Reiki Community Notes

2012: A Reiki Odyssey

2011-12-18T21:16:00.002-05:00

Today was our monthly Reiki and Integrated Energy Therapy (R) Share and Student clinic after which I did a session for a longtime client who has been a major supporter of the Reiki Center of Greater Washington aka RCGW. It was a good day.

I have been working on updating the website for RCGW, but have run into a bit of a connundrum: I usually put six months of events on the site, but I'm planning on being in another place starting in June 2012, Longmont, Colorado. How to reconcile this? My guidance says to continue putting six months up on the website, first perhaps putting only the class titles without a location, next, once I have a definite location, posting in on the site.

Our plans are dependent on lots of factors: selling our house, my partner Steve finding a position in Colorado, and finding space for home and office in the Boulder area. I have been in this process for almost three years, but now a greater urgency is pushing harder in that direction and I can't (or won't) ignore it any longer.

I know that several of my clients and students would rather I not go. I wish I could pack them in my suitcase and do a reiki caravan to the West. But my soul's mission seems to be pulling me there and I know there is no such thing as really losing anyone, we actually live in a small town from a soul perspective and continue to reconnect with those we love and work with.

So...I will be true to my journey and put up all events through the end of June, keeping to my process. We'll see how things evolve from there.

Thanks for listening!

Earth Changes 2011: Japan and Us

2011-03-18T12:28:00.004-04:00

Many of my students have been sending healing to the nation of Japan this week after its recent earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. The Tuesday before the earthquake, in our Reiki Practice group, many of us were scanning the earth for healing need and found that Japan really was hurting, four days before the actual incident.

What is happening on our planet these days? Is it random or planned? Why?

I believe that what is happening is the earth's attempt to release built up tension, some of which comes from human beings. We collectively seem to be exhibiting more anger, tension, fear, and sadness than at many other times in human history. Some of us are feeling these things, but neglect to let them out, thus letting them build to a tension that releases into the environment. My cousin Suzanne believes that to create peace we need to be peace within ourselves. From a Reiki perspective, letting the anger, fear and worry release, working hard and being kind to each other is the way towards peace. Where have I released these emotions today?

What I find to be true for myself is that the outer world definitely reflects the inner world. When I notice people being particularly self-centered, I must go within to see where that is operating within me. When I feel anger towards others, I must look at what I feel anger towards within myself. Today, I notice that I must continue to pay attention to others, that a smile to another opens their heart, that seemingly small acts of kindness make others and me feel better, that we are not powerless to change the energy on this planet.

Today, I send this peace to the Japanese people, to our atmosphere, to the people on the west coast of the US who are in a panic about the radiation. All of us are interdependent, all of us are one.

Visions: How to Work towards your Future Activities

2011-01-06T15:59:00.003-05:00

On January 30, RCGW is planning to have a workshop on working towards our visions. "What are visions?", you may ask. Visions are the soul's expression of the future, the blueprint, if you will, the desire that the soul had when it incarnated to create on the earth plane.

The soul blueprint is stored energetically above your 7th chakra, about three feet above your head, according to Integrated Energy Therapy(R). It contains the people, places, and things that will help you with your vision, as well as the desired vision or blueprint itself. For some people, it may involve their desired work or career, for others their loves and relationships, for others their beliefs, spirituality, or struggles. Each vision or blueprint is completely individualized, based on the soul's path to that point. What makes all visions powerful, however, is that their full expression makes the Earth different from it would be without that person's expression. The Earth needs all of us and it is important to the Earth for all of us to work towards our unique expression. It's not just for our small personhood that we work on our vision.

Visions do not need to be specific; they can include the qualities that you want to manifest, if not the substance. Do you want to be powerful or gentle (or both)? Do you want to be famous with large communities or do your work with individuals?

In our workshop, we'll be working with some IET techniques for connecting and manifesting our visions, as well as using some Reiki enlightenment techniques from Gendai Reiki and journeying meditations from Native American shamanism. For more information, please see http://www.reikicenter.info/conferences.htm.

September 2010: A chance to look at the last year

2010-10-05T23:03:00.004-04:00

In the past month, I have had the opportunity to look at some major life issues:

My parents are selling their house.
The relationship with my brother needs nurturing.
My healing practice has been quieter than normal.
My house needs fixing.
My plans to move to the West have slowed to a halt.

I keep wondering why spirit has asked/shown me whether I need to be here now, in the D.C. area for a longer time, to meet new students, to continue with my clients, to have some time to connect to God once again in the power of the silence.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur have come and gone and I see that the year past showed me that some things I thought had long been taken care of need care instead. I feel like I have lost my parental center and that my guides won't recommend a course of action to me but ask me to choose one and ask their help instead.

In the coming year, I want to find myself moving forward gently, but not with hesitation; getting some of my outstanding "loose ends" cleaned up; living from my heart, not my head. Take a day at a time, I guess.

I taught a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class in Phoenix and finished up a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master/Teacher class with Mike Hilwig, one of my students who has moved to Arizona to follow his healing path. Before the classes began, I drove up to Sedona to take a hike to Bell Rock, one of the most powerful vortexes in the area. This one seems to awaken me to a new direction, to get me unstuck, and to clear my energy. Results: clear sinuses, renewed energy, good classes.

Back to Arizona for Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki

2010-09-23T00:25:00.003-04:00

I am heading back to Arizona, this time to Phoenix, to followup on my earlier Master class in June for one of my students, Mike, who wasn't able to complete the full scheduled class then. Mike is assisting me at a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class to follow his makeup session this weekend at his and his fiancee Andrea's house in Phoenix.

Arizona is like a breath of fresh air to me, the energy seems to lift me up, the sun cleans out all the East Coast mildew and my lungs seem to be twice the size they are here in Maryland. I definitely feel like it has become a second "retreat home" for me over the years, especially Sedona.

I am planning on driving up to Sedona tomorrow (I get in at 1:30pm and have some time to play). The mountains up there seem to be calling me to come back, take a hike, get some sun, and let some of the sadness of the past year go. Why the sadness? Well, let's just say that plans are like caterpillars, some of them become butterflies and some of them are just dead pupae. I have had a few dead pupae this year and need to focus on the butterflies that have flown, rather than those that haven't developed.

How to stay in a place of light? For me, sometimes the answer is to go within in meditation or healing or speaking with an inspirational friend or Master and sometimes...you just have to get out of town and go to a happy place. That, for me, is Sedona.

I call out to the guides and to God to be there with me and help me find my center once again, to spread my wings and be in a place of love, truth and light. Let me walk the path of Gratefulness once again....

I remember once again the Gokai or Reiki Principles:
Just for Today-
I release all anger.
I release all worry.
I am grateful.
I work hard.
I am kind to all.

Retreats: Good for the Soul

2010-06-04T13:49:00.006-04:00

We just returned from Sedona, Arizona, where RCGW hosted a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master/Teacher workshop. Conventional wisdom seems to be lately that people just want the basic facts, that they don't want to pay for the "fluffy" things such as scenery, meals and lodging. Sedona convinced me once again that a place and an experience are far superior than just the foundational "facts." Left is of Cathedral Rock, where we did an attunement.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Mikao Usui, the founder of the Usui System of Natural Healing (aka Reiki in the US) went to a mountain when he decided he needed a place to connect. I know that we can connect to any place on the earth from any other place (that's the principle we learn in Reiki II classes), but, to my mind, there is really something special about being in an energy vortex and having a learning experience while you're there.

I return to the DC area and realize that my spirit is coming back to the joyful level it was at the last time I was in Arizona...that was five years ago and way to long!

We went to three vortexes as part of the class (Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, and the Church on the Rocks) and I added another two with Terry Tindall, one of my students, the day after the class when we hiked to Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. This view in picture two is of Bell Rock from when we were at the Church on the Rocks.

Sedona in May is a beautiful time: the wildflowers are blooming, the temps are variable, the skies are clear and there aren't gobs of people. It felt so good to breathe the fresh air, walk in the sunshine, and experience the joy of beauty in nature, combined with spirit...and a bit of shopping.

Congrats to Terrence Tindall, Marcia Thomas, and Iris Yu, who completed the workshop and are now SSR Master/Teachers. Mike Hilwig completed through Facet VI and is now an SSR VI Practitioner. I will be returning to complete his training in September 2010...stay tuned for the dates which will most likely be along with an SSR I-II class the last weekend in September.

Arizona Insights

2010-05-31T00:03:00.002-04:00

I'm back from Sedona. I like to think of it as the anti-Washington, the place where conflict is non-existent, where drivers are polite, where people are nice, the sun is bright, and the energy uplifting. I wasn't disappointed this trip, even on the drive up from Phoenix.

I went there to teach a class with my partner, Steve, and an assistant, Krystal. We had four students: Mike, Iris, Marcia, and Terrence, aka Terry. The class was in Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki and included instruction in all of the seven levels or facets of the system.

We stayed at a lovely rental house called Red Rock Escape on Navahopi Road, about four blocks from the main street of Sedona. It was four blocks from my Karuna Reiki (R) teacher, Laurelle Gaia's shop, Peace Place. We visited the shop a couple of times. It has a large store, healing center, and class room area. We were only able to visit with Laurelle and her husband Michael briefly because they had a business trip the next day.

I incorporated natural sites for attunements, including Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa, and in a walk with Terrence Tindall, Bell Rock. We also did attunements in rocking chairs on the front porch and in a lovely back yard with adirondack chairs. The class included the following exercises:

Reiki Regressions - I was regressed back to a lifetime I had as Richard Douglas born in Louisiana in 1850 and died in 1931 in Atlanta, GA. In that lifetime, I worked very hard as a lawyer and felt that the work had not taken advantage of many opportunities to connect with family or other people in a more helpful way. Other students were regressed or progressed to early or future times using the Shining Everlasting Flower of Enlightenment symbol from SSR.
Deep Aura Cleansing - We learned how to clear attachments from the aura using energy fields and the Shining Everlasting Living Waters of Ra symbol from SSR.
Healing Attunements - We incorporated the SSR attunement energy to transform attached blocked energies.
All Love/SKHM - We used meditation techniques and moving techniques from the All Love/SKHM system developed by my teacher Patrick Zeigler.

In addition to the above, the students did LOTS of healing, had five attunements, and gave each other multiple attunements in the 42 different variations of the SSR system.

I hope to do an SSR I-II class in Arizona at Mike and Andrea's house in Phoenix, AZ in September. I'm really looking forward to being back!

April and May - Life Happens

2010-05-14T12:10:00.005-04:00

Well, it has been just under two months since last writing. To catch up:

Taught an Usui Reiki I class this past weekend in Denver, Colorado at the Consulate Healing Center in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It's a beautiful place. I had three students, one of whom is getting ready to move to DC (ironic?). I really liked being in Denver for the first time and visited the Botanical Garden and Zoo, both near the City Park area. We also dined at the Little India Restaurant and a Gypsy Tea house called Gypsy House Cafe. The RCGW tradition of fine dining continues!
Traveled to Minnesota for my niece Sophie's Bat Mitzvah. It was wonderful to be celebrating such a happy milestone. We call that a Simcha (happiness) in Yiddish. It was definitely that. Simchas bring Naches (pride) to the family when the Bat Mitzvah does a good job. She did great!
Got laryngitis for the first time in years. Steve says it was a relief because he got some lovely quiet for a few days. Another Mercury Retrograde item, according to an online source at ivillage.com.
Had a car accident. Hit from behind on a rainy night at a stoplight and pushed into the car ahead of us. My Angel Michael informs me that it could have been LOTS worse, so I am grateful today. I now have a 1997 car that looks like new! I really have to say that State Farm did a fabulous job of arranging everything. Some might say that this is a common thing during a Mercury Retrograde. I had just finished saying to Steve, "I am sure ready for 2010 to stop bringing us so many challenges."
Learned that Lu has cancer, needed surgery, had surgery and is now in recovery. We're still trying to figure out how much teaching she'll be able to do at RCGW in the near future.
Purchased Mind Body Online software to use with our website as a virtual assistant. I'm really excited because this gives us the ability to grow and for clients to book sessions online.

The Path of Mastery

2010-03-24T09:56:00.003-04:00

I just completed an Usui Reiki Master/Teacher retreat at Massanutten Resort in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a beautiful college town in the Shenandoah valley, about three hours southwest of Maryland. (It actually took us four hours to get here this time, due to the amazing DC traffic phenom).

Congratulations to Iris Yu, whose "official" name is Yung-Ping. She is our newest Reiki Master/Teacher. Also thanks to Patricia Bonnard, who assisted in the Master/Practitioner section and to Steve Ritch (otherwise known as the first lady of RCGW), my partner, who assisted for the Master/Teacher section.

I'm looking out the window today, it's cool and sunny. The mountain shines with joy. I feel so grateful to be doing this work (and getting paid for it and going to get a massage in about a half hour).

More to come....

Home

2010-03-16T16:43:00.003-04:00

I arrived home on Friday, filling my time with the Reiki sessions for those I had rescheduled to help pack my parents and a HUGE Usui Reiki II class on Saturday and Sunday, March 13-14.

It had been a long time since I taught such a large class and it was a pleasure to co-teach it with my colleague and student, Reiki Master/Teacher Lu(cille) Shifrin. Lu prefers Lu to Lucille, but I'm reminded that Lucille means light and she was indeed a light for me.

