Whereas this is not an article on menopause, I am a 54 year old baby crone and I am embracing the “change.” I heard all the stories of the over-the-hill old hag, and like most other girls of my day, I did not look forward to getting old. The first year of my change was a breeze. This menopause stuff was not nearly as disruptive as they said it was. This is my second year and whew! The hot flashes and night sweats really do happen with a vengeance. Thankfully I am a Reiki practitioner and there is nothing that I love more than Reiki. It represents Mother, Father, and All That Is for me. By that I mean, that where I once used to pray whenever I was in the midst of “growth,” I now treat myself to a self-healing with Reiki. Now ladies, when those hot flashes come and the night sweats pour, and the energy is indeed going through a change, Reiki balances it all out. And that’s a fact! Now I am going to try to explain Reiki as I experience it. First imagine the Universal God Consciousness in and around everything as cosmic energy. This is how I experience the Rei. Now imagine the life force (the Ki) flowing throughout all creation and specifically throughout the physical dimension as a living expression of consciousness. Imagine this life force, the Ki, within your own be-ing. Experience it in your breath, breathing in and breathing out. When the flow of life force is free within the body, we experience full health, comfort and well-being, ease. When the flow of Ki throughout the body is blocked or hindered in any way, we experience the block as emotional, mental, spiritual or physical ill-health. If the blockage is never released the buildup of stagnant energy results in dis-ease and ultimately death. During menopause the life force is flowing fast and furiously as we are transformed into our elder wisdom bodies and it can feel uncomfortable. Reiki harmonizes and balances the forces and comfort returns.

When treating another in a Reiki session, menopausal or not, the client reclines fully clothed on the Reiki table. The Reiki practitioner calls forth the Reiki, channeling it into the client's body, using a hands-on technique that begins at the client’s head and proceeds through a series of 15 or so hand positions covering all of the body systems. A theta or trance state is induced. The deep trance-like relaxation that the Reiki produces enables the client to release habitual holding patterns, thereby allowing the Ki, the life force, to move through the blocks. The newly freed energy allows for the integration of emotional, mental, spiritual & physical levels of being. Reiki is a powerful, yet mystical, healing gift giving every cell the opportunity to heal, harmonize and balance right down to its DNA level, promoting a return to wholeness.

Not at all only for menopause, the uses for Reiki are unlimited—prenatal, postnatal, preoperative, postoperative, headaches, bellyaches, emotional upsets, hospice care, you name it. Life force is after all the expression of the Universal Source and is known and felt in its myriad of names: God, Creation, Mother, Nature, Father, Jesus, Buddha. It is through connection to this Source that Reiki is activated. Reiki is hands on spiritual healing. Reiki is now my spiritual path. There are other spiritual healing modalities; those that I am aware of are Johrei, Mari-El, Rohan and Body Harmony. Each appears to have its own specific ray. I had been initiated into the healing modal called Body Harmony, a hands on healing technique providing safety for the body to release its held secrets. My Body Harmony clients were asking me, "Is this Reiki?" I had no idea. I had only heard of Reiki. "What is Reiki?," I’d answer. Well no one knew, but everyone was interested. Especially me. I embraced the call to Reiki, and took initiation into both a non-traditional Reiki School Transformational Unlimited Reiki and The Usui Shiki Ryoho. The Transformational Unlimited system of Reiki was and is an awesome Reiki intensive incorporating all three levels I, II & Master level in a three day weekend. If you wish to teach in this system the initiate must take the intensive three different times in order to receive the teaching certificate. Although I don’t teach the TU system, I did receive the teaching certificate.  

The Usui Shiki Ryoho initiation resonated with me in a comfortable, familiar, ancient and mystical way. As I was attuned into Usui Reiki Mastery I experienced a deep grounding. I had always felt a natural ease when connecting with the heavenly realms, now I was uncharacteristically rooted with and connected to the earth as well. This anchoring appeared to support me (the personality) in getting out of the way, enabling me to be an empty channel for Reiki. My self-healings deepened and my facilitations deepened. This is the system that I teach and that I rejoice in.

In Usui Shiki Ryoho the initiation into the three levels of Reiki is spread out over a period of time.  Although I do believe it possible, I think it is a more rare person who can assimilate all three levels of Reiki in one intensive. Attunement to Usui Reiki l begins the path as Reiki practitioner. Here the initiate receives Reiki with the emphasis on self-healing. S/He learns the history of Reiki, (I teach the updated history as revealed through William Rand's recent trip to the Usui Shiki Ryoho Center in Japan), and is taught the hand placements for healing self and others. An appropriate amount of weeks or months later, depending on the individual, s/he is attuned to level ll, receiving the first set of Sacred Symbols. Here the initiate learns how to send healing over time, space and distance. In level l & ll trainings the initiates are guided through an inner journey and can meet their Reiki guides. An appropriate number of months or years later, depending again on the individual, the Reiki ll initiate can deepen their connection to Reiki and receive attunement to the Sacred Usui Master symbol. Now the student becomes the Master, and learns the curriculum to teach Reiki to other healers.

