In 7th grade science class I learned about energy, kinetic and potential, using inclined planes, levers, pulleys, a wheel and axle. More interested in the middle school dance coming up, passing the 7th grade science test was about the extent of my concern with energy.
As I got older, I became more aware of my everyday interactions with it. Although I didn’t fully comprehend what was happening, everything had its own energetic feel: a room, a person, a situation, my food, an animal, nature, even a town. I didn’t know what to do with what I was feeling, all I knew to do was well, feel it. And then, as is often the case, life hands you a break through, or a break down, to grasp a message you are supposed to receive.
Five months pregnant, I learned the baby I was carrying was going to die upon birth. Seeking a miracle, I found a church in which the parishioners did “hands on healing.” I was trained in the spiritual aspect of it and participated in the healings. While baby Olivia still passed on from this life, the wonderment of the miracles and healings I had witnessed would stay with me. The transference of energy I experienced was very powerful and very real.
It was some years later, my life would again bring me to the need for healing. It is said one doesn’t find Reiki, Reiki finds you. I believe this to be true. It was at the beginning of what would become a very long search for meaning and upheaval, I started my journey with this healing modality that would change my life and uproot my feeble 7th grade understanding of energy.
Our energy is dynamic and is focused within various chakra points throughout our body. (Chakra being Sanskrit for “Wheel of Energy”) Our essence, or energy field, carries the impact of our life experiences while each chakra carries different parts of our story, connection to each other, and our spirituality. This essence is connected to our souls. Trauma and deep pain can leave a residual mark within our energy field. I think of it like an eclipse of the sun. Our light and energy is still there, but it’s not shining as brightly.
When trauma is not healed, it can fester like a lodged splinter; it hurts, is a nuisance, and needs to come out. If it doesn’t, the wound attracts further wounding. Like attracts like.
The universal healing energy used in Reiki, works to remove the splinters. It gets to the wounding and relaxes our body and mind so that our energy can shine brightly. Because everyone experiences something unique to them, I feel it is safe to say that there is a beautiful mystery to it. I liken it to the same healing energy used in “hands on healing” or Shamanic healing practices in that it is spiritual in nature and does not discriminate according to beliefs. It feels like love, in its purest form.
Interestingly, my own experience with Reiki and healing is that once the energy of healing is in motion, the healing does not stop. People, situations, and resources begin to appear that act as bread crumbs to follow on our path and if we stay aware and live with intention, the energy that worked to heal us remains actively engaged within our energetic field revealing further areas for healing and wholeness.
Coming full circle, I no longer have to worry about passing my science test, but I am grateful the seed was planted and understand now that I have the energy within and around me, both kinetic and potential, working to achieve balance and to heal.