I see that the path Reiki has built for me is one of light, one of connection, focus, and harmony, very much unlike the past week. Indeed, in the teaching of Usui Reiki II, we focus on these themes by working with symbols borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism to represent individual energies used in healing. I have chosen a path very different from the one my family has chosen; I seem to be less affected by losing material goods. I guess this is true because I'm more focused on spiritual ones that are harder to lose. This isn't a judgement (or maybe it is) of my family's own values, just a comparison of how my home is here versus my home in Minnesota.

I really do love what I do, even with missed appointments, up and down finances at times, the uncertainty of self-employment; I love to be in an atmosphere of growth, transformation, and a release of pain.

Thanks to the following students who joined us this past weekend:

Randi Altman
Summer Stevenson
Carrie Williams
Rebecca M
Dan Hitchcock
Linda Arvin
Melissa Arvin
Ida Kingsberry
Irene Boone
Andrew Johnson

Lu Shifrin has now completed her RCGW Certification to teach Usui Reiki I and II classes here at the center and will be teaching an already full Usui Reiki II class the first weekend in May. I am so grateful that she adds her strength to RCGW's. I also want to thank Krystal Jordan for her assistance in leading our two RCGW Reiki Student Clinics this past week while I was away. I am so lucky to have these souls of light in my life!

The Journey Continues...Clothing as a Theme for Life

2010-03-10T00:13:00.004-05:00

I can't believe how many pieces of clothing two people can acquire in 46 years in a house! Shirt after shirt after sweatshirt after Hawaiian shirt after cowboy boots after stetson hat after coat after coat after coat after tie after belt after shoes after underwear, etc. The focus on what is there is that it seems nothing is there, so more clothing is purchased. It's all so overwhelming.

My sister Jan and I worked hard with Dad today clearing out LOTS of clothing. He from a position of keeping the kids from getting rid of HIS stuff and us from the point of view of minimizes 1970's fashion don'ts from moving with him to his new digs. I think it was basically a draw, but we have about six more bags for giveaway.

This evening, Mom saw the new apartment for the first time and cried a bit. She sees this experience as ending, rather than a beginning or, possibly, the beginning of the end. It was bittersweet to see her Tobie Mug collection put out in her new, smaller kitchen. One door closes and another opens.

Another dinner, this time to the Granite City, where I dined on the fish of Minnesota (caught in Canada) walleyed pike. Delicious! These dinners at the end of the day allow all of us to connect and be civilized after a day of intensity.

I'm feeling like I'm ready to let go of some of my own stuff, emotional and physical, to get ready to move forward in my own life after this experience. A totally unexpected result from this visit, I would say.

Today, I was able to let go of anger when talking with my brother, telling him that I was giving him a status report, not asking for directions, when being directed by him to do a list of things not already on my list. We're all scared and feeling a bit rudderless lately. I'm getting used to the new parents, trying to work with their limitations while still feeling the love for them as people, spirits, and beings in transition.

Thanks for listening...

Extending towards Enlightenment

2010-03-09T12:10:00.004-05:00

I'm extending my stay in Minnesota to complete the packing for Mom and Dad. I'll be back in Maryland on Friday morning.

Over the past few days, we have accomplished an unbelievable amount: clearing 30 bags of books, going through hundreds of pictures, helping my parents to let go of the acquisitions of a lifetime. We still hundreds of outfits to go through, hundreds of small decisions that make this massive job a series of little ones.

I saw my cousin Suzanne Krupp again for lunch yesterday at a new restaurant in the West End of St. Louis Park (a mini-artificial downtown) called Crave. It's really got great food and a yuppie/artsy vibe. With her was my friend and student Tunie Munson-Benson. It was great to connect and have a bit of an escape. Last night, I dined at YUM!, a restaurant near my parents' house with my other student Pam Dehkes. We talked about her developments with Reiki since her SSR training last April.

I'm realizing how many things I have to learn from my family. Not just my parents with whom I have worked emotionally for many years, but my siblings as well. I still have to look at old anger that holds me to the past that comes to the surface at the oddest of times. I have visited that emotion more times than I really want to count which keeps me humble whenever I might think that I have reached the destination of Enlightenment Station on the Reiki journey. But being here makes me see why Buddhist monks continued to do the day-to-day stuff while they meditated towards enlightenment: it keeps you aware of the Earth and its lessons for you.

Life Changes in Minnesota

2010-03-07T04:13:00.004-05:00

I am in Minnesota this week, assisting my parents in moving from their home of 46 years into a senior apartment. The house is a place where the memories are here and now, hanging from the walls, on the bookshelves, in the china cup collections.

In this place of memory, my Dad is in the process of losing his memories, slowly, painfully, with great struggle. The self we used to know sometimes shines out during a meal out as it did at the Yangze Restaurant this evening where we shared a meal with my cousin and psychic medium Suzanne Krupp ). At other times, there is a fight to preserve everything just as it has been for years. It is a desire to keep things that have long since lost their function, to move a freezer loaded with food to a two-bedroom apartment.

I gave him Reiki this morning and felt incredible heat at the top of his head as he dozed in a chair at the kitchen table. Everything seems to take longer here, my emotions are floating near the surface, my connections with people are more important, more intense, more raw. I have been allowing my feelings to come, whether they are of sadness, anger, frustration, or just bewilderment at the quantity of stuff a lifetime in a home can bring.

The Reiki Principles definitely apply here: just for today, I am letting go of anger and worry, I am grateful for this moment and its memory, I am working VERY hard at moving things forward, and I am trying hard to be kind, even when my feelings make me want to be less so. I am being given a wonderful gift: to walk as a Boddhisatva, a being here to help others, maybe not in a specifically healing context, but being a healing presence when I can and am allowed to minute-by-minute.

This afternoon, with my sister Bonnie, I asked her what she was grateful for from her time in this house. She said, " what a strange question." I find myself grateful just for the tasks I remember. I am grateful for the myriad of family events I have spent here, even 30 years after I left for college. I am grateful for the intensity of my growing up: it gave me the ability to be a healing presence as a Reiki healer. I am grateful for the ability I have to organize, write, communicate, moderate, and love. I am grateful for my own home, my Reiki friends, my partner, my life in Maryland. I am grateful for so many things that just days ago seemed boring.

Thanks for listening.

Knowing When to Move (and when not to)

2010-02-15T19:28:00.003-05:00

Some time ago, in a Reiki Master class, I did a channeling of Mikao Usui, the founder of the Usui Reiki Ryoho. In the channeling, he described 6 levels of assessment from beginning Reiki practitioner at level 6 to Spiritual Master at level 1. He described himself as a level 2.

Level 1 was to know how to handle the world, to know how to make life changes when the world is changing.

I have been trying to know what to do as my life and practice continue to change. I feel a strong pull to Colorado, but also a pull (perhaps the pull of inertia) to stay where I am. And it continues to snow...and snow...and snow. Perhaps it is preparing me for a snowier place OR perhaps DC is becoming that place.

I feel like movement has been happening inspite of me. I'm not sure what to make of it. The movement is happening internally, constantly, effortlessly. When I focus on the negative, I'm exhausted, when I don't, I'm invigorated. It's like a self-adjusting robot that moves and assesses with each decision it makes.

I'm going into a shamanic place this week as I prepare materials for a Crystal Healing class coming up this weekend. That always takes me to a mystical region where everything is laden with meaning, even when my partner Steve says he wants summer peas for dinner; I start thinking about the summer, the harvest, sun, nature, and bliss.

I guess it's been that kind of day.

A Unified Model of Teaching - West meets East as a Beginning

2010-02-14T22:18:00.003-05:00

Today, I completed teaching a class in Usui Reiki I. The Usui part of the class refers to Mikao Usui, the founder of the Usui System of Natural Healing, the actual name of what is termed Reiki in the West. The Western style of Reiki comes to us by way of Usui to his student Chujiro Hayashi and from him to a Hawaiian named Hawayo Takata, also called simply Mrs. Takata in Reiki circles.

In the 1990's, the Western Reiki community began to hear about the Eastern Reiki community which everyone had assumed had disappeared after WWII. The Eastern community calls itself the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, or the Usui Reiki Natural Healing Society. I first read about this in a book by Frank Arjava Petter called Reiki Fire (a great book to read, if you have the chance). I later studied it with Reiki Master Amy Rowland, author of Traditional Reiki for Our Times, and Intuitive Reiki for Our Times and a new book about living the Reiki principles.

Over the almost four years since I first studied this style with Amy, I have been exploring ways of teaching it. Last month, I taught the style as a separate modality for the first time. This weekend, I exclusively used the Reiju (attunement) style from the Usui Reiki Ryoho in my Western Usui Reiki I class in addition to the techniques from that system I have used since 2007. It really felt good and I felt the Reiki Masters with me as I worked through the Reijus. First, as they told me to stay longer in certain locations, next as they told me to add grounding at the feet, finally as they helped me to visualize the elements of each of the students in the attunement.

I had been concerned previously about not doing the attunement the way Mrs. Takata had in a class teaching her techniques, but I am coming to the realization that my style is more in accord with the Eastern side of things, more gentle, more intuitive, simpler. This experiment was planned because I was supposed to be teaching a very large class and I didn't think I would have time to do the Western attunement four times for all the students. The class ended up being my usual size of five students, but I kept to my original plan of using the Reiju. It went beautifully.

I would also like to congratulate my students who have received their first degree this weekend: Shushan Aleaqui, Andrew Johnson, MIchael Mastronikolas, Summer Stevenson, and Michael Yun.

Second blizzard of February 2010

2010-02-10T12:15:00.003-05:00

It's February 10, 2010, two feet of snow are in development in Maryland with about 18 inches on the ground so far. Yesterday, my Dad called me from Minnesota to tease, "is this the guy who moved South to avoid the snow?"

I have several pictures on my cellphone, but am not particularly technical, so for this posting you probably won't see them. Suffice it to say that our beagles, Lucy and Toby, aren't tall enough to walk through it without jumping up, and they are 13" and 15" respectively.

Steve is listening to Scarecrow and Mrs. King on his computer; our wi-fi network, newly-installed the day before the storm, is working fine...

One of my clients called me today looking for a remote session. Reiki and other methods have this available to help people with or without a telephone intermediary. I am thinking seriously about doing more remotes, or distant reiki, as they are usually called, to keep my practice thriving when clients can't get out. If the weather is indeed changing as Healing Angel Michael talked about in my last post, it may be time for Reiki Masters to develop better ways of teaching and healing distantly, with a quality training technology that lets people be interactive at a distance as well as hands-on.

Steve and I have not done much towards our move to Colorado in the past couple of months. So, spirit brings Colorado snows to us. Looking at the snow, I am thinking I will need to get more comfortable with my Yin energy, the energy of receiving, listening, meditating, being quiet and attracting. Living in the Washington, DC metro area for so long (26 years at last count), I have gotten very good at being "productive". I put the word in quotes because I refer to the action of being active, rather than necessarily being effective. If you are doing activity that is what is important in this area, even if the activity doesn't seem to do much for you. People here work till they drop and then they collapse into zombies watching television or taking sleep meds to quiet their minds for five hours to try to fill up a bit before doing it all again.

I am changing my pattern now. I am regularly meditating, asking spirit to show me, rather than telling spirit to direct me. I am working towards a pattern of health, rather than recreating a pattern of chronic illness as so many of my clients have. I am looking at causes that may go back to many past lifetimes where I died from lung ailments. In this lifetime, when my own lungs seem to be very tight, that is the very time I need to look at my life.

I don't know if this entry is very inspirational or just the ramblings of someone caught in the snow. Either way, it feels really good to sit in a comfortable chair, hearing the roar of the wind outside with a warm beagle lying next to me with her head on my leg. Right now, we have power, we have had eggs in the basket for breakfast and Earl Grey tea, we are safe, warm and loved. Right now is the most important time for us to live. Right now is the eternal time in which all life really happens.

Healing Angel Michael Speaks on Earth Changes

2010-02-05T22:06:00.004-05:00

What follows is a channeling of Michael, one of the Archangels. Michael works as one of the team of Healing Angels in the Integrated Energy Therapy (R) healing system, also known as IET, practiced and taught at the Reiki Center of Greater Washington. In the IET system, Michael works on points on the human body that related to a release of fear and imprinting of safety. For more information about IET, please click on the link above.

Thank you, David, for your kind introduction. As you sit tonight watching the extensive snowfall in your area of Rockville, Maryland, it is difficult to believe that your planet is in the process of a great warming. This great warming is causing movements of the climate to different zones, as evidenced by what you term natural disasters of different types happening outside of where they "usually" do.

Examples:

The Haitian earthquake where one had not previously been known.
Reduction in temperatures in the temperate zones of the United States and Europe.
Desertification moving southward on the African continent.
Magnification of storms in all seasons.
Droughts developing in zones where water had been previously abundant.

What we would like all of you to remember is that there is no cause for fear in these developments. It is just important to be aware that change is to be expected and to adjust oneself to it, rather than trying to keep it from happening.

A helpful question to ask oneself might be: "what is this development to teach me?" Please note that there is teaching in all of these developments, allowing humans to make necessary changes. The necessary changes will help humans to move forward down the path to their development, a place where the Earth will be more like the Heaven known in your religious teachings.

Do not fear. Live, love, be grateful, learn. This is the world that you live in. You are never alone...

