Ethereal Touch Reiki

We All Have to Run Our Own Race

2013-10-16T09:10:00.001-07:00

I have just recently returned from Hawaii where I volunteered to help with the 2013 Kona World Ironman competition. I volunteered in registration so I was able to interact with the athletes, hear their stories first hand, share their wonder, and see their excitment and worry first hand.

There were some very big names in this years event. It brought some thoughts to my mind and I see some very big parallels with the journey to be an Ironman and the journey that we each travel in our own personal lives.

It doesn't matter how famous you are, how much money you are being paid (in the case of someone representing a product), if you won the lottery, or if you made it to the event the good old fashioned way, you qualified. You can hire all the trainers that you need to help you along the way to improve your performance. You practice, you work hard, you push yourself to be the best that you can be in this sport.

When it comes to the day of the race, you are the one that has to do the work. All of those that have helped you along the way can come and cheer you on, but you are the only one that can swim, bike, and run to complete the task that you've set out to do. In the end, no matter how famous you are, you end up like all of the rest of the athletes in the race and you have to utilize all that you've learned during your training. You are the only one that can finish this race, there is no one else to do it for you.

Like life, in the end, the only one that can do the work to find happiness within yourself is you. You can get the training, learn techniques, but if you don't run the race yourself, learn to push yourself in those times that it is only you, all the training in the world will not get you across the finish line. There will always be people there, on the sidelines, to cheer you on. It is up to you to dig deep and keep moving forward ... no one can do that part for you.

Living A Life of Compassion

2013-09-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

The topic of Pema Chodron came up during a class that I was teaching last Monday. We were discussing her books and how meaningful they are. Of course, that made me come home and take one off of the shelf that I had been wanting to read from beginning to end. I have read relevant chapters to what I needed for classes, but never the entire book.

The preface held a message that really stood out for some reason. "If we are willing to stand fully in our own shoes and never give up on ourselves, then we will be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and never give up on them. True compassion does not come from wanting to help out those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all things." Wow.

What does that mean, to "stand fully on our own shoes". It means to take responsibility for your own actions and realize that no matter where you are in life you are the one with the ability to change things. If you give up on yourself, you will never move beyond where you are right now. It's learning to be compassionate with yourself! It's learning to forgive yourself for the things that you feel you've done wrong, it's learning to love yourself and see the potential that is within you and moving forward.

I've always used Pema's words "start where you are" while teaching a class. Every moment is a new beginning. Going back and beating yourself up over what you did yesterday, last year, during the last decade, will do you no good. Looking forward with fear to all the "might happens" does you no good either. Every moment is a new beginning and with that new beginning lies an entire set of new possibilities.

One of her teachings is that no matter where you are in your life or what is happening, someone else in the world is having the same emotions and similar experiences. When you realize this, you also realize that you are never truly alone. There are others that DO understand exactly how you feel in that moment. You may not know them, but you don't have to know them. You only have to realize that they are out there and you are not alone. Stand fully in your own shoes, and never give up. When you do that, you are also helping the others to stand in their own shoes. If you can do it, you give them hope that they can do it as well. Sometimes that is all that someone else will need to rise above whatever current situation that they find themselves in.

When you live with compassion for where you've been and what you've experienced, compassion for yourself, it becomes a way of life and compassion for others comes naturally. Compassion is a very strong and powerful emotion. A moment of compassion can change the outcome of a tense situation. It reminds me of the Lord of The Rings, when Gandolph and Frodo are discussing the fact that Bilbo held his hand when he could have killed Gollum. It was a moment of compassion on Bilbo's part as he saw beyond the exterior and had a glimpse into Gollum's sad life. In the end, it was a blessing that Gollum was spared as he still had a major role to play in his life. Judging and deciding in a moment how someone is or is not, isn't fair to the person (or you) as you really don't know what they have been through in their lives.

When you stand fully in your own shoes and never give up on yourself, you begin to change. As you change those around you change as well. I've seen it happen. You are worth every moment of compassion that you give. You are never alone. Start where you are, live in the present and take the first steps in living a life filled with compassion.

I Ride With MS

2013-08-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

This year, the MS Bike Ride Fund Raiser will be doing something a bit different. They have reached out to those of us that are "Riding with MS" to be ambassadors for the ride. We each get a jersey that states "I Ride With MS". This is to help those that are both riding and watching be aware that not only are they riding to help those with MS, those with MS are riding to help others that aren't able to ride YET!

I don't know that my story is unique, but it is amazing. When I was first diagnosed I was given a grim outlook. It seemed at the rate that the disease was traveling, I would be in a wheelchair within five years. This was in 1991. This thought didn't appeal to me very much. I couldn't walk without holding on to something as my balance was non-existent. I had optical neuritis in my left eye and was unable to see. I was numb from the waist down.

My Doctor and I tackled the MS very aggressively. I've had more Prednisone than I care to think about. I've had Solu-medrol (what I call Prednisone on steroids) via IV on a regular basis. I've taken Beta Seron, Avonex, and finally Copaxone as injectables to help my body rebuild itself.

I developed an immunity to interferon, that meant Beta Seron and Avonex no longer worked for me. Copaxone has a different make up and rather than working on the myelin sheath, it worked on the lesions in my brain, keeping them contained so that they were no longer interfering with the nervous system in the body.

In 2001 my right knee began to lock up and I was unable to move it. It's funny how excited I tend to get when I discover that I have a "real" problem and not something caused by MS. I had part of my thigh bone fall out due to the large amount of steriods that I had taken and the small bone chips were floating around under my knee cap. When they positioned themselves in a certain place, my knee locked up. I had knee surgery to remove the bone chips. My Orthopedic gave me the chips in a small vial and I still have them today.

My Orthopedic also gave me some very good advice, he said to start lifting weights to build my bone strength. He also said, "use it or lose it." I didn't want to lose it. So began a huge transformation in my life. I started lifting weights. I began to walk and then I began to run. My balance improved as my determination got stronger.

My husband decided to put me on a bike and to my surprise, I didn't fall over or run into a ditch! I WAS getting better! I began taking better care of my physical self and I moved it all the time and not only was I not "losing it", I was gaining it back.

I became a Reiki Master and added energy work to my team and I continued to improve.

