By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki in Sequim, WA
QUESTION:
Thank you Josslyn for sending daily Reiki to my sick dogs. I am attuned to Reiki but I haven’t been using it to send healing to my dogs because I’m so stressed about them being sick. Will the energy be enough if am under stress. I know that I need to heal myself first before I send healing to others, but I am not confident if I am worried like this, that they are getting what they need.
Kindest regards,
J.S. from the Philippines
Mandy receiving Reiki from Joss, calming to everyone involved. Please link if used. Photo taken by Streett Family
ANSWER:
Dear J.S.
Our Divine Creator understands we humans are stressed much of the time, this is one of the reasons we have been gifted with Reiki at this time to help us deal with the high stress levels we are under while in human form and help us learn how to lower it naturally and spiritually with the help of Reiki.
If we all waited until we were not stressed or completely healed before doing Reiki on others, we would literally never be able to do Reiki. None of us are perfect and yet doing Reiki will help us get closer to spiritual enlightenment. One Reiki healing at a time.
The Reiki is Divine energy, we are just the channel. The Reiki is intelligent in its own right and knows exactly what is needed in each situation. Therefore, all we need to do is ask and be the channel, then allow the Reiki to do the healing. All healing comes from our Divine Source, not us. Therefore, Doing Reiki while stressed is better than not doing it at all. Right!?!
By doing Reiki on your sick dogs, the Reiki will heal your dogs in the way they need most, and the Reiki will flow through you, helping you to feel less stressed, thus healing you too. Reiki is a win/win situation. Everyone in the process receives exactly what they need. If you were stressed when you started, I bet you feel much calmer by the time you are done. Maybe you even have a ‘higher’ understanding of why your dogs and you are having to go through this period of dis-ease. But, just by knowing you are helping your dogs, you too will feel better.
Go ahead and do it, it will be exactly what your pets need and will most likely de-stress you in the process too.
Blessings,
Josslyn
P.S. If this was a Reiki Practitioner working on a client for money, the answer may be quiet different. This person was working on her own pets, not a paying client.
rainshadowreiki@gmail.com or 360-460-7829 for private sessions with Josslyn over the phone or Skype
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki in Sequim, WA
Just telling a bit of my story on how I FELT DIVINE’s presence for the first time and HOW you too can have your own personal EXPERIENCE with your own personal Divine Creator if you so chose. If that sounds interesting to you, please read on…
Life On Earth is Tough
When life gets tough for me the only way I get though it is my faith. I was not raised with faith or religion of any kind. I had to search for it, study, read, experiment and find what felt right for me. What made sense in my heart. I’m extremely grateful for this path. I feel like I had the blessing of a clean slate to start with and I was able to pick and choose what felt right with few other prejudices interfering. But, it also meant that I lived much of my life so far, without a strong faith in a higher power. There was a part of me that always seemed to know and believe there was something bigger than me that I called ‘God’, like people around me, like I saw on T.V., but I didn’t KNOW until later in my life.
No PROOF of God, until there was.
Let’s face it, science does not claim any proof of a Higher Power. They say there is not proof what so ever, even when there is tons of it all around us. Faith is supposedly trusting and believing in a Higher Power without proof. But, what I hear from my clients and students is that they want to FEEL the presence of God with them, not just in the things they see around them, like flowers, trees and babies. People want to FEEL GOD themselves! And, simply, I do too.
“Religion is belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.”—Deepak Chopra
The memory of one time EXPERIENCING God for myself was all I needed to sustain me though the really difficult times. I believed in a Divine presence before I felt his/her energy, but after, I’ve been more committed to my spiritual journey and more active in my healing path because I truly didn’t feel alone any more.
But, that isn’t enough for our Divine Creator. He/She lets me know (s)he’s there quite often when I need to feel that I’m not alone. I hear stories of this over and over from other people of faith. I know I am not the only one who feels our Divine Source’s presence but I also know from my students and clients, there are still many who have not. I guess I’m writing this for those people. To let them know, don’t give up. Keep looking, keep searching, keep asking and one day, when you least expect it, when you need it most, you will FEEL the presence of your Divine Creator and you will know too. This will be when YOUR soul chooses and not before.
I have come to realize through my students how important FEELING this Divine presence is to people. I pray this helps some people to feel their proof.
My Proof of God Before Reiki
Our pets are angels on earth.
My first and most profound spiritual experience was, no surprise, when I was at the lowest point of depression. I had been there before but not with my new faith and spiritual beliefs. In the past I had very much depended upon my pets to give me the love and support that I needed when the depression got to be too much for me to handle alone. I truly believe that our pets have chosen to be here to love us unconditionally and show us that proof of God, that unconditional love, when we don’t have that belief system ourselves. They were always there for me at those times and I’m so grateful for them. But, I digress.
My Proof of God, After Reiki
At one point the depression got so bad and I felt so helpless that I was feeling totally alone. I felt no one could understand what I was going through.
I imagine it looking something like this when it happens to me.
I couldn’t calm myself enough to meditate to calm my mind so finally I activated my Reiki in my hands, ran Reiki on parts of my body and prayed and prayed and prayed. I asked Divine to let me feel him/her around me. I said I needed to know I was not alone in this. Immediately I felt a very loving female presence surround me in a huge hug of Love and Light that felt so radiant, so perfect and so immense that there was no doubt in my heart that this was the proof of unconditional love that I had asked for. The feeling was so incredibly tangible and unlike anything, anything I had ever felt before. This was bigger than me, to be able to feel this physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually all at the same time, I was blown away. I knew I was truly not alone in this and that they (God/Goddess and my Spirit Guides) felt so much love for me that I would be able to get through even the most difficult times on Earth with them on my side. They truly wanted me to know they were with me always and I just knew they were by my side even when I didn’t feel them in this way. I felt one with their energy always after that.
Faith
After this hug from my Divine I was more easily able to be in a place of gratitude. The energy completely shifted from pain to gratitude and I was able to be calm enough to meditate and be in a better place. The next day I was up and about being with my family again with a whole new view on life.