November...a Month of Quiet Gratefulness

2009-11-23T11:00:00.004-05:00

November 2009 has been a month of quiet gratefulness for me. It has been a chance to catch my breath, to host small, intimate classes, to explore my need for rest, spirit, and connection to others.

My parents and family have been talking to me lately about the transition my parents are going through, mostly due to some changes in health recently. I hear all sides, but I'm not really there, so the feeling of powerlessness arises that can really drain the energies, if not worked on. I know that there is little I can do other than to offer comfort. Health issues due to aging can be the hardest ones, since you assume that the trend is towards eventually transitioning from the earth plane to the other side. I have also had some health issues this month that have forced me to rest, reconnect with my home, puppies, and breathing...slowly, in and out, in and out, filling with the life-giving air and letting the old air go.

I now have a "wi-fi" connection that lets me blog at Panera and this feels very 21st century, very hi-tech, very "connected". But am I really connected OR am I sharinng a space with others who are connecting to their own worlds? We share coffee and bagels, I watch an old man adjust his pants in front of me, the fire is burning, someone next to me fiddles with his bills, another man is watching a movie, someone else is reading a book. Are we really connected here? We have the semblance of being "together" but we aren't interacting with one another at all.

With Reiki, I try to help my students to truly connect with themselves and others. Connection in this case means touch, energy, questioning and sharing impressions, and "holding space" for another's healing process. Even in someone who is presumably healthy, there is room for healing, a movement back to increased wholeness.

I had asked my guides whether November was going to be a good month and received the message that December would be wonderful...such is the case with rest: it's needed, but doesn't seem to fill the coffers. I was a bit freaked out that I had such quiet this month, but now I see that I have been given a gift, the chance to see how things have evolved while I was too busy to pay attention fully to them. What I see is that I need to make room for the earth and daily maintenance tasks as I quest for greater and greater energy experiences. I need to do the laundry, shop for and fix meals, pay the bills, clean the house, take care of the dogs, etc. When I don't do these things for awhile, they feel like they mount up in an overwhelming mound of stuff that I feel is too much to handle. I just need to do a bit every day and let go of the worrying.

This Thursday, when I join Ridgely and Amy at their Thanksgiving dinner, I will invite my spirits and friends energetically to join us in thanking our creator for the opportunity to see how things have evolved while we were busy doing other things. Thanks for the time to find stillness once again.

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class - 9/26 and 10/3/09

2009-10-03T23:30:00.005-04:00

I just completed giving training in Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki to three students, Iris Yu, Guang Hu, and Anne Ford. There appeared to be quite a bit of serendipity in the class:

2 people were third children.
2 people were of Chinese descent.
2 people had trouble with elementary school gym.

I was joined by SSR Master/Teacher Krystal Jordan, one of my students, who co-taught with me for the first time.

I was grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with the SSR energies, open my heart, and widen my "energy channel," depicted in the SSR literature as a central column of light that links the source of all love and the center of the Earth.

I have felt a bit tired of late, but this class has re-energized me. During the class, we collectively conducted seven healing sessions and I taught the four initial symbols of the SSR healing matrix. Every time that I teach this modality, I think of how much I love to use it in healings. SSR seems to speak through all of my pores, to wash through my cells, and to let me know what is in my heart center.

For more information on this modality, you can see http://www.reikicenter.info/classes_ssr.htm or read Diane Ruth Shewmaker's book, All Love.

Reiki blessings...

David Gleekel

All Love, a class with Patrick Zeigler, on August 8 and 9, 2009

2009-08-11T18:27:00.006-04:00

This past weekend, I participated in an All Love gathering, a powerful healing experience for myself and the group of 10 gathered at RCGW's former location in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

I was wondering to myself why I needed to be at this class. I had taken a similar class with Diane Shewmaker three times in the past couple of years. All Love is a powerful healing technique to release deeply held emotional blockages in the energy system. I am a Certified Facilitator of the technique, but had decided that being a teacher for it would be more than I was willing to do. But the All Love brought me back to it and allowed me to work with its originator, Patrick Zeigler.

At the beginning of the class, we sat in a circle and joined hands. People began to tone and vibrate. Spontaneously, without any direction from Patrick, we began to connect with each other, touching, toning, healing, standing, moving, and deeply releasing. This lasted two and a half hours after which we went to lunch.

In the afternoon, Patrick let us know what we had worked on in a step-by-step fashion. He led us through the Shenu meditation that connects to the dichotomies of Heaven and Earth, Male and Female, and Future and Past. All of these connect at the Heart as a balance to them.

We ran through the meditation again, this time supporting a different person. But we continued to come back to all those in the group eventually allowing the facilitators to become the receivers.

We ended with an Infinity Dance, allowing movement to help us connect more deeply with the Heart of All Love.

The next day, we did more in-depth healing and I watched as members of the group released things they had not shared with anyone in the world before then. I saw myself burned over a fire with white ropes, being asked repeatedly to reveal the names of those I had healed. This appeared to connect with my impending move to Colorado, with my feeling guilty about leaving those I have taught and healed in the DC area.

I have been in the All Love ZONE ever since the class and have done several spontaneous sessions. I am available for experiential connection hands-on or by phone, if you would like. I think this work will continue to deepen over the coming months.

Medicine Wheel Healing Workshop - August 2, 2009

2009-08-05T23:14:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday, I taught a workshop in Medicine Wheel healing which I shared with Terry Tindall, a student of several years who has taken most of the classes I have offered at RCGW.

The Medicine Wheel is a tool used by Native Americans that uses the four directions to track the movement of time through the stages of our lives, the months of our years, and the animal, plant and crystal guides we can use to help us on this journey.

There is now a beautiful medicine wheel that Terry and I built at the center, sharing its powerful energies with the new/old space on Glasgow Drive. I will be keeping it up until the next new moon on the 20th of August. Please come by and see it at any of the events this month on:

August 12, Reiki I-II Practice Group
August 19, Reiki Student Clinic

Or at any sessions between now and the 20th.

Linda Karin Boichat Pallansch and Melody Hill

2009-08-05T23:05:00.002-04:00

In the past week, I have attended two friends' memorial services. I have known both of them over ten years; I was shocked at both their deaths, because they both died earlier than would have been expected, Linda, whose memorial service was today, died on Friday, July 31 of swine flu; Melody, whose memorial service was last Monday, died on Monday, July 20 of cancer.

What I value from these memorial services is the memories that both of these friends touched in me, remembering how they were teachers to me and affected the outcomes of my life. Melody was the first metaphysical teacher I ever had. I am now a professional healer and intuitive, so this was major. Linda was a recovery friend who referred me to a position at Kaiser Permanente in 1997 that helped me develop a customer service skill that I use in my Reiki practice today.

I need to thank these women for their gifts and wish them well on their journeys to the next level of spirit. Go in peace, ladies...

Boulder, Colorado Summary

2009-06-17T00:51:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been a couple of months since I last had an entry in the blog. During this time, I have been teaching and working, trying to make time to get ready to travel to Boulder.

We left on June 12 and arrived at Denver International to tornado warnings. We arrived in the Boulder valley to a "hail" of hailstones, most about 2 inches in diameter. But the sun was also shining and the greenness of the mountains and trees beckoned, seeming to say welcome.

The first night, I received a tibetan bowl sound healing with Sri, a Nepalese man who was in Boulder briefly. This was at a store called Old Tibet on Pearl Street, near the Pearl Street mall, about a mile from the University of Colorado. I had really only been in the city two hours and immediately I was drawn into a healing from a soul that I felt I had already known and worked with. I knew then that things would be different from other places I have visited. This was a real place where mystical awakenings happen surrounded by absolutely the most beautiful natural spaces I have ever encountered.

The next day, Steve and I went to the Solstice Center on 302 Pearl Street where we had rented the Lotus Room to give a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class to two students, Cathy and Andy Barton, newlyweds from New Castle, Colorado. They had only recently done Reiki I training and found the class a very powerful opening to their sensitivity to the reiki energy. We had wonderful Italian food with them for lunch on the first day and on the second day went to the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, a miraculous wooden structure built in Tajikistan and shipped and reassembled in Boulder. Wonderful teas and a space that has no description that can give it justice.

Since the class, Steve and I have been dining out, walking, driving up into the mountains, meeting with a new Reiki Master friend named Deborah who moved to Boulder four years ago from Takoma Park, MD, and today went with Marie, our new Real Estate agent to see some houses in Louisville, Lafayette, Niwot, and Longmont (all of them a bit east of Boulder, since our Reiki dollars don't seem to stretch into the city right now).

I think we are moving here/here being Boulder, since I'm sitting at our hotel right now. It feels strange to say it...I love the DC area and have deep roots there, but feel like home is moving west.

Healing Angels of the Energy Field - 1st Class Session Taught - April 11, 2009

2009-04-11T22:52:00.003-04:00

From 9:30am to 5:30pm, my students and I got a front row seat to the angelic beings used for healing in the Integrated Energy Therapy (R) system. This was the first time that I have taught an IET class since my Master Instructor training in February with Karen Puglia. I had taken the Angels class originally from Diane Shewmaker and used much of what she did in my teaching.

What I learned from it is that meditation and sharing take time, especially in those not used to meditating and sharing. There were a mix of ages and backgrounds in the class; many people found it a bit hard to concentrate, but we had a wonderful connection as a group between both people and angels.

The class, taught at my parents' house in Minnesota, was cozy, energetic, and alternating between hot and cold temps from the energy transmissions. Each angel (there are nine) took 10-15 minutes of meditation, 5 minutes of writing on our intentions and another 5 of writing about the messages we received, plus 5 minutes per person sharing about their experiences. That created about 45 minutes per angel.

In the future, the students thought we should break the class into at least two parts (hard on the tushie to sit for 7 hours in one day). I also thought that seven students was a bit large to share in one group (some sharings about each angel meditation took 35-40 minutes). I think the ideal size for this class would be 5 students.

You can find out more information about the Angels class and Integrated Energy Therapy at http://www.reikicenter.info/classes_iet.htm or the main site for the modality at http://www.learniet.com. Our next Angels class is scheduled for August 16, 2009 in Rockville, Maryland.

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II Notes from April 7, 2009

2009-04-08T23:53:00.004-04:00

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki is about three energies: Sekhem, the energy of the Ankh, a symbol of Power or Might, Seichim, the energy of the Infinity, a symbol of flow, and Reiki the energy of the conscious life force.

I taught a 1-day class at my parents' house on Tuesday that showed me teaching is not about the teacher, but is instead about the students and the energy. The above class brought two new students into the Reiki fold and brought them to the advanced level the same day. One of the students had already experienced Reiki I, so it was a bit of a review for her, but it seemed that all of them were advanced souls who were using the energy of SKHM (the foundational energy of this modality) to recognize their power to heal. The attunement and training did not convey this power, it helped wake them up to its existence in them.

I learned that Reiki and its energy friends continue to teach long after the initial training course disappears from memory.

I would like to congratulate Katie Wadsworth, Pamela Dehkes, and Wendy DeCamp, RCGW's newest SSR II Practitioner students.

Grocery Shopping with Dad...a Mirror for Me

2009-04-03T19:57:00.004-04:00

I spent the afternoon with my Mom and Dad...first at Chili's for lunch, then with Dad at Cub Foods on Texas Avenue in St. Louis Park, Minnesota for a mega-shopping expedition. My
Dad, Al (or Big Al as many call him) has been getting over a cold that has settled in his chest. Between coughs and looks at my Mom's extensive list, we had a chance to connect among the various vegetables in the immense produce section.

I have an annual migration to St. Louis Park, a city of 50,000 or so in the southwestern suburbs of Minneapolis. Their house is actually only two blocks from the city and within a short walk of three beautiful lakes (Cedar Lake, Lake of the Isles, and Lake Calhoun {don't ask why it isn't Lake Cedar}). All of the lakes have beautiful paths around them that are wonderful to hike when the weather is nice, which it was today. But, of course, being Minnesota, tomorrow it is going to snow.

Dad and I talked about his role as a "shlepper". This is a Yiddish term that means one who goes to get for someone else, usually in this case Dad for Mom. Passover time is a busy season for shleppers and I consider myself an honorary shlepper when Mom begins the cooking ritual for the upcoming Seders. This year will be the first that Mom and Dad haven't hosted it since I was a toddler.

I'm feeling the energy of things changing, even as I return to the same house I grew up in. The house has new siding and roof, courtesy of the insurance company thanks to last summer's hailstorm. There is new paint on some of the walls (since the house itself may be transitioning as my parents move to the next stage of their lives).

It feels odd to return and see the change that my family that lives here sometimes misses because it happens so gradually.

What I saw today was my Dad's tendency to be particular about simple things:

How to double bag (I learned that you don't open the inside bag until it's in; actually a helpful hint).
How to interpret my Mom's grocery list (get one of each option). When I called on this one, my Mom actually asked for one of each.
How to pick apples (red tastes better).
How to give the right of way to a pedestrian (avoid hitting her and go first).

My Dad is slowing down; won't take a pleasure walk, but has no problem with shlepping. He says that if he has a choice of which to do, why not do the one that is needed. I see this as his philosophy of life: love is duty to those we love...we do for them as a way to show them they are loved. Mom and Dad regularly do for one another (as my partner Steve and I try to do in Maryland). I think it keeps them going. What I see is that I was raised by parents who tried to do the right thing, literally, for me and demanded the same thing from me in return. I may not always succeed, but I try to be what Steve terms "a good citizen". I think I get this from these two lovable shleppers who raised me.

