The next series of in-person level 2 training is coming up!
We meet for 6 Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:30 in my Mt. Airy (neighborhood of Philly) studio.
November 6, 13, 20 &
December 4, 11, 18.
I’m predicting a snowy winter, so we’re also reserving January 8 & 15 in case of any weather-related cancellations.
This workshop is for anyone already attuned to Reiki 1 who wishes to deepen their practice.
You’ll learn three sacred healing symbols and how to use them for a variety of purposes. We cover enhanced self-care, treating others in person and remotely, and how to bring Reiki into your daily life in addition to a healing practice.
It’s a great joy and tremendous honor for me to teach this class in a way that encourages retention and integration of the material and personalization of your practice.
If you’re interested in joining us, you’ll find more information by clicking the button below. Space is limited, so don’t delay!
The next series of in-person level 2 training is coming up! We meet for 6 Thursday…
Holistic healing means addressing all the various parts of ourselves, including our emotions. Even the ones that are uncomfortable, unpopular and chaotic convey messages that support our overall wellbeing.
Often when I bring this up, I meet resistance, even in people who are engaged in healing work. Cue glazed eyes and impromptu change of topic.
Most of us have been conditioned to avoid expressing our feelings so we don’t make others uncomfortable and are well practiced in the arts of suppression and numbing so we need not deal with the messy nature of feelings.
As a result, the unexpressed emotions get frozen in our systems, blocking the flow of life-force energy while also lingering like a powder keg, just one errant spark away from KABOOMING.
It’s not a good system for creating a healthy, productive life or intimate relationships.
It seems to be a big secret that it doesn’t have to be this way. Maybe that’s because emotional suppression is a great cash cow for the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries?
In between stuffing it all down and erupting at the worst possible time is alternative approach, one I would describe as more mature and effective.
It takes a fair amount of compassion, courage and curiosity to turn towards our feelings, both those that are unfolding in the moment and those stored in our archives, but it’s the only way to reclaim wholeness.
We aren’t whole if we reject any part of ourselves, and that includes our emotions.
Ugh. How inconvenient! Sorry, not sorry, there’s no skipping over this.
I’ll add here that feelings need to be witnessed and felt, not rationalized, analyzed, figured out or otherwise compartmentalized. This is a huge, sneaky bypass attempt. I say “attempt” because it doesn’t work- this supposed bypass just leads to a parking lot where you sit and stew in perpetuity.
Thinking about your feelings is not the same as feeling them. Believe me, I tried. For almost a decade, I thought I was doing emotional healing work by sensing and naming my feelings, but I was still avoiding the painful, messy experience of anger, grief, disappointment and fear. Guess what? Those energies remained active within me, waiting to be felt, growing impatient and more and more disruptive over time.
Let’s take anger as an example. When I get angry and suppress it, it lives on within me, eating me up on the inside, leaking out sideways as passive aggressive behavior and sarcasm, or exploding outwards, causing collateral damage when the pressure exceeds my capacity for containment.
I’m sure you’ll agree that’s not healthy.
Don’t think that I’m saying you shouldn’t get angry! I’m not. First of all, I can’t tell you how you should feel. Second, there are loads of reasons to be angry. Anger, rage even, is justified sometimes. It’s a sign that a boundary has been crossed and perhaps that some sort of action is needed to protect our values, if not our safety.
So if you don’t want to store anger and you can’t avoid it altogether, then you must need to hurl it back to the person or event that activated it?
Nope. I’m not saying that either. As you likely know, impulsively reacting in the heat of anger can also have harmful consequences.
I’m suggesting a more masterful, mindful approach. One you may not have even knew existed.
You can metabolize that anger in private, without involving anyone else, including the activator of that anger.
Which doesn’t mean you never need to have a conversation with a coworker or partner about crossed boundaries, but doing the inner work first gives access to our inner wisdom and power so we are more likely to remain connected with our values and be heard because we haven’t just called someone a big fat stupidhead and run off sobbing. Don’t look at me like that- you know exactly what I mean!