I had an appointment with my Neurologist on December 17, 2012 and I had already decided to discuss with him the possibility of doing a trial run without drugs. In my Reiki practice I never advocate ceasing to use anything that has been prescribed by a physician unless my client has discussed it with their physician. I would do no less in my own life.

He agreed to a trial run with one condition, that I take 4000 units of Vitamin D daily. I agreed and the trial run began. In March, 2013, I went on prescription Vitamin D as I was still at a level that was too low.

In July of this year, I went back for a recheck. He has watched this "trial run" carefully. My Vitamin D level was up to 77! Perfect. My physical check up was the best one that I've ever had. For the first time ever, I could close my eyes and touch my nose with my finger. It might not sound like much to some, but it is a milestone of how far I've come. It's been eight months now that I've taken nothing but Vitamin D and I have had the best physical exam that I have ever had.

So, yes, this year I "Ride with MS" and I hope that those who see me can get inspired. I want those with MS to gain hope and know that bodies change. This is a disease that is constantly changing, those changes don't always have to be for the worse.

I am asking for donations for the ride and to help others with this diagnosis. Things have come so far and with continued research in both science and holistic practices, things are changing rapidly. Funds are needed to continue the process. Please donate through my website http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/DebbieNaillon so that others may "Ride with MS" as well. In some cases, so that they may walk with MS.

Thank you.
Debbie

Tools to Help De-Stress Your Life

2013-07-28T08:02:00.002-07:00

There are so many things that I love to do and one of them is helping people to make their lives a bit less stress filled. In our busy world of today our everyday lives are filled with stress that we now consider a "normal" part of our day. No wonder we don't feel up to our potential!

I took the courses through HeartMath for this very reason and I'm happy to see the changes that occur when people learn new ways to manage their stress. Stress is a perception, but if you percieve a situation to be stressful using the tools in your tool box to relieve that stress is invaluable.

With that in mind I would like to remind everyone that I am certified to help you with your stress.

HeartMath® Tele-course

Personalized instruction of the HeartMath® System in the comfort of your home or office.

In today’s fast-paced world it can be hard to find time to attend seminars or classes in order to receive instruction. More and more people are now turning to viable alternatives like tele-courses. HeartMath has taken this type of instruction a step further in an enjoyable and effective personalized course that teaches you the HeartMath System in a coaching style. It’s an easy way to receive meaningful information with a personal touch and reach new levels in your personal and professional growth.

Goal of the program – To learn specific techniques and tools, in concept and practice, and how to apply them directly to your life and the challenges you are working with right now.

Materials – I will guide you through one of three workbooks: Voyage to Heart Intelligence (for self-improvement); Personal Journey to Health (For people with health issues); or Strategies for Peak Performance (for business and workplace applications). These workbooks are only available as part of this tele-course. Supplementary book and music CD complete the materials package. Cost for materials is included in the price of the 4-session course.

Format – Once you’re registered, you and I will mutually arrange session times. Most find a specific appointment time, at the same time, on the same day, for 4 consecutive weeks works best. The unique benefit of this program is that your experience is personal and confidential, tailored just for YOU, and offers convenience, privacy and a certain ease of personal expression.

Content – Each session, and the way the course as a whole progresses, is based on your specific needs, goals, and intended applications. Some people only want to focus on isolated portions of the course content while other want the full spectrum of tools and applications.

Weekly Sessions

Session 1 – Discuss your personal and/or professional goal(s). Explore your core values – the heart of who you are and what’s important to you – and assess the interplay of your values in your everyday life. Uncover the source of your stress. Experience how your stress is largely a function of how you are perceiving life and your mental and emotional reactions.

Session 2 – Learn the science underpinning HeartMath tools and techniques and how they are different from traditional approaches to stress reduction. Simply presented, with graphic support, the science is made clear and easy to understand. Receive in-depth instruction and guidance in doing the Freeze-Frame® technique and quickly feel the shift in your physiology.

Session 3 – Learn the Heart Lock-In® technique and how it differs from the Freeze-Frame tool. Discuss applications and potential benefits relative to your particular goals. Explore the use of positive emotions, systematically applied, and see how they change everything. Learn the Intuitive Listening technique and get guidelines for best practice.

Session 4 – Practice a process-oriented tool for incorporating the qualities of the heart – more care for self and others – with Heart Mapping®, a project planning tool. Review your experience me and gain further insight into your use of the tools. Develop a plan for practical application to achieve your goals. Move into life with leveraged intelligence.

To register for this course: Contact Debbie Naillon, Licensed 1:1 HeartMath Provider, Ethereal_Touch@hotmail.com

Looking in a Mirror

2013-06-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today I looked into a mirror. It wasn't a real mirror, it was a real person. A new Client ... I knew nothing about her as I hadn't made the appointment, but I was excited to meet her. I didn't know prior to her arrival that she would be my mirror image of about 20 years ago.

A young mother with Multiple Sclerosis, me 20 years ago. She also reminded me of myself in her beliefs, her faith, and her spirit. Looking at her, I realized just how far I've really come. It is amazing. Seeing her looking at me, I realized that she was seeing how far she can go as well.

She believes in me, she believes in herself. Together with her physician we can make her quality of life the best it can be. She told me that somewhere in the back of her mind she imagined coming in to see me today and then walking out without her walker, cured ... a miracle. I smiled and told her that wasn't going to happen, not today. We work on the quality of life and it improves. The miracle is the positive attitude and the smiles, even when life is scary and you don't know where or how this is going to go.

It was humbling for me. I know though, this is why I had Multiple Sclerosis. I can talk with her, I understand, I've been there. She is a gentle soul and she trusts me.

Today I looked into a mirror and saw the self of yesterday. We all have roads to travel and our journeys are never the same. To be reminded at times just how far I've come is a blessing to me. I forget how blessed I really am. She is blessed as well, she has such a positive attitude and a beautiful smile. I will help her to continue her healing ... she is my blessing for today.

Being the "Observer"

2013-03-02T09:16:00.001-08:00

There are so many things in this world that are acted upon based on the personal perspective of the person involved. It leads to strife and turmoil, when the reality of the situation is that there are different ways of looking at things and a refusal to see the situation from a different perspective.

Last week I led an exercise using this thought process, the thought of being the observer and taking the time to understand both sides of a situation. It isn't an easy thing to do, especially if one of the players in the situation is yourself. We imagined that we were observing a play, we took a neutral position in observing this play, setting aside our own personal perspectives.