A Week in Master-level energies

2009-03-23T16:49:00.003-04:00

This week, I spent some time learning new things related to teaching from a Gendai Reiki Shoden, Okuden, Shinpiden and Gokuikaiden (Level one through Master/Teacher) class with Amy Rowland. Gendai Reiki is the name of the modality developed by Mr. Hiroshi Doi, a student of both Western and Eastern styles of Reiki and a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, the society started by Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system.

Gendai means "Modern" and this is a modern adaptation of the Reiki system that builds on both traditional Western and Eastern styles. During the weekend, Amy gave us 10 attunements (in two days!) which left the three of us feeling very clear, like our spiritual windows had just been washed.

The system simplifies the first level of training and adds a teacher's level that bases the system of teaching on the quest for enlightenment or satori. It is truly a beautiful system and I believe that I will add it to my repetoire of teaching topics over the next year. I need to soak in the energies awhile, however, before I teach it.

Later in the week, I joined four students in continuing their quest for Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki training in a Thursday evening class where I attuned them to the fourth and fifth facets (levels) of the system. These facets help you to set the space for healing and open up to your soul blueprint or design for your life purpose.

On Saturday, March 21, I taught four students the introduction to Crystal Journeying. We worked with six crystals over the day and felt their healing energies take us to the three shamanic worlds and introduce us to our Animal totems and show us about our lives in a different way.

On Sunday, March 22, I completed training for Karen Meyer-Cain to the Master/Teacher facet of the Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki system in her master attunement. I want to thank Jennifer Klang who acted as our "student" in the class for the purpose of receiving the various attunements of the system.

Today, I am having a bit of a rest and getting myself centered to go back to level one next weekend.

Creating a Healthy and Successful Reiki Practice

2009-03-07T09:49:00.004-05:00

On a Saturday that I don't have a regularly-scheduled class to teach, I have some time to reflect.

Why do I do what I do and am I doing it the way I intend?

I think that I do what I do because I love it. I love to heal and watch others in the healing process. I love to see students and clients go through the transformative process that Reiki represents.

My vision for what I do is to be a community resource for Reiki; to allow healers to learn, grow, and form their own practices to help the world to heal (and especially the community in which I live, the Greater DC Area).

I believe that my practice offers the above. What it has been a bit lax in, I think, of late is to be self-supporting. If your practice isn't able to support itself in a sustainable way, even though you love it, you may have to find another source of income to supplement what you earn from Reiki.

So what's sustainable?

I believe that a sustainable practice is able to:

yield a regular salary to its owner
pay its monthly expenses when they are due (or early)
save a percentage of its income each month for taxes
have retained earnings at the end of each month
have a "sustainability fund" to handle low months
have working capital available for opportunities that present themselves
schedule healing sessions for its owner(s) that support them on a regular basis

At the moment, I would say that RCGW (my practice) is able to do most of these, but has had an issue with savings or net retained earnings. This is because we have taken on a higher percentage of debt in our growing stage than was sustainable.

I would recommend, after this experience, that the financial percentages for a sustainable practice should look something like this:

Salaries and Taxes - 40%
Direct Expenses (class and session supplies, printing, etc) - 30%
Overhead Expenses (rent, utilities, advertising) - 20%
Sustainability Fund - 10%

What this means is that about 50% of everything that comes in goes to the expenses of the practice. Forty percent of what remains goes to taxes and salaries which leaves about 10% remaining for growth and emergencies each month. Hopefully, the sustainability fund is not used each month, but has a chance to grow.

It is my dream that my practice have a sustainability fund that allows it to continue without any income for up to a full year. That can become a kind of insurance, especially if you are self-employed, and can eliminate some of the worry that can accompany owning your own business. Because of this intention, I have decided to lower expenses for the business by moving my commercial space to my home office space to save just over half of my overhead expenses. That is slated to take place effective July 1, 2009.

I have some mixed feelings about the change, but in a meditation after my decision, I heard Usui-Sensei say, "Reiki is about the inside, not the outside." A beautiful space that doesn't contribute to the welfare of the business is not sustainable. That is what I am working for right now.

My Journey with Integrated Energy Therapy

2009-02-15T16:44:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, I went to Richmond, Virginia to complete my Master-Instructor training with Karen Puglia in Integrated Energy Therapy (TM), a modality developed by Stevan Thayer. I can now teach six classes:

IET Basic
IET Intermediate
IET Advanced
IET for Pets
IET for Kids
Angels of the Energy Field

I started my journey with IET with Diane Shewmaker, my teacher for the Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Angels classes. IET restricts its Master-Instructors from offering its Master-Instructor course to a very few, only three at the moment worldwide, including the developer of the system.

IET is billed as a successor system to Reiki, but my reasons for taking it were mostly about the concept of the emotional connection to the physical and energetic body. In the IET system, various emotional points or cellular memory areas or maps, are held throughout the body, running from the head to the feet.

The crown center is said to hold the emotion of guilt.
The forehead center is said to hold the emotion of distrust.
The back of neck region is said to hold threat.
The shoulders are said to hold the "shoulds" from the men and women (starting with Dad and Mom) in our lives.
The heart center is said to hold heartache.
The throat and lungs are said to hold shame.
The upper abdomen is said to hold anger and resentment.
The lower abdomen is said to hold stress and powerlessness.
The lower back and legs are said to hold fear.

In IET, we ask a group of nine angels to assist us in imprinting new energies to replace the energies of the negative emotions above. We do this with hand positions somewhat similar to Western Reiki, but also with energy points on the back and pulling out negative energies through the auric field.

I continue to love learning new things, but I am finding some definite synergies between IET and Chinese Medicine in how they work with the body. I do think they vary a bit around the abdomen, however.

In Chinese Medicine,

The Liver meridian is about Anger.
The Heart meridian is about Joy.
The Spleen meridian is about Worry.
The Lung meridian is about Sadness.
The Kidney meridian is about Fear.

Most of these compare similarly to the IET with only the Spleen meridian varying. In IET, that area is said to hold resentment. If you think of it being more internal to external, then worry and resentment are both internal processes.

I will begin teaching IET classes starting in May 2009. Diane Shewmaker is offering the classes once again starting with the IET Basic on February 28, 2009. You can find out more information by clicking on the name of this article above or going to http://www.reikicenter.info/new.htm#iet.

Walking the Reiki Master Path

2009-02-04T08:55:00.004-05:00

What does it mean to be a Reiki Master?

The term comes from Hawayo Takata, since it was not used in the country of Reiki's birth, Japan. In Japan, one who has received the knowledge that we call Reiki Mastership is said to have reached Shinpiden, the Mystery Level. After they learn to teach, they are simply called Shihan, teacher or instructor.

Only in the West have we used a word like Master, which implies someone who has mastered his or her subject. In practice, Reiki Master simply means that you have been attuned to the Reiki Master energy stream, known in English as the Great Shining Light or Universe. This energy is the "rei' in the word Reiki. The universal, divine, and conscious intelligence.

I did my first Reiki Master training with Marie Ciociola in October 1998. I had huge expectations of that class and what it would teach me. What I realized when I received the attunement at the class's conclusion is that I was not ready to teach right away. While I had the structure of what would be taught, I did not have sufficient experience, in my opinion, to offer a class to people. That began a journey of reading everything I could get my hands on about Reiki. I learned from this research that information about Reiki was diverse and sometimes conflicting. I realized that it would be important to give students a path on which they could walk that would give a context to the variety of schools of Reiki, but also conveying what I felt was important based on my experience as a Reiki Practitioner.

I am still working on this one, but have found some objectives that I think are important in Reiki Mastership or teaching:

An openness to the student's unique path, even if it diverges from the teacher's experience.
In-depth knowledge of the subject to be taught, including information, attunements, healing techniques, etc.
Verification of the students' knowledge throughout the teaching process to make sure they are connecting with the teaching.
Hands-on experience to the greatest extent possible.
Connection to source in the process of teaching so that the ego does not lead, but follows.
Healthy respect for the boundaries of the students to develop trust with them as part of setting a good example.
Setting healthy boundaries for the class, so that all students feel safe with each other.

There are many more objectives, but the ones above, if followed, will assist in creating a class that your students will want to attend.

There is a link on the title above to our page at http://www.reikicenter.info/ that describes what is included in our center's Reiki classes. I hope you check it out.

Planetary Retrogrades

2009-01-25T14:33:00.003-05:00

We are in a Mercury Retrograde at this time and have been since January 11, 2009. This will continue until February 2, when the planet Mercury will begin to move forward in the sky.

What could this planet so far from us do to affect our day-to-day lives? Interesting you should ask...

Mercury is the planet of communication, travel, and systems. As such, when this planet goes retrograde or backwards about three times a year (this year, it will be four), communications, travel and systems often have interesting issues. Conventional wisdom is that you should avoid new beginnings at this time, signing contracts, communications, hearing correctly, driving, or other types of travel are often affected.

So far this retrograde for me, it has been taking the form of mishearing or misreading numbers, some computer glitches, and appointments showing up differently from what was planned.

I am writing this blog during an opening created by just such a no-show appointment this weekend.

It's helpful to connect with spirit during this time, asking "Spirit, please let me know what the next, right thing is for me to work on at this time." Then, follow that guidance and use the planets as guideposts, rather than roadblocks for your life.

Thinking about the "Other America"

2009-01-16T16:31:00.006-05:00

There was an interesting article in the first section of today's Washington Post discussing how people in rural Arkansas feel about being in Obama's America. You can see it at http://www.washingtonpost.com/.

One of the quotes from an interviewee was that once he heard about Barack Obama's election, he went out and spent $400 on ammunition because of his fear that he would lose his ability to use his guns or find ammo for them after increased regulation happened.

I was struck by how fear makes us do some pretty weird things.

Much of this man's reaction was due to a comment Obama made about those in rural America clutching their guns and religion, intimating that this was detrimental to the "reality" of the New World. It made me see that things I may say offhandedly may come back to bite me, if I am not careful about them.

We are going into a cycle this next week or so of a Solar Eclipse. My astrologer, Bonnie Miller Donaldson, indicates that this may make us react thoughtlessly, causing us to regret what we say later.

Everyone is a teacher for everyone else in some way. Look around and see all the "others" in your life today. What do they have to teach you?

Usui Sensei Speaks about the New Year, 2009

2009-01-15T00:07:00.003-05:00

Please note that this is a channeled writing of Mikao Usui, the founder of Usui Reiki Ryoho as channeled by David Gleekel, Reiki Master/Teacher. Channeling has a long history; some might say that Reiki is a type of channeling. Usui and the other 'Big Three' Reiki Masters (Chujiro Hayashi and Hawayo Takata are the other two) are available to all Reiki Masters through connection to the Master Symbol. More information on this technique will be available on the blog soon. All channeled portions will be in italics.

Thank you, David, for your kind introduction. We wanted to come through and speak to the Reiki community about the nature of this new year, 2009, in the course of world healing. Since it is late, we will be as brief as possible.

This is a year when many hope for major positive changes to offset what is perceived by many to be a negative past year. We have a different characterization: that 2009 will be a year when a new level of transformation will be arrived at, one in which all living beings will begin to awaken to their connection to one another. This does not just include human beings, but the trees, flowers, rocks, and animals around you.

Consciousness is seeking community now. We are moving back to a time when everything knew inately that it was connected to everything else. There is no "other", there is no past, no future, only the ever present NOW. All is reflected outward from our own internal Master creator. We are not victims of this, only co-creators.

We thank those teachers who seek to form communities around healing for they are advancing this cause. It is not an easy road to be the support for these communities because it takes time on your plane, it takes talent, and it takes resources, emotionally, financially, and energetically. I myself died young in the service of this goal. But the seeds planted at the beginning of the last century have borne fruit, good fruit. Reiki continues to expand around the world and the healing reaches the scientific and medical establishments. Soon, it will reach the regulatory community as well and the path of the healer will become a bit more conventional than it has been. We welcome this, since it gives a defined role to the Reiki practitioner within the health system. This may make it a bit more involved, but has many positive trade-offs. The one thing we wish to note is that it is vital to maintain the spiritual connection, even as you earn your living from this great gift.

May you continue to value one another as healers of the world and live the peace that is in the process of being born.

I feel the sense of time passing now, of new ideas coming quicker and quicker as humanity rushes to catch up with its destiny. It will not be a destiny of destruction, much as many have predicted, but one of uncertainty as the free will of each human must be joined together into a new fabric of unity.

Healers: please send healing to this process each day at your awakening. As we bless this transformation, it arises.

David tells me I need to close now, so have a peaceful night and we will speak again soon.

Karuna Reiki, the Reiki of Compassionate Action

2009-01-14T09:27:00.005-05:00

Karuna is a word from Sanskrit that means compassion. The boddhisatva of compassion is referred to as the Maha-Karuna, or the sound that illumines the world. In Karuna Reiki (R), we bring in a system of eight healing symbolic energies that heal at the cellular level and, as such, bring us to a place where there is no "other" in our world.

Each person is a reflection of our journey. As we heal with our hearts, we see ourselves and our own journey in those around us.

