A Few Additions to the Reiki Room

Over the past couple of days, I have been re-organizing my Reiki Room and I decided to pick up a few things to give it an even more comfortable, relaxing atmostphere.

Among the things I added were some figurines for my altar and a couple of new books (what can I say, I am a "book-a-holic")!

"Angel of Healing" (Willow Tree)

"Good Health" (Willow Tree)

"Love of Learning" (Willow Tree)

My Reiki Master, Fran, recommended the following books by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D which are very educational and should prove to be handy reference books for my Reiki practice in the future.

"The Angel Therapy Handbook"

"The Archangels & Ascended Masters"

Also, it would appear that I have finally won over my biggest critic ~ my husband! Although he is and has always been Agnostic, logical and open-minded (when it comes to most things), he has still always been rather skeptical when it comes to Reiki as an effective healing technique.

He developed an extremely painful "charlie horse" the other day. After limping around and complaining all day about how much his leg muscle hurt him, I eventually managed to convince him to let me try Reiki.

A few minutes after his Reiki session, he said to me, "That really loosened it up!" By the next morning, he told me his leg felt great and he would definately consider Reiki as a viable method of treatment from now on.  ;)

Certified Reiki Level II!!!

Wow, it's been quite a weekend. Our classes began on Saturday morning and we worked all day, then we ended this afternoon (Sunday) after a three hour late start thanks to the rain and wind storm we had! We lost power at our house around 2 o'clock in the morning and did not get it back until 7PM today. (but, thankfully, it is back!!!!)


I have been told that Reiki Level II classes are very intense and much more work than Reiki Level I. Well, as I have found out, it definately is! First of all, there was a lot more to take in this time around. For me,  the hardest part was learning the Reiki symbols in distance healing. Learning "how" to properly write them, pronouce them and memorize them is a bit tricky and takes practice, practice, practice!


We received two Reiki Level II attunements and it was totally amazing! Much like the attunements received in Reiki Level I, the Reiki Master opens up "doors" inside your body. At one point, Fran picked up my hands and placed them together in a praying-like position. My hands got very heavy and I felt as though they were two magnets and no matter how I tried, I could not get them apart. It was as if the energy in my body was completely overriding my mind. Of course, everyone is different and each practitioner's experience with attunements vary as well.


Among the many things we learned, was how to perform Reiki without having to actually touch the client, we learned how to pinpoint and send Reiki healing energy through the use of pictures, and we also learned various ways to utilize our pendulums.

Ah, yes and I was so thrilled to see my buddy, Pepsi who is doing very well and is extremely happy!!! He looks great!

All in all, a great experience and I would definately recommened Reiki Level II for those who feel they are ready to grow and take their Reiki practice to the next level. Namaste, my friends!!

Sara, me & Missy

A little Astrology humor... all in fun!

* How many Aries does it take to change a light bulb?
  Only one, but it takes a lot of light bulbs.

* How many Tauruses does it take to change a light bulb?
  What, me move?

* How many Geminis does it take to change a light bulb?
   II

* How many Cancers does it take to change a light bulb?
   Only one, but he has to bring his mother.

* How many Leos does it take to change a light bulb?
   A dozen. One to change the bulb, and eleven to applaud.

* How many Virgos does it take to change a light bulb?
   Five. One to clean out the socket, one to dust the bulb,
   one to install, and two engineers to check the work.

* How many Libras does it take to change a light bulb?
   Libras can't decide if the bulb needs to be changed.

* How many Scorpios does it take to change a light bulb?
   None. They LIKE the dark.

* How many Sagittarians does it take to change a light bulb?
  One to install the bulb, and a Virgo to pick up the pieces.

* How many Capricorns does it take to change a light bulb?
   The light's fine as it is.

* How many Aquarians does it take to change a light bulb?
   Have you asked the bulb if it WANTS to be changed?

* How many Pisceans does it take to change a light bulb?
   What light bulb?

Earthquake? What Earthquake?

Penn Street Bridge ~ Reading, PA

So, I get back to work from my lunch hour this afternoon, and my boss stopped me in the hallway and said to me,"So what did you think of the earthquake?" Huh? "What in the world is she talking about?", I thought to myself. Apparently, there was a 5.9 magnitude earthquake which started near Richmond, Virginia and we felt the effects here in Berks County, PA!