Ask And You Shall Receive
I have called on this feeling many times since, when I needed it and often times Divine and my guides are right there ready for me to FEEL unconditional love again. But, quite often, just the memory of this event has been enough to remind me in the dark times that I’m not alone and that with Divine and my Reiki Guides, I’ll get through even the most difficult trials. The memory gave me a faith that has not been shaken. I’m incredibly grateful for that gift from God, my Proof of God.
The How
I have had many more ‘Proof of God’ experiences since then, thanks to my constant work with Reiki. Since I work with Reiki every day I am in a constant flow of Divine energy and have many experiences where I feel the presence of God. I want so much for others who chose to, to be able to FEEL God too!! Another reason I’m so passionate about teaching Reiki to others, to bring them closer to their own Higher Power and their ability to FEEL this powerful loving energy.
REIKI IS THE HOW
Of all the different methods I tried over the years to be close to a divine presence, Reiki has taken me the farthest. It has supported me, guided me and protected me through my spiritual awakening. Reiki has raised my vibration daily, bringing me to the ability to feel, see and hear divine energies. Reiki has brought me many guides of Love and Light to assist me in my daily spiritual search for my path, my way in this life. Reiki is my centering and grounding source each and every day of life in this class room here on earth. Every single time I practice Reiki on myself or on someone else, I have my proof of God. I feel a little closer to Heaven each time. THAT IS WHY I DO REIKI!! I LOVE IT!!
I pray for you to have your own experience of our Divine Source so that you too may find your PERSONAL Proof of God.
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
Today I am having a tough day emotionally. I’m a very emotional person, being psychically sensitive and continually working through depression for years, I do have these difficult days somewhat regularly. This is when I do my best to practice what I preach. However, please remember, I am human too.
In a moment I’m going to go meditate and that always helps. I’ll run Reiki before, during and after I meditate and that helps even more.
But, as I was catching up on some computer work, adding a new testimonial to my website, I found myself reading the testimonials and comments that so many of you have written for me. They life my spirit and touch my heart so much, you have no idea how they sometimes get me through these challenging days.
So, I wanted to share them here and say THANK YOU to all of you who have written kind and loving words about me and Reiki for all to read and be inspired by. I’m so incredibly grateful for all of you, you have no idea. Probably because it’s hard for me to truly open up and tell you all. I don’t often step out of the Reiki Healer position into the Human position to do that because I feel so strongly that I need to be a support to so many when they need me. However, you all also give me a great gift when you support me and I believe that is important to show gratitude for.
Blessings to you all,
Thank you so much for your amazing words and love,
Josslyn
Please take some time to read the amazing testimonials on my Testimonial pages. They are really amazing. People have spoken from the heart and that is not always easy to do. Pick a page and be inspired. Here is a link to one where my students are talking about using Reiki in their lives. Wonderful. www.josslynstreett.wordpress.com/words-of-encouragement/classes/
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
Thank you ladies for helping us get this new group started. I look forward to seeing where it goes from here. I feel it’s going to be quite interesting.
Last night we had our first Reiki Round Table spiritual discussion group here in Sequim, Washington. Six ladies came (men are more than welcome to come too) to discuss everything and anything that came up. We started with a short smudging ceremony, introductions and an opening prayer. Then we sat in the Gassho position to bring in our Reiki to be with us during the discussion. Then for about an hour and a half left we talked and listened. Some of the ladies were my clients and/or students and a few of them were brand new to me and even to Reiki. We talked about what Reiki is and then just let the conversation flow from there. I found it amazing how many different topics we talked about and felt we had covered well enough to each persons’ curiosity in such a short time. I had a blast, but then, talking about Reiki is one of my most favorite hobbies.
Topics
The topics we discussed were: How to change for good the subconscious thoughts that no longer serve us, healing crisis’ (or as I call them, healing opportunities), other alternative healing techniques such as Myofascial Release, E.F.T., E.M.D.R., Hypnotherapy, Energy Psychology and more. Most of these I have tried and found to help a great deal. We talked about the ways that have worked for each of us to FEEL Divine present in us and around us to help our confidence and faith. We talked about some personal challenges we’ve had and how we have worked with Reiki to help us through them, and so much more I can’t remember it all. I guess I better take notes next time, but I really wanted to just go with the flow.
Spiritual Community
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, for your health, for your happiness, for your spiritual growth (which probably should have been first) find a spiritual community to be a part of and GO. Participate, for YOU. Participate for ALL of us. We are all blessed when others heal themselves. We are all blessed when others are happy and sharing Love and Light. We are all blessed when others open up their heart because they have people who care and who listen. We are all blessed when we heal ourselves and others with Reiki. We are ALL BLESSED when we connect on a loving and compassionate level with each other. It is so worth it.
That’s it, lecture over. For now. I’m a mom after all, it comes second nature to me.
You do not have to have an attunement to Reiki to join us, all are welcome to Rain Shadow Reiki circles and round tables who truly want to learn about energy, Reiki or just be a part of a spiritual discussion group. How else are you going to learn about Reiki? Oh, maybe take a Reiki class!!
Hope to see you there next time,
Josslyn
rainshadowreiki@gmail.com if you’d like to get on my email list for classes, circles, round tables and more. Or call 360-460-7829.
by Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
Let me premise this by saying I have not seen this movie yet. I have read about it and watched the trailer. However, with the amazing cast of strong women leads whom I enjoy and respect as actors, such as Allison Janney who plays ME, the Reiki Master (not really me, but someone like me) Ellen Page who was fabulous in “Juno” and Rosemarie DeWitt who was unforgettable in “United States of Tara”, I’m having a very hard time believing that I will not be adding this to my collection right away after first making a very rare for me appearance at the theatre to see it on the big screen.
The story (taken from IMDB) is about a massage therapist, Rosemarie DeWitt, who is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s floundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his healing touch. After, may I add, he goes to Bronwyn, played by Allison Janney, for Reiki.
Rosemarie DeWitt plays a massage therapist suddenly afraid of physical contact.
