patriarchal beliefs that youth=value, and the result of decades of abusing and neglecting our poor bodies.
All of this is something I address daily with Reiki. And after 8,000+ days of soaking up healing energy, I’m just getting more and more powerful and wise and attuned to my worthiness.
The second popular way to celebrate birthdays is the f*** it approach. It could be performative- look at all the fun I’m having- see the photo proof on Instagram!
It could be self-destructive with overdrinking, overeating, overindulging, overspending, overdoing, trying to prove to the world that you can do/have/be it all.
Allow me to present a third option. One that becomes much more clear once you activate these higher levels.
An honoring of self. Here are some questions I consider when leveling up.
What would my soul enjoy doing today?
How can I express the essence of my true self?
What would feel really good for my body, not just in this moment, but also tomorrow morning?
What seeds do I want to plant for the next revolution around the sun?
Which weeds do I need to pull to fully activate the wise woman within?
Unsurprisingly, Jell-O shots and sheet cake, spa treatments and shopping sprees, amusement parks and bars do not make the cut. I’m more likely to opt for a visit to the woods, a bath or extra long meditation.
Next time you’re due to level up, I hope you’ll consider what is it that truly nourishes you rather than doing the thing that is expected.
Today I achieve level 54! That’s 54 voyages around the sun under my belt. How amazing…
Seven is my lucky number. In honor of the seventh month, the seven chakras (as portrayed in several traditional systems), and the particularly potent full moon on the day I’m posting this, I’ve designed a new treatment.
It’s a remote Reiki session for cleansing, charging and balancing the energy centers.
I love Reiki because it is powerful, yet gentle, and never invasive. It always gives each client exactly what they need in that moment because it works with their bodies’ wisdom rather than attempting to impose some prescribed protocol.
By focusing in on chakra healing and removing the chatting element of a session, I’m able to offer this 40 minute treatment at only $77.
I recorded a six minute video to explain the how and why of remote Reiki for chakra healing. I could have gone on and on, but really tried to reel myself in to cover the basics. There’s a lot to be said about working with the energy centers and I’d much rather DO it than yammer on about it.
You’ll find buttons below for scheduling if it feels right for you.
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 