I may feel joy at the election of a particular politician, but still know that I must connect with his opponent because part of my journey is reflected in his experience, the experience of loss.

The Karuna Reiki (R) system comes from the International Center for Reiki Training in Southfield, Michigan (URL: http://reiki.org/). The energies, however, originate in a time and place that predate that center. Some sources indicate that the energies were used in the originating Tera Mai or Tera Mai Seichim systems. Some say that they come from the sage Sai Baba. What I would say is that the energies take us to a very deep healing level extremely quickly, open, clear, fill with light, and bring us back before we, as the client, may even be aware of the process.

Karuna Reiki (R) is taught to those who have completed Reiki Master training at the practitioner level for the first eight symbols and the teacher level for the Master symbols of the system.

I first learned Karuna from Laurelle Gaia in Del Ray Beach, Florida. The energy seemed to make me feel connected to everyone around me on the street, on the plane, in the ocean, you name it. I felt what the ocean felt when we worked with the energy at sunrise; I felt a sense of "why not?" come over me that resulted in my having my first website created three days after I completed the course.

The changes in my life since learning this system have been profound: growing a practice, becoming a full-time practitioner and teacher two years later, opening an office two years after that, doubling the space two years after that. Growth has been the rule, rather than the exception as I have moved forward on my healing path, the path of the boddhisatva, one who helps lead others to enlightenment.

Over the past year, I have learned compassionate action for my own journey, that I need to receive as well as give, to have quiet time as well as activity. That is part of the healing path: to be whole as you walk in support of others and ourselves.

I am in the middle of teaching Karuna Reiki with Patricia Bonnard this week and am finding the class very healing from a personal perspective, since I really needed this energy once again myself. There will be another Karuna Reiki Practitioner and Master class next month. You can see the link above for more information or our calendar at http://reikicenter.info/calendar.htm#karuna1.

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class summary - 1/10-1/11/09

2009-01-11T16:58:00.005-05:00

I completed a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class with Renee Adolphe as my only student this weekend. It was a wonderful healing weekend for both of us, my partner, Steve, and her parents whose photos she brought with her for distant healing on the second day.

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki is an extended system of Reiki that dates back to the 1980's when Patrick Zeigler visited the Great Pyramid at Giza and stayed overnight in the King's Chamber to connect with that experience. What Patrick gained from the experience was a spontaneous initiation to an energy that he calls All Love or All Love/SKHM.

This is the root energy of the Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki system.

The energy is wonderful for clearing emotions held in the body, for connecting the energies of Heaven and Earth with the heart center, and for clearing excesses, deficiencies and stuck "ki".

My next workshop for the system will be a Master-level session that will be part of a series of 3-hour attunements and teachings to take place in February, March, and April 2009. For more information, please see our link above.

Soul Group Meetings

2009-01-02T16:42:00.003-05:00

I have had an interesting day today, some longtime clients and a new intuitive reading client that seemed quite familiar to me.

Today's article is about that: as healers, who are the people that come to see us?

It's my theory that many of those who come to me are those in my soul group, i.e. those whom I have worked with or known in the past (past lives, that is). Not everyone is in this category, but I have found a significant number of people fit this description.

How to recognize someone from a past incarnation?

Their voice may sound familiar.
You feel immediately comfortable (or uncomfortable) with them.
There is a sense of familiarity about their life, their way of being.
You notice that they feel just as comfortable (or uncomfortable) with you.
They sometimes share things that are quite intimate about their lives or experiences early in meeting you and it doesn't seem at all unusual to either of you.

I have found that as I walk on the path of the healer (or intuitive), people who have worked with me in the past seem drawn to me. The meetings do not seem at all strange, just serendipitous. It can be a weird way to live, but there is always someone coming to connect...sort of like family you haven't seen in a while. You feel the urge to share everything.

2009 - A Year Filled with Possibilities

2009-01-01T16:39:00.003-05:00

It's January, 1, 2009...a new year. I have changed the name of our blog to more accurately reflect where my Reiki is heading in the next year: we are moving from a center-based approach that supports the Reiki Center of Greater Washington in Gaithersburg, Maryland (our current reiki practice) to a community-based approach that supports reiki from an international perspective.

In this blog, I hope to include articles about:

the Art of Reiki,
answers to questions or comments from readers,
assistance with reiki practice development,
reiki and healing research news,
listings of reiki share and practice groups,
profiles of reiki healers,
reviews of reiki and healing books,
life stories of reiki healers,
channeled messages from Reiki guides and teachers.

I hope to have you visit here often.

Working for the Universe - Thoughts

2005-12-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

Someone once told me that when you are a healer, your "boss" is the Universe. That can create some interesting situations: What do you do when you need a "reimbursement" for a Business Expense?

One of my favorite stories is when I first went full-time with my healing and was working from home in Rockville, Maryland in my basement office. I was teaching a Crystal Healing class and during that class we began to hear an UMMM-UMMM sound coming from the nearby laundry room. When I walked around the corner, I saw a little paw coming out of the tube that led from the furnace to the chimney. I realized that a squirrel had come down and was stuck.

After the class, I made some calls to find out the best way to remove said squirrel. It became apparent that the best way to avoid the squirrel running around inside my basement was to have a hole cut into my chimney to let the squirrel run out. The whole process would take about an hour and would cost over $1500 (about a quarter of the money I had saved).

I had the work done and then started getting into a place of fear about it: how would I survive, etc. I sent my feelings out on a web listserv of other healers and received the following comment back:

When you work for the universe, you need to send requests for reimbursement out when there are expenses. Just like with a boss, the universe reimburses, if we ask for the help.

I tried this by sending out an email requesting $1500 in the next 10 days and, lo and behold! the money came.

Anytime I feel afraid now, I just ask the universe to assist...and I know I will be ok as I do so.

RCGW News - December 2005 - Vol. 3 No. 5

2005-12-08T11:20:00.000-05:00

RCGW News – The Opt-in Newsletter of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington
Vol. 3, No. 5– December 2005

Welcome to this issue of RCGW News, a monthly opt-in publication of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington (RCGW) in Rockville, Maryland. We are sending it to our community by email and giving it out at the Greater Washington Reiki Conference. If you would prefer not to receive this publication in the future, please click on the link at the very bottom of this email OR email us at dgleekel@reikicenter.info. You can always check our offerings by seeing our main website: www.reikicenter.info for our Reiki Classes OR www.reikivacations.com for our Retreats in Power Places OR www.innerhealercenter.org for our Crystal Healing Classes. Please note that archival issues of our newsletter can be found at our NEW blog: http://www.reikicenter.blogspot.com

CONTENTS
----------------------------------------------------------
*Director’s Column
*2006 Changes
*Second Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference
*December and January Class and Events Calendar
*Reiki “Technique of the Month”
*December Specials
*Reiki Table Packages
---------------------------------------------------------
Director's Column
---------------------------------------------------------
November was a very powerful month for me personally and the practice as well. We began the month with an SSR Master Class in beautiful, mystical, Sedona, Arizona. Congratulations to Robin Littlefeather Hannon, Darren Johnson, Mary Miller, and Tom Tetley on their new designations as SSR Master/Teachers. returned in the midst of quite an emotional release, probably made stronger by the Mercury retrograde that just ended today. I felt like I needed to connect with nature and individuals, but not large groups. Also felt like kicking back more and letting my own energy build. This was made easier by the intimate classes that I taught this past month. I feel like the practice is moving beyond my own individual personality, into a new place where we have others joining in on the healing and teaching. I am VERY excited at this prospect and look forward to expanding the number of people we can see and teach each month. I have received seven applications for our new Accreditation program, mentioned in last month’s newsletter, and will be scheduling interviews with all applicants in the next week or so. We also hope to add a part-time administrative person towards the beginning of 2006. If you’re interested, please forward a resume to my email. Finally, a correction: I left Eric Fang off of the list of people who helped us so much at October’s Pathways Natural Life Expo. Since he worked among the hardest of those who helped, I am very sorry for this oversight. 2006 Changes Beginning January 1, 2006, RCGW will be making a few changes to some of its Healing Event and Class tuitions. We will also be starting a Membership Program that will allow members of our community that are not clients or students to receive discounts at our Healing Events. We are doing this to allow us to cover some of the costs of holding these community events. Our students and clients will continue to attend all of our Healing Events free of charge, as will our new members. Healing Event Changes For non-student/non-client/non-member attendees, our Healing Events will be $10 for a 45-minute session, compared to our current rate of $5 for a 30-minute session. We will be offering an Annual RCGW Membership for a cost of $60. This membership will allow the member to come to receive our monthly newsletter and attend our Healing Events (Reiki Share, Reiki Student Clinic, Healing Drumming Circle) free of charge. Our students and clients automatically become members as soon as they have had one class or regular Reiki session at the center at no additional charge. Class Changes We are making some changes to the tuition for our some Reiki and Crystal Healing classes effective 1/1/06. We’re doing this so that we can maintain an intimate size in our classes while still allowing us to keep the center going. Lodging costs will be extra. Please see our chart below for our new class prices

Classes & Workshops
Full Tuition/
30-Day Prepaid Tuition/
Available Credits/
Net After Credits/

Usui Reiki I
$ 225.00
$ 200.00

Usui Reiki II
$ 250.00
$ 225.00

Usui Reiki III Master
$ 1,100.00
$ 1,075.00
$ (200.00)
$ 875.00

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II
$ 250.00
$ 225.00

Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-VII Master
$ 1,275.00
$ 1,250.00
$ (200.00)
$ 1,050.00

Karuna Reiki Practitioner
$ 535.00
$ 510.00
$ (50.00)
$ 460.00

Karuna Reiki Master
$ 745.00
$ 720.00
$ (50.00)
$ 670.00

Lightarian Reiki ™
(scheduled by appt)
$ 80.00

Crystal Healing 6-Hour
$ 175.00
$ 150.00

Crystal Healing 12-Hour
$ 275.00
$ 250.00

Sessions

Our Reiki Sessions will remain $60 per hour. We will offer a $5 discount to our Members and Students on our sessions. We will continue with our Reiki Angels subsidized healing program at about 10% of our sessions (this will be in the range of 3-4 hours per week). We are going to begin seeing our clients with an Intern from our Accreditation Program assisting (with the permission of the client). We hope to begin having our new Interns seeing clients on their own after they have assisted at at least 44 hours of sessions. Reiki blessings...David Gleekel

Second Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference
----------------------------------------------------------
Our next Reiki Conference will be coming up in June 2006 at the Rising Phoenix Retreat Center. We will be staying there from Friday evening, June 24 through Sunday afternoon, June 26. Among our speakers will be Amy Rowland, author of Traditional Reiki for our Times, who will be speaking and demonstrating on Japanese Reiki Techniques; Mari Hall, author of Practical Reiki who will be discussing and demonstrating on the topic of Mentoring in the Reiki community; Carolyn Musial, a colleague of mine from upstate NY who will be speaking on Reiki and Animal Communication; Dr. Adrienne Clamp, who will be speaking on Chinese Medicine and Reiki relationships. There will also be workshops on Chi Gung given by Chi Gung Master and Reiki II Ridgely du Pont and Reiki Drumming by me. More information will be coming soon.
----------------------------------------------------------
December 2005 & January 2006 Calendar
----------------------------------------------------------
**December 2005**
Saturday, December 3 – 10am-12n. Reiki Share at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, December 7 – 7:30-9:30pm – Healing Drumming Circle at RCGW Rockville.
Saturday and Sunday, December 10 and 11 – 10am-5:30pm – Reiki II class at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, December 14 – 7:30-9:30pm – Reiki Master Prep at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Saturday and Sunday, December 17 and 18 – 10am-5:30pm – Reiki I class at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, December 21 – 7:30-9:30pm – Reiki Student Clinic at RCGW Gaithersburg
Monday, December 26 through Friday, December 30 – Reiki Master class at Rising Phoenix Retreat Center in Flintstone, MD.

There will be no Reiki Master Share in December because we will be away teaching this class.

**January 2006**

Wednesday, January 4 – 7:30-9:30pm – Healing Drumming Circle at RCGW Rockville.
Saturday, January 7 10am-12n – Reiki Master Share at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Sunday, January 8 – 10am-12n – Reiki Share at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, January 11 – 7:30-9:30pm – Reiki Master Prep at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Saturday, January 14 and Sunday, January 15 – 10am-5:30pm – Reiki I at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, January 18 – 7:30-9:30pm – Reiki Student Clinic at RCGW Gaithersburg
Saturday, January 21 through Wednesday, January 25 – SSR Master class at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29 – Usui Reiki II Class at RCGW Gaithersburg
Tuesdays, January 31, February 7 and 14 – 7:30-9:30pm – Intro to Shamanic Journeying at RCGW Gaithersburg

Paste the link below into your browser to see our complete calendar: http://www.reikicenter.info/pages/662511/index.htm

-------------------------------------------
December Specials:
-------------------------------------------
Schedule and a Weekday Lunchtime Session between 12noon and 2pm and receive $10 off.
Give the Gift of Reiki: With each Gift Certificate purchased, earn a $25 discount on a session for yourself! Purchase three Gift Certificates and save 10%.
---------------------------------------------------------
Reiki Technique of the Month Using Mental/Emotional Symbol to Connect with Intuitive Guidance
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you know that the SHK symbol can be used to connect to your book of life, intuition, and intuition? Simply draw it on the palms of your hands, ask a question, and see what information comes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Reiki Tables at RCGW
----------------------------------------------------------
**Athena Pro Package - $588, plus shipping and tax (shipping is $47, for tables up to 31” in width; tax is for tables delivered in the State of Maryland. This package is great for practitioners who want a good table to use in their practice. It includes an Athena table with a lifetime warranty from CustomCraftworks. It also includes Posi-tilt Face Rest, a Deluxe 3-Pocket Carry Case, an Ankle/Knee bolster and three flannel Face Rest Covers, as well as the Reiki easy access end panels. This is a savings of $139 over the regular price for these items. The table is available separately for $500. We have a new purple Athena on-hand for demonstration.