I have to admit, I’m extremely excited for Reiki and energy healing to be on the big screen and finally get the recognition that it deserves. Millions of people are becoming more and more familiar with it every day through Dr. Oz, magazine and newspaper articles and now the big screen. Every time someone hears about Reiki or sees it in print, it becomes more of a norm and therefore ‘not crazy’ to people who would have called it crazy prior. When people here something three times from three different sources, all of a sudden, it becomes accepted much more readily. People are opening up and I’m praying, that they did a quality job in this movie, so it will help. Plus it’s considered a comedy so they’ve chosen to go the lighthearted route which I readily approve of for a first time out.
SUPPORT REIKI IN THE MAINSTREAM
Allison Janney and Josh Pais, who plays the dentist brother, practicing Reiki on a client.
It’s all good, right?! All publicity is good publicity. So, please support this Reiki movie and go see it, buy it at the store, talk about it with your friends, drag your friends to the movies with you, whatever it takes to get the Reiki word out there. The more people who ‘wake up’, the bigger that Love and Light snowball gets and the better for all of us as earthly neighbors.
Here is a link to the YouTube video for the trailer. Enjoy.
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
I’d love to say my Great Grandmother used to say this to me and it stuck. No…. no great grandma or even any cute old lady said this to me. I have no memory of where I learned it, probably T.V. But, it did stick. And, in a world where mothers are taught to take care of everybody else first, this has become a mantra that got me through some tough times. My kids know it by heart.
In the days when I still didn’t believe that I came first, I had to go to this quote to remind myself that I do in fact come first. I am the most important person in my universe and that is true for EVERYONE! And, it is true, if I’m not happy, my whole family is not happy. It’s a power I never asked for and never quite knew as a mom I’d have. But, it’s true. Somehow, we moms became the barometer for how our family is feeling. It’s a huge responsibility, but then so is being a parent. Unfortunately for my kids, their mother happens to be a recovering depressant, a current invisible immune system illness sufferer and a practicing empath who feels the emotions of not only their household but the whole world pretty much in any given moment.
Weather Report for the Streett Household. LOL
This does not always bode well for our daily weather report within the home. Most often, like the weather where we live, in the Pacific North West of America, it changes constantly. If the weather is sunny, you can always count on it to change. Change is the only thing we can count on both in weather here AND in my moods. So, being responsible for the moods of three other people and four pets can be an overwhelming responsibility.
Thank God I have Reiki and I’m Not Kidding
I don’t know if I truly agreed to this contract of being a mom, an empath and challenged with physical, emotional, mental and spiritual illness ALL IN THE SAME LIFE, but apparently I did. I’m here. Doing it. We sign up for much more than we can chew while we are in that blissful place called Heaven and all things are perfect. But, once we get here, reality sets in about the same time as our true memories disappear. For many of us that is about age 9. Bummer. We all have something that makes our life a challenge or we wouldn’t be here. Or, we’d be on ‘spiritual vacation’, which some people are. But, unfortunately, most of us are not on vacation. Most of us are here to learn and we work hard at it.
LOL
I struggled for many years without any guidance as to how to do this thing called LIFE ON EARTH. I struggled, until I found Reiki and my Reiki guides. I’m not kidding or making this up to make Reiki more important than it is. It is important. It is MY true connection to my spiritual Divine Source, my God. It keeps me sane on a daily basis when I need it most; like when the kids come home from school upset about a bad day and won’t talk about it just stomp around, or when I home school my temperamental empathic 9-year-old mini me for four hours and desperately need a break. Reiki is here for me ALWAYS when I need it. There’s just one trick, I just have to DO IT.
JUST DO IT (Thank you Nike for the BEST Ad Phrase Ever!)
And, here is the difference in my life, before, and my life now… I do, DO IT. I do it just about every single day and sometimes more. I do it when mini me is at karate. I do it when I’m sitting in the car waiting for my volunteer time at school. I do it after a stressful day of dealing with hormones and homework and I do it to fall asleep at night when my mind is racing more than I can handle. I do the Reiki whenever I feel I need a break, an escape. I use Reiki like others use coffee, sugar, T.V., alcohol, even drugs. Reiki is my drug. Yes, I watch T.V., and do some of those other things too, but my body is too sensitive for most, like it’s too sensitive to drink coffee, take even prescription drugs or to ingest anything stronger than red wine. I know, another bummer.
This may not be how it always is, but this is how it feels! We moms deserve this feeling every single day!!
Reiki is Calorie Free!!
But, Reiki is calorie free and always good for me, and it always gives me a buzz that is better than any drug, so it’s a win-win. And, with all that moms have going on in their lives, we all need something like Reiki to pick us up and help us feel better, stronger, like a Super Mom to get us through the day. I know I do. Being a mom is tough. Too many moms are turning to unhealthy ways to get through the day and take away stress. Wouldn’t it be great to have something that gave you energy, a positive spirit, a calmer demeanor, AND helped you connect with your Higher Power too! ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!
Another good one to remember. Because we are the queen of our castle. Don’t forget it!
No, it’s not a magic pill. But, it does help you feel better quickly and the more you do it, the more you feel good. And, if Mama is happy then the whole family is happy. Well, most of the time anyway. This quick thought of mine, of course, turned into this long blog. But, I truly am incredibly grateful that I have Reiki in my life. Because I am a mom, I am a wife, I am a homeschooling parent, and I am a healer too. I need a lot more support than “The Big Bang Theory” can offer me one night a week. So, yes, Thank God I have Reiki!!
Blessings to you all, I pray you find your Reiki too,
Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
This information is NOT for medical use and should never take the place of medical care. If you suffer from depression or symptoms of depression please see a Licensed Naturopathic Doctor (or your doctor) as soon as possible. Naturopathic Doctors are medical doctors who use only natural medicines to heal.
Something I have difficulty writing about and therefore do it rarely is my history of depression. I’m very open with people in person, with friends and clients alike, but putting it into the written word in a blog is a whole other thing for me. I feel much more vulnerable writing to people I don’t know out in cyber space. Where some people may feel safer doing it this way, faceless to some extent, I don’t. My fear of judgement comes up and reminds me that I’m still working on that particular issue. I’ve written a bit about me having depression in the ‘My Story’ section of my website. And that was quite difficult for me to write about then and took the longest of all the sections for me to finish. Divine Spirit helped me with that just as they are helping me with this one today.
