Reiki – Is it in your toolbox? – Part 1
In these stressful times, we all need a toolbox because we’re all healers. And, we never know when we might need to use our healing tools.
Reiki is a basic healing tool that works almost anywhere, anytime.
Many of you reading this blog use Reiki. But, many don’t. Reiki was the basic skill which put me on my healing path. That’s not to say that I wasn’t healing. I’d been a massage therapist since the 1980’s. But, there’s a difference.
Before Reiki and after Reiki.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard the word: Reiki.
I was at a weekend continuing education class in Clinton, New York, at a place called Spring Farm CARES. There were about two dozen students in the class. As we each introduced ourselves to the group, every student, except me, mentioned Reiki. They were all either Reiki practitioners, Reiki Masters, or Reiki Master Teachers.
I had no idea what that was. But, as I returned to my home in the Washington, D.C. metro area on Sunday, I decided to learn about Reiki. Reiki, at that time, was not mentioned much in my area. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t mentioned at all. I called around.
I eventually found two friends who practiced Reiki. One of them, a massage therapist, was a Reiki Master Teacher for years and never shared her secret. The other friend studied Reiki but wasn’t using it because she believed that it healed people whether or not they wanted to be healed.
I found Mary Ruth Van Landingham in Vienna, Va. She had a shop, Terra Christa, with a classroom in a building behind the store. I learned nine different kinds of Reiki in that little building behind Terra Christa. She taught most of them.
At that time, there were few to no books about Reiki. Mary Ruth’s classes were filled with handouts. Now, when I teach Reiki, I offer handouts and encourage students to read any Reiki book that attracts them. Book stores everywhere carry several titles. Overall, there are hundreds to choose from.
I spent a good bit of the next two years studying in the little classroom nestled behind the store. Mary Ruth invited other trainers to give classes. I studied under Tom Rigler, Rev. Dan Chesbro, and many others before I finally moved to New York State.
“Reiki is a light touch offered to a clothed body.” is the definition Pamela Miles offered at a class at the New York Open Center.
Over the years, I learned that everyone who practices Reiki describes it differently. I invite my students to define the Reiki experience. Everyone has a different description and definition.
The word Reiki means Universal Life Force Energy. Practitioners refer to Dr. Mikao Usui, the man who brought Reiki into the 20th century. He practiced in Japan prior to World War II.
Other prominent Reiki teachers during this time include Mrs. Hawaya Takata, and Dr. Hayashi.
I like to include Frank Arjava Petter who, at the end of the 20th century, wrote a Reiki handbook “The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui.”
Reiki works on the physical level when the practitioner uses her warm hands.
The Reiki symbols work on the mental level.
Emotionally, Reiki sessions bring peace and calm.
The Reiki practitioner as well as the session itself, offer healing which impacts the energetic body.
But, beyond working on the different levels of a person, Reiki heals without judging. The healing energy of Reiki doesn’t care whether a person is religious or spiritual or not. The healing path of a person receiving or giving Reiki is nondenominational, positive, accepting.
Reiki heals.
Reiki never makes exceptions because of one’s beliefs, health condition, situation in time, lifestyle.
Reiki doesn’t ask about one’s religious or spiritual beliefs. Reiki never cares whether a person is Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu…or anything else.
I have an invocation which I use often when offering Reiki to someone. It’s not original with me. And, I’ve used this prayer often for many years. I offer an apology here. I don’t know where it came from.
Whatever or wherever its origin, I send gratitude to the writer of this prayer. (Maybe, after reading this blog post, someone will know where it originated and share the information with me.):
I call upon the essence of the Healing Buddha and the Master Spirits of Reiki.
(At this point, I include any and all names that seem appropriate. I may include Jesus, St. Michael, St. Anthony).
I ask that my hands and heart be illuminated by the light of your unconditional love. I ask that this session proceed for ………………’s highest good. Amen
When I’m offering Lightarian Reiki, I go a step further. I include a request to seal the room in the prayer.
Reiki accepts.
Reiki does not ask that you give up anything in order to use its energy. Mary Ruth Van Landingham was a practicing Catholic. My friend Kathy is a devout Episcopalian. I teach Reiki to people of all faiths.
Reiki sets no one’s beliefs aside.
Thank you for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Please join me for part two of this series of posts about Reiki.
Thurman Greco
Guided Meditations get you to the next level in your sessions.
I learned about guided meditations in Mary Ruth Van Landingham’s classes at Terra Christa in Vienna, Virginia. She always included a guided meditation as part of each learning experience.