**Featherlock Student Package - $499, plus shipping ant tax (shipping is $47 for tables up to 31” in width; tax is for tables delivered in the State of Maryland. This package is for students who want a good lighter weight table to take with them to clients or to use at home for sessions. It includes a Featherlock table with a lifetime warranty from Custom Craftworks. It also includes a stationary facerest, an ankle/knee bolster, and a carry case). We have also included the Reiki easy access end panel for you to allow you to sit at the ends of the table during sessions. Our price is a savings of 10% over the suggested retail price. We can deliver the table right to your home or office at no additional charge. The table is available separately for $409. Reiki Center of Greater Washington9059 Shady Grove CourtGaithersburg, MD 20877 Web Site: http://www.reikicenter.infoE-mail: dgleekel@reikicenter.infoPhone: 1-866-59-REIKI / Fax: 301-942-7853

RCGW News - October/November 2005

2005-12-06T11:14:00.000-05:00

Vol. 3, No. 3-4– October/November 2005

Welcome to this issue of RCGW News, a monthly opt-in publication of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington (RCGW) in Rockville, Maryland. We are sending it to our community by email and giving it out at the Greater Washington Reiki Conference. If you would prefer not to receive this publication in the future, please click on the link at the very bottom of this email OR email us at dgleekel@reikicenter.info. You can always check our offerings by seeing our main website: www.reikicenter.info for our Reiki Classes OR www.reikivacations.com for our Retreats in Power Places OR www.innerhealercenter.org for our Crystal Healing Classes. Please note that archival issues of our newsletter can be found at our NEW blog: http://www.reikicenter.blogspot.com

CONTENTS
*Director’s Column
*New Accreditation Program at RCGW
*Second Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference
*November and December Class and Events Calendar
*NEW Usui Reiki Master Class between Christmas and New Years
*RCGW Speaker News.
*Accreditation Program Applications Due 11/30/05 for first semester (1/06-6/06)
*Reiki “Technique of the Month”
*November Specials
*Reiki Table Packages
*Rock of the Month

---------------------------------------------------------Director's Column ---------------------
I finished August 2005 on August 31, by completing the teaching of a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master class for Jennifer Chou who began it in May 2005. Congratulations, Jennifer, on being a new SSR Master and sticking with the sessions for so many times. September 2005 brought new ideas to RCGW. The beginning of the month brought my Dad (Al)’s 80th birthday in Minnesota. Steve and I were able to travel there for a large party brunch and then up to Northern Minnesota with our Wadena cousins Tom and Richard Paper (known as Tommie and Richie in the family) where they took us to Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. We gave them a Reiki I attunement next to an ancient Indian burial mound. It was powerful and healing for all of us. Our first class of the month was a new Crystal Healing class called Strengthening and Protecting our Fields with Crystals. Tom Tetley worked with as my student for the class and it turned out to be a very healing experience for both of us (thanks Tom). The Reiki II Master Preparation group continued to grow and we hosted a powerful Usui Reiki I course composed mostly of Tai Chi Practitioners. On the 23rd of September, we journeyed back to Massanutten Resort in Harrisonburg, Virginia to give an Usui Master course. Congratulations to our new Usui Masters Alexandra Pallas, Mark Crewson, and Vince Sherwood. The last day of the month (and the first two days of October), Diane Ruth Shewmaker returned to RCGW to give three classes in an extended healing modality called Integrated Energy Therapy. I took the Basic class and found it very interesting to have a formal structure to using Angels in sessions for each section of the body. Comparing the touchpoints to Accupuncture points and ONE ™ points were also interesting. Diane may come back in the first quarter of 2006 to give more classes; we’ll let you know how things are developing. I heard from a number of people interested in our new Accreditation program. I need to receive letters of intent from all people who want to apply by no later than November 30, 2005. I will pick four people for the program each semester (January through June 2006 is the first semester). Applications for the second semester will be due April 30, 2006. October was a productive month teaching classes. We also presented at the Pathways Natural Health Expo in a booth and in an energy sensing workshop. Thanks to Reiki students Adrienne Clamp, Mark Guenther, Tom Tetley, Steve Ritch, Sabine Schmieg, and Lily Torres for helping see over 40 clients during the day. We also presented workshops at Institutional Shareholder Services in Rockville and DC and Thrive Yoga in Rockville. Thrive Yoga (under the India Garden Restaurant in Rockville) has offered our community a free Yoga class if they mention RCGW at their new Yoga center. This past week (from 11/4-11/12) we have been on a trip to Sedona, Arizona to teach a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master class. Congratulations to our newest SSR Masters Feather Hannon, Darren Johnson, Mary Miller, and Tom Tetley. Also many thanks to Steve Ritch for assisting with the class. We’ve added a new Usui Reiki Master class 12/26-12/30 at the Rising Phoenix Retreat Center. It’s almost full at this time. Reiki blessings...-David Gleekel
RCGW Accreditation Program Starting in October 2005, RCGW began our new Accreditation Program. This program will allow our students to develop the skills necessary to practice Reiki professionally as either a Practitioner or Instructor at the Center. **Accredited Practitioner** The program will allow up to four students who have completed either Usui Reiki II or SSR I-II to enroll in it each quarter. Each of those enrollees will commit to doing a minimum of 11 documented hands-on sessions and 11 documented distant sessions per month, both at the center (in assisting at sessions, Reiki Student Clinics or Reiki Shares) or outside the center. The sessions will be done using our standard Reiki Clinic forms and intake forms for each client seen. After a student has completed 11 of each type of session (hands-on and distant), he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Technician I. We estimate that this would be after the first month in the program. After a student has completed 22 of each type of session (hands-on and distant), he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Technician II. We estimate that this would be after the second month in the program. After a student has completed 33 of each type of session (hands-on and distant), he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Technician III. We estimate this would be after the third month of the program. After a student has completed 44 of each type of session, he or she will receive the title of Accredited Reiki Practitioner If the student has also studied SSR, he or she would also receive the title Accredited SSR Practitioner, if he or she has completed 44 of each type of documented session (hands-on and distant). We estimate that this would be after the fourth month of the program. Accredited Reiki Practitioners and Accredited SSR Practitioners will be able to see their own clients professionally at RCGW. The center will charge a fee of $15 per hour for this service. Space will be available on a first reserved first used basis. **Accredited Teacher** After a student has completed either Usui Reiki III or SSR VII or Karuna Reiki Master, he or she will become eligible to apply for our Accredited Teacher program. The program will allow up to two students to co-teach the type of course(s) that he or she has studied at RCGW. Co-teaching includes assisting in the presentation of the information for the class and participating in giving at least one attunement per student during the class. After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Teacher I. We estimate that this will take approximately three months, since we usually offer this class once a month. After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I classes and three Usui Reiki II classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Teacher II. We estimate that this will take approximately six months, since we offer Usui Reiki II every other month. After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I classes and three SSR I-II classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited SSR Teacher II. We estimate that this will also take approximately six months, since we offer SSR I-II classes every other month as well. After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I, II and III classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Master Teacher. The student will be responsible for his or her own lodging and food costs, if there is a retreat cost. We estimate that this process would take a minimum of one year, because we plan to offer three Usui Master classes in 2006. After a student has completed co-teaching of three SSR I-II classes and three SSR Master classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited SSR Master Teacher. We estimate that this process would take a minimum of one year as well. Once a student has attained the level of Accredited Reiki Master Teacher or Accredited SSR Master Teacher, he or she may act as a lead teacher professionally at RCGW at a mutually agreed-upon rate. We estimate that four courses per year will be assigned to our Accredited Teachers once they have reached this level. To be considered for our Accreditation Program, please submit a letter of intent with a listing of the courses you have taken as well as any additional experience you have in healing to David Gleekel at the address below. The deadline for our first Accreditation Program quarter to begin January 2006 will be November 30, 2005.
----------------------------------------------------------
Second Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference
----------------------------------------------------------
Our next Reiki Conference will be coming up in June 2006 at the Rising Phoenix Retreat Center. We will be staying there from Friday evening, June 24 through Sunday afternoon, June 26. Among our speakers will be Amy Rowland, author of Traditional Reiki for our Times, who will be speaking and demonstrating on Japanese Reiki Techniques; Mari Hall, author of Practical Reiki who will be discussing and demonstrating on the topic of Mentoring in the Reiki community; Carolyn Musial, a colleague of mine from upstate NY who will be speaking on Reiki and Animal Communication; Dr. Adrienne Clamp, LCAc, who will be speaking on Chinese Medicine and Reiki relationships. There will also be workshops on Chi Gung given by Chi Gung Master and Reiki II Ridgely du Pont and Reiki Drumming by me. More information will be coming soon.
----------------------------------------------------------
November and December 2005 Calendar
----------------------------------------------------------
**November 2005**
Wednesday, November 2 – 7:30-9:30pm. Healing Drumming Circle at Center for Inner Healer Rockville. Cost is free for RCGW community and $5 for others.
Saturday, November 5 through Wednesday, November 9 – SSR Master Class in Sedona, Arizona. Please see our website for more information. Cost is $1600.
Wednesday, November 16 – 7:30-9:30pm. Reiki Master Prep at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20 – 10am-5:30pm. Usui Reiki I class at RCGW Gaithersburg. Cost is $175, if prepaid by 10/19 or $200 thereafter.
Wednesday, November 23 – 7:30-9:30pm. Reiki Student Clinic – Cost is free for the RCGW Community and $5 for others.
Saturday, November 26 and Sunday, December 4 – 10am-5:30pm. Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki I-II class at RCGW Gaithersburg. Cost is $225, if prepaid by 10/26 or $250 thereafter.
Wednesday, November 30 through Friday, December 2 – 10am-6pm. Karuna Reiki Master class at RCGW Gaithersburg. Cost is $825.
Wednesday, November 30 – 7:30-9:30pm. Reiki Master Share at RCGW Gaithersburg. Free and open for all RCGW Reiki Masters only.
**December 2005**
Saturday, December 3 – 10am-12n. Reiki Share at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, December 7 – 7:30-9:30pm – Healing Drumming Circle at RCGW Rockville.
Saturday and Sunday, December 10 and 11 – 10am-5:30pm – Reiki II class at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, December 14 – 7:30-9:30pm – Reiki Master Prep at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Saturday and Sunday, December 17 and 18 – 10am-5:30pm – Reiki I class at RCGW Gaithersburg.
Wednesday, December 21 – 7:30-9:30pm – Reiki Student Clinic at RCGW Gaithersburg
Monday, December 26 through Friday, December 30 – Reiki Master class at Rising Phoenix Retreat Center in Flintstone, MD.
Paste the link below into your browser to see our complete calendar: http://www.reikicenter.info/pages/662511/index.htm
-------------------------------------------
November Specials:
-------------------------------------------
$25 off your next session or class if you refer a new client to RCGW. Give the Gift of Reiki: With each Gift Certificate purchased, earn a $25 discount on a session for yourself! Purchase three Gift Certificates and save 10%.
---------------------------------------------------------
Reiki Technique of the Month Charging Crystals with Reiki
---------------------------------------------------------
Using Crystals with Reiki is one of the more interesting ways to use the energy. It’s VERY simple to do so, especially with Quartz Crystals. With your Reiki II level, use the CKR Power symbol over the quartz (after asking permission) and it will continue to diffuse Reiki energy into the room for a continuous period. The SSR Symbol CKRT can be used as well for the same purpose.

----------------------------------------------------------
Reiki Tables at RCGW
----------------------------------------------------------
**Athena Pro Package - $588, plus shipping and tax (shipping is $47, for tables up to 31” in width; tax is for tables delivered in the State of Maryland. This package is great for practitioners who want a good table to use in their practice. It includes an Athena table with a lifetime warranty from CustomCraftworks. It also includes Posi-tilt Face Rest, a Deluxe 3-Pocket Carry Case, an Ankle/Knee bolster and three flannel Face Rest Covers, as well as the Reiki easy access end panels. This is a savings of $139 over the regular price for these items. The table is available separately for $500. We have a new purple Athena on-hand for demonstration.