Reiki is tremendously helpful for doing this work. It helps me find the motivation and courage to dive in, the clarity to recognize what needs to be done, the energy to stay with it, the compassion to prevent self-condemnation or blame.
If you’re looking for some support with metabolizing your emotions, I have a few different suggestions to offer. It depends on how much you want to participate.
If you are willing to witness and allow feelings to emerge and be felt, Reiki sessions can help. This is a long-term project, especially if you’ve been accumulating painful emotions for an entire lifetime, but it is doable with a commitment to showing up on a consistent basis.
You could take a Reiki class and learn to give yourself daily treatments as your primary strategy or as a supplement to receiving sessions from a professional. This is more affordable, as you’ll be doing a significant part of the work yourself.
If you’re stuck and floundering, it might help to have a Reiki+Coaching session, where I can shine some light into the shadows where you’ve stored the dark stuff. This will only work if you’re willing to witness what’s there, don’t project your anger onto me and truly want some help getting started addressing your issues.
If you’re wanting to go on pretending that your emotions are not wreaking havoc from the sidelines, I recommend never getting a Reiki session. Reiki is always working in your highest good and is not going to allow you to continue storing toxic waste in your psyche and body. There are plenty of ways to avoid your feelings- you only need to watch TV for ten minutes to see one of them displayed.
If you want to rebel against the repressed/suppressed status quo and activate the full flow of life-force available to you, I do hope you’ll join me in one way or another and let Reiki do it’s magic on your behalf.
Holistic healing means addressing all the various parts of ourselves, including our emotions. Even the ones…
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…
Quite frequently people who come to receive a Reiki session report feeling stuck. They want to let go of an emotion, thought, or behavior that seems to be holding them down or holding them back, but don’t know how. I think most of us can relate to this- I sure can!
Reiki has helped me to let go of resentment, to forgive myself and those involved in numerous upsets, to release grief that had lingered way past its shelf life, and to transmute cravings for unhealthy foods, and escape a wide variety of coping mechanisms. I’ve witnessed it do all this and more for my clients.
Flooding the energy field with Reiki helps us to rise above the ego-mind and to align with the higher self, that part of us which is eternal and unchangeable.
From this perspective, we have a better view of unhelpful patterns and the thoughts and beliefs that hold us hostage.
Being immersed in the flow of spiritually-guided life-force energy helps us to feel safe, accepted, and more at ease.
This sets the stage for the type of deep inquiry that can lead to lasting change. From this sacred space of realized wholeness and empowerment, we are able to create shifts that support the changes we desire in our lives.
And yet, it is really up to each of us to make those changes if we expect to see lasting change.
Reiki is indeed a tremendous support in this process, but it is not the process itself. It is not a magic elixir that enables us to sit back and watch as our world morphs into something more desirable.
The thoughts we think contribute to our future and also affect our ki (life- force energy). If we wish to improve our lives, it is essential that we take responsibility for becoming aware of how we continue to contribute to our troubles, either consciously or unconsciously. Reiki can help us do that (indeed it is a huge help in that department!).
The work of partnering with clients who want to go to the next level and get off the merry-go-round entirely is my real passion. So much so that I developed a Reiki + Coaching combo for those who want to do the necessary inner work that leads to transformation.
Finding the places (often thought patterns, outdated coping mechanisms, old protective strategies, or inherited beliefs) where people get stuck and helping them get unstuck is a true joy. It involves a more active treatment where the client participates in a dialog exploring resistance to moving forward in addition to the usual passive practice of receiving the healing energy.
Now this process is not for everyone. Examining one’s shadow can be uncomfortable and requires a great deal of courage. If you’re seeking a path to healing old wounds in order to recreate a life based on peace, love, and joy then my Reiki + Coaching treatment just might be the technique to help you along the way.