When Rev. Dan Chesbro taught a class at Terra Christa, he always included a guided meditation. Looking back on his sessions, I see now they were guided meditations in and of themselves.
I bought three books at Terra Christa: “Meditations for Awakening”, “Meditations for Transformation”, and “Meditations for Healing” by Larry Moen. These books became part of every work day, whether I was teaching or healing.
The influence of these books on my career was significant.
As a matter of fact, I wore out the Awakening book and had to buy another to replace it. The other two need to be replaced now.
I’ve bought other guided meditation how-to books over the years.
Two that stand out include “Guided Imagery for Groups” by Andrew E. Schwartz and “Himalayan Salt Crystal Lamps for Healing, Harmony, and Purification” by Clemence Lefevre. I’m including them in this list because they are interesting and helpful. Each book shows how different and honest guided meditations can be.
These 2 books each have a different approach to guided meditations. Through the years, even though I wore out the Larry Moen books, it was important to me to expand my boundaries and use different information. That’s how I learned.
Somehow, my learning path included one short class about writing my own guided meditations. I took an End-of-Life Class at the New York Open Center. Henry Fersco-Weiss taught this class over a weekend. He included a short instruction about creating a guided meditation. It was all I needed.
I knew after that short segment that I could do this on my own. Even though I’ve written many guided meditations, I always return to Larry Moen’s books. Specifically, I like to select “Lagoon” on page 20 of “Meditations for Awakening.” I always go to this meditation in my Reiki 1 classes.
But, when you get into guided meditations, the choices are many.
I hope you’ll be motivated to incorporate guided meditations at every opportunity.
Thanks for reading this article.
Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman
Your Own Guided Meditation: Relax and Enjoy the Journey
A guided meditation awakens, transforms, heals. It creates a journey so you can fulfill a purpose or reach a goal or answer a question of some kind. In short, a guided meditation helps you solve a problem you may be experiencing.
Many guided meditations use quiet, calming music to support your journey. I like music which doesn’t have abrupt changes. Whatever music you use, you need something which will not interfere with your visualization.
Guided meditations work well in groups with one person reading or speaking the meditation aloud. They also work well for a person alone who reads the meditation or who is listening to it on an audio device.
The best time for a guided meditation is whenever or wherever it works best for you.
Don’t worry if you feel you have fallen asleep during your meditation. Usually, you have not.
Pauses guide and pace the journey. They can occur throughout a meditation. How many, and how long each one is depends on the meditation and the group. I like to schedule the pauses in the meditation when I design it. .
Breathing tempo is established at the beginning of each meditation. Many people do not breathe deeply enough. Although shallow breathing is common, meditations call for deeper, slower breathing. Belly breathing is part of the event. I set the breathing tempo early in the meditation.
A first step in a guided meditation is to spend a few moments encouraging your recipients to get comfortable. Try not to rush this part. Many people are not comfortable in their bodies and may not recognize when they are comfortable – not for a few moments anyway.
Then, the scene emerges. This can be in a secret room, in a meadow, on the edge of a lake, an the foot of a mountain. The scene is described. Meditation recipients are often invited to add their own details mentally as they listen to the unfolding journey.
After the introduction which sets the scene, the meditation generally involves a journey…walking down a path, riding a canoe on a lake, taking a trip on a balloon. Again, a few moments are taken to include details. Descriptive paragraphs tell the story as it unfolds. And, again, your meditation recipients are often invited to add their own details through their thoughts.
Sometimes, a guided meditation may introduce a character – an angel, a wise elder, one’s inner child. This character’s job is to listen to any questions a person may have and offer an answer or response which may be received during the meditation or at some time later in the day or even the next day.
With a guided meditation, you and your recipient’s job is to relax and enjoy the journey. You reach your destination when you receive an answer or solution.
The final step allows a recipient to slowly return to the present moment knowing that she can return to the meditation at any time. There is no rush.
Assure your recipients that they can return to this meditation whenever they desire. It is time to stretch, yawn, open eyes, and return to the present moment.
Thank you for reading this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it.
Please forward this article to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
The Spirituality of Fear
Full-blown fear isn’t really in my personal vocabulary, so I don’t often feel it. But, when I do feel fear, I feel it 100%. I feel fear for us, and the earth. This is the spirituality of fear.
When I felt fear in my life, fear interfered with my grounding mechanism. And, that wasn’t all. It took control and moved and directed me throughout every single day.
That is not to say that I have not ever experienced fear. I have, definitely, lived with fear. But, this post is not about that fear. It is for us, our fear, and our Earth.
