My Reiki Story

January 2022 

Where do I begin? So, sometimes the universe has a way of playing a cosmic joke on us in a way. I am a registered nurse and I work in the recovery room in a hospital. This is the place where patients go immediately after surgery. It's the PACU - the recovery room, the wake-up room, the post anesthetic care unit. Funny thing is that I had never had surgery, and not only had I not had surgery, I was terrified of it. I know I had an irrational fear of surgery. My mother had schizophrenia and it was believed in part to be triggered and worsened by surgeries that she needed. Whether I logically believed this to be possible or not was really no competition for the deeply-rooted fear that the same thing could happen to me.

And as life would have it, I kept injuring my left knee. Toboganning in my early teens, taekwondo in my 20's, running marathons in my 30's. One day, in my 40's, walking out of the PACU, my knee said no more. Right before I got to the locker room, I completely tore my tired, frayed meniscus. A fragment got lodged within the knee joint and I no longer had full range of motion. I couldn't weight-bear. A colleague helped me out to my car. I was sure some ice and rest at home would do the trick. I was wrong. On crutches and off work, an MRI showed that I had previously ruptured my ACL. I needed not only one surgery to fix the meniscus, but a second to reconstruct the long-missing ligament if I didn't want the same thing to continue to happen. 

That deeply-rooted fear was quickly replaced with such a desire to walk without crutches, that I would have run into the OR for my first surgery if I could have. It's funny how life can flip everything on its head. That was just a knee scope. No fear and full of gratitude. I will never forget that sense of freedom of not having that fear. The ACL surgery was a different beast. I had time after the first surgery to recover, so I was walking, working, and regaining strength. It wasn't the dire situation as before. And the ACL surgery is a different beast too. The pain is bad, and the recovery is long. And there are conflicting opinions on whether to do the surgery or not. I decided to go the whole way.

You may be wondering where Reiki comes in. As the universe would have it, a friend of a friend had mentioned Reiki in the past, and within the week before my surgery, I reached out to see if this might be an option on such short notice. The stars aligned, and I had my first Reiki treatment the day before my surgery. It was life-changing for me. I can't say that the heavens opened up and everything in life became suddenly clear, but I can say that something shifted and woke up deep within my soul. It was such a beautiful and unconditionally freeing feeling. And wow, it was amazing how my knee was feeling during that session. That was in April 2019.

Within the following two and a half years, I went back for several more personal sessions. My meditation grew into a consistent practice. I read more about Reiki and energy work, and realized I'd like more of this. Again, funny how the universe works, I was able to get my Reiki I, II, Master and Teacher Levels in 2020 and 2021 during the time of COVID. It just so happened that the courses were offered at times when I was available during brief open periods during the pandemic. I began volunteering at a local hospice during this time as well, providing guided meditation and distant reiki to caregivers, bereaved, and people with life-limiting illnesses. I wanted to continue my reiki practice and give back to the community, but in reality, this has been and continues to be such a beautiful gift, and adds beyond what words can describe to my journey.

What keeps me coming back for more is the centeredness, peace and healing (mentally, physically, and spiritually) I continue to receive. I want to live life to the fullest and to my highest and greatest potential. I choose not to live in fear. My knee was just the tip of the iceburg. I continually work to loosen the grip on the rope. I will not fall. And if I fall, I will get back up. And if I don't get back up, I will have lived a life with joy in my heart and without fear. With this, more mindfullness, gratitude and space occurs, and I am able to be of greater service to those around me. What goes around, comes around. 

Let your soul grow. Susan

 

 

Go back to distant reiki page.