I first encountered Reiki on a trip to northwestern Belize when I was twenty-one. Lucky enough to have travelled to an awe-inspiring unexcavated Mayan ruin in the heart of the jungle, I was fully rooted in my element. Nestled in the plaza of this former Maya city, I spent seven glorious days listening to the symphony of rainforest creatures announcing the morning suns arrival. What a heavenly noise it was.
Imagine if you can the darkness breaking slowly into dawn and being awoken by the chitter chatter of thousands of creatures big and small, simultaneously echoing their calls harmoniously through the rainforest canopies like a full blown rising concerto.
It was a sacred week in the jungle. The power of the energy in the forest was unmistakeable, it was pure Life Force Energy as I had never experienced, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. I didn’t know it yet, but this Life Force Energy was about to raise its vibration, get even more intense, and hit me right between the eyes.
Sitting in the open concept thatched cantina one night I met a friendly Mexican woman who spoke broken English. She spotted my copy of “The Celestine Prophecy” beside me and came over to chat about it. After finding out we had similar interests, she told me that she was a massage therapist travelling through the area. She was lively and had a playful energy and I liked what she had to say. At some point after a fun discussion about Mayan culture, the local animals, and other assorted spiritual tidbits she asked me if I’d like to have a Reiki treatment. I’d never heard of it, but interested to know more about what she was talking about, I accepted. Accepting this offer ultimately altered the course of my life path and led me to follow a healing journey that has changed every aspect of my existence ever since.
The next day she came by my “hut” as promised to give me the treatment. The minute she started I felt warm bursts of electrical waves travelling up and down my legs. I wasn’t sure what was happening but I knew it felt powerful. My body was receptive to whatever was going on. It felt safe and comforting. More waves of heat and what felt like constant surges of electricity deep within my DNA. Energetic activity in my arms and especially my stomach, which had now begun to grunt and growl- somewhat embarrassing at the time-are stomachs supposed to do that?! “Don’t worry” she said, as if she could instantly read my mind, “the stomach often does that with Reiki, it just means your system is accepting the energy”.
At this point, my growling interior was the least of my worries, as my closed eyes had now decided to take on a life of their own and began to vibrate uncontrollably like two crazed bumblebees under my eyelids. It felt as though someone had plugged them into a socket, and as hard as I tried, it was absolutely impossible to calm them down. I could only hope that she wasn’t looking at them. Or still listening to the ridiculous noises in my gut.
I did peek a few times, and when I did, I saw her holding her hands about two inches from my body, hovering over the specific areas for short amounts of time with two slightly cupped palms. The last part of the treatment consisted of her moving to the top of my head for treatment. This is the moment when my healing went from colourfully mind-blowing to over-the-top life changing.
Suddenly the vibrations in my eyes calmed down and were rapidly replaced with the most stunning visual light show of spectral colours, movement, and rhythm. At the forefront of this extremely trippy light show was a enormous vibrational purple infinity symbol that hung over the top of my head, directly above the position of my Third Eye. It just floated there suspended in space, pulsating with life.
It was constantly moving with a gentle hum, and somehow telepathically I knew it was The Life Force Energy giving me the gift of the ultimate Universal symbol: True Love.
It was connected. It was the essence of All That Is. The Root of All Things. It was True Love. It was God. It was Buddha. It was everything that was and everything still yet to come. It was Yin and Yang, Black and White, Happy and Sad. All in One. It was Infinity and it was Eternity.
At some point my new friend finished the treatment and left silently and without a word, and I lay there higher than a kite buzzing with energy, pondering the nature of my transcendental experience. Later that day when I talked to her about the enormous impact of my wild adventure she told that if I had experienced such intense energy with a first treatment there was a good chance I was a healer myself and should look into studying Reiki when I returned to Canada.
That’s exactly what I did, and sixteen years later I remain in complete awe of the enigma that is Reiki. I’m grateful daily for the health and wellbeing of those who seek the benefits of my Usui Shiki Ryoho treatments, and equally appreciative to other healers who are connected to Life Force Energy and genuinely practice Reiki with humble intentions. With so many charlatans lurking in the shadows, many will tell you that they have the power to heal. In my experience, only a select few are actually connected. A true healer won’t brag about what they can do, because they understand that they are simply the messenger. The truth and power in Reiki lies in its uncanny abilities to reach those that genuinely need healing-physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
It is said, “You don’t find Reiki, Reiki finds you.”
Eternity can only ever truly be revealed when the time is right.
taijitumartini 