Standing in the middle of the situation we observed both sides. We went over the details and looked a bit deeper. We looked into the reasons behind why each participant in our play made the choices that they did. We were striving for unbiased understanding.

One of my students said she had not realized how hard that was and how much her ego didn't like having to acknowledge that she might have done things differently. Taking the observers stance, when you are one of the participants being observed, isn't an easy thing. It's that long hard look in the mirror that is so hard to do for most of us. We wish it to be the other person's fault, societies fault, anyone's fault other than our own.

Looking at both sides of a situation can help put into perspective what has happened. You still don't have to agree with what happened, you only have to understand. With understanding you can come from a place in your heart and stay the observer and send love to all the participants (including yourself) in the situation.

You might come to realize what you first thought was an attack on your beliefs was actually the other persons own fears of change. Accepting your beliefs might mean accepting that things are changing, so it boils down to fear. You help those with fear with loving understanding, not coming back in a defensive mode.

Take the time to look beyond face value. Spiritual understanding is a powerful tool moving forward. I am not perfect, no one is, but I am trying to be more understanding and come from a place of the observer. I encourage everyone to at least make the attempt to try this, if just once.

Do You Judge Others Based Upon Yourself?

2013-02-12T07:31:00.002-08:00

Sitting here this morning I've been contemplating the way people judge what another person would do in any given situation. It has occurred to me that they place their judgements on what they, themselves would do if they were in the same situation. The contemplation was because of some recent events that at first confused me, then I pieced together the motivation behind the move.

It still confused me as to why it was thought that there was a need to do anything at all. I don't need to go into the details of what happened, but it finally hit me that they responded in the way that they did because they were responding to what would have been going on had they been in the other persons situation.

Interesting. I believe that we all do that at some level. I know that I have a very hard time believing that people do some of the things that they do because it would never have entered my mind to do such a thing. Does that make me naive? Maybe. I guess that I would like to see the world revolving around the standard that I live my life on. I have been told that it is a fairytale land and that it doesn't exist.

I think that it does exist, this world that I see and believe in. It isn't wide spread, but I've met so many people that think like I do and it is a refreshing thought. I have a client that struggles with people not liking her, "why? I'm a nice person" she tells me ... I can relate to those thoughts. Then I realized that there are people that you believe know who and what you are, who and what you believe in and you realize that they never knew you at all. When it comes down to the wire, they react based upon what they would have done in the same situation.

All I ask of everyone, including myself, is to keep an open mind in this world. Don't base your judgements on what you would do in any given situation. Take a step back, take a deep breath, and look to your heart for the truth of the situation. Your heart will give you the correct answer in all instances.

Happy December!

2012-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

It's been some time now since I've written! Time flies when you are having fun as the saying goes! I've been busy and that's always a very good thing. My office at Thorbecke's Fitlife Center is up and running. I've enjoyed seeing my clients there.

I have new Practical Reiki students and they are all doing so well! I enjoy teaching my PR students on a 1:1 ratio. I feel that they get more out of the experience (except maybe having more people than just me to practice on) and they are more open and candid with their experiences and their questions.

I am taking my Heart Math 1:1 Provider training and I am loving every minute of it! It is so rewarding to get the science behind all of the things that I have been implementing with my clients already. The heart is such a powerful part of our anatomy. When you understand all of the science behind why we feel and do the things that we do, it begins to make sense and fall into place.

I am really excited to finish this training and start helping my clients to relieve their stress, get into the zone (for my athletes) and to help coach them to better health! I enjoy the interaction with my clients on a 1:1 basis and this is a perfect fit for me!

My book is at the publisher ... I am excited over that! It should be out the first of next year and I am excited for that! Be watching for Heart Magick ... Where Healing Begins to be out on the market. It will be published through Balboa Press, a division of Hay House! Thank you Julie Meaker, you've been an excellent editor for me!

For all that follow my blog, I would like to give you a Christmas Gift of my ebook, Three Simple Ways to Relieve Stress . There is a link on my website that will download this ebook for you.

I hope that you all have a stress free holiday season and I hope to be writing more soon!

The Five Strengths

2012-10-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

I was reading of the five strengths this morning in the Mahayana Instruction for the ejection of consciousness at death. It is interesting to read what the instruction is telling me and to realize what the true message is in the words that I am reading.

The way that you move into the moment of death is a reflection of how you have lived during all your years upon this earth. There is a need to practice the five strengths during your lifetime; the way that you conduct yourself now is very important to the way that you accept and move into the next realm.

While you are alive:

Have Strong Determination: Be open and let go of perceived hurts and injuries. See the beauty that is all around you, look for that beauty rather than looking for the ugly. As you practice this looking, it becomes easier to find, even if it is just inside of yourself.

Familiarization: Practice being open and letting go of the material things that hold you down, that keep you tethered to one space, one thought pattern, limiting your natural potential. Learn to accept the peace that is being you, being open, loving, and compassionate. At the moment of death there will be no reason for panic, only love is there to guide you through.

The Positive Seed: This is based upon trust in yourself. Trust that you have the ability to let go and to feel compassion for others. This comes from the second strength. As you practice and get familiar with letting go and actively building compassion for others and love for yourself the transition is peaceful and serene.

Reproach: When you realize that this identity that you are holding on to so tightly isn’t something solid and real, it’s easier to let it go. Walk with joy upon this earth at all times, be happy and at peace. There is no need to hold on to a persona that doesn’t bring you that happiness and peace. Realize that this is a journey that has a stopping point and it is the same point for everyone.

Aspiration: “At the time of death, aspire to spend all your future lives in the presence of your teachers and to do your best to benefit others forever.” I did write this one word for word as it is important. Remember, we are to practice these things during our lifetime upon this earth. I take this to mean that you shouldn’t wait until death to aspire to spend your life in the presence of your teachers and to do your best to benefit others forever, this begins here and now.

To bring it to a summation; see the beauty that is in all things around you; let go of the things that no longer serve a life of love and compassion; trust yourself; be yourself; give of yourself with love, compassion, and joy.

