By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki in Sequim, WA
At our Reiki events and during private sessions it seems that many people are afraid to bring up the topic of miracles but want to. They want to know how long it will take them to heal. They want some concrete time frame as to how long this ‘Reiki stuff” will take to heal them especially if they have physical illness. Many people simply want a healing miracle. I totally understand. If there was a magic pill, believe me, I’D TAKE IT FIRST!! I live and deal with five chronic ‘invisible’ illnesses every day – you can bet, I’d be first in line getting that pill.
Bubble Bursting – Warning
I hate to burst your bubble, but sometimes a dose of reality is what we need. Sometimes believing in a magic pill keeps us in denial longer than good and real information that can help us move on. Ok, here is the bubble bursting but you have to read the whole thing to truly understand. If you don’t want to do that, then bail out now and stay in blissful denial. If you’d like to know more, it’s a good story, read on.
Reiki Works In Mysterious Ways
Here is a photo of us about six months before his rib went out.
Reiki will never go against our free will. Which means, if our soul has chosen illness as a spiritual tool for growth, then we must learn what we have come here to learn from this tool, BEFORE we can be healed. The earth plane is unique from other healing/learning planes of existence because it is the most dense. Therefore, there are lessons we can only learn while we are here; lessons such as addiction and physical illness. We can learn them in other planes of existence as well, but not to the same dense level that we can while in physical form here. Therefore, these lessons are critical to our soul’s development and we comprehend that at a soul level. But, we don’t remember it at a human level. That is the importance, but the reality is, there are no short cuts to learning these lessons. It takes years, lifetimes to learn many of these lessons we have signed up for, which means that the Reiki will help us, guide us and even heal us if that is what is for our highest good, but it will not ‘cure’ us, unless that is what our soul signed up for.
Lesson of Patience
Reiki will also not heal us any faster than our subconscious mind is ready for. If it did, our belief systems would send up a HIGH ALERT and sabotage the process we were making anyway. Reiki heals us at the exact pace our unique personality is ready to heal at, no faster and no slower. JUST RIGHT. This may not be as fast as your CONSCIOUS MIND wants to go, believe me, I totally understand this one first hand. But, this spiritual and healing work cannot be rushed. Sometimes the true beauty is in the process, the journey, the full experiences along the way. Sometimes we can’t see the true beauty until we are through it, but it’s even more impressive on that side.
Sometimes Miracles Happen
And then sometimes, miracles happen. Sometimes miracles are supposed to happen to help us along our path, to help us with our faith when we need it. I believe we also sign up for these miracles before we come here knowing we may need some extra support, some extra push in the right direction. My husband experienced such a healing miracle that helped him to believe in Reiki and me, many years ago when I was a new Reiki healer.
My Husband’s Reiki Miracle
My husband Robert is very open-minded, he has to be, to be married to me for over 18 years. But, he’s also a thinker, a cynic and a natural-born inquisitor of new things. When I started taking Reiki classes he was first in line for me to practice on him but didn’t like to ask me too often because I was busy with kids, Mommy/kid activities, household stuff and also practicing healings as much as possible in my ‘free’ time in between. He didn’t want to put more on me. I respectfully wait until he asks me to practice Reiki on him, still do. So it was a few months before he asked.
At this time in our lives, Robert would get a rib out regularly. If you’ve ever had a rib out, you know, it hurts pretty horribly and would put my strong and independent husband ‘on his knees’ so to speak. He searched high and low for a Chiropractor who could help him. We finally found one who could put him back in place and it would last 5 to 6 weeks. This was the best he’d found so far and he was thrilled. So, every 5 to 6 weeks he would journey up to the highlands about forty minutes away to have his body adjusted and then the rib would not go out. This worked well. Until it didn’t.
Enter – Student Healer Wife
Robert and I on the beach in CA before we moved to Sequim, WA. He’s always been my biggest & most faithful supporter.
After I’d taken my Reiki II class and had been practicing for a few months Robert’s ribs went out again. Unfortunately or fortunately for him, our Chiropractor was out-of-town. He was in such pain and feeling there was little hope for relief, he asked me if I would do a Reiki healing on him. I don’t know if he believed it would do anything, but when we have no other options, we often open up to new things we never would consider otherwise. Thank God for that. I didn’t even have a table back then so he laid on the end of the bed after the kids had gone to sleep and I did two hours of Reiki. Afterwards, I rolled him over and he fell asleep.
He woke up the next morning and not only were his ribs back in place, but there was no pain. Not only that, but his ribs didn’t go out again for almost EIGHT YEARS!! Eight years later, they went out again, I practiced Reiki on him again, put him to bed and now it’s been another two years. His body was helping him work on this issue again but in a lesser way.
Why Did Robert Get a Miracle?