I, of course, felt nothing as I was in my car driving back from lunch at the time. My co-workers told me that they felt the vibrations and heard the rumbling while sitting at their desks and their computers and chairs shook as well. CNN is also now saying that the quake was felt in some parts of Canada, too.

After the earthquake, the Penn Street Bridge, a major bridge in the City of Reading close to where I live, was blocked off when a large crack was discovered. Wow!! Kinda scarey, eh?

(Photo credit: http://readingeagle.com/)

Kitty Cuddling ...

Can you tell just "who" rules the roost in our, Oops! I mean, the cats home? ;)

Reiki and Auras

Anyone who has ever had a reiki attunement will tell you that it is a deeply personal and moving experience. One which you will not soon forget. I, myself, began to get into reiki when my brother-in-law asked me to take classes with him back in 2001. I agreed, not really understanding "what" reiki actually was? We took a 2-day, 8 hour class and learned the basics and "how" to use the laying on of hands technique. As my Reiki Master, Fran, likes to say. "Reiki Level I class is like someone switching on a light inside of you" (I like that!).

In my up-coming Reiki Level II class next weekend, we will learn an extension of the Reiki I ~ distance healing, for example, and healing through photographs, etc.

I also love having my aura read from time to time. The first time I had it read was in 2001. My friends and I attended a local Holistic Faire where you could have your tarot read, purchase beautiful gemstones and minerals, essentenal oils, various incense, New-Age and Pagan books, and, of course, aura readings. The Aura Reader takes your picture and then sits down with you to go over your reading. The first time I had mine read was just before I became a reiki practitioner, the picture came out green and yellow. In short, it meant that I was very balanced and focused in  my life at the time.

About a year later, I had my reading done again after I became reiki and the photo came out bright yellow and orange. The Aura Reader looked at my pic, turned to me and said, "You're reiki, aren't you?" She said that my energy was definately reiki and that all reiki practitioners have bright yellow and orange aura colors.

Then, in March of this year (2011), I had yet another reading done by the same reader I had the first time. This time, the photo came out an even brighter yellow and orange. In fact, you could barely see my face! It was obvious to me that my reiki energy had only become stronger throughout the years.

Now I am finally ready for the next step in my Reiki training, my Reiki Level II. I will be joining my friends from Lady Sabrina Rhiannon's coven which makes it even more special for me. I can't wait!!!!

Feeling under the weather

Hubby's been sick for the last few days and has inadvertently shared his respiratory infection with me. So, for the past two days I have been home sick from work. This morning I saw my family doctor who, thankfully, gave me the antibiotics I need(amoxicillin) so that I can go back to work tomorrow.

Of course, my kitties were very happy to have mom home for a couple of days. Midnight, especially, has not left my side. In spite of the runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, coughing and 99.6 degree temperature, it was comforting to know that my "kits" love me unconditionally.

 

Making It Better

We spent the better half of this morning moving our leather sofa chair (lounge chair) into my parents living room. Since my father was diagnosed with chronic arthritis throughout his entire body, he has had a very difficult time sleeping due to the pain. He can no longer control his pain with medication. We are hoping that this chair will help him somewhat with this.

I have also asked him if he minded me performing reiki treatments on him on a regular basis to help alleviate some of the pain he is experiencing. In reiki, you MUST have permission from the client to touch them as it is an exchange of energies between you and them.  He has never tried having reiki before but thankfully, he is more than willing to allow me to do this. I will start by giving him reiki sessions on a weekly basis and then see how often he needs them thereafter. He is already loving the chair (and as you can see, so is the dog)!!

Reiki Poem/Reiki II Weekend

Universal life force energy,

An ancient gift from above;

Radiates from out the hands

Applied to each with love

We are but the circut

To help the body mend,

It's not us who stand as healers;

It's the energy we send

Our Reiki hands stand ready

For what service they may do;

For when we're helping others,

We feel a healing, too

~ Greg Goodson

I am very much looking forward to finally attending my Reiki Level II class with my Reiki Master Frances M. Moise. It will be a two-day course scheduled for the weekend of August 27th and 28th.  WHOO HOO!!!!

Stubborn Habit or Just Mentally Challenged?

Through the years, we have shared our lives with quite a few cats and thier many different "personalities," but we have never had a problem with any of them persistantly urinating on our furniture until we got Haley, our female Calico.