Opening the Heart Center

2012-09-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve written on different occasions about the power of the heart to help you to heal. It is something that I’ve seen time and again, the difference that it makes when the heart is involved in the healing. It’s not an easy thing to come from the heart center for some people. They have shut their heart off because it hurts too badly for them to allow their heart to feel the emotions. I understand this, there are times that I wish I could shut my heart off and just move on without that deep hurt coming from the middle of my chest.

I had to smile the other day when I realized just how powerful the heart can feel when it is moving in the right direction. I led a meditation on the heart. We were going through a breathing exercise to help us to feel the emotions that come to us and diffuse them in a loving and gentle manner. The technique that I used helps the Client fully feel the emotion so that it doesn’t leave a residue of some sort to later manifest in some form of physical or emotional problem. It is a very healthy way to deal with emotions and one that I hope they take with them into the world to develop and learn to deal with emotional issues on the fly.

My smiling moment came after the meditation when one of my Clients was telling me that when I was instructing them to breathe through their heart center, she kept trying to breathe through her heart on the left side of her chest but she felt it in the center of her chest. She had no idea that her heart is located in the center of her chest, she always assumed it was on the left because of the Pledge of Allegiance! What a wonderful affirmation that she was feeling the heart chakra, heart center, open and develop. She told me that she had finally given up trying to breath from what she thought was her heart and just placed her attention on the spot that she actually felt everything.

Opening the heart is a powerful thing. Learning to deal with all that life can send to us in a healthy manner is a powerful thing. It is never easy to open yourself up to the emotions that the world can create within you at any given moment. Learning to diffuse those emotions goes a very long way in helping you to maintain a life that is filled with balance. Balance brings health and happiness.

I am very glad that I listen to those that guide me and decided to ask to lead the meditation that day. There were those that attended that needed this meditation and were ready for it. Those that couldn’t make it, I am assuming that this wasn’t the time for them to learn. The Universe does work in mysterious ways!

www.etherealtouch.com

Set aside Your Own Unease …

2012-08-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

There are times when I get such an urge to write that I can’t do anything but follow that urge. The words spin around in my mind and I know that they are something that need to be put down on paper.

I have a friend that is battling breast cancer at the moment. She made a comment that has triggered a plethora of words swirling about in my brain that I can’t seem to quiet. She has come to a false conclusion, and I think that it’s one that many might come to in her circumstance, but it’s false just the same.

She began her journey with a mastectomy, part of the breast is still there, but the nipple had to be removed. In the beginning and all through the chemotherapy, even with the loss of hair, she had intimate moments with others. There was no problem with being any less of a woman, being broken, being any different than where she was before.

She has moved on into radiation and up until last night, I wasn’t aware of how devastating the burns actually become when a person is going through radiation. It was an eye opener for me. I felt nothing but love and compassion for her; she is still beautiful, just very, very burnt at the moment. I know that those burns will leave. It’s the pain that I know is going along with those burns that brought the compassion to the fore and it was with nothing more than love that I offered to help.

The comment was made that it seems those that had held her when she needed the warmth of a touch have disappeared. The conclusion came that it was because of the mastectomy, the hair loss, and the fact that the cancer had left her broken; I am here to say that it has nothing to do with her; it has everything to do with those that are staying away.

It was not hard before, when the pain wasn’t so clear. They don’t know how to deal with their feelings and reactions to the clear vision of how much pain is involved. It is their broken self that is keeping them away, not hers. It’s easier to stay away until the burns heal, than to have to admit that they have no idea how to deal with the emotions that the helplessness fills them with. I will admit that there are probably some that are just superficial people, but the majority of the people that she surrounds herself with are very good and decent people.

When the burns clear, they will return. In the mean time they live with their guilt, though it is buried deep. I am here to tell you that while it might be hard to know what to do in the face of another’s obvious pain, they still need you to deal with your emotions, set them aside, and be there with love and compassion at this time. Leave your pity at the door, as it isn’t pity that they need, it’s the simple love for another human that is required.

Please, set your own brokenness aside for a moment in time and reach out to someone that needs it. It will make the world of difference to both of you.

3 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress

2012-08-30T11:54:00.001-07:00

I am attempting to get "technical" here and I hope that it works! I have written a short ebook containing three simple methods to help reduce the stress in your life. I would like to make it available to those that read this blog free of charge. If I can manage to figure out how to embed it within this blog, you should be able to do that!

OK, I'm not as smart as I'd like to be, but I am trying! If you go to the link below it will bring you to my website. Fill out the contact form, include the the words "free ebook" in the comment section and I shall send you your free book! It might not be fancy, but I think that it will work!

3 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress

Peace Begins With You

2012-08-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

I read something on the internet this morning that really started me thinking. There are times that might not be a good thing! The comment was made that the New Age Movement was going to fail. This comment was based upon the 60’s and the hippie movement that existed at that time. Their reasoning was that there was no lasting peace on earth created then and there won’t be any created now. The attempt is destined to fail and therefore shouldn’t be attempted again.

I was a girl during the 60’s but I have watched different things about the 60’s in documentaries. I was more than old enough to understand the conflicts of the Vietnam War, and I don’t mean the conflicts on the battle field, but the ones that existed here at home. I feel shame for the way that the soldiers were treated upon coming home by the Country that sent them to fight in the first place.

In the name of peace, there were many protests that ended up in violence. Is this any different than attacking another country in the name of God? The peaceful sit-ins were designed to bring about conflict and most of the time they succeeded in doing just that, the conflicts became very ugly at times.

Today, people still do things in the name of peace that bring about so much violence that peace is never attained. Where am I going with this? I wonder myself ….

Mother Nature and all of the inhabitants on this Earth need to have balance for things to work as they should. Mother Nature has a way of bringing this back into balance, normally in a very big and blustery way, but balance is obtained once more, if only for a short period of time.

My Great-Grandma Whisler was brought to mind this morning while I was contemplating the words that I read. She was a person that inspired others to be just like her. She never judged anyone; she never condemned anything that others were doing. She was gentle and you always felt the love that she had for everything when you were in her presence. She didn’t need to have a sit-in for peace to appear around her. She didn’t need to protest a war, march at a soldiers funeral, stand in front of a bulldozer, or become a suicide bomber to get her message across. All she had to do was be herself, and she was pure, non-judgmental love. I wanted to be just like her as did countless others.

Peace comes one person at a time. It comes from the heart of each person and as that person begins living their truth, the next person wants to know how they can be like the first person. It becomes a ripple effect and it is achieved without blowing anything up in the name of peace.

