My First Success - Fixing a Child's Sleep Routine

I was amazed at how fast after training I was able to put my new Reiki skills to use and see results... in fact, my first success was the very first day after my course!

The prime reason I begin to learn Reiki was to help my eldest daughter with a few medical issues, and since these issues are chronic ones, I hadn't expected to see any change in her straight away. This is normal. You see, Reiki is not a quick "Band-Aid solution" - it is something that helps the root of an issue, rather than being a quick fix to mask the symptoms. Our society is constantly in a rush, and we typically take any solution that will work the fastest. However, in our rush to return to normal as fast as possible, we rarely address the actual cause. Knowing this, I expected a couple of treatments before my first problem was fixed... this was actually not the case...

My daughter was suffering from a dreadful break in her sleep patterns that was affecting her behaviour as a whole. Normally, both of my kids are in bed by 7.30pm, and usually asleep by 8.30 at the latest (especially during the school week). However, for no apparent reason, my eldest could not get to sleep before at least 11pm (some nights much later), and would repeatedly wake throughout the night. This had been the case for a good couple of weeks, and we had tried everything.

So, fresh from my course (and armed with "the spot" to work on, thanks to a chat with my Shihan, Jan) I gave Minion #1 her first treatment. That night she was asleep by 9.30pm and stayed asleep all night! I continued to treat her every day that week and the erratic sleep pattern did not return. I was impressed (and relieved to finally get some sleep back myself!!). I officially call that success number 1!

How it started...

My journey to becoming a Reiki Practitioner is not exactly a quick one... in fact, it has taken me 15 years to get where I am now! (What can I say? I was young... and ignorant... and pre-occupied with "cool stuff"!) Well, I'll try to keep this as brief as I can (not a fan of War and Peace myself), so flashback to 15 years ago... 

Having fun with
that radio station "cool stuff"
in my early 20's...

I was in my early 20's and working for a cool radio station, doing cool "stuff". I was surrounded by cool, but often cynical people, who told it like it was. At this time, my Big Sis (who is 12 years my senior) was looking at alternative medicines and healing, and first came across Reiki. I distinctly recall her telling me all about this new thing she was learning and how freaky it was when her hands got hot healing another student's head. I chalked it up to another one of her hippy obsessions (she was also starting Tai Chi, at the time) and forgot all about it.

A few years later, I moved to Canada. I wasn't able to keep so up-to-date with the family (no Facebook back then!), but did hear of my one niece training to be an Occupational Therapist and learning Reiki as one of her therapies. Hmm... that Reiki thing again, hey?

A few years later, my beloved father passed on - the stress of which caused my mother to develop a severe case of arthritis - both Osteo and Rheumatoid versions. She has tried many treatments, ranging from various standard prescribed drugs and joint replacement surgeries, to acupuncture and eventually... yes... you've guessed it...Reiki. I'm not sure when exactly she first started receiving Reiki, but it is the one treatment that she still uses today and loves.

The "Minions"

Well, I grew up... and grew a teensy bit wiser. I got married and had 2 gorgeous kids (aka "the Minions"). Both Minions are smart and fabulous, but at the age of 3, Minion 1 was diagnosed with Asthma. A short while after, our teeny Minion 2 developed horrendous eczema. It was at this time that I met Mari. I was selling Epicure products at our local "Party in the Park" street market, and she was promoting her Jikiden Reiki practice next to me. We chatted, and I learned all about how she had started - to help her family with their ailments, and specifically for her 1 child's severe eczema. It struck a chord, but then life just "got in the way" again.

Fast forward a couple of years, and we were told that Minion 1 had a rare form of Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis. The only treatment was to wear a rigid piece of plastic for 22 hours a day to help stop it get worse!! It was then that I thought I should look at alternative medicines myself. It was also then that I met Jan - a pupil of Mari's and the lovely lady (also of English origin) who would become my Shihan (Teacher). We only met briefly at a networking lunch, but she rekindled my curiosity for Reiki again.

So we jump to March of this year, and I booked a booth at the Fraser Valley Women's Show for my Photography business. Surprise, surprise... Jan was in the booth next to me! Was this a sign?? It was day 1 of the show and I was stressed... REALLY stressed... the result being extreme neck pain which was creeping maliciously into my head. Jan came to my rescue - there and then I received my first Reiki treatment. Only 10 minutes and my pain was gone! I was intrigued...

I signed up for Jan's April class. I will be honest... I still wasn't 100% convinced of how this Reiki thing worked, but figured I couldn't knock what I hadn't tried. The weekend was an eye-opener, and the rest...as they say... is history...

Welcome to my new blog!

So... I have decided to start another blog. I know, I know... my life is busy enough with my Photography business, my Epicure business and running around after (and with) my lovely, but oh-so-busy family. Crazy? Maybe! But this is one that is dedicated to a new portion of my life, that I would like to share.

It is a new journey that has come close to starting for MANY years, but was stalled by my busy life, pre-occupied mind and heavy scepticism. It is my journey into natural healing and, more specifically, my lessons and experiences of Jikiden Reiki...

Although I only qualified as a Practitioner in April of this year, my head is already filling up with experiences that I am itching to share (and release from this dithering brain before I forget them!). My back story is also a pretty interesting one (well, it is to me, anyway!)... so I aim to share it all in this blog, in bite-size chunks.