I feel in my spiritual core that fear is directing many of us nowadays. Through the guise of the Coronavirus, fear is totally in charge of many of us and our lives.
I am suggesting, no – pleading – that fear has no place in our lives at this moment. For one thing, when fear controls us, it wrecks our immune systems. Not one person on our planet today needs an immune system compromised in any way.
Instead of fear, focus on our planet. In my inner core, I feel that I need to focus on our precious planet earth because she’s the only planet we’ve got.
With all the cars, factories, ships, and planes grounded and parked, our Earth is getting a very much needed time-out.
During this time, our Earth’s streams, lakes, and oceans are cleaning themselves up.
The atmosphere surrounding our planet is cleaning itself out – finally! The humans on our planet are, for the moment, generating less smog.
We are using the dirt – fields, meadows, mountainsides – in different ways now.
So, while our medical, and governmental leaders are figuring out how to combat this pandemic, I can’t help but be grateful for this time out, this cleansing experience on and in our Earth.
In my spiritual center, I feel we are on the verge of a whole new world. I am not longingly looking back on the return of the old reality of the past. The past is gone – a memory which we can write, paint, and sing about in the future.
Instead, I look forward to our new world and its cleaner, healthier, reality.
Please join me.
Let us celebrate our future together.
Let us ponder things learned and create better ways to live our lives daily.
Let us rejoice in a cleaner, more beautiful tomorrow.
If you feel moments of fear, there are things you can do:
Meditate on a future you would like to see.
Seek grounding through bodywork.
Find gratitude in lessons learned and beauty to experience.
Thank you.
Thurman Greco
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your favorite social media network.
Let us all embrace the beauty we will experience.
Thurman Greco
Poor Sleep Can Wreck Your Quality of Life
If you let it, POOR SLEEP will leave you feeling tired, confused, and depressed.
Sleep can have many causes. And, that’s one of the reasons we struggle with it. In past blog posts, I’ve written many articles about sleep and here is yet another one. And, there will probably be many more.
However, this article is different from all the rest. In this article, you will learn POOR SLEEP HAS MANY CAUSES. Investigate every one that applies to your situation.
Poor sleep causes fall in several categories.
To begin with, COFFEE, CIGARETTES, AND DIET PILLS are in their own little but potent category.
Is caffeine part of your poor sleep problem? Remember, it is found in many things beyond just the cup of coffee you have in the morning. Try to find them all and banish them from your daily life.
Are your days spent in rooms with DIM LIGHTING? Poor sleep can be the result of this environment. What can you do to remedy this situation? Getting just twenty to thirty minutes of sunlight each day can make a difference.
Do you get enough exercise? MOVING YOUR MUSCLES IS ESSENTIAL to overcoming poor sleep. It comes down to this: You have to move enough to get to sleep at the end of your day. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.
Do you have one or more HEALTH ISSUES that promote poor sleep patterns? Some diseases make it hard to get to sleep. Others make consistent sleep throughout the night difficult. If sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and sinus problems interfere with a good night’s sleep, get treatment for them. The message here is this: Don’t let a medical condition cause your poor sleep.
Finally, we come to SLEEPING PILLS. For me, they are an absolute last resort. Sleeping pills come after you have done everything you possibly can to overcome poor sleep.
Why? Some of these pills create their own problems.
Several herbal remedies and supplements are on the market to combat your poor sleep. Two that come to mind are Melatonin and Valerian.
We don’t really know whether either one of them works because the studies have been sparse and contradictory. The preparations and dosages are varied so that it’s complicated to know how much and when to take either Melatonin or Valerian.
It’s best to take any sleeping preparations under the direction of a professional who knows about the products you are taking. That way, you won’t be wasting your money and you won’t be overdosing.
The BOTTOM LINE here is to encourage you to chase down each and every cause of poor sleep that you can. Deal with each and every cause in your search for blessed sleep.
Thanks for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
How Stressed Are You Anyway? 6 Common Responses to Stress and What You Can Do About Them.
How does your stress add up for you? Are you more stressed than usual? Are you more stressed than your friends and family?
Does everything seem to be an emergency? In other words, is your stress becoming out of control? Do you feel as if you need to see a professional for help controlling your stress response?
Is getting back and forth to work stressful for you? Is your work situation stressful? Many of our stress responses can be planned for and, hopefully, controlled.
If you develop the habit of staying tuned to your body, you can become aware of upcoming stress before things get out of control. Your physical body will send you signals. What are they?
DO YOU CLENCH YOUR MUSCLES? This is easy to check out. Begin by checking your body for clenched muscles. Begin at the top of your head and work your way down to your toes. Favorite stress spots for many people are jaws and teeth, neck and shoulders, fists, lower spine, and feet.
