MASTER OF MY OWN DESTINY (A Personal Journey with Reiki) by Janice Cohen
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Harassed, overworked, underpaid, irritable, bad-tempered, stressed – I was carrying around every negative symptom on a daily basis and letting everyone around me know!
A single mother to two grown up boys, I worked full-time in fashion as PA to a demanding Managing Director and the pressure of working twelve hours a day and running a household single handed bubbled away in my head until one day I thought I would self-combust. One Saturday afternoon, a beauty therapist at the gym asked me if I was okay, and as my eyes welled up; she took me by the hand into her treatment room, and offered me Reiki. She could have been speaking Chinese as far as I was concerned (in fact Reiki is Japanese!), but her composed demeanour calmed me down, and before I had even asked for an explanation of Reiki, she had me up on her massage bed, fully clothed, eyes closed, and luxuriating in the warmth of her touch.
At this point, my brain did go into overdrive, my thoughts continued to chatter away until Rebecca covered me with a warm blanket, and I felt blissfully cocooned. Placing her hands gently over my abdomen, the heat emanating from them was as soothing as a hot water bottle and I began to settle down and listen to the sounds of her CD. The tinkling of water, the slow rhythm of chanting monks eased my conscious mind and I felt myself drifting into a relaxed state. Rebecca moved her hands slowly to the back of my head and again I felt a tremendous surge of heat. Behind my closed eyes I had visions of bright colours, violet, orange, yellow, white, mingling together and disappearing. What seemed like minutes later, Rebecca touched my shoulder and whispered that she had finished, but suggested I lay there for a few more minutes as she went to fetch a glass of water. The clock alerted me to the fact that I had been on the couch for forty minutes!
Helping me to sit up, Rebecca asked how I felt. The only word I could think of was ‘peaceful’. I floated through the rest of the day as I continued with my usual Saturday shopping and errand running, and I was full of energy – good energy – not the usual nervous tension that invaded my being as I tended to my tasks.
Meeting up with Rebecca a week later, I surprised her when I mentioned that my week in the office had been surprising stress free, something that hadn’t happened in a very long time, and we agreed that the Reiki had helped immensely. Rebecca asked me if I would be interested in learning Reiki. It had been on the tip of my tongue to ask her the same question, and I felt she had been reading my mind. She gave me an enigmatic smile and told me that she had trained in Reiki with Acorn to Oak who are a very professional organisation. There training is second to none and the support you receive after the course incredible.
I had so many questions to ask her, what exactly is Reiki? Can anyone learn? Is it a religion? How much does it cost to learn? When can I start? Rebecca answered my queries with an unreserved fountain of knowledge and promised to email the course details. Reiki, she told me, is a hands-on treatment, which can ease pain, help with emotional problems, tops up the immune system, and help you cope with stress. Anyone can learn, she said, but only those attuned by Reiki Masters can pass on healing energy. It’s not a religion, she reassured me, and the cost was affordable as the Courses are spread over a reasonable length of time. She had been told to allow a few months between learning Reiki One and Reiki Two, but there was no time limit with Reiki – it is up to the individual.
The next Reiki One course was the following month, and I took this to be a sign of acknowledgement that I was meant to go and eagerly phoned the Administrator at Acorn to Oak. Anna informed me that this course was residential, but in actual fact was taking place within five miles of my home. She did suggest I stay for the two nights as it was important to be able to leave your domestic worries/chores/family etc at home and have some “me” time, to which I readily agreed. The thought of a trip away, on my own, was therapy in itself and I could hardly contain my excitement.
The course was held in a Pastoral Centre and the lush scenery literally took my breath away as I drove down the long, gravel path and parked my car under a cloudless sky, the sunshine adding that magical touch to what I anticipated to be an equally magical weekend. And I was not to be disappointed.
When Pennie Quaile and Yvonne Stone, the Directors of Acorn to Oak and Reiki Masters, bounded over to greet me with open arms and warm hugs, I knew I had made the right decision in spending two nights away from the ‘war zone’ at home, and pushed all thoughts of house parties and orgies immediately out of my head. My sons’ had assured me that my house would still be standing when I returned on Sunday night, but honestly, at that moment my trepidation ceased to exist as I looked at Pennie and Yvonne and felt that I had come home.
That weekend there were 3 courses running Reiki One, Reiki Two and Reiki Three. Acorn to Oak actually runs a Reiki College were they take a team of Teaching Reiki Masters and run the different courses simultaneously in different classrooms. It’s a great idea because it allows the Reiki One participants to meet other people who have completed the training and listen to the inspiring differences that it’s made in their lives.
I was introduced to the other students, and soon enough everyone was chatting and laughing, Reiki Two and Reiki Three members regaling stories of their own experiences to us novices, the Reiki One group, and the Facilitators watching us like proud parents.