I have contemplated this healing miracle my husband experienced and ‘discussed’ it with my guides over time. I believe Robert got a healing miracle because he needed it, because he signed up for it before he came here in order to fully believe in Reiki and me. Yes, it’s all about me, it’s my blog. LOL. I’m sure he has his own healing reasons as well, but combined with the fact that in order for me to have my business, which is run quite a bit out of our home and often interrupts family time and takes a great deal of dedication from our whole family – I believe he needed to, mind, body and soul, believe in what I do to help other people. Otherwise, he may not have been nearly as committed to my Reiki practice as he’s been, which is a great deal.
A Miracle is a Miracle
I don’t believe we always have to have a reason for a miracle, I believe we can’t possibly know how that all works. I like to believe that sometimes our Divine Source likes to surprise us and keep us on our toes with a nice surprise. And, I don’t believe we are truly meant to know how it all works. This is the faith part.
But, in some cases, like ours, I believe there was a reason and it worked wholeheartedly.
I see what I call ‘mini miracles’ in my life daily. To me, every time I feel the Reiki in my hands or receive intuitive information that connects to a client in an important way, that feels like a miracle to me – every time. It helps me have faith, hope and spiritual power by knowing each and every day that I am watched over, guided and protected by Divine Love. It keeps me going every day through the hard stuff and it gives me hope for our future on this planet that we can turn things around and save not only our planet but each other as well. These are all miracles, big or little. A miracle is a miracle no matter what you call it. If you just believe. If it gives you faith.
My family at about the time when I learned Reiki for the first time. My family has supported me in so many ways for me to be able to practice Reiki at home, at odd hours and on many weekends when we could have otherwise been together. They fully believe in me and what I do. So grateful for them.
I pray our little story helps you to understand a bit more about how Reiki heals, that miracles really do happen in our lives in big and little ways and we just need to be aware, be in the flow and be grateful. And, that patience is sometimes one of the biggest lessons we can learn, I know it is for me – because I still don’t have that magic pill.
REIKI ON!!
Many Reiki Blessings to you all, may you receive the miracle you requested this year!!
Love and Light,
Josslyn
rainshadowreiki@gmail.com or 360-460-7829 for private sessions or readings with Josslyn
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki in Sequim, WA
I know, we all want to FEEL the Reiki flowing when we do our self Reiki. Lets face it, the truth is, we often just don’t feel the Reiki sensations in our hands as strongly when we work on ourselves as when we work on other people. I know, I had this issue in the beginning too. But, over time and with a whole lot of practice on others and myself, my hands got much more sensitive as well as the rest of my body and now I feel the Reiki every single time I put my hands on my body to heal myself. Truly I do.
Patience, practice, patience and more practice.
I know that’s not what we really want to hear, do more practice. But, with Reiki and many things in life, this is the best answer. The other option is not doing it at all and we know where that gets us –nowhere fast.
Other Signs Your Reiki Is Working – Yes it is!
So, in the meantime, while you are waiting and hoping that the sensations will just start by magic, why not DO IT ANYWAY!! Get your Reiki I manual out, and sit down and do a self Reiki session. Do all the hand positions, just like you did in class and ‘see’ if you can’t maybe feel some of these other signs that the Reiki is on and working.
Here is what to ‘look for’:
deep breaths/change in breathing pattern
yawning
tears/weeping
body twitching/stretching
eyes fluttering/blinking
sense of calm sweeps over you
sleepiness
feeling of release
lightness throughout your body/mind/spirit
throat clearing/coughing
nose running/stuffy/sneezing
tummy gurgles/farting
muscles relaxing
drooling
burping
laughter
sweating
seeing colors
full body tingles/swaying
itching
These are all signs the Reiki is working to help relax the body and relieve stress.
Another tip:
Watch for these same or similar signs on your pets when you are doing Reiki on them.
We can see many of these happening for our clients when they are receiving Reiki from us too. It’s fun to watch for the signs and know that the Reiki is working. But, it also helps us to KNOW the Reiki is working and helps to keep us motivated to keep doing it, keep moving forward until our hands do get more sensitive and we start feeling the really COOL sensations of the heat, tingling, throbbing and more. I know, it’s natural to want to feel these sensations, I do too. They help us to know we are connected to Divine Love. Patience grasshopper, patience.
I’m so grateful for you reading and making loving comments letting me know you are out there and that what I’m writing is helping you in some way.
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
Question: One of the questions I get a lot is, “How can I run more energy?” or “How can I be a better channel for the Reiki energy?”
The Quick Answer:Practice, practice and more practice. Daily Self Reiki is the key. Plus, eating and living a healthy and spiritual life, meditating, looking in the mirror, practicing what we preach, and honing our skills as a channel for the Reiki energy.