DO YOU GRIND YOUR TEETH? Many people do this when they are stressed. This habit carries over to your sleep for some.
DO YOUR HANDS GET COLD? Generally speaking, your cold hands indicate a stressed body. To test whether your hands are cold or not, hold one of your hands on your neck. If it is cooler than your body, you are probably stressed.
ARE YOU SWEATING? It can be that you are overheated. But, sweating can also be an indication that you are stressed. As humans, we sweat when we are in a protection mode. If you find yourself sweating, ask yourself what is causing this situation.
IS YOUR PULSE RACING? If you are not exerting yourself and your pulse is racing, you are most probably stressed. What is happening?
DO YOU REWIND THE SAME THOUGHT ENDLESSLY? This is a common human condition. When we are upset about something, we rewind the same concern for minutes, hours, days. Like a stuck record, we think about the same thing over and over and over.
A good thing to do is realize that you have a situation upsetting you. Once you realize what the cause may be, you can seek a solution.
Can you brainstorm with a friend or colleague to find a solution. For example, you may have a difficult commute to and from work. Can you take a bus or train instead of driving?
It may be that your situation is too much for you to handle alone and you need to seek professional help to identify your stressor and then deal with it. If that is the case, go for it! You will be much better off when you find a solution to your problem.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of generic things you can do which will help until you begin your therapy. These things include
MEDITATION – Spend a few minutes each day meditating . This should help you cope with your situation while promoting a positive attitude. You can take a meditation class or find or write guided meditation focusing on your situation.
Either way, meditation promotes homeostasis which can only help because it promotes the balance of all your body systems.
TAKE INVENTORY DAILY. A good thing to do is to take an inventory daily of the things in your life which might affect you today. This inventory will help you prepare for all the little things which add up to stress. This inventory will include things which are not necessarily major sources of stress. But they are there – waiting to happen. Being aware of them in advance helps.
With a little practice, this inventory can help reduce your stress levels daily. More tips will follow in future blog posts. Your goal is to try them out and choose the ones which work best for you.
Thank you for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
10 Ways to Cope with Stress
Everyone I know and meet is stressed out these days. Many are ill. Flu. Heart Issues. Rashes. Arthritis. You name it. Coping with current events can be challenging for all of us.
There are things that you can do to cope with the situation.
BOOK A REFLEXOLOGY, REIKI, OR CHAKRA HEALING SESSION. It may be that just one session is all you need to feel more relaxed, grounded. Or, it may be that one session won’t heal everything but one session is better than nothing. And, maybe you can find time in your schedule to book several bodywork healing sessions.
TAKE A NAP. I work. I know how hard this can be but I manage to schedule my naps for a few short minutes when I get home from work. These little power naps are crucial to my overall wellbeing. I also try to schedule a nap on my day off. Put your feet up for five minutes even. It will help.
SPEND SOME TIME WITH FRIENDS. Your connection to your community is a boost to your grounding and calm. Chatting with friends and acquaintances over a cup or tea or at a meeting of some kind can be very positive. This will give your mental health a boost.
DO YOU MEDITATE? If not, now is a good time to begin. I just read in a book that people who meditate live three years longer than those who don’t. If you do, now is a good time to pat yourself on the back. You’ve got a good habit. If you don’t meditate, now is a good time to begin the practice. This might be a good time to join a meditation group or class.
DEVELOP A NEW INTEREST. The opportunities to expand your horizon are limitless. Not all hobbies are expensive. Many are not costly at all. The important thing is that you find something new to do which you like. Your options are endless here.
CHANGE YOUR DIET! When you add new foods to your life, you’ll be on an adventure. Choose a new food each week. Bring it home and discover where the food comes from, how it’s cooked, stored, and eaten. You’ll enjoy these discoveries each week. This change will help you feel more alive, and energized. At the end of a year, your kitchen will be an entirely different place with all the new foods you’ll be eating. You’ll know and enjoy many new foods! Chances are, you will be more energized and happier overall.
DISCOVER SOMETHING EACH DAY THAT YOU CAN BE GRATEFUL FOR. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. But, finding something to be thankful for is important. Try to do this early in your day so you can enjoy this feeling all day long.
USE A DAILY PLANNER. This one small change in your life can give you a large shift as you relieve the stress caused by missed appointments and unscheduled events. Finally having your life schedule organized is a major stress reliever for many.
HONOR YOURSELF. We all experience setbacks of one kind or another. The important thing is to not allow them to control your life. Take a negative event and turn it into a strength-building exercise. This will help you overcome feelings of stress and negativity.