It’s a hard thing to achieve, this state of pure love. Great-Grandma did and she did it way before this so called New Age Movement. The answers lie within each of us, look inside of yourself and find your truth. Live your own principles every day and live in integrity. Take things one day at a time and then the next and then the next. Soon, it will be a way of life. Never beat yourself up if you slide backwards for a day, but remember that you always start where you are and you have a limitless supply of fresh starts.

As Brad and I heard at the Battlefield of Custard’s Last stand “Power is in Peace rather than Peace is in Power”.

Of Hobbits and Light Workers

2012-08-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

There are times that I get what some might call “strange thoughts” running through my head. I have been writing a book to enter in a contest, and it has brought all types of memories to mind.

It brought the thought of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, some of my all time favorite books, and how the quiet little hobbits ended up being the heroes of the story. They didn’t set out to do it. They just wanted their quiet little life to live back in the Shire. Things and circumstances kept appearing before them until they felt that fate or destiny was pushing them to the point that they could no longer deny that they needed to start out on their journey.

In their quiet way they became the heroes of the world, . They surprised all, including themselves, with the feats that they could accomplish when they had right and good on their side. They had their guides, Gandalf and Aragon, and countless others that appeared to aid them as they were needed.

I can’t help but think of the comparison of these little hobbit heroes to the Light Worker heroes of today. There are many that had no idea that someday they would start to get those nudges to look beyond their own door and discover a world that they hadn’t worked in before. It’s hard to leave the comfort of our own little hobbit hole when the nudges become so strong that we can feel the hands on our backs, along with those pulling on our arms, trying to get us to budge from our comfort zone and move into the world that needs our particular area of expertise.

I have read of several that have made those first tentative steps out into the big world. I would be counted along with them. It’s not easy to leave that comfort and go, even if the guide is telling you that they will keep you safe. Gandalf was lost in Moria for a bit and eventually Frodo had to move on his own, or so he thought at the time. The truth was that he was never really alone as he always had those watching and working behind the scene to help him move on his way as safely as possible.

That’s the way it is for the Light Workers of today. It’s not easy stepping out and being who and what you are, but it’s needed, you are needed. There are the big names, Doreen Virtue, Louise Hayes, and Carolyn Myss to name a few of them, and they all started out the same place that you are now. They left the comfort of their homes and are a major source of help and inspiration to all of those out in the world today.

What will you do if you find yourself getting those nudges to leave your comfortable home and become the unexpected hero? Will you begin the journey? Will you go deeper into your hobbit hole hoping that they forget you exist? They don’t ever forget and they will come around again, can you dig deep enough to never be found?

The world needs these messengers of hope, healing, and optimism. If you are on the receiving end of this guidance, don’t fight it; just take that first step on the path. The world needs more unassuming heroes.

An Official Certified Crystal Healer!

2012-07-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am soooo excited! I am officially a Certified Crystal Healer and can use the initials CCH after my name! I know that I'm a wee bit late writing this post, but I've been busy as my grandsons have been here!

I love working with the crystals and seeing the results that they bring. I am working with my Clients as to what crystals resonate the best with them. It was interesting to see a Client "testing" four different stones (all of the same type but different sizes and shapes) to find which one was perfect for her. There was no doubt which one she needed as it literally was felt within her heart. She said it felt like a jolt!

The stones do talk to those that need them. If you take the time to stop and listen, you can feel, if not actually hear, what it is that they wish to tell you.

I love working with these gifts from Mother Earth. The more that I work with them, the more that they teach me.

Thirty-Four Years ago Today ...

2012-07-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Thirty-four years ago today I married my best friend. I remember saying the wedding vows, "For richer and poor, through good times and bad, through sickness and health, I promise to love and cherish you from this day forward until death do us part." At the time, it was emotional to be saying those words, but the reality of what they meant had not sank in yet.

We have been through all of those vows. We have had hard times where money was tight and we pulled together and made it through to easier financial times. He was there for me when my Mom passed away and again when my Grandmother passed away. I was there for him when he lost his best friend and his parents as well. The bad times, but that makes the good times just that much sweeter and more appreciated.

Through sickness and health. I didn't realize that we would use this one quite as much as we have. He helped me through MS. He learned to clear IVs with saline solution to keep them from clotting, he learned to hook up the medications as well when I was on a five day solu-medrol run. He would have made someone a very good nurse, oh, that's right, he made ME a very good nurse. He took care of me and he still does. Some men would have ran from this responsibility, he embraced it and held to the challenge.

I am much better now, no more IVs for me! Now it's his turn to be the patient. Through sickness (or injury) and health, the full package. I find that when I am his nurse, things flow better and for that I am grateful.

I love him more today than I did the day that we said those vows, yes, even with the injury grumpiness! We are on a journey together and that journey continues. I knew from the moment that we went on our second date picnic, my three month old daughter in tow, that he was the one for me. I felt safe, loved, warm, and accepted.

I will not lie and say that there haven't been difficult times, but if you line the difficult along side of the happy times, there is no comparison.

Thirty-four years ago today I married my best-friend and I've never looked back. Thank you for always being there for me, for us. I love you.

Healing is a Team Effort

2012-07-12T07:35:00.001-07:00

I have discovered that as I progress along my journey, I am constantly delighted by the things that I discover and learn. Things appear along this journey just as I need them. I no longer believe in coincidences, though there are times that I have to be patient in understanding why things happen.

I firmly believe that to be healed is not necessarily the same as being cured. While it's nice to be both, when you are healed and whole, the stress and worry over a cure is no longer there and the body is in a better position to deal with the task at hand without any distractions.

True healing comes from the heart center. It starts with the ability to love and accept yourself as you are. It means that you can look into the mirror at any given moment and embrace the person looking back at you.

This is my main objective in all that I do. My Reiki, Crystal Healing, Vision Boards, and all the other tools that I have in my tool box are geared to helping you heal from the heart center. Like an onion, each person has layers upon layers that they have created around themselves as they've moved through their lives. To peal back these layers, we will work together as a team. This team consists of myself and my Client. The Client's medical/mental health practioners (if there are any) are also a part of this team.