**Featherlock Student Package - $499, plus shipping ant tax (shipping is $47 for tables up to 31” in width; tax is for tables delivered in the State of Maryland. This package is for students who want a good lighter weight table to take with them to clients or to use at home for sessions. It includes a Featherlock table with a lifetime warranty from Custom Craftworks. It also includes a stationary facerest, an ankle/knee bolster, and a carry case). We have also included the Reiki easy access end panel for you to allow you to sit at the ends of the table during sessions. Our price is a savings of 10% over the suggested retail price. We can deliver the table right to your home or office at no additional charge. The table is available separately for $409. ----------------------------------------------------------
Rock of the Month - Apophylite
----------------------------------------------------------
The Apophylite stone is shaped like a crystalline church. It possesses the energy of healing and calming and induces a meditative state. RCGW has them available for $5.
=============================================
Reiki Center of Greater Washington9059 Shady Grove CourtGaithersburg, MD 20877 Web Site: http://www.reikicenter.infoE-mail: dgleekel@reikicenter.infoPhone: 1-866-59-REIKI / Fax: 301-942-7853

RCGW News for September 2005 (Vol. 3 No. 2)

2005-09-09T01:27:00.000-04:00

RCGW News
– The Opt-in Newsletter of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington

Vol. 3, No. 2 – September 2005

Welcome to this issue of RCGW News, a monthly opt-in publication of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington (RCGW) in Rockville, Maryland. We are sending it to our community by email and giving it out at the Greater Washington Reiki Conference. If you would prefer not to receive this publication in the future, please click on the link at the very bottom of this email OR email us at dgleekel@reikicenter.info. You can always check our offerings by seeing our main website: www.reikicenter.info for our Reiki Classes OR www.reikivacations.com for our Retreats in Power Places OR www.innerhealercenter.org for our Crystal Healing Classes.

Please note that archival issues of our newsletter can be found at our NEW blog: http://www.reikicenter.blogspot.com

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CONTENTS
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*Director’s Column
*New Accreditation Program at RCGW
*Second Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference
*September & October Class and Events Calendar
*Reiki “Technique of the Month”
*September Specials
*Reiki Table Packages
*Rock of the Month

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Director's Column
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August was surprisingly busy for the practice. First, please let me congratulate our three newest Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master Teachers: Antonia Feldman, Janet Neigh, and Luz Ortiz. They earned their titles at our Rehoboth Beach SSR Master class the week of 8/13-8/20/05. It was a beautiful week and everyone left a bit more relaxed and energized than when they came.

We also taught successful Usui Reiki I and II classes during the month and saw several new and returning clients. One usually expects the end of Summer to be a relaxing time; instead for me it was a time of working to fill in as much energy work as I could. I continue to be grateful for all the wonderful support the universe continues to bring me.

In the coming months, we will be expanding the practice with additional practitioners and, we hope, an Office Manager, who can help us deliver on our mission of high quality professional Reiki classes and sessions to our community. Please see more about this in the article that follows on our Accreditation Program.

Reiki blessings...

--David Gleekel

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RCGW Accreditation Program

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Starting in October 2005, RCGW is beginning our new Accreditation Program. This program will allow our students to develop the skills necessary to practice Reiki professionally as either a Practitioner or Instructor at the Center.

**Accredited Practitioner**

The program will allow up to four students who have completed either Usui Reiki II or SSR I-II to enroll in it each quarter. Each of those enrollees will commit to doing a minimum of 11 documented hands-on sessions and 11 documented distant sessions per month, both at the center (in assisting at sessions, Reiki Student Clinics or Reiki Shares) or outside the center

After a student has completed 11 of each type of session (hands-on and distant), he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Technician I.

After a student has completed 22 of each type of session (hands-on and distant), he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Technician II.

After a student has completed 33 of each type of session (hands-on and distant), he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Technician III.

After a student has completed 44 of each type of session, he or she will receive the title of Accredited Reiki Practitioner If the student has also studied SSR, he or she would also receive the title Accredited SSR Practitioner, if he or she has completed 44 of each type of documented session (hands-on and distant).

Accredited Reiki Practitioners and Accredited SSR Practitioners will be able to see their own clients professionally at RCGW. The center will charge a fee of $15 per hour for this service. Space will be available on a first reserved first used basis.

**Accredited Teacher**

After a student has completed either Usui Reiki III or SSR VII he or she will become eligible to apply for our Accredited Teacher program. The program will allow up to two students to co-teach the type of course(s) that he or she has studied at RCGW. Co-teaching includes assisting in the presentation of the information for the class and participating in giving at least one attunement per student during the class.

After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Teacher I.

After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I classes and three Usui Reiki II classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Teacher II

After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I classes and three SSR I-II classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited SSR Teacher II.

After a student has completed co-teaching of three Usui Reiki I, II and III classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited Reiki Master Teacher. The student will be responsible for his or her own lodging and food costs, if this is a retreat cost.

After a student has completed co-teaching of three SSR I-II classes and three SSR Master classes, he or she will receive an Accreditation Certificate from RCGW with the title of Accredited SSR Master Teacher.

Once a student has attained the level of Accredited Reiki Master Teacher or Accredited SSR Master Teacher, he or she may act as a lead teacher professionally at RCGW at a mutually agreed-upon rate. We estimate that four courses per year will be assigned to our Accredited Teachers once they have reached this level.

To be considered for our Accreditation Program, please submit a letter of intent with a listing of the courses you have taken as well as any additional experience you have in healing to David Gleekel at the address below. The deadline for our first Accreditation Program quarter to begin January 2006 will be November 30, 2005.
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September and October 2005 Calendar
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Wednesday, September 14 – Preparing to be a Reiki Master: a Share/Development group for Usui Reiki and SSR II students. Free for all. Open only to RCGW students. This event will be open to our Reiki Master students as well.

Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18 – Usui Reiki I – Cost is $175, if prepaid by 8/17 or $200 thereafter.

Wednesday, September 21 – Reiki Student Clinic – Cost is free for students and clients of RCGW, $5 for others. Only RCGW students may participate as practitioners.

Friday, September 23 through Tuesday, September 28 – Usui Reiki III Master – Cost is $1,325, if prepaid by 8/23 or $1,350 thereafter. There are two spaces available for this retreat.

Wednesday, September 28 – Reiki Master Share – Massanutten Resort. Open to all RCGW Masters.

Friday, September 30 – Integrated Energy Therapy ™ Basic – Taught by Diane Ruth Shewmaker at RCGW in Gaithersburg. Cost is $155, if prepaid by 9/9 or $200 thereafter.

Friday, September 30 – Integrated Energy Therapy ™ for Animals – Taught by Diane Ruth Shewmaker at RCGW in Gaithersburg. Cost is $110, if prepaid by 9/9 or $135 thereafter. Prerequisite: IET Basic.

Saturday, October 1 – Reiki Share at RCGW Rockville. Cost is free for RCGW students and clients, $5 for others.

Saturday, October 1 – Integrated Energy Therapy ™ Intermediate – Taught by Diane Ruth Shewmaker at RCGW in Gaithersburg. Cost is $200, if prepaid by 9/9 or $225 thereafter. Prerequisite: IET Basic.

Sunday, October 2 – Integrated Energy Therapy ™ Advanced – Taught by Diane Ruth Shewmaker at RCGW in Gaithersburg. Cost is $200, if prepaid by 9/9 or $225 thereafter. Prerequisite: IET Intermediate.

Wednesday, October 5 – Healing Drumming Circle at RCGW Rockville. Cost is free for RCGW students and clients or $5 for others.

Saturday, October 8 through Monday, October 10 – Karuna Reiki ® Master at RCGW Gaithersburg. Cost is $825, if prepaid by 9/8 or $850 thereafter. Prerequisite: Reiki Master training and 1 year experience.

Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9 – Karuna Reiki ® Practitioner at RCGW. Cost is $375, if prepaid by 9/8 or $400 thereafter. Prerequisite: Reiki Master training and 6 months’ experience.

Wednesday, October 12 – Reiki Master Preparation Group – RCGW Gaithersburg.
Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 16 – Usui Reiki I at RCGW Gaithersburg. Cost is $175, if prepaid by 9/15 or $200 thereafter.

Wednesday, October 19 – Reiki Student Clinic at RCGW Gaithersburg.

Saturday, October 22 and Saturday, October 29 – Usui Reiki II at RCGW Gaithersburg. Cost is $225, if prepaid by 9/22 or $250 thereafter. Prerequisite: Usui Reiki I.

Sunday, October 23 – Natural Healing Expo (sponsored by Pathways). RCGW will be an exhibitor. If you are a Level Two practitioner or above, we could use your assistance in giving sessions at our booth (no. 54). Holiday Inn Express, Bethesda, MD.

Wednesday, October 26 – Reiki Master Share at RCGW Gaithersburg.

Sunday, October 30 – Talk on Reiki at Thrive Yoga in Rockville, MD – 4-6pm.

Paste the link below into your browser to see our complete calendar:

http://www.reikicenter.info/pages/662511/index.htm

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September Specials:
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$25 off your next session or class if you refer a new client to RCGW.

$25 off your next session or class, if you purchase a Gift Certificate worth at least $120.

$25 off a Session Prepayment Plan of at least $200.

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Reiki Technique of the
Month: Evaluating Temperature to Determine when there is an Energy Deficit or Surplus
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In Reiki I, students begin to sense that there is energy present in people, plants, animals, and crystals around them. The energy may feel like warmth, coolness, tingling, or just magnetism.

As our senses develop, we begin to notice that the energy we work with has a variety of feelings: it may change from a usual warm flowing to a cold stillness or back and forth or to something unrecognizable to us. We may also occasionally feel shapes in the aura or notice that the energy changes among the various levels of the aura.

What does this mean?

Clients may have a variety of problems for which we are treating them. They could have a chronic condition or blockage in the energy. They could have a recent injury, such as a fall, scratch, broken limb, or sickness.

In the case of a long-term or chronic condition, the energy would appear blocked. This might result in exactly the opposite feeling in the chakra that immediately precedes it. For example, if we are feeling the left side of the body (in most cases), we might notice a surplus of energy at the second chakra, but a blockage at the third chakra. This is because the energy is flowing up the left side of the body. The effect of the blockage at the third chakra causes a surplus at the second as a damming effect develops. The chakras would be reversed at the right side of the body as the energy moves downward.

Now, the $10,000 question is what various temperatures mean. A good way to find this out with you is to work with another practitioner in tandem to test with a pendulum. When you find a blockage on each other, notice the changes in temperature at that location. This will let you know how that energy feels for you. When you find a surplus as described above, notice the same thing. In my working with the energies, I feel blockages as warm and surpluses as cold, but this is different for everyone.

As you enter Reiki II or SSR I-II, you begin to notice that you can use the Mental/Emotional symbol or second Power Symbol for the areas of surplus and the Power Symbol for areas of deficit. This allows you to focus the energy and balance it across chakras.

I hope this helps those of you in Reiki I (or contemplating taking Reiki I) get a better idea of how we who practice do our energy sensing.

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Reiki Tables at RCGW
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**Athena Pro Package - $588, plus shipping and tax (shipping is $47, for tables up to 31” in width; tax is for tables delivered in the State of Maryland.

This package is great for practitioners who want a good table to use in their practice. It includes an Athena table with a lifetime warranty from
CustomCraftworks. It also includes Posi-tilt Face Rest, a Deluxe 3-Pocket Carry Case, an Ankle/Knee bolster and three flannel Face Rest Covers, as well as the Reiki easy access end panels. This is a savings of $139 over the regular price for these items. The table is available separately for
$500. We have a new purple Athena on-hand for demonstration.

**Featherlock Student Package - $499, plus shipping ant tax (shipping is $47 for tables up to 31” in width; tax is for tables delivered in the State of Maryland.

This package is for students who want a good lighter weight table to take with them to clients or to use at home for sessions. It includes a Featherlock table with a lifetime warranty from Custom Craftworks. It also includes a stationary facerest, an ankle/knee bolster, and a carry case). We have also included the Reiki easy access end panel for you to allow you to sit at the ends of the table during sessions. Our price is a savings of 10% over the suggested retail price.

We can deliver the table right to your home or office at no additional charge. The table is available separately for $409.

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Rock of the Month - Aquamarine
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Aquamarine is a light blue soft stone. Its primary role in healing is to release energy from the throat chakra, but it can help one to understand the emotions that are being released as well. The stone assists in transmuting anger and other strong emotions into useful action. RCGW has a few very nice pieces of Aquamarine available for sale with prices varying from $12 to $15.

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Reiki Center of
Greater Washington
9059 Shady Grove Court
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Web Site:
http://www.reikicenter.info
E-mail: dgleekel@reikicenter.info
Phone: 1-866-59-REIKI / Fax: 301-942-7853

Sending Healing to those affected by Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-07T18:02:00.000-04:00

Hello all:

I've been doing distant healing meditations daily to send healing to those affected by Hurricane Katrina in the Southeastern U.S.A.

We will again be joining this evening at 7:30 Eastern Daylight Time to do a Distant Drumming Healing for all who need the assistance. I hope you can join us distantly.

I'll also be updating the blog a bit more frequently now on as things with RCGW continue to develop.

Reiki blessings....

David

RCGW News for December 2004

2004-12-02T16:02:00.000-05:00

RCGW News
The Opt-In Newsletter of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington
Vol. 2, No. 7 / December 2004
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Welcome to this issue of RCGW News, a monthly opt-in publication of The Reiki Center of Greater Washington (RCGW) in Rockville, Maryland. We are sending it to our community by email. If you would prefer not to receive this publication in the future, please see the directions for modifying your subscription at the bottom of this email OR email us at dgleekel@reikicenter.info.

You can always check our offerings by seeing our main website: www.reikicenter.info for our Reiki Classes OR www.reikivacations.com for our Retreats in Power Places OR www.innerhealercenter.org for our Crystal Healing Classes.