Writing Because I’m Guided to Do So
For some reason Spirit is guiding me at this time to write more about it. Maybe because it’s the holiday season which is often very difficult for many people who suffer from depression, maybe because it’s been a particularly difficult week for me needing to cry very badly and not being able to until today when it all came pouring out rather quickly. And then I suddenly felt the need to write about it for the first time, and then cry some more. Divine Source always has a plan and I have found, even though I am quite rebellious, it’s best to simply trust and have faith that there is a divine reason and just go with it. So here goes, me going with the flow once again, despite my fears and possible consequences, writing about my personal history of depression and how to heal yourself with the help of Reiki.
Lavender is used in the 21st century mostly for its sedative qualities. It calms the entire nervous system, relaxes the muscles helps with headaches and muscle cramps.
A Bit O History
Passion Flower is known to help alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms and helps to calm the body.
I’ve ‘suffered’ through depression most of my life although it wasn’t recognized until I was an adult. I’m the kind of person that always tries to put on a happy face in public or I don’t go out. So rarely do people really know what is going on with me, unless they pointedly ask. This is common I have found with a lot of people with depression, the “suffer in silence” routine. We get very good at acting when we don’t believe ourselves to be actors at all. It’s important to know this about people with depression in case you know someone, love someone who has it. I’m not going to go into why we do this right now, this blog isn’t about that. But, it is sometimes hard to tell when people you love are suffering when they don’t feel safe to discuss it. I’m grateful that I have so many people I do feel safe with whom I can talk with. Those friends and my husband and kids have literally gotten me thorough this alive and will continue to because they not only love me, they understand me and take the time to do that. They take the time, a whole lot of time to listen, not give advice, not judge, just listen and love me. They are amazing and I’m so incredibly grateful for them.
I’d like to get something straight. Something that medical doctors will not talk about because most of them do not know or acknowledge. Depression is NOT just a mental or emotional disease. There should be no stigma to it. It is not just someone who is way too sensitive and can’t control themselves emotionally. Depression exists on all levels of the body, emotional yes, mental yes, but it is also a disease of spirit, therefore it also exists on the spiritual AND the physical level too. Pretty much like any other disease someone could have, like for instance diabetes or heart disease. They are all disease of the spirit first and foremost, then they work their way into our other spiritual body levels from there. All disease works this way so there is no reason to judge (there’s that word again) anyone who has disease of any kind because we are all struggling with something. We are the same in that we are all spiritual beings in human form working hard at learning difficult lessons of the spirit. Quite often, disease is a very fast way for us to learn these lessons. That is it’s purpose. (Plus, sometimes it helps burn off old karma. But that’s another blog.)
I saw many, many different medical experts who could not figure me out. One after another they would pass me around trying to figure out why I wouldn’t respond to the drugs they were peddling. Why they couldn’t FIX me. They tried me on each and every depression med they had including bipolar medications. “Hey I didn’t respond to the depression meds, I must be bipolar right?” I was their guinea pig and I didn’t, at the time, know any better. ALL of the medications gave me such severe side effects that I couldn’t safely take them. My body was simply too sensitive for any man-made medications, but I didn’t know that at the time. Plus, their drugs were only treating one symptom, , one level of my body, not getting close to treating the cause. Truly no one seemed at all worried about finding the cause. Those doctors gave up on me. I didn’t fit in their box. They said I was permanently disabled and could not work or be of use to society, and I believed them and sometimes still do. Some days, on days like today, I feel like they were right. But, they aren’t. I know that deep down. And, it’s up to me (and my soul mate friends and family) to remind me of that, over and over again until my subconscious mind believes it one day.
A Gift
Those doctors giving up on me was the best thing that ever happened to me. Although at the time I felt totally left alone on the edge of a cliff. When I felt I had no other options, no other alternatives at all, I was then able to open up to concepts I had never considered. This is when most clients come to me as a Reiki practitioner too, when nothing else has worked and they feel they are out of possibilities. Suddenly healing with hands isn’t so crazy any more. Right? I’m chuckling here because I was no different. It is part of the process that we must go through in order to open our “box”, our mind to new possibilities, new beliefs. Through the process I found alternative medicine. Alternative doctors who listened and were willing to experiment and try new things with me. And I found Reiki.
Sensitivities Can Be Blessings in Disguise
The rose has an uplifting restoring, and calming effect on the nervous system, lifts depression, dispels mental and physical fatigue, and soothes irritability, grief, and anger; the essential oil can also be used for depression, especially that caused by lack of love or intimacy in one’s life.
In my case, my body is still so challenging that it takes a pretty large team of alternative practitioners to work with me on a monthly basis to keep me balanced and functioning. I sometimes forget that this way of life is not normal for some because I’ve been doing it for so long. But for me listening to and working with my body on a daily, sometimes hourly basis is normal and a must. Yes, part of my sensitivities also give me my wonderful gifts of intuitive ability, compassion and understand, and my ability to run a whole lot of Reiki energy to heal others.
Hang in There We Are Almost There……….
Reiki for Depression
I have no studies to show you to prove what I’m going to say but only my own personal experience. These are my opinions from what I’ve learned though my years of working with Reiki for my depression.
When I first started seeing natural doctors, Naturopaths, they did all sorts of tests on me too, just like the medical doctors. I had one tell me that my serotonin levels were non-existent. She was amazed I was functioning at all, and told me this. I could see the shock on her face that I was sitting in front of her and her knowing that I had an active, a mom, a healer and rewarding life much of the time. She came right out and said that she was literally shocked that I wasn’t in an insane asylum with levels so low. “Do they still have those? Damn I thought, seriously?!” At the time I didn’t consider myself very functioning, although I was a full-time mom at this point with two very young little boys and doing my best. (I have very high expectations) She asked what I did to keep myself so healthy considering what I was dealing with physically. I told her besides my overtly healthy diet, that I also did a lot of meditation and Reiki. She told me to keep it up and put me on some natural neurotransmitters to help support my brain function. They help so much.