Through both Reiki and Crystal Healing we can begin to break through the layers, making it easier for the body to respond to the treatments that are being facilitated by your physcian/mental health practitioner. At no time will it ever be a recommendation to stop any treatments prescribed by the medical community. We will work together in this process of healing. The physicians can cure you, we will work to heal you.

I offer to you a process to facilitate healing. Each person is unique in how this is achieved. Working as a team, we find out what will work for you. As each of us have our own individual and unique fingerprint, we all have unique and individual needs that have to be addressed in order to heal.

Reiki sends the eneregy where it is needed. It can relieve the symptoms, but the root cause of the symptoms needs to be cleared so that they do not return. This is where we go deeper, we allow the enegy to travel to the cause of the symptoms and we begin to heal at this very basic level.

Crystals are very powerful allies in this journey, they bring our bodies into sync with Mother Nature once again. Many of us have lost that ability to feel what Mother Earth provides. This is a big part of the healing process, learning to reconnect with Mother Nature.

Healing comes from the heart and it is pure love. Learning to love yourself is the ultimate goal for true healing. This is my goal for those that come to me for help. We are a team and we will work together to achieve this goal. It's not easy, but it is worth the effort. The tools are all there in my tool box and I will gladly share them with you. I will help you to start your own tool box so you will have what you need to heal.

Principles ...

2012-06-30T07:32:00.001-07:00

As a Reiki Master and a Munay Ki Initiate, I have two sets of principles that I am to follow. I have both of these printed out and posted on my bulletin board. The Reiki principles are also on my bedroom mirror and I have them posted in my office. I read them daily and I make the attempt to follow them as well. I use the word attempt as like all those out there reading this, I am still human and I have my ups and downs.

So why do I, or anyone else for that matter, need to have a set of principles to follow? What's the big deal, just live your life as you see fit, why write something out? Writing something out, having it posted to look at, does make a difference. It gives you an anchor, something to look at and remind you of the principles that you agreed to live your life by.

The Principles of the Munay Ki are as follows:

Non-violence
Bring no harm to yourself or others

Truthfulness
Be true to your word, and let your word be true

Integrity
Do not steal, not even a glance; walk your talk

Moderation
Use wisely the life force within you

Generosity
Give more than you take, for nothing in the world really belongs to you

The Principles of Reiki are as follows:

Today I am free of Anger

Today I am Free of Worry

Today I work to improve myself with diligence and appreciation

Today I am kind to all Living Things

Today I am Thankful for all of my many blessings

As you can see, there are places where these two sets of principles are the same. The wording is different, but the intent is the same. With the Reiki principles, the word today is used as you only need to take care of today; it isn't intimidating to do something for one day. If they read, for the "rest of my life" I might not have even made the attempt to follow them! One day at a time. One day moves into two days, and then three. Eventually a series of days have gone by and the attempt was made each and every one of those days to follow the principles that I agreed to follow.

It is a good thing, having a set of principles to model your life after. In a situation that would normally become stressful and upsetting it is helpful to take a deep breath and think, "which principle might apply to the situation that I'm facing now?" Just moving your mind to that thought will take you from the trigged "normal" response to the situation and put you in a better place to deal with what is going on.

Principles can be a very individualized thing. You can follow those that come to you through the different paths of your life, or you can model ones that look and feel right to and for you. There can be only one or two, or you can have as many as you'd like. This is something that I am planning on helping others with, finding their own set of principles to live by.

Healed vs. Cured

2012-06-14T07:53:00.001-07:00

My sister and I had a very interesting conversation yesterday. I was telling her about my thoughts on healing, that it comes from the heart and that in order for a person to be healed they need to be able to love themselves unconditionally. I should put in at this point that my sister is a Nurse-Practitioner, a very good one at that! She said that there is a difference between being healed and being cured. I agree!

To help you to understand what is meant by this I will give you two examples. The first woman has breast cancer and as part of the treatment, she has a mastectomy. Her breast cancer is cured and it is no longer present anywhere in her system. She never is able to come to terms with the treatment, in this case the mastectomy, and she becomes bitter and broken because she sees herself as broken. Has she been healed? Has she been cured of the disease, but left unhealed and open for new disease and unhappiness to filter into her life?

The second example is of a woman once again with cancer. This time, the woman is at peace with herself, her complete self, even the parts that have cancer. She is enjoying the life that she has, she moves through her life with joy, passing that joy and love to others around her. She eventually dies of the cancer, so it is clear that she was never cured, but was she healed? I believe that she was. She lived a life of peace and joy, even if she was living it with cancer, she never lived as a victim and she brought joy to all around her. It is a fact that all on earth are going to pass on at some point as it is the way of the Universe, we may not be able to control the way that happens but we can be healed at the very core of our being and live life to the fullest.

I have Multiple Sclerosis, I was diagnosed in 1992. I went downhill rather quickly; steroids and I became very good friends. I couldn’t walk without holding on to something; balance was not in my cards at that time. I went blind in my left eye. I have been numb from the waist down with bruising all over my legs and no idea how it happened. I have to laugh at the many, many times I have dropped something to the floor when I was attempting to place it on the counter, I had no depth perception at all. This was in 1992, 20 years ago. I was on IV meds for five days at a time; I came back down on Prednisone. I have had knee surgery as part of my thigh bone broke off and was floating around inside my knee cap. This was due to the large amount of steroids that I have taken in my life.

Most people would have no idea that I have an incurable disease, or a disease that has no cure known to the medical field at this time. I have “healed” myself; I have healed myself in the definition of healing given above. I still have an injection that I give myself every day, I will not stop taking the medicine until I am instructed to do so by my Neurologist, but I have healed. I embrace the path that I have gone down and there are times that I can see where it has changed my life for the better. I have empathy for those with disease, I can understand the thoughts and feelings that they express in regard to what they are going through. I can honestly tell them that true healing comes from the heart and from the way we handle the disease. I have experienced this myself and I can talk to them from my heart and understand what they are saying with compassion. I also know when it’s time to move forward and not let the disease control them, but to have the Client take control of the disease.

I have tested “normal” for an eye test (I don’t remember if it is an EEG for sure) that I should not have tested normal on. I have MS and I have Optical Neuritis. These two together should make it to where I never test normal on this. They say it’s impossible; I have had more than one Doctor comment on my normal results. Does this mean that I am cured of Optical Neuritis? I think that I might be cured and I know that I am healed.