The Longer But More Thorough Answer
Some people have expressed to me that because Reiki is Divine energy it should be easy for everyone to run it the same. Maybe, but all of our bodies are different with different abilities. We can’t all sing the same, or do gymnastics the same, why would we expect to all run Reiki the same. Hmmm…something to ponder.
Yes, the Reiki is from Divine and once attuned, always attuned. But, our bodies are still human and we channel Reiki through our human bodies. Some people have physical bodies that are naturally tuned to channeling Reiki and others will need to practice at it a bit more. It is like this with pretty much any skill, some are naturally good at pottery the first time they take a class, (not me) others will have to practice more. For many of my Reiki I students, channeling Reiki is their first time channeling anything energetically through their physical body at all. Many don’t meditate until after my class or do energy work. So, this is something that is all new to their bodies. All new, at any new skill, takes practice, even with Reiki.
Example: Singing Gift vs Reiki Gift
I truly believe that we come into this life with the God-given gifts that we require to be successful in our specific life goal. I believe with Divine’s help, we chose these gifts carefully beforehand. Some of us chose determination, some chose patience, forgiveness, calmness, motivation, or courage. I believe we also chose abilities for our human body such as, some of us need to be amazing scientists, writers, dancers, artists, and others need to be excellent channelers of Divine Energy. No matter what, we have the gifts that we need in order to be successful in this life. It is up to us to break through our fears and hone these gifts like a professional singer does. Practice, practice and more practice. Then be grateful for the gifts we have and we will be showered with even more abundance in this area of our lives.
The Harlem Gospel Singers
I compare the ability to channel Reiki to singing, another gift from Divine. Again, I believe people who need a particular singing voice will choose biologically a family combination that will allow them to have this musical talent. Some people have beautiful singing voices from childhood. However, they still practice and practice to hone their skill if singing is important to them. Some people are naturals at it, others take more practice but can still be great, others have great singing voices for themselves or their shower, but don’t necessarily want to sing to the world. It’s all good. It is all Divine and perfect for us and our needs. But, if someone wants to improve their singing voice, they will need to practice and possibly work with a coach.
Reiki Practice
This is the same with Reiki. If you want to do Reiki to heal yourself only, you still need to practice on yourself, daily. YES, DAILY. (If you actually want results) If you want to do Reiki on others, you’ll need to practice on others and for the Highest Good, study with a Reiki Master to get help along the way or establish a very strong Love and Light connection with your Reiki Guides. Preferably both. If someone wants to be a Reiki Master/Teacher, this in turn will take more practice, more time, more help, more honing, more experience, etc.
Divinely Reiki
Just because Reiki comes from a Divine source it doesn’t mean we still don’t have lessons to learn about channeling Reiki energy through our human bodies. Most of us do. Most of us are working with the Reiki in the first place to help us with these issues. So, sorry if you don’t want to hear it, but… “PRACTICE MAKES BETTER.” Yes, even in Reiki, practice makes better. You’ll feel better, be able to run more energy better, be able to FEEL the energy in your hands and body better, be able to manifest the things and life you want better. All of the above. JUST DO IT!
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master for Rain Shadow Reiki
Reiki Ideas for Reiki Healing Students
I’ve had a series of clients lately who consciously come to me and want help but subconsciously have blocks up to protect themselves. You can often tell these people when they are on your table. Often they leave their eyes open the entire time where other clients close their eyes soon after getting on the table. Or they will close their eyes but you can tell that these clients do not go to a deep level of relaxation at all and maybe try to keep you in conversation with them much of the time. Or you can just tell they are not relaxed and having a hard time even closing their eyes and staying on the table. I can FEEL the tension in them. Often it feels like they want to jump off of the table and run out the door. Sometimes it feels like they are trying so hard to hold on to what they truly want to release and this causes tension in them. Change is stressful for most of us, asking for change can be even more stressful.
If you feel lost at anytime, ask your Reiki guides for help.
This usually indicates a high level of a need to control their environment for fear or trust reasons. It is ok. Reiki can help with that. It will just take a little more time and sometimes different techniques than you learn in Reiki I or II. This is the kind of technique you usually learn from your guides with lots of practical experience. That is who I have learned it from and I’m going to give you some tips here as to what they have told me to do.
Chances are, if you read this, you’ll get a chance to practice it on a client very soon.
Reminder
Reiki will help any condition, I believe, if given proper time. The healing journey is a journey, it takes time for most people. Some people take many years, many lifetimes building up these fears and trust issues, it will take some time to break them down in a safe and trusting manner as well. If this client has come to you for help, at least they know they need and want help. That is the first step. The second step is making sure they feel safe enough to come back. If we do anything to invade their protective space during the healing session then they may not come back and that is not what we want. Sometimes we need to back off with this type of client and give them space to heal themselves with the Reiki leading the way. This quite often has worked well with my clients. But, at the same time, if they do not feel better, feel some kind of results, they may not come back. It is critical to not be afraid of any of these outcomes and just TRUST in the Reiki and that it will do exactly what it is supposed to do to help this person TODAY. Trust in the Reiki and trust in your guides to help you and show you or tell you what needs to be done to help them.