Puzzle Pieces to Healing Depression
Valerian, or Valeriana officinalis, is a plant root that is either ground into a powder or pressed into a liquid and used to treat depression naturally. Valerian has been used to treat symptoms of depression as well as minor aches and pains, mild tremors, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, nervous asthma, hysteria, excitability and even phobias. As always it is imperative to consult with a licensed health professional before embarking on any herbal regimen. I truly believe this and do it myself.
Since then my naturopaths have pieced together different puzzle pieces that contribute to the physical portion of the depression. I tell you here only in case it helps someone out there to look at their depression puzzle pieces. Maybe you have a similar one to me that no doctor has looked at yet. Also, I tell you simply so you know without a doubt that I have been through this and can help you though the process as well. Here is a great book on the subject, “feeling fat, fuzzy, or frazzled?” by Richard Shames, M.D. and Karilee Shames, Ph.D., R.N. also authors of “Thyroid Power.”
The Physical Run Down
I have severe hormone imbalances that I’ve had all my life, not at all connected to menopause, a thyroid disease called Hashimoto’s where your body basically attacks itself and of course my body produces very little if any of its own serotonin and other neurotransmitters. Oh yeah, lets not forget the adrenal fatigue from the stress of it all. That is a simplistic look at it. There’s more but that’s the basic gist. My body is in a constant state of change, like anyones, but mine seems to be much more sensitive and can get out of balance at the slightest tilt. I feel like I’m standing on a board, on top of a ball and I have to stay balanced there like that every day juggling kids, pets, husband, work/hobby, public school, crazy diet, housework, neighbors and so much, so much more.
An excellent book about healing these symptoms naturally. Hormone, thyroid and neurotransmitter imbalances.
How does Reiki help these? How can Reiki help your depression or that of someone you love? Stay with me a bit longer, we are getting to that most important of answers.
HOW Can Reiki Help Depression?
Reiki for me has helped me in every way it can. Reiki heals on all levels, all at once; spiritual, emotional, mental and physical. Reiki is Divinely Guided Life Force Energy so it has intelligence and knows where it needs to go to help you the most AND at a pace you can handle. It never works on anything you aren’t ready to work on.
Spiritual
On the spiritual level Reiki is working on my past lives, healing those that may have created the karma that causes me to have depression in this life. Reiki has also helped me to heal my issues that I had with God and Jesus and other religious figures that have been contributing to my fears in this life. One at a time, a little at a time, Reiki helps dissolve the fears, the karma that I brought with me into this life in order to learn from it. This is very powerful and deep healing work that gets to the SOURCE and takes time. Stick with it. Never give up.
Physical
On the physical levels Reiki lowers my blood pressure, calms me down and supports my body in any way that it may need it. It can’t make serotonin for me but it helps my body to function better without it or function better so that my body can make serotonin for itself. This I truly believe. I have no proof, it’s just something I feel happening. If my body is too stressed in other areas it won’t have the energy to finish all the building blocks in my brain that I need. Reiki also helps my body to handle the sensitivities that my physical body has, allergies to new things like electromagnetic energy. Reiki also helps me to cleanse and detoxify my quite often toxic system, letting go of what doesn’t serve me. Letting go for some people is harder than others. The people who have a hard time letting go tend to be more stressed, more over weight and more likely to get disease sooner. Reiki helps to keep your physical body in balance so these are less likely to happen.
Mental
On the mental level Reiki helps me to reframe the old recordings that are playing in my head that contribute to the depression, such as, “I’m not worthy of being healthy or a healer” or “It’s safer if I’m sick”, “It’s not safe to let go of stuff” or “I’m not lovable.” There are thousands of scripts in our head that we either learn from childhood or even bring with us from other life times until we learn what we need to learn from them and change them. Reiki can help us first to identify themand second to change them into healthier scripts.
Emotional
You just know that puppies are good for people with depression. When I was going through my first serious depression I got two puppies and they were my best friends and got me though many very difficult times. Get a pet and allow it to love you the way you deserve to be loved.
On this level Reiki has helped me to feel calmer when I need it. Reiki helps me to feel more balanced at times like today when I needed to balance out the emotions that were being created inside of me by the physical imbalance. Reiki supports you in whatever way you need to get that balance back in your bodies. Today I needed to cry, a lot, to get the emotions and chemicals out of my physical body. I also needed to write about it, to share it or not. I needed to get it out into words so Reiki is helping me to do that as well. Reiki has become such an integral part of my life that it’s pretty much automatic for me to invite in the Reiki energy to help me when I’m upset, just like praying is for religious people. This is my way of talking to my Divine and inviting the healing energy in to help me. And it comes in exactly the way I need it most. It comes and heals me. And then, I say Thank You God! Thank you Reiki!
“Patience is a Virtue, but darn does it have to take so long!”
Be patient. Reiki helps me with this a great deal because patience does not come easy to me. The healing process for many is a journey of discovery and learning. A journey can take a long time. Enjoy life as much as you can while you are going through the healing process. Live your life as much as you can in between the difficult days. If I waited until I was completely healed of depression before becoming a ‘healer’ I’d never be a healer. You do your best, every day. Do your meditation and Reiki every day and live your life in between and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up searching for your puzzle pieces to health and wellbeing. And when you need a friend to talk to, be your own best friend, call a friend who will listen or call a Reiki healer like me and let us help you. You know I will understand. I’ve been though much the same and can relate and be compassionate. But, I can also see your beautiful and healthy soul and help you to know how to get to that place.
This life is a gift no matter what. Never give up.
Tenth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
Heavenly Grass
“My feet took a walk in heavenly grass.
All day while the sky shone clear as glass.
My feet took a walk in heavenly grass,
All night while the lonesome stars rolled past.
Then my feet come down to walk on earth,
And my mother cried when she give me birth.
Now my feet walk far and my feet walk fast,
But they still got an itch for heavenly grass.
But they still got an itch for heavenly grass.”