I hope to one day be cured of MS, as I heal more and more each day and get closer to that level of total unconditional love of self I know that the cure of this disease is getting closer.

I work to heal people and in their healing I hope that they are cured. It is a team effort, the Client, myself, the energy, and their Doctor or Therapist. Healing comes from the level of the heart and unconditional love. I do not claim to cure people, but I do claim to help them to heal. There is a difference.

Healing from the Heart ...

2012-06-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have a very firm belief that true, lasting healing comes from the heart. The Institute of Heart Math has done several studies on the power of the heart and I find them to be very interesting. Are you aware that the electromagnetic field of the brain can be measured up to a four foot circumference around the brain? Let's compare that to the electromagnetic field of the heart. The heart has a circumference of twelve feet around the heart! I wonder which one has more influence on things, the brain or the heart?

I have written that I work with my Client as a team effort. It takes a team at times to accomplish the goals that we wish to accomplish in our lives. Healing is no different. Lasting healing comes from a place in the heart center. I can help to clear your aura, balance your chakras, send energy to assist with a multitude of things, and we will see great progress. We will see a complete disappearance of the original conditions that you, the Client wished to clear up. I've seen this over and over again. It truly is a wonderful thing to follow the progress that is made as the team works together.

I will return to my first statement "lasting healing comes from the heart". As a Reiki Practitioner, I use pure love from my heart center to begin each and every treatment. It has to come from that place to be as strong and as effective as I wish the energy to be. My focus is on my Client, on what I sense and see, and for the time that they are in my office, they are my world. The treatments are amazing and my Clients have amazing experiences as well.

The one thing that I really want to get through to everyone is that until you can learn to love yourself, unconditionally love and respect yourself, things will still slip in and cause you new types of dis-ease. You will be back to see me with a different set of things that the "team" needs to work on. It isn't an easy thing, this learning to love yourself unconditionally. To love yourself beyond the level of words and have it be something that you know, deep within your own heart center, that it is the truth.

To heal completely you have to get to the point that you can look into the mirror at any given moment and love the person that you see looking back at you. This is not an easy thing to do by any means. I work myself not to cringe at that "baby belly" that I see in the mirror. It is part of me and to be healthy in all aspects of my life, I need to love that part just as much as I do my little feet!

I call this "Heart Magick ... Where Healing Begins". It's a team effort to get to this point of unconditional love, but we can all get there. When you love yourself unconditionally, the rest will start to fall into place.

Catching up

2012-06-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit since I've written, am I getting a bit rusty in the writing arena? I hope not! I have been busy, though I'm not sure that's the main reason that I haven't written in a while. I'll work on the reasoning behind the action, it's somewhere floating around in my head and I will find it one of these days.

There is a new, revamped website up and running for Ethereal Touch. I will get all the quirks figured out sooner or later. I am also getting my classes set up to teach on the Internet as well as live in my office. The classes are fun and I've discovered that I love to teach!

I am on the "Faculty" of The Ohio Nursing League and am teaching Practical Reiki (8 CE's for Nurses) through the Reiki Awakening Academy. It was a bit of a smiling moment to see the OK come through and realize that my name is on this list. Who would have thought?

Where do I go from here? What direction do I continue in? I love what I do, I love the people that I meet and interact with on this path that I am on. It is something that is both humbling and rewarding as I listen to the words of appreciation and know that I've made a difference in someones life. I've been looked at and simply told "fix me".

Energy work is a powerful thing, it's an empowering thing. Working with energy and a Client is a team effort, the Client helps themselves as the energy moves through their own systems. It is empowering to know that you are helping to bring your body back into balance so that it can heal as it was meant to do.

I can give Reiki all day long to a person that doesn't want to get better, for whatever reason that might be, and while they may or may not improve, they won't stay that way. Give me another person that is ready for things to be better, the energy is received and the progress is truly amazing. It is a team effort, and the team is comprised of myself, the Client, and the energy that flows all around us.

I read a short statement the other day. It read "Empowerment through Knowledge". I like that statement. I completely agree, knowledge is empowering. Having an open mind to new ideas and understanding helps in gaining that empowerment. I encourage everyone to be like a sponge and soak up all the information that they can. Don't take things at face value that you are told, research what interests you, find the truth behind it for yourself and make it your truth as well.

Just a bit more ...

2012-04-21T09:06:00.001-07:00

This is just a bit more on the amazing qualities of rose quartz. I have a client that I "prescribed" rose quartz to. I do this rather often to be honest with you, hand out rose quartz with instructions that the client needs to keep it close and hold it when things get hard for them to deal with.

This particular client sleeps with her rose quartz. She holds it in her hand, next to her heart as she falls to sleep. She finds it the next morning somewhere upon her body where it has rested for the night. She brought it in to an appointment the other day, very excited, as she had something to show me. Her rose quartz is "growing" a dark spot in the center of it! She told me that it is healing her, it is removing the sadness that has kept her from moving forward for so long. I agree!

Her state of mind is awesome these days and she sees the world with a new happiness and is ready to start being a vibrant part of it once again.

Never underestimate the power of energy work combined with the proper stones. It is amazing what can be accomplished. It is also amazing when you hear stories where the change is so dramatic that the family has noticed and will bring the client her rose quartz unasked for. They know that she is having a difficult time and the difference in holding the stones and not holding them is that dramatic! How cool is that??

My New Most Amazing Thing!

2012-03-29T11:45:00.001-07:00

I have mentioned that I am taking a Crystal Healing class and I am really enjoying it! There are so many neat things about crystals and stones in general that I had no idea about.

A few weeks ago I had a Client in my office for an appointment. There was time prior to her appointment and I felt that she needed the calming effect of Rose Quartz so I handed her one stone for each hand. She sat and held them, not looking at them, for about an hour. At the end of that time, I was ready for her appointment and she went to hand me the stones back. She had the strangest look on her face as she looked at me and asked “these stones were pink when you gave them to me, right?” YES, they were pink! I looked at them and now they were white!

I did my normal thing when I come across something new that I’ve never seen or heard of before, I contacted Connie Dohan to see if she had heard of this before and what the cause was. Of course Connie had not only heard of it, but she has experienced it within her own practice. My client did indeed need the properties of the quartz, she needed it so badly that she drained the stones of their energy!