Thank you for reading this blog post! Please forward this article to your preferred social media network.
Thank you again for your interest in wellness for all.
Thurman Greco
Ear Infections are Spiritual Events
Spiritually, ear infections represent your need to not hear. Ear infections surface where there is anger. What is happening is that what you hear is getting to you. What you hear is making you angry.
Bacteria, fungi, and viruses cause ear infection. They can be excruciatingly painful. Get medical help if your earache causes a fever and if there is a discharge. Start treatment you experience pain in your ear. Your goal is to ease any pain and clear up the infection.
Colds, sinus infections, and throat infections block the eustacian tuber which enable middle ear infections which can be painful. You may feel dizzy. You may have a discharge from your ear. You may have a temperature. Your glands and tonsils may be swollen.
There are several things you can do to prevent ear infections. Avoid second hand smoke. Keep ear wax cleaned out of your ears. Treat your nasal and sinus allergies and treat infected tonsils and adenoids.
Reflexology, Reiki therapy, and chakra healing sessions offer homeostasis to minimalize inflammation and normalize body systems. Reiki therapy help with pain management and nausea. Chakra healing is grounding.
CHAKRA:
Ear infections are a sixth chakra imbalance.
REFLEXOLOGY SYSTEMS TO WORK:
digestive system, sense organ systems, immune system, lymphatic system, liver, solar plexus, spleen
ESSENTIAL OILS
eucalyptus, helichrysum, lavender, myrrh, oregano, rosemary, tea tree, thyme
SUGGESTED FIELDS OF HEALING
Conventional medicine, Traditional Chinese medicine, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Herbalism
THINGS TO TRY
Allergy injections can reduce the number of ear infections. In some cases, ear tube surgery helps. Don’t smoke around people with ear infections. Vaccinate you and your family members against the flu.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
Am I listening to my inner voice? Do I hear what others say? Can I discover what is so difficult for me?
Thank you for reading this article. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
9 Things You Can Do for a Healthy New Year – Wellness!
These nine suggestions can transform your body, your kitchen, and your lifestyle. They are a living proof that wellness is not hard to achieve.
So, in this new year, GO FOR WELLNESS!
EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
This is far easier than you might think.
Raw fruits and veggies are a good snack. Cooked, they can be a main dish or side serving. They can be a dessert, even! So, go for it.
EAT MORE WHOLE GRAINS
Foods made with white flour are lacking. They lack fiber, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients which you need. They also taste better!
USE CANOLA OIL AND ORGANIC EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
Replace all the other oils in your kitchen with these oils. Especially get rid of partially hydrogenated oils.
TAKE YOUR VITAMINS
This can be an overwhelming proposition. A good start is to ask your healthcare professional for guidelines. Or, contact Village Apothecary in Woodstock, New York, for some pointers. I get all my vitamins and supplements at Village Apothecary.
If you’re not comfortable calling Village Apothecary, find a place where you feel comfortable that the staff are well-trained and have customer wellness at heart.
If you like research, a third option is to study about one vitamin a month and add the vitamins or supplements monthly.
AVOID HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
This is not a new piece of information. I’ve been writing and talking about this for years. But, this product is still in foods we buy. To really get away from it, read the fine print.
Go ahead. Do it. Read the fine print.
Then…once you’re doing this….
CUT BACK ON PROCESSED FOODS
Processed foods are loaded with products which aren’t even foods at all. These products shouldn’t even be in your kitchen, let alone in your body
Healthy food is not that difficult to find. In fact, it can be easier than you think.
EAT ORGANIC FOODS
Do this as much as possible. If the organic foods price tags in the grocery store give you sticker shock, focus on the “dirty” foods: strawberries, spinach, peaches, celery, greens.
It’s easy to wash pesticides off your produce. Put about 1/4 teaspoon of Dr. Bronner’s Soap (I use Peppermint) in a bowl of water. Dunk the produce in the mixture and swish it around in the bowl. Rinse the produce in clear water.
CUT OUT THE ALCOHOL, FIZZY DIET DRINKS, SODA POP.
Cut back, preferably to zero consumption. If this seems impossible to you, then you need to think about what these beverages mean to you. On the practical level, they do nothing good for you.
CUT BACK ON DARK MEATS.
Meats are not that good for us, really. Today’s beef, pork, and processed meats are loaded with chemicals, pesticides and herbicides.
Yech!
Thank you for reading this article! Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thanks again
Thurman Greco

