I also offer a 3 session package at 10% off the individual rate, good for two months from the date of purchase and a 5 session package at 15% off, good for three months. Availability is limited. Packages are a great way to commit to doing the work. If you’re interested, please contact me to briefly share your goals and I’ll ask a few questions to see if we’re a good match.
Quite frequently people who come to receive a Reiki session report feeling stuck. They want to…
In this day and age, most of us live lifestyles that are deficient in life-force.
We spend most of our time indoors, in climate control and recycled air, under artificial lighting. So we’re not absorbing energy from nature much of the time.
We’re inundated with chemicals that our poor bodies must consistently detox. From the food we eat to personal care products to downright toxic cleaning supplies, air pollution, water pollution, electronic radiation, and crops that need to be genetically modified to withstand the pesticides that would otherwise kill them… Well, it’s a lot and our systems utilize a ton of energy processing this junk.
Chronic stress and busyness further depleted our coffers, draining our energy tanks, and leaving us floundering.
Repressed and suppressed emotions are stored in the body and disrupt the flow of life-force. Same goes for unprocessed trauma and wounds from childhood.
In short, we spend more vitality than we accumulate. We’re in life-force debt. Most of us, most of the time.
I make considerable effort to minimize wasted life-force, to generate internal life-force and maximize my exposure to Nature, and still I would be in the red if it weren’t for Reiki.
Reiki is a natural form of life-force energy and practitioners are able to tap into it and use it for healing and to support goals such as creativity, connection, freedom, joy, resilience, and peace.
I suspect that our ancestors lived in the flow of this energy.
And then we got civilized and industrialized. We disconnected from Nature and began to honor the intellect over the body and the emotions.
People began to live longer, but with poor quality of life because they didn’t have any vitality in reserve.
Reiki is the easiest way I know to fill up your batteries and give the body what it needs to do what it knows how to do.
Yes, absolutely, the body has innate healing abilities. It has tremendous wisdom and incredible power. But it can’t function optimally on an empty tank.
If you’re in need of a jumpstart, consider a Reiki treatment. It’s a safe, gentle, yet powerful technique for giving yourself the juice you need to carry on.
If you’re in need of consistent life-force deposits, consider learning how to give yourself Reiki. It’s easy and anyone can do it. The capacity to tap into this universal energy is transferred from teacher to student in a Reiki 1 training- it’s not a skill that needs to be learned or a gift that comes naturally.
Anyone can learn Reiki and can use this healing energy to bolster well-being, heal core wounds and trauma, to break free from ancestral cycles, to tend to the inner child, to support all the body’s systems, to regulate the nervous system, to cultivate peace and joy and freedom.
I’m offering an in-person class in Philly, beginning February 27. I’m also open to teaching online; if that’s what you need, let me know.
And if you don’t have the capacity to learn how to do this for yourself, know that you can schedule a remote Reiki session, and receive the myriad of benefits from your home, in your pajamas, without needing to lift a finger.
If you have zero interest in Reiki, get yourself outside and start absorbing some of the life-force that is freely offered from the earth, the stones, the rain and snow, the trees, the wind, and the sun.
In this day and age, most of us live lifestyles that are deficient in life-force. We…
Got stress? Fatigue? Anxiety? Overwhelm?
Don’t we all?! 21st century living isn’t for wimps. Between the toxins, the perpetual busyness, and the information overload, wellness requires some effort these days.
It doesn’t help that our nervous systems respond to deadlines, traffic, and emails from the boss with the same physiological response as if we were being chased by a tiger. All that adrenaline pumping in our veins and nowhere to go. We wonder why we feel anxious when we try to sit still and act normal, but our body is screaming for us to punch, kick, run, or hide under the table.
Yeesh. It’s exhausting.
For most of us, chronic stress and go-go-go lifestyles are here to stay. Rather than bemoaning that fact or hiding our heads in the sand, we can acknowledge that this is less than ideal and take action to mitigate the damage.