I asked if this could be reversed and Connie assured me that it can. I just need to return the stones to Mother Earth for a period of time and they will recharge and grain their color back. The length of time depends upon the depth of the drain to the stone.

Since this occurrence I have been learning more about stones and crystals in particular. All crystals are stones, but not all stones are crystals. It has to do with their molecular structure, but I’m not going to get into all of that here. While I was at Connie’s for my mentoring session I learned first hand even more about what can happen to stones during a healing.

I had no idea that stones actually absorb things from the Client. This was even true when the Client was me! Connie showed me where the Selenite under her table had collected black spots; these just scrape off so they don’t mar the beauty of the Selenite for long. Of course, the crystals are an entirely different matter all together!

They actually change just as the rose quartz did with my first Client above. They absorb and change as the healing progresses. I have taken the time to really pay attention to my crystals now on a before and after treatment basis. I have been able to actually show my Clients after a treatment the changes that have occurred within the double terminated smoky quartz that I now always place between their feet. It might be small changes or it could be big changes. Sometimes it is a new smoky “line” inside of the crystal, sometimes it is a beautiful new crystal shape. There isn’t always a change, and sometimes it is just a very subtle change.

This phenomenon both amazes and excites me! It is something that I can show my Clients that they can see with their own eyes. It helps to show that Mother Earth is working to help the healer heal. We work together, nature is designed to help us to be the best that we can be and when we work with her rather than against her, things just seem to flow a little bit better.

This Month’s Reiki Share

2012-03-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

It’s been busy the past little bit! I am learning so much from my Crystal Healing classes. My teacher is a biologist and I am learning a lot of the “scientific” information behind why crystals work so well. It’s really interesting to me.

I held a Reiki Share on Sunday and as such I did a very simple demonstration of how energy works. I hoped that it would work as I planned, I hadn’t done any testing prior to the Share, but I knew that the theory was sound, so the demonstration should work just fine. It did!

I made up a crystal grid as I had learned during class. I made it a healing grid and I put it in the form of the eternity symbol. I did nothing more than lay out the crystals and let it be. Then I took a set of divining rods (the type used for finding water sources) and the premise is that as you walk towards the grid, the rods swing outward when they “sense” the energy from the grid.

With the grid just set up, nothing more, the energy field stopped at the edge of the crystals, no further out than that. Then I lit a candle that was sitting beside the grid. From that one small step, the energy was sensed a bit further out from the crystals.

My next step was to “charge” the crystals. I did this with a large crystal point. I ran it from the center stone to each crystal in the grid in turn, connecting them all together in an energy pattern. This created a much larger circle of energy around the grid. I had to step back further to be able to have the rods sense the energy.

We left the grid, candle burning, and moved on to our discussion on chakras. After allowing the grid to be for a bit, I checked the energy level once more, this time it reached almost across the room. This was a very impressive show of how energy works and how it can grow and build.

It was a nice afternoon. We all received Reiki Healing (even me!) in a group setting. I was very proud of my Practical Reiki Students, they are doing so well! They were able to sense the places that needed attention on the “client” with their hands in the body scans. It is exciting to see the sensitivity in their hands getting stronger.

Next month’s Reiki Share is going to be a continuation on the crystals grids, and who knows that else I might pick up along the way! It’s a fun afternoon of teaching, learning, and sharing this wonderful gift of energy that the Universe provides us.

My Trip ….

2012-03-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

I had the best trip to Dublin, Ohio! It was a two-fold trip, the first part was to see Connie Dohan and take her metaphysical business mentoring workshop and the second was to visit my younger sister and her daughter. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip had I had the opportunity to plan it for myself!

I have met some of the most interesting people on this trip. They are all warm, sincere, lovely people that have nothing more than the giving spirit that seems to surround people in the metaphysical world. Elaine, her friend, and I all went to the Festival of Light on Saturday. It was a really enjoyable time there. I spoke with several different people, the smiles were genuine and the joy was very real.

I think that the most interesting person that I met there was Frank. I don’t know his last name, but he even looks like a “fairy” person in the flesh. Elaine had met him first and he was giving her a treatment when Elaine’s friend and I walked up and watched. I have never seen a person with so much joy surrounding them before. Frank is a very tiny person, Elaine said that he was smaller than she was, but personally I think that they are about the same size. He was wearing purple plaid pajama bottoms, a baggy knit sweater with some design on it, and a denim shirt beneath that. His attire fit him to a tee. His long ponytail and scruffy beard were also fitting for this elfin creature. He had a smile and a simplicity that touched the heart and drew people to him. As Elaine put it, Frank is pure joy and he just makes you feel good being around him.

I don’t have enough room to write all that I did on this trip, but I will hit some of the highlights! Elaine’s friends and I went to Yellow Springs, an energy vortex in Ohio that is somehow stuck back in time. The energy there was wonderful and the little shops were fun to browse through. We did have a purpose for going to Yellow Springs as we were attending a group meditation there. It is held once a month, normally on the first Sunday of the month, but I was lucky as they had changed it to the second Sunday for this month.

Once again I met some people that I won’t forget. Lisbet (and I hope that I got her name correct!) is an amazing woman. She is the one that leads the meditations. She is a writer as well and it made me smile to realize that she belly dances! Her favorite is tribal dancing, which I enjoy as well. Her sweet and sincere spirit made her another person that I feel blessed to have met.

I learned a lot at Connie’s house, both in ways to help my business move along and ways to improve my Reiki treatments. I also received Reiki treatments from Connie and this was such an added bonus for me! I got to play with Connie’s metaphysical toys as well, I felt like a little girl in a toy shop! Of course, one of my favorite ones was the one that she used on my niece. It was a fairy wand that lit up with different lights as she told my niece that she doesn’t get enough recognition for the good works that she does so she touched her with the wand and told her what a good person she is!

It was very sweet of Connie to invite my sister and her daughter over on the last evening for homemade pizza and aura camera time! That is the most amazing metaphysical tool that she has, the aura camera. Someday … well someday I would love to have one as well! I checked the prices out and decided that might be a bit down the road, but it’s on the list!

It was a wonderful, amazing trip. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I came away with so many good ideas and a business plan that will help to grow our Center. I feel more capable of doing the things that I feel called to do, to make it easier to help more people and continue with what I have begun. Life is good!