Haley was about 7 months old when we took her in and did not give us any problems until we brought home Kiki, our other female who was just a four month old kitten at the time. It wasn't too long after that, Haley began urinating on our sofa and eventually our bed!  We tried everything we could think of. We took her to the vet to make sure that she did not have a urinary tract infection ~ she did not. We tried spraying our furniture with pet-safe products in an attempt to discourage her from eliminating on them ~ we were not successful. Our vet even suggested placing more litter boxes around the house as it might be a territory issue. But the problem with that idea is that we can not control which cat uses which box. The only way we could keep her box separate from the other cats was to put hers in a different room.

Fortunately for Haley, we have a nice little enclosed porch for her to call her own. We leave her in with us from the time we get home from work until the time we go to bed. However, she is still managing to urinate on our furniture when we are not looking. I am at a huge loss as to what more I can do about breaking her of this very bad habit?

Other than this frustrating little problem, she is a very sweet little kitty. She absolutely loves people and she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. We have had her for 6 years now and have grown quite attached to her so we feel getting rid of her is not an option for us. Any helpful comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Fun Friday

Leo Sayer ~ The Show Must Go On

http://youtu.be/q6UdgWrrlNY

I was reading the latest post from one of my favorite blogs called, "Cottage Tails." In it, Leanne posts a video clip of one of my (atleast) top 5 male artists ever, Leo Sayer.

Now, I realize that some of you may be too young to actually remember him as he was very popular in the 70's and 80's. He is a British singer (he now lives in Australia) who had number one hits with such songs as, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," "When I Need You," "Long Tall Glasses" and "More Than I Can Say." He has also written hit songs for other artists such as my absolute favorite song performed by him called, "The Show Must Go On" for Three Dog Night (By the way, his wife made his costume and did his make up for this performance) and "One Man Band" for The Who.

Leo Sayer ~ When I Need You

http://youtu.be/431sSy7nL40

I remember the first time I saw him perform. I was no more than perhaps 10 years old and my father woke me up out of bed. He had just gotten home from working second shift at the time and the show "The Midnight Special" happened to be on TV. He said to me, "Kimmy, you have to see this guy. He is really, really good! You'll love this!" (And he was right). Lo and behold, there was this rather short little charismatic guy on stage dressed up in a clown costume singing, ""The Show Must Go On." He blew me away!  (I have always been awed by how perfect he could harmonize with himself when recording.) Good memories.

I also remember thinking to myself, "What a performer ~ and sooo cute!" (and yes, Leanne, I agree with you ~ he has aged extremely well! LOL). To this day, I still adore Leo Sayer and his beautifully versatile voice.

(photo credits: http://www.google.com/search?q=leo+sayer+pics&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=588&prmd=ivnso&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=M108To3MEM29tgeTqLSOAw&ved=0CBgQsAQ)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Thursday is my mother's birthday. Yep, you got it ~ she is a Leo! As with most people I know born under this Sun sign, she is very loving and extremely protective of her family and friends. It always reminds me of a paragraph from one of my all-time favorite poems by Addison called, "The Astrology Poem" which goes ~

"... Who praises all his kindred do,

      Expects his friends to praise them too

     And cannot see their senseless view?

     Ahh, Leo ..."

Well anyway, that is definately my mom. Through the years she has been my rock. The one person that I can count on to always be there for me no matter what and I have always tried to be there for her as well.  That is family.

She is the reason I became so interested in astrology as a teenager. Her birthstone is Peridot and her favorite color just happens to be green. And so I bought her this personalized necklace with her name and birthstone color on it.

I also went shopping at A.C. Moore (I love that place!) and made her a vase of autumn flowers that I think she might like as she has already begun decorating her home for fall. I used orange, yellow and dark red marbles (colors of the season), silk flowers and an autumn bow to top it off.

Happy Birthday to you, mom. You are the best!!!!

A sisterly "Thank You"

My sister Robin and her husband returned home from their week vacation in Maine on Saturday evening. Upon her return to work today, she presented me with a few very thoughtful "Thank You" gifts for taking care of Miss Jeepster.

Among the places they visited while in Maine, was a really neat shop called the "Maine State Prison Showroom" located in Thomaston. The Showroom sells unique items which are hand-made by the inmates of Maine State as part of a rehabilitation program. They make all sorts of beautiful wooden cabinets, hobby horses, etc. including cool little boxes such as this one ...

She also gave me these sweet little gifts ...

What can I say, she knows me all too well! ;)