Reiki for Resilience & Resistance: Self-care, Support & Strategy

How could I have such a beautiful day, when it’s likely to go down in history as one of the most devastating for our country and our world?

I credit Reiki and my Priestess Path for the strength to be okay, and to be there for others yesterday, today and beyond.  Sure I’m upset, but also deeply grateful for my daily anchoring practices and communities.

I didn’t have to wonder what I would do when I heard the election results or how I would cope.  I did exactly what I had planned to start my day:  I put my hands on my body and focused on breathing, grounding, centering, and opening to the Divine.

Then I got up, stretched, and continued working with the Holy Woman ceremony for this current Moon cycle.  That’s when I got a download about Reiki-infused sacred feminine leadership and was inspired to offer half-price/pay what you can on all Reiki sessions and packages.  Reiki awakens our natural superpowers like healing, intuition and creativity, and we’re gonna need those more than ever!

After breakfast, Phil and I said our protection prayer as we pulled out of the driveway and headed for The Space on Main in Bradford.  We rolled down the windows and sang along with “She’s Calling Us Back” and “O Fortuna.” We chanted the Reiki Precepts for comfort and guidance, and shed a few defiant tears for Kamala Harris, who we had hoped we'd celebrate as our first woman president today, and for all who are now grieving instead.

We were on our way to a Reiki session with my student, Lindsey Warren, also a death doula, and shamanic and sound healing practitioner.  While Lindsey worked with Phil, I observed the session and sent virtual Reiki to friends in various states from numb to suicidal over Donald Trump's re-election.  The room was humming and our hands were hot!  Great need brings forth great blessings and healing power.

When we got home, I went for a walk as the Sun was setting under heavy clouds.  In LWS Writers’ Hour, I continued responding to people reaching out in distress and working on ways to help more people with writing and Reiki.

After dinner, I sent a newsletter offering support to my Essential Arts community, then settled in for my evening half-hour of self-Reiki. Checking social media one more time, I met a worried trans man in a very red state and we had fun sharing horse stories, then I connected with a friend whose beautiful rainbow family is already being threatened by white supremacists.  I put my phone on airplane mode at 9:45 and fell asleep to Sleep, Goddess, Sleep. 

I slept well and I’m ready for a new day of self-care, support and strategy!  Here’s how you can join me, whether you’re grieving, fired up or bewildered - we’re all in this together. And we can still have good days, even in hard times.

Self-Care

We can all benefit from practicing the basic principles of Reiki healing and self-care, even if all we have is a few minutes, or a few breaths.

• Gently place your hands on yourself anywhere you feel tension

  • If you’re not sure where to start, try your heart, belly or ears

  • Any loving touch relaxes the nervous system and stimulates healing responses

  • Hold for 1-5 minutes, and if you are Reiki attuned, you will likely feel intense warmth, tingling, flowing or other sensations

• Contemplate the Reiki Precepts in this moment:

  • Just for today (or this moment)

  • May my anger be healthy and healing, not harmful to myself or others

  • May I remember that anxiety or fear comes from caring about myself and others, and that’s beautiful and powerful, not a sign of weakness.

  • May I cultivate gratitude and give myself a break from worrying 

  • May I make the most of the resources, power and opportunities I have, for my own optimal wellness and for the greatest wellbeing of all

  • May I use my superpower of compassion, first for myself, then radiating to those around me, those in need and ideally to all beings

• Open your mind

  • Meditate by focusing on your breathing, a mantra or calming image

  • Pray, either an improvised, written or remembered prayer

  • Listen for guidance from Spirit, intuition

  • Visualize what you want without needing to know how it can happen

Support

Receiving and giving are both important to our wellbeing.  Even with Reiki or other self-care practices, we’re meant to need each other.  It doesn’t mean we’re weak, but that we’re stronger together.

• Sign up for virtual Reiki at www.essentialarts.net and save 50% through Sunday, or email me at connect@essentialarts.net and pay what you can. 

• If you’ve had a Reiki attunement, join the Reiki Practice Circle for twice monthly virtual gatherings along with a 24/7 Portal and Reiki Resource Library

• Sign up for Reiki Path & Practice Coaching, also 50% off now, for help creating your best personal Reiki Practice and finding the Reiki Path that best allows you to use your skills and passion to help others

Strategy

Health is a long-term goal with short-term objectives, and so is the social/political situation in our country and our world.

• Notice what is helpful to you right now, which may be your usual practice, or something different - disruption offers an opportunity to reevaluate and make changes for the better, or re-commit to practices that work

• Move in cycles to expand your practice when you can, condense it when you need to, and be okay with the ebb and flow, not striving for 100% all the time

• Infuse Reiki into more aspects of your life, like posting the Precepts where you’ll see them often, pursuing Reiki training, taking Reiki breaks, and sending Reiki to the past and future and to those in need

• Learn from Reiki history how we have survived repression in the past and come out stronger as a global community, and learn from other individuals and groups who have survived and thrived through daunting challenges

• Bring your healing energy into your community, whether you talk about and practice it openly or not, because people will sense your strength and calm, and some will even ask you about it.

We’re doing it!  If you’re reading this, then you know you’re not alone, and I’m not alone.  Together we can mourn our losses, lift each other up and move forward with more strength and wisdom than ever before.

Now it’s your turn!  I’d love to hear what you’re finding helpful, what would help support you, and what beautiful vision you hold for our world.