Life Under the Milky Way
No my friend, darkness is not everywhere,
for here and there I find faces illuminated from within;
paper lanterns among the dark trees. — Carole Borges
I believe that there are not only lanterns inside each of us, our own holy nature which we discover through prayer and meditation, but that there are those we meet who bring light into our lives. Many of my clients have brought light to me, and I am thankful for the variety of people that walk into my office and my life.
I attended a Reiki conference in Maryland recently and met more than a few lanterns there as well. Sometimes I meet a person who may only be with me for a few minutes and never again, yet my life changes from this encounter. Have you ever met someone who changed your life for the better? Do you think that it is just by chance or destiny? Are you open to transformation if the invitation appears in your life?
We have all had the experience of negative transformative experiences. It can take a lifetime to see the positive in it. One day in fifth grade, my personal collective of planets must have been colliding in an unattractive way. The teacher called me to the board to solve a math problem. I do not enjoy math, so this was a dreadful proposition for me. I went up and stood in front of the board and froze. The teacher said “Why can’t you solve this?” She then walked out of the room, down the hall, to a second grade class and pulled out a young boy named Josh. She brought him up to the class, then to the board and said “Josh, solve this math problem.” He did. Then she turned to the class and said, “Even a second grader can solve this problem!”
This could be a moment to segment into a discussion of elementary teachers with pathological narcissism, but let’s stick to the real gem of this horrible experience. Though humiliating at the time, this experience watered the seed of empathy I have for other people in similar situations early in my life, so maybe I have to thank her for that.
I met Kathie from New York State, another Reiki practitioner who attended this Mid-Atlantic Reiki Conference with me. She knew about astrology and gave me a mini astrological reading. For many years, I have had intuitive readings (not astrology readings) from some truly gifted intuitives, and these people have helped my life path. As an intuitive, I have clair-abilities, am a physical and emotional empath, and have accurate precognitive dreams. We are all enrolled in Earth 101 class to learn, so even those with psychic ability have to cope with surprises and lessons.
The Red Pen.
The things that Kathie and I discussed were great motivators for me. I needed to move forward on the tasks I was sent here to do. Writing and communication are very significant parts of my natal chart. This area of my chart for deep soul work is lit up right now in the current date as well. Intuitively I sensed that when I sat down with her for this unplanned reading that she would have some important information for me. Thanks, Kathie, for lighting my path in this way!
During the conference I reflected about how Reiki practitioners and their clients often change each other for the better in their connection. How could it not? While all of the speakers at the Reiki conference were great, one panel of health care providers (who also became Reiki practitioners) spoke on integrating Reiki into the medical system in places like trauma wards or hospice. It is very difficult to get Reiki into these systems from every imaginable angle, but the rewards and the benefits to the patients are great. What better place to transform and be transformed through a loving connection? I admired these practitioners for braving the hurdles to bring Reiki into new places. The trend is growing, but at present these people are the exception. They described the transformation in their lives not only in deeply personal ways but also for the people who received the treatments. Reiki is about facilitating something from Source to our physical bodies and our spirit, no matter what name you put on it. Being a compassionate witness to others’ pain and recovery, without attachment to outcome, is one of the most powerful things we can do for someone. We can always hope for the best, but I believe that only Source knows what that is. One of the speakers, Mari Hall, remarked, “I am not a healer. I am a Reiki practitioner.”
Hello, I love you.
One conference presenter, Kathleen Lester, gave a presentation on her many years of Reiki with animals. Are not pets lanterns for all of us too? Some of the difficult and positive behaviors they have bring awareness to us on how we can better understand them and ourselves in the process. They help us learn how to love. Her experience and knowledge on this topic encouraged me to spend more time doing Reiki with my pets.
As I sat in at the Reiki conference my mind kept returning to the idea of how amazing it is to meet the very people we need to meet. As the saying goes “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” I looked around and felt the wisdom, compassion, psychic abilities, and experience in that room. These people knew the same things I know to be true about Reiki or intuitive work, about how my clients and the random people I meet are lanterns, and we light the way for each other. It is about connection, healing, communication, being witness, facilitation, openness to mystery.
Susan Lieberman and Andrea Grace are lighting the legal area of Reiki with the work they are doing addressing state licensure issues through their organization Natural Healing Alliance. I enjoyed learning about the topics that concern me as a practitioner (legal, social, psychological, practical) and being with a community of like-minded people. Thank you!
Articles copyright of Rebecca Mitchell-Guthrie and not to be reprinted without permission.
Image credit: Life Under the Milky Way by Robert Couse-Baker / CC-BY-SA 2.0
Image credit: Lantern Festival by Ting W. Chang / CC-BY-SA 2.0
Images of pen and notebook and Hello: photos copyright Rebecca Mitchell-Guthrie
The information presented on this site is not intended to diagnose health problems or to take the place of professional medical care. The information contained therein is neither intended to dictate what constitutes reasonable, appropriate, or best care for any given health issue, nor is it intended to be used as a substitute for the independent judgment of a physician for any given health issue. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through my web site is for general information purposes only.