Tennessee Williams
One Journey Ends, Another Continues
Two days after I finished my ten-day fruit and vegetable cleanse for better health and cleansing my system, I was standing on the grass, drinking my lemon water in my back yard. This has been my morning ritual since I started the cleanse. As I felt the earth beneath my feet, grounding myself to the energy Mother Earth generously offered, I was contemplating the journey of the cleansing process and how I was feeling. I started the cleanse to try something new to heal myself. I have suffered from multiple chronic illnesses much of my life and am consistently searching for the puzzle pieces to healing my physical body, while at the same time living my life, working being a wife and mom. To read the goals of my cleanse go to my second blog.
Back to the Grass
I was contemplating the journey of the cleansing process and how I was feeling afterwards. I was a bit down because I still felt tired, I still felt unmotivated and I had some high hopes that I’d be feeling better after the cleanse. Many people have told me that after day three, you feel great. Not the case for me. This has been a long healing trek for me so I knew it would take more than just a ten-day cleanse to help me heal completely, but I had hoped that I’d feel a little better when it was done. I was also aware that I was feeling the low of just finishing a big project and wondering where to go next, what was the next step? (details of the cleanse results at the bottom of the blog)
“The best way out of a problem is through it.” Author Unknown
Motivation
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is a documentary about two men’s healing journey from severe immune system illness to extreme health in 60 days of juicing. This movie has motivated many people, including me. They have an amazing website with 5 day, 10 day and 15 day full cleanse diets by a nutritionist. I used their ten-day diet.
In the movie, “Fat,Sick and Nearly Dead” one of the women who did the ten-day cleanse, because she was having migraines regularly, said after her cleanse “I have the energy of a 21-year-old!” I have to admit, THAT statement stuck with me. WOW, I want the energy of a 21-year-old I thought. I knew my health issues were more complicated than hers but this statement motivated me and still does, to keep going. But, unlike her, I didn’t feel like a 21-year-old. I felt tired, still. A common problem with chronic fatigue and depression. I knew the only choice was to keep going. I knew I was on the right track, I just needed to keep moving forward with the juicing and eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible. But, after years of doing this, it gets a bit daunting. I was having a hard time staying motivated. Cue my animal message.
“By perseverance the snail reached the Ark.“C.H. Spurgeon
Cue the Hummingbird, Stage Left
The hummingbird had no marks of color.
As I stood there in the middle of my yard contemplating this, a hummingbird flew right up to my face and hovered there for what seems like a very long minute or longer. It just didn’t leave, or move from its hover spot in front of my face. I noticed it was an unremarkable hummingbird, all gray, no spectacular color from what I could see. It just stayed there. So, I stayed still, I watched it, looked at it, trying to figure out what it wanted of me. Birds rarely come that close to me. I have to admit, I like birds, but do not consider myself a bird person.
Childhood Flashback
Beautiful hummingbird tattoo with a native flair.
My sister had birds growing up and I would take care of them for her when she was gone. I never quite believed they were happy being in that cage and thought they must be very bored. Birds needed to fly and be free, I felt. I was also afraid of them close up, because they would peck me and make sudden movements and I never knew quite what to expect from them. I never fully understood them or appreciated them close up. I’m just not a bird person I guess. (Maybe my babysitter allowing me to watch Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” at a young age didn’t help either. Hmmm, have to meditate on that for a bit later.) Lets put it this way, if I were to get a tattoo, it would NOT be of a bird. But, if I were to get a tattoo and it had to be a bird, it would probably be a pretty colored one, like a hummingbird. Anyway….
Back to the Hummingbird
So when this hummingbird came so close to my face, and stayed there for what seemed like a very long time, not only was I a bit surprised and still a bit afraid that it would peck my face, but I knew that this bird must be trying to tell me something or it wouldn’t be doing this with me. I finally just enjoyed the moment and listened. As I listened I heard “Patience, the journey continues!” Well I have to say that just pissed me off!! Patience!! I’ve been on this healing journey for twenty years almost, how patient do I have to be!? (Apparently, more patient than I am at the moment.)
Visions Help Solidify the Message
Then suddenly, standing there on the grass, I had visions of all the lifetimes I’ve done this, many lifetimes of physical and emotional pain that I am working to rid myself of all in this one life. It is time, THIS is the life to taste, digest, and dispose of all the pain from all those other lives. This healing journey that I think I’ve been on for twenty years, I’ve actually been on for much, much longer. In that scope of understanding, a few more years or even a few more lifetimes didn’t seem like so much. Patience on that scale, actually seemed more doable than just this one lifetime of being patient. The big picture to me made my struggles in this life seem small and easier to overcome, more like a speed-bump than a mountain. I can’t completely explain it, but I felt more at peace, I felt like I could go on. I felt like I could continue the healing journey with more patience. Thank you beautiful hummingbird, it was just the message and vision I needed at that exact moment.
“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” An Old Astronomer to His Pupil
Suddenly the gray hummingbird turned away from me and flew away. He knew I’d gotten his message and he was done. I ran in the house and wrote down the message and my experience so I could write it in this blog later. I then picked up my “Animal Spirit Guides” book by Steven Farmer and looked up messages from hummingbirds to see what it had to say that may compliment the message I had gotten. Here is what the book said for hummingbird that related to my situation, like it was written just for me, just for that day.
If a hummingbird shows up, it means:
You need to be very flexible with the twists and turns your life will take in the next days.
Put more emotional sweetness in your life, you need it.
You’re going through some very heart-opening kinds of experiences, and you’ll quite naturally draw more and more love into your life.
Openly express the love you have and feel for those important people in your life.
Give yourself the gift of as many flowers as you can, spread them around your home, and enjoy their sight and fragrance throughout the days to come.
This message also stood out and spoke to me from the book:
Call on Hummingbird when:
You’re feeling down and sullen and want to lighten up, have more fun, and experience more joy.
You find yourself around any negativity or harshness and want to protect yourself and lift your spirits.
You’re feeling fragmented and distracted, ruminating about the past or future, and want to be more present in the moment.
Judy at Angels and Ancestors wrote a lovely blog about the spiritual messages of hummingbirds. Here is a passage that spoke to me:
“Hummingbird is about understanding the sweetness of life, about being able to go long distances on little food, and using great courage. Hummingbird also represents the pioneer spirit of finding new lands and moving between worlds. When working with Hummingbird, we may ask it to bring in our Ancestors or the Old Ones who may come from their spirit place and share knowledge with us.