Heart Chakra Case
I recently had a client whose heart chakra was dangerously shut down to a point where I could not feel any movement at all. I could FEEL the tight constriction in his chest so tight that it was making ME feel ill and I couldn’t handle the discomfort. I raised my hands off of his chest and up above but that still wasn’t enough. I knew that if his chakra stayed this way too long he would be in danger of physical illness, such as; heart attack, cutting off his ability to love or be loved. Our heart chakra is of utmost importance because it is the go-between of all the major chakras. It is the interface between our upper and lower chakras and if it is clogged up it’s difficult to get any of the others healthy and balanced. So, I knew I needed something to help him and fast. In this session I just felt I needed to get his chakra open a bit and moving. I asked my guides for their help and they gave me a visual to follow. Here is what they had me do. Plus, here are other ideas that my guides have given me when I’ve been in a tough spot. Ask your guides for help and check with what feels right for your client.
Reiki Back Doors
Go in the back door. There are multiple ways to do this. Try them in this order but it is always best to follow your intuition. If the first one does not work then try the next one and so on. Please ask your Reiki guides to help you with this process for each individual client:
Back off psychically. Turn off the psychic information and just let the Reiki do its work. You may even need to turn off your conscious mind, go deep in trance and just let the Reiki flow without your ego or left brain involved. Practice this.
Talk to your client very gently, explaining what is going on and letting them know that their help would be great at this point. Have them set the intention in their minds that their chakra open and they allow the Reiki energy in to heal them. The client came to you for a reason, get them involved in their healing. Quite often this is enough.
Ask Divine Sourceto send help – in the Highest and most Sacred Order of Reiki guides, healing guides and angels to help this person so you don’t have to work so hard. Remember, it is not about you, it is about them and doing the highest good for them. Get your ego out of the way and refocus on the Reiki healing that is taking place, it is all in Divine order.
Run Reiki on their subconsciousmind with the intention that the greatest healing the client needs will take place here. Run it for a while until you FEEL that the client trusts you and you can move back to their heart chakra. (Or whatever chakra it is that is blocked.) If you are a Reiki II use the Long Distance symbol and the Mental/Emotional healing symbol to aid this subconscious work. Then move back to the chakra you were working on.
If you are a Reiki Master/Teacher work with your Master symbol (R) to separate the client from the situation and/or the NGZ symbol to break up blockages. One or both of these symbols may help the client’s subconscious mind to take a back seat and allow the Reiki in.
Give them space, move back away from them physically and either do long distance Reiki on them or just run gentle Reiki on their aura. Quite often this will allow them to feel it is on their terms, their choice and then they will open up to the healing being offered.
Go in the back door. This is what my guides showed me to do for this heart chakra client. Literally lay under the massage table and run the Reiki into the back side of their heart chakra to get their heat chakra moving again. This worked for my particular client really well. Sometimes going in the back allows the Reiki to flow in easier and without the subconscious blockages that the client has on their front side. Remember every client is different. Ask your guides what will work best for yours. In very important situations like this one, this can work well. Not a first line though. Check with your guides so that you are not invading or disrespecting your client’s personal space.
Confused? Stuck? ASK YOUR REIKI GUIDES FOR HELP!!
Deep Issues
Many of these issues are deep because the client has pushed them down in denial for a very long time and past life issues that have stuck around because they never dealt with them. The client will not remember them or even be aware of them. The Reiki will help to bring them to the surface when the client is ready, heal them and move them out. This process again takes time and it may take this client multiple sessions before they really start relaxing on the table. It is critical that YOU as the Reiki Practitioner has total Trust and Faith that the Reiki will do it’s job, and it will.
Your trust and faith in the Reiki’s abilities will translate energetically to the client’s energy and they will be much more likely to stick with the sessions and believe they can help them. If we truly believe, they will too. It’s all energy, it all translates in understanding.
By Josslyn Streett, Reiki Master/Teacher for Rain Shadow Reiki
My husband, Robert, is one of those guys that can fall asleep the second his head hits the pillow. I’m the opposite. So, I do my Reiki at night while I’m attempting to fall asleep. This has been a lifelong issue for me, not falling asleep. I remember as a child laying awake in bed for hours on end waiting to get sleepy, not knowing that this was not normal. Now, the Reiki helps me to fall asleep within thirty minutes or less just about every night, its such a blessing. For my husband, this obviously doesn’t work, he’s asleep right away, seriously, that fast. This always amazed me when we first met. I didn’t know people did that. Anyway, in attempting to find a time of day for him to do his daily Reiki, bedtime was not going to work. So, he has gotten in the habit of doing his Reiki first thing in the morning, before he even steps out of bed. For me, doing Reiki at night, it helps me relax and fall asleep quickly. For him, doing Reiki first thing in the morning, it wakes him up. He says he feels like he’s had three cups of coffee. (and, that was when he was OFF the coffee!) The Reiki will do whatever you need it to do at that time, its brilliant like that. Your intention helps it be ever stronger.
