Rosilita

It is snowing lightly, and my heart and soul turn inward for the final winter preparations.  I seek quiet time, healthy foods, sitting by the fire with my beloveds.  Many of those dear ones have been with me for a long time- I have shared a home for 38 years with my partner and best friend Mark.  Mesa, my ultra soft and sweet hound dog, has been with me for 11 years.  Tucker, the exuberant and kind Red Healer (spelling intentional), has been my velcro for 8.  My newest love is a green eyed gray beauty of a kitty- Rosie.  As winter descends she is discovering the joys of watching birds at the window, sitting near the stove to absorb the extra heat, sleeping next to me with motor on full throttle.  To have cat energy in my life again was something else I had been seeking, and I couldn't have found a more perfect teacher than miss Rosie.  She loves the simple life.  She does not ask for more than her share.   Observing while sitting quietly is a goal unto itself.  Her needs and mine are the same, really: quiet time, healthy foods, sitting by the fire with beloveds.  Oh, and for me, a glass of wine at the end of the day.

Being Reiki on Horseback

I am gearing up for a trip to Iceland this summer, where I will spend 5 days riding Icelandic horses through the country side and staying in huts and farmhouses along the way.  To say this is the trip of a lifetime is an understatement.  As a child that grew up bombing around on horses throughout the mountains of southern Vermont, working ranches and stables throughout my teens and 20s, and then taking a hiatus from riding in my middle years, it is a dream come true to be spending time in the saddle again as I prep for this adventure.

But how do you prepare for this kind of a thing?  I can work on core strength, I can re-up my riding skills, I can read and learn about the culture and landscape, and none of that will actually prepare me for whatever comes.  It will help, but it won't be enough.

And so I get to go to this enchanted island and simply be.  I get to live each moment.  I will breath into my belly and find my grounded nature.  Open my heart and experience love for those around me.  Clear my mind and welcome in all that I witness.  Expand my field to incorporate the amazing animal that will carry me along with such grace.  Ah- there may be pain with the joy, there may be loss with the gifts.  But this is being.  This is being whole and full.  This is being Reiki!  Being Reiki on horseback.  Yes!

Now IS the Time!

I don't have time!  I am too stressed!  I don't feel well enough!  I'm too vulnerable! Too busy!  Too tense!  These are just a few of the excuses I hear as to why someone can't come for Reiki.

It is so easy to think that Reiki is a feel good experience that should be added to other feel good times, such as vacations, spa days, days off, etc, but really when we are stressed, sick, sore, worried, upset, sad- these are precisely the times that we need Reiki the most.  We carve time our of our crazy schedules to go for a walk, to sit and have a cup of tea,  to talk to a friend (and if we don't do these things, we should!) and I suggest we do the same for Reiki.  Commit to the 1- 1.5 hours that you would spend with me to calm your spirit, ease your heart, center your mind, balance your body.  You will then be able to go off and address the potentially overwhelming aspects of reality with a more grounded, peaceful approach.  You will be healthier on all levels, and thus able to function clearly and calmly, move with ease and purpose, and breath deeply throughout your day.

These times on our earth call for actions of all kinds, and I honor you for acting to support your own sanity, growth, and healing.

Photo by Diane Heileman.

    

       

Transition

Life has thrown a lot of challenges at me in recent months, not the least of which is the loss of my father.  He was a brilliant, kind, quiet, gentle, man, who lived a long and productive life doing exactly what he loved. Dreaming. Teaching. Solving. Building. Tinkering. Fixing.
I never seemed to get what I wanted from him as a girl, or as a young woman, or even as a middle aged woman.  But as his transition time came near all of the perceived faults came to matter not a whit, and the love that we shared rose to the surface.  We talked about memories and the hard things, we trusted each other completely, we laughed and cried, and I helped to ease him from this life in as gentle a way as possible. He came to visit me in owl form for several days after his passing and I was moved to see how he watched me with kindness and wisdom,  to witness his effortless, silent, flight.  So observant!  So quiet!  So incredibly calm and patient!
The grief in my heart is permeated with the gifts that come from these experiences with him: the love, the sweetness, the magic, the bonding, the realization that he is with me always.  He lived his life just as he wanted it to be- he never stopped learning, he shared his many gifts, and held close to his heart those he loved.  May we all be so blessed.