CONTENTS

First Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference
Editor’s Column
December/January Calendar
Reiki “Technique of the Month”
Gift Certificates and Packages for the Holidays
Reiki Table Packages Available
Rock of the Month
Special on Framing to RCGW Community Members

First Annual Greater Washington Reiki Conference: "Healing the World through Healing Each Other"

Mark Your Calendars! On July 30, 2005, RCGW is pleased to host its first annual Greater Washington Conference. It will be held at the Twinbrook Community Center in Rockville, Maryland from 9:00am to 6pm. We have speakers Diane Ruth Shewmaker (developer of the SSR healing system), Herb Stevenson (Shamanic Healer and David’s teacher in Shamanic crystal healing), and Mari Hall (author of Practical Reiki and other books). Our speakers will also be leading workshops on July 31, 2005 from 10am-5pm.

Cost for the workshop will be
Conference only = $150, if prepaid by 7/1 or $175 thereafter.
Workshop only = $175, if prepaid by 7/1 or $200 thereafter.
Both Conference & Workshop = $250, if prepaid by 7/1 or $275 thereafter.

We hope you can join us! Space is limited. Please contact us today…

Editor’s Column

November was a busy month for me. We did our first Reiki Share in Baltimore, Maryland at the home of Rod McCracken (thanks Rod). There was an Usui Reiki II class (congratulations to Rod McCracken and Andrea Bolz, our newest Reiki II practitioners). We went to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware to teach a Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master class (congratulations to Patricia Lee, Suzanne Hewett, and Jasmin El Kordi, our newest SSR Masters). On the inside, I looked at how wonderfully my life has transformed since moving to the path of a healer. I was grateful for all that I have received, all the people whom I have met, all the new ideas I have learned. All of you have been a part of this for me. I could not have done it without you. I hope you all continue to be a part of my life (and RCGW’s) by attending one of our healing events, or just dropping an email now and then. Steve and I were talking with our SSR Master class about how we feel like our students have become our spiritual children. Thanks for being in our family. Some new ideas came up in the Master class as well.

The students asked for a Reiki Master share in the future. We are scheduling the first Reiki Master Share on Thursday, February 24 from 7:30-9:30pm. The share will be initially open only to RCGW Usui, SSR, and Karuna Reiki Master students. Cost is free. Please note that we have some new classes scheduled in the coming months:

1) We have another SSR Master class in January 2005 at Massanutten Resort.

2) We have a new Karuna Reiki Master class in January 2005 in Rockville.

Seasonal Reiki blessings…. --David G.

RCGW December/January Calendar

**December 2004**

Wednesday, 12/1 Healing Drumming Circle at RCGW. 7-9pm. Cost is $5 for
the public and free for clients and students of RCGW.
Saturday, 12/4 – Reiki Share at RCGW. 10am-12noon. Cost is $5 for the public
and free for clients and students of RCGW.
Monday, 12/6 - Prosperity Meditation – 7:30pm – Institute for Spiritual Development, 5419 Sherier Place, Washington, DC. See www.isd-dc.org for more information.
Thursday,.
12/9 – Reiki Student Clinic at RCGW – 7:30 pm - Cost is $5 for the public and free to RCGW clients and students.
Saturday & Sunday, 12/11-12/12 – Usui Reiki I – 10am-5pm. Cost is $168, if prepaid by 11/11 or $218 thereafter.
12/17-12/24 – David & Steve will be in Sedona!
12/18-12/19 – Entering the Vortex: A Crystal Journey Workshop, Los Abrigados Resort, Sedona, AZ. Cost is $298.

**January 2005**

1/2/05 - Reiki Share at RCGW – 10am-12n. Cost is $5 for the public and free for RCGW clients and students.
1/3/05 – Prosperity Meditation – 7:30pm – Institute for Spiritual Development, 5419 Sherier Place, Washington, DC. See www.isd-dc.org for more information.
1/5/05 – Healing Drumming Circle at RCGW – 7:30-9:30pm. Cost is $5 for the public and free for RCGW clients and students. 1/9/05 – Crystal Healing Class at RCGW: Journeying to the Chakras: Using crystals to heal ourselves and others. Cost is $125 if paid by 12/9 or $150 thereafter.
1/13/05 – Reiki Share at Shirley Jagdeo’s 1312 Massachusetts Ave NW #505 in Washington, D.C. – 7:30-9:30pm. Free.
1/15-1/16/05 - Usui Reiki I at RCGW – 10am-5:30pm. Cost is $175, if prepaid by 12/15 or $200 thereafter. 1/20/05 - Reiki Student Clinic at RCGW – 7:30 pm - Cost is $5 for the public and free to RCGW clients and students.
1/21-1/26/05 – Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki Master retreat at Massanutten Resort in Harrisonburg, VA. Cost is $1,200 if prepaid by 12/21 or $1225 thereafter. Other discounts may apply.
1/29-1/30/05 – Karuna Reiki Practitioner ® at RCGW – 10am-6pm. Cost is $375, if prepaid by 12/29 or $400 thereafter.
1/29-1/31/05 – Karuna Reiki Master ® at RCGW – 10am-6pm. Cost is $800, if prepaid by 12/29 or $825 thereafter.

Reiki Technique of the Month: Reiki Box

This is a wonderful technique to use at the beginning of the year. It is used for manifesting what you want to have in the coming days, months, or years. I have used this technique successfully in manifesting a new house for Steve and me back in 1999.

1) Find a box, envelope, or other closed container.

2) Write what you want to manifest or send healing to on a piece of paper. Write it in a positive manner; if you wanted to quit smoking, you might say: “I now release smoking from my life.”

3) It is also good to add to the piece of paper “or the best result the universe will provide”. This gives the creative power of the universe to manifest for you.

4) Put the piece of paper into the box or other container and close it.

5) Give it Reiki or healing everyday.

Specials for the Holidays

Special 1) In December and January, RCGW clients and students are eligible to purchase gift certificates at a 10% discount over the regular cost for their friends and family. And…something very special…these also earn them a $25 referral fee, if they give a gift session to a new RCGW client. Purchase three or more certificates at one time and earn an even better discount!
30 minute gift certificate - $31, package of three - $85
60 minute gift certificate - $54, package of three - $150
90 minute gift certificate - $67, package of three - $175
120 minute gift certificate - $81, package of three - $240

Special 2) In December and January, new clients receive $10 off of a Reiki Session.

30 minute new client special - $25
60 minute new client special - $50
90 minute new client special - $65
120 minute new client special - $80

Click here to read more about Reiki Sessions::

Reiki Tables at RCGW

We are putting together our consignment orders for January. By popular demand, we will be ordering more Featherlock tables to focus on new practitioners.We have put together a couple of packages for our students that give you the best possible Reiki table at the lowest possible price:

**Athena Pro Package - $590** This package is great for practitioners who want a good table to use in their practice. It includes an Athena table with a lifetime warranty from Custom Craftworks. It also includes Posi-tilt Face Rest, a Deluxe 3-Pocket Carry Case, an Ankle/Knee bolster and three flannel Face Rest Covers, as well as the Reiki easy access end panels. This is a savings of $139 over the regular price for these items. Shipping cost and sales taxes are extra. The table is available separately for $500.

**Featherlock Student Package - $499** This package is for students who want a good lightweight table to take with them to clients or to use at home for sessions. It includes a Featherlock table with a lifetime warranty from Custom Craftworks. It also includes a stationary face rest, an ankle/knee bolster, and a carry case). We have also included the Reiki easy access end panel for you to allow you to sit at the ends of the table during sessions. Our price is a savings of 10% over the suggested retail price. Shipping cost and sales taxes are extra. We can deliver the table right to your home or office at no additional charge. The table is available separately for $409.

Rock of the Month – Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz is one of the basic healing stones. It works on bringing heart energy to any chakra you work with. It is known to enhance the immune system, bring a meditational quality to your experiences, and calm the nerves. RCGW has tumbled polished Rose Quartz stones for $2.

Framing Discount for RCGW Community

25% Discount on Custom Framing Services during the month of December. To learn more, call them at 301-384-7497 or see their website at www.familytreasuresframing.com.

Welcome to RCGW Notes!

2004-11-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

This is my first posting to the blog. I thought I would begin by giving a brief history of RCGW and my healing path, to give readers not familiar some background. You can see more information about Reiki and my practice at my website.

My healing path began in 1974, when I first joined a twelve-step recovery group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was 13 years old and struggling to overcome an addiction that was taking over my life. In the program, I was first introduced to the concept of a higher power, or HP for short. I learned about "turning it over," meaning releasing the recovery (and many parts of my life) to a Higher Power. This presented a bit of difficulty for me, since I had a G-d at that time who seemed too big for something as small as trying not to overeat. I began to visualize a Higher Power that was more intimate, more of a friend, and spoke to him in a conversational style.

I joined the Lambda Light meditation group in 1989 and began to connect to the meditation images I was given. The group would take regular retreats once or twice each year and members gave presentations on various topics: meditation, healing, psychic development, etc. In the group were a number of healers who offered their services freely.

As I was learning about meditation and relaxation techniques in Lambda Light, my work life was very much a contrast: I had high-stress positions that often had challenges that were almost impossible to overcome. I began to hold the stress in my body and developed some symptoms of pain in my solar plexus (back pain, digestive troubles, etc).

At one Lambda Retreat in 1995, when I was lying on the floor because my back was giving me so much trouble, I was offered a Reiki treatment for the first time. After determining that Reiki could do no harm, I accepted the healing and was shown to a massage table and told to lie down fully clothed, except for my glasses and shoes. The Reiki Practitioner, whose name was John Purdy, worked on me for about an hour and I noticed immediate improvements in my body. I no longer needed to lie down; I could sit for extended amounts of time; I had no more pain!

About two years later, I chanced upon a Reiki Master giving a talk on Reiki at a local bookstore in Falls Church, Virginia called Happy, Joyous, and Free. As part of the talk, he gave an attunement to me and the other attendees. This connected us to the Reiki energy stream and allowed us to begin to do healing. It amazed me how the energy felt.

I began to look for a teacher to learn more about Reiki and came upon Reiki Master Liz Tarr in 1998 in Columbia, Maryland where I did my Reiki I and II. Liz was a student of Reiki Master Diane Stein, author of Essential Reiki, one of the more controversial books about Reiki. The book was controversial because Diane believe that those things that had previously been exclusively confidential should be disclosed to the general public. Because of her work, the number of people practicing Reiki dramatically increased in the 1990's and beyond.

After the Reiki classes, I began to work with clients, usually giving sessions free of charge and eventually charging, if the clients continued treatment. I worked with a client with broken bones in her foot, a client with emotional issues, and a client with breast cancer. I began to see that I had found my passion and continued with my Reiki studies in a Master class (known as Reiki III) in October 1998 with Reiki Master Marie Ciociola in Brandywine, Maryland. She was also a minister of the Institute for Spiritual Development.

After that, my path expanded greatly. I studied other healing modalities at the Institute for Spiritual Development in Washington, D.C. and became a certified healer there. I took additional classes on psychic development, and my Reiki practice grew. I began to teach Reiki in 1999 after my move to Rockville, Maryland. I called my practice the Reiki Center of Greater Washington and had the desire to support a community of what I call "reiki people," those people committed to using Reiki in their daily lives.

I also began to study Shamanic Healing with Crystals with Herb Stevenson, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio in July 2000. This complemented my Reiki healing very well and I saw that it was helpful to use crystals and journeying in my Reiki healing, classes, and personal meditation practice.

The practice continued with a few clients a week and a class a month for the next year and a half. At that point, 9/11 occurred, followed quickly by the anthrax scare, and the Washington Sniper (who began his rampage in my neighborhood, Aspen Hill). I began to wonder whether it was really appropriate for me to continue living in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

I did a meditation in which Mrs. Hawayo Takata, the woman who brought Reiki from Japan to the West, came to me. She said that I was in the DC area for a reason and that all of her Reiki Masters earned their living from Reiki. I replied to her that she had died nine years before I found Reiki. She laughed that since I called on her spirit at each of my classes and was attuned to the same energy that she had brought, she was my teacher as well. She told me not to fear, that I would have her support in making my practice a success.

Two months after 9/11, I got on a plane and traveled to Del Ray Beach, Florida, where I studied Karuna Reiki (R) with Laurelle Gaia and Michael Baird. Karuna Reiki (R) is the trademark of the International Center for Reiki Training in Southfield, Michigan. Laurelle is the author of The Book on Karuna Reiki and also the Director for Teacher Licensing for ICRT. Karuna Reiki is about connecting deeply to your client at a cellular level. It is called the Reiki of Compassionate Action and I felt moved to do all of the things I was too afraid to accomplish after returning from the class.

Soon after that, in June 2003, I studied Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki with Carole Wright at Special Treasures in Gaithersburg, Maryland and three weeks later my job ended with Kaiser Permanente and I moved into full-time healing. It has been a fun, challenging year and few months of teaching, healing, and travel around the country (to rejuvenate myself and teach).

This October, I began studying Lightarian Reiki with Mary Ruth Van Landingham at Terra Christa in Vienna, Virginia. This modality of Reiki supplements the Karuna Reiki by connecting directly with ascended master energies.

I am so grateful for the path that I am on, the clients and students whom I have met, and the helpers I have had in my teaching and healing. I welcome you to join me on this path...it's really pretty amazing!