Hummingbirds bring the message that stamina and perseverance is important in one’s life. One must build themselves up to be strong so that their life force is not depleted by those drawing on them for energy. Another message that hummingbird brings to those that it appears to, is that the human must watch his or her digestive system, and that they must not take in too much sugar.”
Hummingbird Totem for the full blog by Tonjha about the spiritual messages of hummingbirds. Here is a quote that related to the cleanse experience for me.
“The hummingbird can awaken us to the medicinal properties of plants. Hummingbirds teach us how to draw the life essence from flowers. “They can teach us how to use flowers to heal and win hearts in love. Andrews says the twittering, vibrating sounds of the hummingbirds bring us an internal massage that restores health and balance. ”
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Author Unknown
Doing Something Different
Vegetable juice is delicious and nutritious.
And so, the healing journey continues as life does too. I got refocused. I met with my doctor and had her muscle test me for the nutritional elements I need to stay focused on most to help my body heal. My body said I need to continue to juice, lots of greens and to stay off the dairy 100%. We also tested time frames and the testing said it will take six months to fully detox from the dairy I have eaten and drank for my whole life. For my body, dairy is NOT GOOD! I think for many bodies, dairy is not good. If you suspect it is not good for you get muscle tested or give it up for a few weeks and see how you feel when you add it back in. You’ll intuitively know. You probably already do. I’ve been feeling this for quite a while but just wasn’t ready to give it up until now. I ignored what my body needed for my emotional needs at the time. Now is the time. Now I am ready. This all feels right to me so I’m continuing. Six months does not seem so daunting to me at all. I’m enjoying the juicing and so is my husband. He already feels the effects with more energy at work and not needing coffee to keep going throughout the day. He’s even started to make his own juice when I don’t have time. I’m starting a trend, I hope so.
Results of the Cleanse will be in the next blog. Read on. And, if you like the information you are reading, don’t forget to enter your email address to receive automatic blog updates from Rain Shadow Reiki.
Love and LIght to you,
Josslyn
rainshadowreiki@gmail.com or 360-460-7829
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
While talking and doing a reading with a dear friend and client yesterday some information came though that I felt would be helpful to many of us who have been really feeling the pressure of the energy coming down on us the last few months. Many of my clients, students and even friends have been commenting to me that they are crying a lot, down, depressed, unmotivated and don’t really know why.
I’ve addressed this before in blogs and Facebook posts but got new information this week. In short, we are cleansing a lot of old lifetimes of energy. All in a very short period of time. Ascension is happening right now, and we must let go of a lot of the old in order to make room for the new. THE CRUNCH as it feels to many of us. The Universal Energy is helping us with this process and we can cry, talk to friends, meditate, do Reiki on ourselves, bathe ourselves in Love and Light and all the spiritual rituals we have learned to help us though.
Spend more time with pets, giving and receiving love.
However, the message I got yesterday was loud and clear, JOY!! DO something every day that brings you joy. Every time you feel down or want to cry, think of something you can do right then that will bring you joy. Set a new standard for your daily life with HAPPINESS! This is something special, something just for you. This is about no one but YOU and YOUR JOY!
An Example
Singing in the shower is a GREAT way to start the day. Singing happy songs raises your vibration, confidence and helps to keep the healthy boundaries strong all around you.
I finished a reading last week and was driving home from the clients’ house. All of a sudden I felt the extreme need to sing gospel. I love gospel music but only know the words of a few songs, so I started singing as loud as I could. It did not sound so great, but that was not the point at all. It was a huge release. I sang the songs I knew, rewrote the words, wrote new songs and just kept singing them. After about forty minutes of this I felt much better and was almost home. It was just for me and the release I needed at that moment. My love of the music and creating new words filled me with Love and Light and JOY! Because I listened to my guides and sang I was able to release energy that otherwise may have stayed and festered if I hadn’t listened to my guidance. IT IS TIME TO LISTEN AND TAKE ACTION ON WHAT YOUR GUIDES AND YOUR HIGER SELF ARE TELLING YOU!!
What Did You Enjoy as a Child?
Do something you haven’t done in a long time and don’t remember why you stopped doing it. I’ve started getting visions recently of things I used to do as a kid and enjoyed very much, like photography and architecture. My guides want me to do those things NOW and find JOY once again.
Take a class in something you have been interested in like Reiki, crystals and stones healing, music lessons, knitting, ANYTHING YOU FEEL DRAWN TO!
Bringing in more joy daily will allow us to heal and move on from the old emotions, old pain and old past life energy that we no longer need. We need to replace them with new action, new joy and new memories. WHAT IS JOYFUL TO YOU?? Singing, music, dancing, games, cuddling with pets or kids, parties, meditation, doing Reiki on yourself or others, walks on the beach, time in your garden, think of joyful activities for YOU and YOU alone.
THIS IS THE TIME TO REMEMBER WHAT BRINGS YOU JOY
Go to the beach with friends, have a bon fire, sing or dance in the moonlight.
I’m going to start a photography class again and begin drawing up plans for a renovation that we can’t afford yet but want to manifest soon. As a kid I used to draw up plans for houses and thought of becoming an architect. I spent hours and hours drawing up homes just for fun. I’m going to do this now to help us manifest this addition to our home sooner than we would expect. (I am excellent at manifesting!)
WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW THAT WILL BRING YOU JOY? Share here if you feel safe to. There are no wrong answers to this one.
Ninth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To catch up start with blog 1, A Sensitive System or search categories under Nutritional Healing.
The Crying Games
Crying is a healthy form of release, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically.
Okay, so you’d think I would know what was coming. You’d think since I’ve done this many times over, in different ways, but many cleanses, you think I’d know that this part would be here soon. NOT. (Yes, I still use that term to my friends chagrin) There must be a part of me that goes into denial or forgets, like the pain of having a baby. You have to forget or you’d never do it again, right!? That’s how it is with the emotional cleanse part. You have to forget that it happens and how bad it can get or you’d never do a cleanse again. Day 6 and 7 provided for me the much-needed MASSIVE emotional cleansing. It probably looks different for everybody. In fact I know it does.