After unpacking and settling in, we all met to have dinner together, and by the time we went to bed, I felt as though I was with old friends. It wasn’t just the Reiki that was the common denominator, the teaching team were really lovely people – genuinely interested in us and each other and this seemed to prevail through out the group – it was as though we had all met before. Pennie gave me one of her enigmatic smiles again, which I was to see on the all Facilitator’s faces from time to time. That all knowing look that they can see right into your soul, and understands exactly what you are thinking and where you are coming from without judgement or critism, without any agenda, holding your best intentions in their hearts. It’s a truly amazing experience that degree of acceptance and unconditional love.
After everyone met the entire team in the Reiki One Classroom, we were split into groups, Reiki One went with our Facilitators Yvonne and Theresa, Reiki Two went with George and Maria, Reiki Three with Pennie and Peter. I remember looking at my watch – 8 pm – and thinking about the chores I should be doing at home like I did every Friday night, rushing home from work to make dinner, ironing, paying some bills, yelling at the boys, falling asleep in front of the T.V.
Yvonne explained the ground rules of entering a Reiki class – we were told to leave our ego’s outside the classroom, together with our shoes and turn off our mobile phones! Nodding like obedient school children, we eagerly listened to Yvonne’s opening words:
“Instead of spending time debating the past and exact history of Reiki, we want you to learn Reiki by experience.” And we were delighted to take turns in laying on the beds and receive a Reiki treatment by Yvonne and Theresa.
Two hours later, we begged Yvonne to continue and our small group of six grudgingly bade each other goodnight, and went off to bed. I slept a full eight hours of blissful sleep.
Day One began with a chat from Yvonne and her Co-Facilitator Theresa, who exuded such warmth and honestly, it’s hard to explain how cherished I felt. We covered some theory about Reiki and the energetic side of life and once we were shown how to give each other Reiki, that newish but now familiar feeling of peace and serenity was growing within me. Reiki One is about self-healing, empowerment, feeling less helpless – there is always something you can do to take away a negative thought or a feeling of isolation – give Reiki. You never feel alone again with Reiki.
We were given an attunement by the Reiki Masters – a way of tapping into the Universal Energy – an experience that needs to be ‘experienced’ for it’s true understanding. In my job as PA, I had to be able to withstand immense emotional pressure, and to endure the wrath of a slightly demented boss, hence my nerves were always jangled and I was constantly wrung out. But suddenly, it was like a light switch had come on in my head, and everything made sense. With no word of a lie, I felt peace and serenity – unusual emotions indeed!
Sharing our thoughts and experiences amongst our group, each had a different vision, and emotions were high – some people (including me) cried, but not out of desperation – like steam coming out of a kettle, it was a release, others felt exuberant and one or two stayed silent.
Day Two consisted of two more attunements, discussions, giving and receiving Reiki and notes were given out to put into our Workbook. As Pennie and Yvonne are both homeopaths and have worked as nurses and managers in the NHS and private sector for many years, their training skills and knowledge is immense – they were not floored by anyone’s questioning, however obscure and Pennie’s sense of humour and fun kept us laughing till our ribs ached. At 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon, we were bidding farewell to each other, proudly holding our Reiki One or Reiki Two certificates in our hands, promising to keep in touch and excited at the thought of sharing our Reiki skills with family and friends.
Since then, I have completed Reiki Two with Acorn to Oak. Another residential course, which was held at the University of Winchester. It was even more uplifting and inspirational than Reiki One. I met up with some friends from Reiki One training and we swapped stories about our recent experiences of Reiki and the wonderful support from Acorn to Oak.
In Reiki Two we are taken into a deeper connection with the Universal Energy, which enables distance healing. It was a remarkable weekend – stirring up some emotions and healing them. Working with our personal visions and steps to enable you “to get there from here”
During the last couple of years, I have endured an emotional roller coaster in my personal life and career. My work in fashion came to an abrupt end as I slowly realised the people I worked with lacked integrity and I needed to be in the real world. My vision was to be a Reiki Practitioner and a writer. Encouraged by my mentors at Acorn to Oak, I have been able to build up my Practice by working with a ‘vision of my future’, I have had a few short stories published in women’s magazines and I have completed my first fiction novel (on fashion!).
But the very best thing is that I am able to offer comfort to others – by giving Reiki, I can help to ease emotional problems, physical ailments and put people in touch with their spirituality. I never feel alone – Reiki is with me 24 hours a day.
As my youngest son said to me yesterday, “Mum, we would have paid £1m to see you as happy as this!” Well, I think that speaks for itself.
If you would like more information about Training/Reiki Practitioners in your area. Contact Acorn to Oak by visiting their website www.acorntooak.org.uk
or www.insideoutwellbeing.co.uk for booking and other course info email julie@insideoutwellbeing.co.uk