I am a very go-with-the-flow person. But, when it comes to the first few months of practicing with your new Reiki energy, I tell my Reiki I students that in order to really make Reiki a part of your daily lives and get the most out of it, it is critical to make it a habit every single day. Right away. Make it a priority in your life for that first month, and do it daily. Find a time that works for YOU and do it at the same time every day, just like any habit you are working on. Reiki is no different in this way. Once you have made it a healthy habit then you truly will feel the effects that Reiki can have on your life quickly and you’ll keep it up, even crave it.
Mini Miracles
When you are working with your Reiki regularly in your life, mini miracles start happening right off that bat, I hear about these all the time in my Reiki students when they start working with the Reiki energy. It really is amazing how the smallest detail is not too much for spirit to help with once we are working with Reiki daily, once we are ‘in the flow.” From helping people’s stressful jobs going smoother the very week they start practicing their Reiki, to finding a little statue of their spirit guide quite by “accident” in a store they’ve never wanted to go into before, but were suddenly drawn to. When you work with the Reiki, Reiki works within you.
Quick Tip for Starting Reiki Practice on Yourself, Creating Mini Miracles and Having a Happier “Go-With-the-Flow” life!
Make DOING Reiki a priority for YOU! IT’S ALL FOR YOU! When you are happier those around you are happier. Simply tell yourself and your Divine Source that Reiki in your life IS a priority and you will DO it every day this next month.
Do Reiki every day at the same time!
Think about an intention to add to the strength of the Reiki healing. Such as “Reiki, please help me heal any issues I have about healing myself,” or “Reiki, please help me fall asleep quickly and easily.”
Then JUST DO IT! You will be surprised at how easy it is to make this positive habit stick with you if you make it a priority for this first month to start. It feels so good and relaxing you may even get addicted to the feeling.
Watch for synchronicity happening in your life, these are mini miracles just waiting for you to get in line with the universe. Once you are in alignment, the ‘coincidences’ happen ALL THE TIME!!
Email me or comment here and let me know how it’s going.
Reiki is with you forever once you’ve been attuned. But, it’s like anything else, if you don’t use it, you don’t get the benefits of it. Divine waits patiently for us to DO for ourselves. When we DO, we are rewarded in more ways than I bet you can come up with yourself. Please feel free to comment here with the mini miracles YOU have seen in your life since you’ve started working with your Reiki.
Love and Light to you all,
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.
Fourth in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
A TON of Vegetables!
I made it through the first day of the most fruits and vegetables I have ever eaten in my whole life. If you have not read my first three blogs on this topic you can catch up here.
Started day 1 with a Cherry Cinnamon Apple Bake with 1 cup cherries, 2 apples chopped, 3 T raisins, 1T cinnamon, 1/2 t nutmeg, bake for 45 min. at 375 degrees. Delish!
Day 1
I am doing a ten day fruit and vegetable fast cutting our all dairy, grains, packaged foods and animal protein to help my body heal. You can read my goals for the fast here on blog #2.
I am following the ten day menu from a nutritionist for the ‘Join the Reboot’ team. I am getting weekly colonics to help my digestive system get back to it’s original healthy ‘just like a new born baby’ form, or close to that. That’s the plan anyway, but we know how plans go. I want my body to be able to digest it’s food and for me to get all the healthy nutrients from the healthier foods I’ll be eating.
Menu, Plan Ahead
V8 Juice for breakfast Day 2. Beets, carrots, celery, tomatoes, parsley, jalapeno, radishes, beet greens. This made enough for me and my husband both to have a full 16 oz glass of juice.
So far the menu is very healthy and delicious. However, if you are planning to start this program, know that it is a whole lot of vegetables and a lot different ones. For instance, they have you use a tiny bit of jicama the first day but not again in the first few days. I never buy hicama and haven’t had it since I was a child. Good to try it again and I do like the crunch it adds to salads. But, I didn’t look at the menus soon enough before starting the cleanse to know this or to alter them so I could buy less veggies. Plus, the goal is to eat a variety. So, I am using the ‘extra’ vegetables in salads along the way and just modifying the diet a bit here and there. But, you will have to buy a ton of vegetables so plan on that expense ahead of time. Lucky for me I have neighbors and students with farms and gardens helping me out. Thank you to my wonderful clients and neighbors helping me out. You know who you are. Having your own garden would really help with this project.
