My Reiki journey
I had known about Reiki and had studied meditation and various energy and hands on healing techniques but had never actually had a Reiki treatment. I knew the moment I met Alanna Prather that she was the perfect teacher for me. The saying goes “when the student is ready, the teacher appears” and Alanna appeared to me as my next step in learning and expansion. I asked her if she would be my teacher and she agreed. We started that year and on my birthday I completed my Usui Level I and II.
At this time I had in my mind that I would only be treating my family and friends. I was blown away by the intensity of the treatments. The connection and energy brought out my intuition and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. It was strong and I often wasn’t sure how to handle this. I stopped doing Reiki treatments because I felt that perhaps I was doing something wrong and not representing Reiki properly. Because I enjoyed the connection and healing experience with each person I sought out other techniques I could possibly use to offer healing and comfort for people.
I had taken Champissage (Indian head massage) several years earlier so I re-certified and also completed an Ayurvedic face and foot massage certification. Luck would have it that Debbie Boehlen my teacher in these techniques was also a Master Reiki teacher. I explained to her what was happening to me when I treated people with Reiki and she explained that my experience was very common for Reiki Practitioners and that what was happening to me was actually a strength. She said that the Reiki energy would often heighten people’s “clair” senses, be it clairvoyance, clairaudience, claircognizance etc. She said I wasn’t doing anything wrong or misrepresenting Reiki. This gave me confidence to continue with my Reiki treatments on friends and family and to work with my daughter Kaelyn in her spa studio to work on the public.
Doing this work gave me even more confidence in the power of Reiki. I was seeing and feeling the energy not just on people I knew and loved but also on people I was just meeting for the first time. I was so enjoying giving treatments and I was excited about taking further learning.
I was reading and studying Reiki and came across an article by a women named Pam Allen LeBlanc in and article in the Fall 2020 issue of the quarterly magazine published by the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT). The article was called “Allowing Reiki to Guide Your Life”. This article really spoke to me. I decided I would look for a course I could take through the ICRT. Turns out the only person in Canada certified by the ICRT was the same women that wrote the article, Pam Allen-LeBlanc. I knew there was a reason that article felt so right. Because of Covid-19, Pam was doing all of her classes online. This worked out great because I live in Alberta and she is in New Brunswick.
In October of 2020 I completed my certification in Usui Holy Fire® III Reiki Level I and II with Pam Allen LeBlanc. Repeating level I and II has given me a good strong base in the fundamentals of Reiki. Usually you wait at least 6 months before taking your Master training but because I had taken my first level I and II Reiki back in 2017 and had been working on the public Pam invited me to join her Master/Teacher class in February 2021. I went on to complete my Usui Holy Fire® III Master/Teacher certification and was able to become a Professional member of the ICRT because I had completed all of my Reiki levels from a teacher that was certified by the ICRT. ICRT teachers take an additional 1000 hours of teacher training. Through Pam and her students I have met a community of people that practice and teach Reiki.
One of Pam’s students I met was Stuart Card. Stuart was also retaking his Reiki Level I and II with Pam. At the end of the class we were in break out rooms and had run short of time to share a practice we had done on each other. Pam asked that we stay in contact with the person we were working with for one more practice session in about a weeks time. Stuart and I met up on-line a week later. This session went very well and we both could see there would be a benefit to stay in touch to help each other expand on our Reiki journeys. We have been working together studying and practicing Reiki now for over 3 years. This fall, 2024, Stuart will be coming to Alberta to teach an Animal Reiki Level I and II class.
I am so very grateful to have Reiki in my life. I am grateful to all my teachers, my students and to the people that allow me to share Reiki with them through sessions, chats and gatherings. As a Reiki Practitioner my focus to continually expand in my ability to connect to Reiki in a strong and clear way so that I may be of better service to myself and others.