That’s where Reiki comes in. It’s a holistic healing technique that calms the nerves, relieves stress and pain, and stimulates the body’s innate healing abilities. It’s powerful, safe, effective, and…
wait for it…
Anyone can learn how to do Reiki.
Even better- you can use it for yourselfanywhere, anytime.
While Reiki can indeed be shared with others, I see its most important use as a self-empowerment practice that allows you to actively contribute to your own wellness.
By “practice”, I mean it’s something that needs to be utilized consistently for the best results, like brushing your teeth or exercise. What better way to get daily deposits of universal life-force energy than to tap into the infinite supply and saturate yourself from top to toe?
Which is why I’m excited to announce my next Reiki 1 Certification course. This is an in-person training in my Mt. Airy (that’s a neighborhood in Philly) studio.
Four Thursdays, noon- 2pm
Feb 27, March 6, 13 & 20
(alternate date in case a class is cancelled because of snow- March 27)
This training does include how to give sessions to friends and family, but the foundation is using it as a self-care practice. You know, put your own oxygen mask on first.
You needn’t be psychic or spiritual. You don’t need to know anything about chakras or crystals or own a meditation cushion or yoga mat.
What it takes is curiosity, an open mind, and a willingness to follow through. The benefits come from the doing, not the learning. The class itself won’t change your life, but if you engage the tools I teach, well, get ready for the magic to unfold.
Investment = $300 with a $25 early bird discount if registered by January 31, 2025. Seats are limited. Literally- I only have 6 chairs, so if you want to join us, claim your spot now.
Got stress? Fatigue? Anxiety? Overwhelm? Don’t we all?! 21st century living isn’t for wimps. Between the…
One of the most frequent questions I get from new clients is, “What did you notice during the session?” They seem torn between dread and hope that I’m interpreting information from their energy fields.
Not to worry! I don’t have access to your deepest, darkest secrets. Nor would I want that responsibility. I’m more interested in helping others develop self-awareness and access to inner wisdom rather than perpetuating the concept that we must rely on external “experts” to guide us.
When I’m giving a Reiki treatment, what I feel is a peaceful and healing energy flowing through me. Sometimes it gets more intense in certain places or my hands feel like they’re glued to a specific body part. I recognize that the client is really soaking up the energy when this happens and that this particular area is a potent access point.
All I need to know is that healing is happening and it’s beneficial to linger here.
The “why” is above my pay-grade.
It’s easy to jump to conclusions about the why, but I do my best to resist the ego’s urge to analyze and pretend to know exactly what is happening. I don’t have all the information to make such diagnoses or prognoses.
Fortunately, it’s not necessary. My job is simply to apply Reiki. It’s Reiki’s job to do the healing. Reiki is spiritual guided and emerges from the highest perspective, so it’s best to put it in charge.
I am well aware that other practitioners include reading of the energy field as part of the services they offer. Some claim to be psychic or highly intuitive, and I have no doubt that many are. Hopefully, they also have some training on how to discern the difference between the clients’ issues and their own projections and how to share information in a sensitive way so as to not cause harm.
I’ve had a great number of clients who carry the burden of a message delivered by another practitioner years, even decades, ago. This saddens me. After a Reiki treatment, folks are in an highly impressionable state. Words carry more meaning than perhaps they should. My early training stressed the necessity of approaching each session with unconditional compassion and non-judgment as the foundation of all healing work. Not all practitioners had such wise teachers.
My point being that Reiki practitioners are trained to deliver Reiki. It is a valuable service. If you’re seeking analysis of your energy field, that’s the realm of medical intuitives and psychics. If you want to be saturated in healing, spiritually-guided, innately intelligent life-force energy, you’ll benefit from a Reiki session. If you want information or advice, that’s a whole different treatment, one I don’t offer.
If you have any doubts about what a session entails, it’s a good idea to inquire before scheduling. All the Reiki practitioners I know love to talk about their work and relish a willing audience.
If you’ve received a troubling post-session report in the past, it’s possible that the practitioner was overstepping the scope of their practice. Likely they meant well, but just didn’t know that the implications of their well-meaning words might have been harmful.