Modify the Plan for YOUR Body
Modify by adding more protein if you need to in the beginning or some healthy whole grains. You can always do the full plan at another time. Work towards what you body can do and stay healthy and successful now.
My doctor has me adding small amounts of healthy protein in the morning and lunch meals for my blood sugar issue. I think because I’m an overachiever and wanted to do the cleanest diet possible, closest to the actual one on the program, I didn’t eat enough protein. I added one egg in the morning and one scoop of the Isagenix vanilla whey protein powder in my mid day juice. Not enough. By about 5pm I was hitting a wall. For me, hitting a wall, usually means emotionally. I get irritated, frustrated and start going on and on about things I’m angry about. This is not a pretty seen and my family usually heads to their respective corners to ignore my tirades and read their books.
First Day Frustrations
Mom frustrations
I was most frustrated by the amounts of food preparation that goes into the meals. I guess I thought it would be a lot more juice, not salads, soups, steamed veggies, baked fruit, etc. The juices are not too bad for prep, but the rest take a great deal of washing, chopping and time. I’m a mom, a wife, a house keeper, and a Reiki Master/Psychic, life is busy. I also tend to be a lazy cook because I don’t like cooking that much. I’m not sure how people who work full time would be able to do all this AND work AND take care of their families. Plan for that too. It is time consuming changing old habits into new ones. I guess people who work would prepare a lot at night to be ready for the next day. I’m usually too tired at night to do this and so I do my prep in the morning. However, by the time I’m done with my prep for a morning fruit menu item ANd a late morning snack, it’s almost lunch time. (Consider they have six meals on the menu plus some snacks.)
Eat All the Veggies You Want
It’s a whole lot of food. They want you to eat almost all your calories in vegetables and feel full the whole time. That part is good, but I ALWAYS FEEL FULL. Most people don’t complain about that when doing a diet but with this one you will. Also, lot of these menu items I have never made before so it’s all new to me. New to me causes anxiety to me. But, I push though and do my best. I have literally spent the entire two days preparing vegetables. I’m not sure what I thought was going to happen, but this is what it is.
Always Hopeful
Now I know as I get used to the diet it will be easier and I’ll figure out short cuts like I do for salad. I make a huge salad on the weekend and what we do not eat I bag up with paper towels in the bag to keep it fresh and soak up the excess moisture. This way, the salad will last up to four days or so. Sometimes I’ll have to re-wash it before hand, but, easy way to have salad ready to go for the work week. These are the kind of tricks I’m learning and will put into place for the next time I do this cleanse. I felt much better emotionally after I had a nice salad for dinner with avocado and sea salt. Yes, I’ve been craving salt. There was actually so much food on the menu, don’t tell, but I skipped the soup and steamed vegetables. I was DONE with vegetables by then and just couldn’t eat another bite. I ended the day with my herbal tea and went to bed.
Suggestions if You Are Starting Your Reboot
Healthy proteins, like hard boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, beans and fish are good to add in the beginning if you are concerned about doing the cleanse the first time from an unhealthy diet or have blood sugar issues.
Other than the five o’ clock tirade, I did very well. My impression is, with this healthy veggie fast, the healthier your diet is going into the plan, the easier it will be on you physically, mentally and emotionally during. I have already spent years cutting out packaged foods, animal protein, simple carbs, sugar and such. I eat at least one large salad every day and lots of other fruits and veggies. If you are starting this Reboot plan for the first time from a place of eating McDonalds regularly then you will probably have a much harder time. Don’t give up, just alter it a bit. I might recommend a modified plan that you can work with your doctor or nutritionist with. Start slow and work towards one of these full on fruit and veggie plans for later. Just a suggestion. The goal is to be healthier and help your body, not to hurt it. If you take on too much too soon, you may be setting yourself up for failure. It’s more important to DO it for long term success than it is to take on more than you can chew, literally.
Please feel free to ask me questions or to lovingly comment if you have suggestions yourself. Love to hear from you!
Third in a series of blogs written by Josslyn Streett of Rain Shadow Reiki for her series on nutritional healing and juicing.
To read the first and second blog in the series to get caught up click on the link. (Blog 1 or blog 2)
Pre-Cleanse
I have been doing a pre-cleanse to get ready for the full 10 day fruit and veggie cleanse. I got a lot of my pre–cleanse recipes from My Juice Cleanse. It is a great site with free recipes and helpful articles. They helped me with a lot of my early research too. It is recommended to do a pre-cleanse to get the most results from your cleanse that the week before you start the cleanse to do certain things to prepare. Here is what they recommend from the Reboot Your Life website:
Say goodbye to: processed junk foods, white flours, sugar/desserts, fried food, fast food, processed meats, alcohol and begin to wean yourself off caffeine.