Other uses for Reiki:

As well as using Reiki to soothe the stresses of the daily life and evolution of the human being, Reiki can be used to heal our animal friends, plant friends and the entire planet.  Reiki is also extremely valuable when used in conjunction with psycho/spiritual, for want of a better word, therapy. There has been great success utilizing Reiki in the therapeutic work of recovering the missing, hidden, lost and denied parts of self. Just as the Shaman journeys to retrieve the fragmented soul, in psychospiritual sessions clients are guided on a Reiki journey within to retrieve the fragmented parts of self, also known as the Shadow Self. Since many of us in the Western world live in fear-based levels of consciousness as a result of earlier wounding, we experience parts of life as difficult, challenging, and impossible. Growing up we heard messages like, "Don’t act like that;" "Don’t think like that;" "Don’t speak like that;" "Don’t move like that;" "Don’t be like that;" and "Don’t touch like that." These and other inappropriate social messages shaped our social self. In order to survive, and therefore protect ourselves, we decided to hide those rejected parts of ourselves deep down inside our being, deeply hidden even from ourselves. These unaccepted emotionally suppressed parts of us live on as the Shadow Self, banished to the dark corners, out of sight, out of trouble. So we think. Actually, suppressed emotion lives on as disturbing habitual behavior, unconsciously leaking out into our social interactions, creating havoc with our relationships. This disturbing behavior always brings unhappiness. Adding Reiki to the therapy provides the client the opportunity to sink safely and deeply into their inner-worlds.

A psychospiritual Reiki session begins with identifying the shadow. A way to do this is to look honestly at our lives.  What parts of our life cause us stress, anxiety? That which appears ugly or negative or a struggle in our outer-manifestation is actually reflecting an unhealed part of ourselves—the part of ourselves that is directly responsible for the anxiety or disturbance in our life. It helps to consider that when we are born we all have within us two inner-children. One, the soul-child who can never be compromised or wounded in any way, and the other is the personality/ego-child. At the time of birth both are perfectly aligned. As soon as the personality/ego becomes wounded, an unavoidable dilemma, it splits off from the soul-child. It decides to protect itself from further pain by either hiding, denying itself or loosing itself. Therapeutic Reiki supports the journey back to the original alignment and wholeness.

Everyone can channel Reiki. It is, after all, Universal God Consciousness moving life force energy.  When Dr. Usui, a Japanese monk, asked for insight into the healing mysteries of Jesus and Buddha, he received the guidance in the form of sacred symbols. He traveled to the holy mountain of Koriyama to contemplate his gift and to ask for information on how to use it. There are varying accounts of Dr. Usui’s journey, which is said to have taken 21 days. He kept count of the 21 days by tossing off one stone a day. Tossing off the last stone he was struck by a blinding vision and he received Reiki. This was Dr. Usui’s attunement and the rediscovery of Reiki. Dr. Usui began to initiate others into the mysteries of Reiki by passing on these sacred symbols through an attunement process. While Dr. Usui attuned his students to Reiki all at once, one of his students Mr. Hayashi created the three levels: first degree, second degree and Master degree. Mr. Hayashi trained a Japanese-American woman living in Hawaii, Mrs. Hawayo Takata.  Mrs. Takata brought Reiki to the West, initiating her granddaughter, Phyllis Furumoto.  It was Phyllis Furumoto who founded the Reiki Alliance in 1981.   Over the years Reiki has branched out in many directions, unfortunately creating some disconnection in the Reiki community. Naturally the mystical healing power of Reiki is unhindered by this and I am certain that Reiki will heal these splits as we heal ourselves. Reiki is unlimited. Use it to heal yourself and it will use you.

I guess that is the bottom line here. We must first heal ourselves. We have been given a truly magical, mystical gift in Reiki. My experience is that the more I use Reiki to heal myself, the more Reiki uses me to facilitate others in healing themselves. So menopausal blessings, Reiki blessings to one and all.

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Audrey Pearson D.Div. member of the American Counseling Association and the International Partnership Network. She practices at "Serenity Center for Reiki, Yoga & Spiritual Partnership"
9 Clamshell Road, Clinton MA 01510.  She holds Usui Reiki Certification Classes for Reiki Levels l & ll, Kripalu Yoga Classes, emphasizing a Devotional/Spiritually focused Class that includes, Chanting, Asanas & Pranayam. She also facilitate Relationship Healing for committed couples of all sexual orientations. She can be reached at (508)786YOGA or email to ReikiMaster@yoga-reiki.com. Visit her website at: