Running on Empty
We all have days like this.
I’m tired from the inside out. My body is tired. And, I’m tired of being tired.
When I get this tired, I feel low – lacking. Hopeless is the word for this moment.
I feel that my world simply left me out in the cold. My world dropped me off somewhere empty, shut the door, and plans to forget me.
There is no one out there for me. Nobody is offering me nourishment.
I am alone in this – alone and empty.
I am depleted.
There is only one way out of this: kindness.
Kindness is color in the black and white landscape.
When I feel this way, I turn to my old standby: Reiki therapy. When I receive a Reiki session, I reconnect to my inner strength. I see the magnificent rainbow color in the bleak black and white landscape.
The door is closed – but it is not locked. My task now is to open the door.
Thank you for reading this article.
Thurman Greco
I’m Getting By
How are you doing?
Sometimes, when we ask a person how you’re doing, we learn that you need to take a breath and pause.
Often, when a person says “I’m getting by”, the subject is about money. The vocabulary for “I’m getting by” includes frugality, guarding, security. “I’m Getting By” is really an accurate way of saying: I “Have only enough”.
If you are getting by, the chances are you’re addressing your money wounds.
This may be a good time for that. After all, we all have money issues.
Money is loaded with memories. They go back beyond our parents who themselves passed their parents’ own money stories down to us. Getting to the bottom line, money is a legacy. Everyone has a money legacy.
Take a moment to call up your first money memory.
Do you remember a time when saving crossed over the line into hoarding?
Do you journal? Have you ever journaled your money stories, memories, and issues? I don’t ever remember discussing journaling about money.
Serious healing can begin with money journaling. Money journaling addresses insecurities and abundance blocks passed down for generations.
Some day, when you have a chance, hold some coins in your hand and see them as mandalas – spiritual markers in your life. When you see mandalas instead of coins, the light in the room suddenly becomes more clear.
The mandalas represent the part of the self which is the core of your money interest and experience.
Have you thought about how trust blends with your money issues and your life goals? It seems these things are all braided together.
Money is not the end in itself. In the final analysis, it’s not the money. It’s how we respond to it and deal with it over time. It’s how we respond to the money in different situations in life.
Meditation will help you become aware of your inner money potential. Reiki and reflexology are two grounding and healing modalities which can help you explore your legacy and your future. Include healing modalities in your money growth whenever appropriate.
When things seem to be working well, prosperity flows into your life.
Thanks for reading this article. The next post in the series will focus on “Running on Empty.”
You can purchase this book at thurmangreco.com.
Please forward this blog post to your friends, relatives, and family members. Share it with on your favorite social media networks.
Thank You
Thurman Greco
Go Ahead – Make the Call
Long ago, and far away, it was possible for a person to know everything there was to know.
Today, I feel it is difficult to impossible to know even all there is to know about anything – let alone everything.
When you search, learn, and experience new things, tap into and lean on the knowledge and skills of others.
Use the skills, knowledge, and experience of others when you collaborate to grow, prosper, and develop your skills and direction.
Collaboration mixed with teamwork can smooth and balance your life journey.
Whatever you do, wherever you head, a strong support group is essential.
So, how do you do this?
For starters – ASK
That, in itself, can be a stretch. Nobody likes to admit needing things and not knowing things. But when you seek knowledge, you start from a foundation of not knowing.
So, what are you to do?
Well, journal entries can help.
Explore how it feels to know know what you need. Discuss the meaning of imperfect, wrong, and dependent.
How can you accelerate this growth to get to the other side easier? There is something you can do: Outsource
Action helps. Reach out.
Reach out to someone for help. This boils down to another vocabulary: ask, call, hire, order.
It also means that you can get more comfortable with being worthy. Go ahead. You can do it!
You’re worth it!
Ask questions. They can apply in your professional life, your social life, and in your romantic relationships.
How often can you benefit from knowing something new?
How hard is it to admit that you don’t know something?
How is your situation hindering your progress on your journey?
As you juggle all the tasks and requirements that you face at a given moment, If you reach out to someone for something you need, can you improve your situation?
Of course you can. Go ahead. Make the call!
Ask someone to help you plan your garden.
Ask around – who knows about a good job opening?
Call a friend for a recipe.
Hire someone to help paint a room.
Get your groceries delivered when things get crowded in your life.
Thanks for reading this article.
Thurman Greco
Sometimes, when contemplating the stretches that questions create in addition to the answers, it helps to schedule a Reiki or reflexology session.
Other times, take time out to consider the resources, allies, and experts you’ll be learning from next!
Thurman Greco
Are you saying “Maybe”?
This is the follow-on article to the previous post “For You: Plant Your Roots in Your Future”
Is it time to get comfortable with not being sure?
When you plan your future, the vocabulary changes: deciding – explore – commitment – collaborations – improve – unsure – teamwork
It’s okay!
For now, it’s time to concentrate on your job – your career. Sometimes, that’s a huge challenge.
A first obstacle to overcome is this: No matter what you seek, you’re worthy! You’re good enough! You can get there!
The way I see it, you can choose from three routes.
FIRST, you can stay with the job you have now and just focus on more money. What you’re looking for is a raise in pay for the same job skills.
SECOND, you can decide to advance your job skills. This can be a reality when you get on-the-job training or when your employer sends you to classes to enhance your skills. Or, you may enroll in a class or school on your own.
THIRD, you may opt to get on a totally different track. You may decide to change directions, companies, and skills. You may decide to absorb new skills as you apprentice in a new environment.
Whatever route you travel on, this is a good time to journal about the decisions you’re making. Use your journal to explore things you’re still unsure about.
Exploring your options before committing to a path can be a good thing.
Give yourself permission to work for the things you need until you attract everything you authentically deserve and receive.
This is worthiness. Don’t be afraid to ask for more safety and forgiveness.
Let your new and existing skills become the places where your inner self can hang out.
Include integrity in your decision-making. When you put time, attention, and skills into your search, you’ll know when things are going well and when they aren’t.
Remember that reflexology and Reiki are always available for you when you feel a need for grounding.
Thanks for reading this article.
Thurman Greco
Check out the books on thurmangreco.com.
.Thurmangreco@gmail.com.
Sharing with Others
Are you more balanced than you think?
We all experience times when we don’t have enough and other times when too much is happening. Lack and plenty are normal throughout our lives. The pendulum swings back and forth at its own pace.
Something to learn early in life is this: To receive, it’s necessary to give. Life is easier for those who have learned to practice this daily. So, what, exactly, have they learned?
SHARE,
So, do you know how this works?
Those in service have learned that offering help, service, or time is a pathway to success. But, what does this mean? It means that several things work out well:
Volunteering for a activity,
Donating to a cause,
Personally, it means checking in with someone just to see how they are doing. It means that you give of yourself because you know what it feels like to need a helping hand along the way.
Sharing with others is a no-thanks-required way of life.
Sharing with others balances the energies of giving and receiving.
A good question to ask yourself: Is it time to give or receive? When you journal about people an situations where you show up, you can discover your answers.
Are you uninvited? What triggers the event? Do you feel you have to give something before you receive something? When you ask questions like these, it’s time to open yourself to experience the energies consciously.
when something is right, it feels good.
You may be more balanced than you realize. This becomes more obvious when you share your energies with no strings attached.
Thanks for reading this article. Please share it with your friends, neighbors, and family. Forward this post to your favorite network to your favorite social media network.
Find your Tribe in 2025
Recently, I put out the call for a Reiki practitioner to be a guest in my booth at the Mower’s Meadow Flea Market.
A bit of history here: I’ve had a booth at the Mower’s Meadow Saturday Sunday Flea Market in Woodstock for several years. I began the booth as a fundraising project for an area food pantry.
After a few years, I began reading Tarot Cards and selling books at the market..
The bottom line was that I was using about 30% of the booth space and felt that I could add a healing table. But, since I didn’t think I could offer Reiki and read cards at the same time, I put out the call for a Reiki practitioner to be a guest in the booth.
The flea market hadn’t had a Reiki practitioner in years so this was going to be a whole new activity – a startup, really.
I felt that what I needed to do was invite a practitioner every week. Well, I was certainly off the mark there. .
Susan responded to my call immediately. She ‘s a Reiki Master Practitioner who I hadn’t seen in years.
Susan has fulltime employment in Kingston. She’s looking to begin her new career as a Reiki practitioner. Susan had a lot of training to offer her future and she was looking forward to practicing Reiki.
When I contacted Susan, I expected her to volunteer to work at the booth once or maybe twice at the most. Well, I was wrong there.
Susan arrived at the booth on the agreed-on date and time. She brought her own healing table, business cards, and a chair.
When I showed her the area, she set her table up under a large tree which was offering shade and protection.
Susan set out a small table at the front of the booth with some business cards and she placed a chair nearby.
“I’m ready to begin offering Reiki. I’m looking for my tribe.”
What a statement to use at the beginning of a new venture! As things turned out, it was an accurate description for her.
Susan set up her table every flea market day for the remainder of the summer. Each flea market day Susan positioned her table under the welcoming tree. Her chair and small table for business cards were right up front where Susan could see every person shopping at the market.
By the end of the season, Susan had given Reiki sessions on most market days. But that wasn’t the remarkable thing. The amazing thing was this: every person receiving a session from Susan became a client.
Susan found her tribe!
I was impressed as this whole process unfolded in front of me. I saw it all.
And, really, I don’t know why I was so astounded. After all, Susan did what she came to do at the market.
She set her goal. She focused in on what she was going to do to reach her goal. She thought about what she needed to do to get where she was going.
While Susan did this work to find her tribe, she set an example for the rest of us. Susan didn’t just say she was looking for her tribe and then wait for her goal to reach itself.
Susan mapped out and defined what she felt she needed to do to reach her goal. And she did all the things she felt she needed to do to find her tribe.
Susan found success in a way that none of us expected.
The message of this article is this: When you begin a new project in the future, include finding your tribe in the process. Decide what you need to do and then do it.
Good luck to Susan! You are a Reiki Practitioner who is mapping success. In the process, you taught all of your neighbors in the Market a few things about reaching your goals: find your Tribe!
Thanks for reading this article.
Please share and forward it to your friends, family, and your favorite social media networks.
In Memory: Grandpa Woodstock
I found the story about Grandpa Woodstock on Trish LeaseWay’s Facebook thread. Her words and the pictures she took transported me back in time instantly to the first time I met him.
“Grandpa Woodstock is coming! Grandpa Woodstock is coming!” His very own herald announced his arrival with Lady Estar and Hector, their fluffy little white dog, as they made their way to the food pantry for Wednesday afternoon grocery shopping.
He parked his famous colorful cart at the pantry entrance under the shade of a tree so Hector wouldn’t get overheated. While Grandpa Woodstock and Lady Estar came in to shop, Hector patiently waited in the cart.
In Woodstock, Grandpa Woodstock was the most colorful of the colorful and the most charming of the charming with his props and smile. Residents loved him. Travelers from all over the globe adored him. Women, especially, responded to him. How could anyone resist?
While waiting in the hallway to shop, Grandpa Woodstock entertained everyone: “My, how beautiful you look today!” he gushed enthusiastically as he sounded the horn attached to his walking stick “Toot toot”.
I was no exception to the rule. His words melted my heart. Because, in reality, working in the pantry was tough with the overcrowded hallway, overstuffed food shelves, and overtired shoppers. When Grandpa Woodstock and Lady Estar shopped in the pantry, none of it mattered.
He made us feel special when he showed off his clothes, his cart, his horn, his peace sign, and posed for photos.
What a pair! Grandpa and Lady Estar looked alike. My eyes told me they were a pair of matching perfect size 8’s. Their long flowing silver hairstyles and their lovely matching beards only emphasized their striking appearance as they stood in the pantry selecting veggies for the evening meal they planned to serve to their closest homeless friends.
He and Lady Estar dressed beautifully in flowing silk skirts and kimonos. They favored red floral print jackets, dresses. Their toenails were painted and they wore matching Teva sandals. As they chatted, I felt they were already dressed for their evening event.
When they left the pantry, Grandpa Woodstock pushed their cart out to the village green so admirers could take pictures, buy post cards, and donate money in Grandpa’s tip jar.
None of Woodstock’s rich and famous got so many requests for autographs, photographs. They couldn’t compete with Grandpa Woodstock’s show off tricks. Maybe some of these famous people should have gotten a horn.
This was street theater at its finest. He drew us in, made us feel special for a moment. Life was beautiful!
“My how lovely you look today!” he announced to the crowd, waving a peace sign in the air. Grandpa Woodstock convinced us all with his smile and the toot of his horn that we were accepted by the community, that we were okay, and that our pantry was important.
As I remember this special moment in time, I’m reminded that neither Grandfather Woodstock, nor the Woodstock he lived in, exist anymore. Grandpa was the last of the line. Everyone else was gone – one way or another.
Time and gentrification is moving us forward – with no exceptions.
A Meditation for You and for Now
The bottom line about meditation is this: communication.
A meditation can be done anywhere. But the best location is the one where you are in a quiet place, uninterrupted, and where you can relax and feel safe.
A good meditation posture is the one where you sit or lay down with your eyes closed in whatever position is most comfortable for you.