Say hello to: salads, soups, smoothies with a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, natural nut butters, beans and legumes.
The food pyramid I’m working off of but with actually less breads and cereals as my body does not really want them. My body wants it’s carbs from vegetables. Every body is different. Learn to listen to YOUR BODY,
Transitioning off animal proteins: choose wild-caught fish, organic eggs and gradually decrease poultry during the week and choose only organic varieties when you eat them. By last day of the week, your protein should come solely from plant sources such as beans, nuts, and legumes (for example, black beans, hummis, chick-peas, lentils).
Transitioning off dairy: choose only low or non-fat organic dairy with little to no added sugars. If you choose soy, rice or almond milk, have unflavored/plain to limit the sugar content. Choose organic cheese, and transition from cow’s milk cheese to goat cheese by the middle of the week. By the end of the week (day 5) all dairy should be out of your diet to prepare for the Reboot.
This cleanse is fruits and veggies with no dairy, meats, breads or cereals. This Pre-Cleanse gets you ready for the full cleanse and makes the cleanse easier on you emotionally and physically. I feel it working.
My Results of the Pre-Cleanse
I started the full cleanse today. While talking to a friend on the phone about how I’m feeling today, starting the full cleanse, I realized how much progress I’ve made already. Just by doing the pre-cleanse I have altered thought processes that are critical to my success. I’ve started being much more discerning about what I eat FOR MY BODY, not my emotions. When I’m wanting to grab something fast and easy like a cheese stick, I automatically stop, and I start thinking “hmm, if I eat this, I’ll then have to spend time and energy making sure it gets released completely from my body system. (The colonic helped with this too. More on that later.) Do I want this badly enough to do that extra work and to make my body work that hard.” WOW, this is a huge difference from “I’m hungry, I need to eat something quick and easy now.” Or from my typical emotional response, “I need some cheese, or I need some chips and salsa. Nothing else will satisfy me.” Just by doing the pre-cleanse WITH INTENTIONS and GOALS I have started shifting my energy system enough to create major change in my mental thought processes and belief systems. This is huge for me. I’m more concerned about the health of my body than I am making my inner child happy with food.
Energy to Do What I Need to Do
I also noticed yesterday, for the first time in years, I had a full and busy day with a lot of driving to get to my doctor for my colonic and then the kids to their doctors in a whole other city, literally 3 to 4 hours of driving. Usually driving wears me out for the whole day and I’m resting up from it rather than being productive. Yesterday I did all the driving, a colonic for the first time, doctors appointments for my kids, shopping for my cleanse and dinner for my family and I still was going at the end of the day. WOW, for me, chronic fatigue for seventeen years, this was a massive change. THIS gave me a great deal of hope and confidence that this cleanse is truly going to change my life.
The Pre-Work
Meditation, I have found, is THE best way to raise your vibration, work on your emotional patterns, change your subconscious belief systems and connect with your higher self. Plus it’s relative easy to learn, the trick is to DO IT! As with anything, practice makes better!
The pre-work is different from the pre-cleanse. I’ve been doing the pre-work for months now, probably years. I’ve been meditating, doing Reiki, working with Naturopaths and healers to help me get to this point. I’ve worked with hypnotherapists and most recently an MFCC who does Energy Psychology (a mix of Donna Eden’s energy work and Emotional Freedom Technique) to rewrite the beliefs in my subconscious mind. ALL of this has helped me to get ready for TODAY. All of this has helped me to be ready, really ready to give up the belief systems, the dairy and the old eating patterns to the point where I KNOW deep down that I will be successful, for a lifetime.
Real Life Example
For example. With the energy psychology this week we worked on belief patterns that I didn’t believe I could be successful with the cleanse AND be healthy too. This went along with another belief that I had, I believed I needed lots of food and lots of dairy or animal protein in particular in order to stay alive. These were not rational thoughts because my rational mind (10%) does not agree with these thoughts. However, my subconscious mind (90%) does believe them and therefore that is what I follow, knowing it or not. Now I know it, and have worked on it and released it. I did this by tapping on my meridian systems with the EFT process.
I was ill from malnourishment in many lives.
It turns out as I was tapping on these beliefs I was able to watch and see the past lives that these beliefs came from. I had five past lives where I was starving to death but only actually died in one of them. The other lives I just got very ill and was not able to care for my family. My soul held on to the belief that I got sick from not having enough to eat, enough protein. That is how our minds work sometimes. I had to hold on to those beliefs until I could understand them, learn from them and then release them. Now that I have done that, I can truly change. I am changing my eating habits permanently. And that is what it takes to truly reboot your life. It feels good and it feels good to share this with my friends, clients, students and internet readers. I pray this helps to motivate some of you to reboot your life too.