Easy Sailing vs. Typhoon
Tropical Typhoon Josslyn
My husband sails through a cleanse like nothing was ever changed. No crying, no emotional roller coaster, no questioning ones whole life path, you get the picture. We both went through the same cleanse after having our mercury out of our teeth with the same doctor, same supplements, similar amount of fillings removed. With him he went right back to work with little or no side effects. Me, I was an emotional basket case for a whole two weeks after, angry, crying anywhere and everywhere, laughing at inappropriate times, the whole deal. It’s obvious, we are totally different beings, he and I. And, that is why we balance each other out so well. That is also why I call him my rock. I need him for his stability of emotion and he needs me for my spirituality and empathy. It works great for us, most of the time.
A Whole Lot of S*#t
Tsunami
So, here I am, pretty much sailing through this cleanse through day 5, only complaining a little bit (YES, JUST A LITTLE BIT!) about the amount of chopping, cooking and what not. Day 6 hits like a Tsunami. I was completely blindsided. I was tired and a little low, but when it hit, it hit. I never saw it coming. All I needed was the right trigger. What better trigger than your youngest son and some massive attitude in public. That’s all it took. I cried for two hours straight and then for another day and a half, off and on quite regularly. I cried when I ran out of
Cat and Dog cuddling together
tissues, I cried when my ‘rock’ told me he wouldn’t be coming home from work again that night to stay and work on a project for the third night in a row, I cried when my cat wouldn’t cuddle with me but chose the dog instead and I cried when the U.S would lose a medal in the Olympic Games. Lets just say, as my beautiful soul sister Stephanie put it, “You’re letting go of a whole lot of s*#t!” Thank God she always magically calls me when I’m at my deepest darkest hour and can make me laugh and see things from a new perspective. Yes, I agreed with her, yes I am, literally and figuratively, letting go of a lot of crap.
Trickle vs Flood
Too much Tsunami can ruin that peaceful feeling for sure, but it also can aid you in finding a higher place, a richer path to take.
When you do a cleanse as a spiritual ritual as I am, you are not only cleansing your body, but your thoughts, emotions and spiritual energy as well. Like with Reiki you are working on all levels at once, physical, mental, spiritual AND emotional. ALL at the same time. We sometimes forget this. We may want to believe this will not happen but truly deep down we WANT it to happen. There may not be another way to release this much emotion in such a short period of time. Of course, it’s easy to say this NOW that I’ve come out the other side of the Typhoon and are in calm seas again. Easy for me to say. But, believe me, I wasn’t so happy about it while I was in the heart of the storm. Some of this stuff has been with me my whole life, many lives. My dreams lately tell this story too, dreams of my childhood, dreams that combine different time frames that I’ve been working on these very deep dark issues. Believe me, someone who has lived with depression most of their lives, they have STUFF to release.
Typhoon Josslyn from above
Although we think we’d like these issues to trickle out at a nice slow tolerable pace a little at a time, sometimes, what is truly best may be a complete flood and be done with it. It is more uncomfortable in the mean time but it is over and done more quickly. I used to be the one who desired the trickle. But, lately, I have so much I want to let go of so quickly, so much I want to leave behind, that I’m welcoming the Typhoon. Bring it on. Let the cleansing games begin. I’m going for the gold!
East vs West
In Western culture emotions are considered unbalanced and even not healthy. This belief we learn from our society is not healthy. Emotions are a normal natural part of life. Listening to them is important, cleansing them, working with them to heal ourselves.
It has long been believed in Chinese Medicine that emotions are connected to the organs in the body. This is in my opinion where Western Medicine lacks greatly in comparison. NOT treating the emotional body, spiritual body and mental body along with the physical body is leaving out 3/4’s of the source of the problem. HUGE mistake and in my opinion, quite daft. And, the reason that millions of American’s are very chronically ill. 133 million Americans from a 2005 census, that is 1 out of every 2 adults ill with chronic illness. If you are not shocked, you should be.
Truly Heal Yourself
When you cleanse your body with a fast, supplements, meditation, Reiki, acupuncture or any other cleansing method you choose (find a list below), you are cleansing not only your body but your emotions, mental and spiritual beliefs as well. It makes sense that we would have symptoms of crying, negative thought loops, anxiety, fear and anger surfacing during the cleanse. By allowing it to surface, not ignoring it, dealing with it, thanking it for teaching you what you needed to learn and releasing it, you are truly cleansing all four of your bodies as is needed for true ability to raise your vibration to the next level. YOU ARE TRULY HEALING YOURSELF! YOU ARE EVOLVING!
Reiki is incredibly relaxing and helps you and your body to RELEASE whatever it is ready to release. the cleansing and healing process can then begin.
You Ask, HOW?
There are many ways in which to cleanse and heal yourself. Here is a list off of the top of my head. Find what works best for YOU. The important thing is to DO something and NEVER GIVE UP:
Any YOU can think of? Any I’ve missed? I’d love to hear from YOU as to what has worked best for your cleanses. Please comment if you have any. Please email me or comment here if you want to try something new but don’t know what. I can help.
Love and Light to you all,
Blessings, Joss
rainshadowreiki@gmail.com or 360-460-7828
Some good blogs about emotions and our body’s organs and how they relate
I walk the face of earth once more,
a mindless puppet, my strings are torn.
the creaky bones, the bad eyesight,
yet the chance to turn wrong to right.
wars-a-waging, old mans guilt,
the worlds now on more than just a tilt.
parents weeping, children slain,
bloody thoughts, fear will reign.
I look in the shadows, a creature did lurk,
he whispered to me, hiding a smirk.
“Thou shalt be killed if thee can’t find,
the demon lurking in thou mind.”
So off I ventured, to quench my thirst,
of corpses piled with hearts-a-burst.
And on that quest what did I see?
The Wicked Path Of Destiny
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In Love and Light of the Divine, Welcome to my website/blog where I share ideas on how to live a more spiritual life using Reiki and other spiritual tools and techniques. I help private clients like you break through blockages keeping them from moving forward on their spiritual path.