I’m certain I’ve said things to clients that landed differently than I intended them to, and this also saddens me. We’re all doing our best with the resources we have in each moment. It is my hope that such shortcomings don’t prevent anyone from receiving the benefits of this amazing modality.
If you’re interested in a prediction/diagnosis/interpretation-free infusion of healing life-force energy, I’d be delighted to provide exactly that. Use the button below to schedule yourself a session. I look forward to it!
One of the most frequent questions I get from new clients is, “What did you notice…
I have a lot of fun getting creative with my Reiki practice.
Most people think of Reiki as a treatment- something that happens on a massage table in a spa-like environment.
But that’s only one of it’s expressions. Reiki is spiritually-guided life-force energy. It can be applied anywhere and everywhere to support our goals and desires.
Recently I activated Reiki to open myself to my inner wisdom and connect with a sacred symbol. A downward facing triangle emerged. A few days later I was inspired to make a crystal grid for prosperity and while wondering how to set it up, I was nudged towards the triangle I had downloaded.
It’s not the typical grid format and while pondering the solution, I was guided to create a ring around the edges with a necklace. And finally to use these green citrine crystals I bought ages ago in a Reiki class.
I charged all the stones with the intention of receiving prosperity and fit them into the triangle shape intuitively. I placed the necklace around the triangle and voila! A unique crystal grid, perfect for my needs.
I followed all of this up with a Reiki Healing Attunement, which my teacher, Laura Bruno calls one of the most powerful ways to create change. It was already pretty potent, but what the heck? I tend to use all the tools at my disposal.
I’ll charge this up everyday with more Reiki and my intentions. I find I’m more likely to engage with a practice that is personalized and creative than following some prescribed protocol.
How can you spice up your Reiki practice with something fun and enlivening?
I have a lot of fun getting creative with my Reiki practice. Most people think of…
Lots of people recognize Reiki as a fantastic tool for healing physical, mental, and emotional issues. It’s even being used in hospitals and hospice to reduce pain and meds, speed recovery, and promote comfort.
And… for those of us who are on a spiritual path, wanting to go deeper and experience belonging and awakening in mystical ways, Reiki can also provide a key for us.
For starters, it can help us be present with whatever is arising. Staying present (vs. distracting, avoiding, numbing or procrastinating) is a necessary skill that is made much easier when our nervous systems are regulated and our minds are calm.
It can highlight what needs to be released, processed or integrated.
It can help us access our inner wisdom and power and sense of innate worthiness.
When we become more grounded, more centered, more aligned with our essence, the way forward becomes clearer. Breadcrumbs appear at just the right time.
When we’re connected to the divine within and to a sense of belonging, it’s easier to surrender to the flow of life and to set boundaries.
When we’re comfortable facing the unknown, we gain tremendous confidence and courage.
When we don’t need to know all the answers or figure it all out, we can show up every day for spiritual practice and allow our awakening to unfold organically without striving, clinging or forcing.
Reiki is a resource that can be woven into your prayers, meditations, spells, and incantations. It’s simply an energy; one that can be used to enhance and deepen that work that you’re doing.
It has been the tool that has been most transformative and nourishing for me on my decades long spiritual healing journey. Devoting time to being with myself and cultivating a soul-lead lifestyle has been a portal for spiritual awakening and connection with the divine.
My clients and students often report mystical experiences without having the vocabulary to describe them. The lack of descriptive words makes them no less real. They express a feeling of time being suspended, going on magical journeys, and feeling more at home than they knew was even possible. I have no way of measuring, but I suspect some people go into a theta brainwave state, which is deeply healing, and/or have pineal gland activations.
If you’re interested in journeying down this path with me, you’d be most welcome in my upcoming Reiki 1 class. We meet online 4 times, beginning May 4. Or, if you prefer a more receptive route, schedule a session and I’ll be the transmitter for you while you can catch up on some rest.
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 