Working on your mind, your subconscious belief pattern are in my opinion, one of the first places to start before you start any diet or healthy new way of eating. Work on those first and the rest will stick.
Got to Be Ready
Don’t rush into it, however. Do the pre-work. Do the research. Do the mind work. DO until you are truly ready to do this for life. These are big changes and I believe people need to be truly ready. I also believe in order to be successful you need to do one major dietary change at a time. If you do more you’ll most likely get overwhelmed and not stick with it for the long haul. These are lifelong changes in eating, not temporary. You have to be ready. But, have no fear. The energy is so strong for change this year that for those waking up, change is happening automatically and faster than usual. THIS is a great time to make major changes like this with Divine Source along with you to help and guide.
I also recommend working with someone like me, or another spiritual support person to guide you and help you along the way with mental thought patterns, emotional addictions, issues of letting go, energy work, etc. I’m not doing this alone, I don’t expect anyone to do it alone. Gather your support team and do the FIRST dietary change YOU feel is more important for you. That is how I have done it and that is how I’ve been able to be successful with each step, including this one. I’m thinking ahead on that one.
Love and Light to you all,
Good Luck on YOUR personal challenges this month. I’m here with you.
When you lose something you love it’s frustrating and can often be quite expensive if you feel you need to replace it. It can also be frustrating and time-consuming if it’s something like your car keys and you are late for an appointment. Sometimes we no longer needed the item and it was time to say goodbye anyway. However, that can be a challenge of its own, letting go. Maybe WE don’t feel it was time to say goodbye to that item. Maybe WE still wanted that item.
“No, I Wanted That!”
I had this happen years ago with a ring that my husband had given to me BEFORE I had Reiki in my life. Luckily it was not an expensive ring but it was dear to me and I wanted to keep it. For about a year I’d been having difficulty wearing it. My skin had suddenly started peeling and flaking under the gold band. I would take it off at night and do all sorts of lotions and oils to help but it just continued. My body had created an allergy to the fillers in the gold is what I was told. But I didn’t want to stop wearing the ring my husband had given me. So I kept wearing it. One day, I took the ring off to put lotion on. When I came back to the room, it was gone and has been gone ever since. I searched and searched and searched. I never found the ring. We checked the plumbing, no where. Now, looking back, I see the signs. The ring was no longer vibrating with who I was but I didn’t listen.
“Really, Another Life Lesson? When Will They STOP!?”
In most situations in life, even losing our keys, there is a lesson we need to learn. Maybe we need to learn to detach from material things. Maybe we need to learn to listen to our bodies as to what is no longer good for us. Maybe we need to allow ourselves to let go of a person, relationship or situation!? Maybe we need to slow down, take more care in our daily activities and not try to do too much at once (Uh huh, lost your keys lately? LOL) . Maybe we are out of balance with our environment and we need to listen to it. Listening is the first step to finding a lost item that has importance to you.
Steps to Finding a Lost Item
Quite often, if we calm down, listen and learn from a lost item, it is our best chance to be brought back to it. Here are the steps I take with Reiki help, if I want to find a lost item that has meaning to me.
Sometimes this is a quick process and other times it will take more effort. It’s up to you to decide which is needed depending upon what you are trying to find.
First, calm down. Do some deep breathing if need be. Your mind must be calm in order to receive Highest Guidance.
Listen to the situation. Any Reiki level can do this. Do your gassho, sit in meditation or for a quickie, hold intention while you are showering that you will receive information about the situation with your lost item to help you understand what is going on. I do some of my best intuitive work in the shower with the water flowing over my crown chakra. (Always ask Divine Source to be with you when you do any spiritual work.)
Don’t be afraid to look in the mirror, so to speak, and face the issue you are dealing with. (For instance, for me and my ring, I was not listening to what was best for my body AND I was not willing to detach from a material object emotionally or physically.)
Take action. When you get an insight as to what the issue is with the lost item, take action to change the situation before the universe does it for you. The universe will always find a way to balance itself, even if you won’t.
Then you can start looking for the item you have lost.
Sit in Gassho, prayer position, to connect to the Reiki and set intentions. Bring in your Reiki guides of the Highest Order.
Use the long distance Reiki II symbol (HSZSN) OR if you are Reiki I, the intention of finding the lost object. If you feel there is an emotional component to the item add the Mental/Emotional Symbol (SHK) as well. Hold the intention that the Reiki is finding the lost object AND healing your issue at the same time.
Trust in Divine Source to find it for you when you least expect it or to give you a mental message or image as to where to look for it.
Give it time to be found or for you to get a message. Repeat in a few days to repeat your intention to Divine if you do not find it when you want to.
If you do not find it, it was no longer yours. Harsh, but true.
In Love and Light of the Divine, welcome. Here, 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 so you can freely move forward on your spiritual path. –Josslyn Streett