Like other forms of communication, the more you practice meditation, the more you will be receptive to the energy and greater awareness of the activity.
At the beginning of your meditation, you may want to light a candle, ring a bell, burn incense, play soothing music. You may hold a meaningful store or other symbol such as a cross or star.
Close your eyes and focus your breathing as you inhale and exhale slowly and deeply. Think about your breath as you inhale and exhale. Breathe slowly and deeply for the next several minutes while you allow your sacred self to take control. This will let you calm your sensory perceptions.
Notice how your body relaxes with each breath.
This quiet time is a priority. With every breath, you relax a bit more deeply. Light and energy and positive thoughts enter your body with every inhale.
Allow a sense of well-being and gentle relaxation to cover your entire self.
Toxins, anxiety, and frustrations leave your body with each exhale. This is a good time to discard discomfort. Relaxation replaces the toxins with every breath.
Breathe in healing light and warmth from the crown of your head down through your body – your upper chest, your back and spine, down your abdomen and pelvic areas, hips, thighs, and down your legs to your feet.
Your breath will guide this light to encircle your body and circulate around your body several times.
When you are ready, gather the energy at your feet and let it flow up your body to your head.
See this energy flowing out from your head as a fountain of light. It gathers at your feet in a pool of energy and then flows back up to the crown of your head.
Repeat this fountain flow several times – as long as you like.
When you are relaxed, comfortable, and energized, it is time to leave the meditation and return to the room.
Open your eyes. Gently shake your arms, hands, legs, and feet.
Now, smile, knowing that you can return to this space whenever you want.
Lift Yourself Up: 6 Things That Work
Sometimes, we’re aware of life’s impacts when they happen. Other times, they sneak up on us. We wake up and realize things haven’t been “right” for a while or even a long time.
Life is many things to many different people. Over time, things change. The changes can come daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or even more slowly.
However that is for you, when you realize things aren’t what you consider ideal – or even acceptable – it’s time to lift yourself up.
This is a good opportunity to spend energy connecting with your community. You may find that your community is experiencing adjustments as well as yourself. Who are you in this community? Are you comfortable with your place here?
The important thing is to connect with people who lift you up. You find them when you connect with your community – through friends, groups, and extended families.
Check in with those who are important to you.
Take a deep breath and a break. Self-care activities such as meditation and enough sleep can be particularly healing now. (Meditation always comes up first on the self-care list. However, it is not popular with everyone. The point is to choose something that works for you.)
Returning to body work habits such as reflexology or Reiki therapy can be particularly appreciated now. While you’re focusing on these new (or renewed) connections, schedule extra sessions to keep you grounded and steady.
This is also a time to pick up a new skill through classes, books, or other ways of learning.
Finally, show up for others in positive ways which honors them. This makes you a conduit for healing in ways you may not have thought of before.
Being a conduit for healing is a basic tenet of self-healing. Being a conduit does not require that you change your story or anyone else’s.
Being a conduit for healing does not really offer therapy even. Simply being there and showing up is enough.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please forward this post to your friends and relatives and also share it to your preferred social media network.
Thank you.
Thurmangreco.com
Reiki and Me: A Personal Transformation
Flashback to the 90’s.
I lived in the Washington, D.C. metro area when I went to the dogs.
I took my complete professional wardrobe (conservative suits, white blouses, natural colored stockings, sensible shoes, and matching power jewelry) to the Ft. Belvoir Thrift Shop and said “goodbye” to my past life.
I dusted off my massage therapy certificate which I earned from the Potomac MyoTherapy Institute in 1980. (I wrote about PMTI in my wellness book “Healer’s Handbook”.)
I practiced massage therapy and foot reflexology as far beneath the radar screen as I could get. Except for my clients, my goal was “invisible”.
And, I studied canine massage therapy, more foot reflexology, and animal communication at different workshops and classes around the country.
Names like Jonathan Rudinger, Penelope Smith, Dawn Hayman, Marge D’Urso, and Bill Flocco bring up extremely fond memories.
This is where my life took a change.
I attended an introductory canine massage therapy class in Clinton, New York, at Spring Farm CARES. At the first (of many) class I attended there, every other student in the class was a Reiki practitioner or master.
Not only was I the only student not attuned to Reiki, I couldn’t even spell it.
Don’t get me wrong. Reiki wasn’t a part of the curriculum in this class. It was simply a part of each student’s credentials and vocabulary.
I was intrigued by this healing technique they all knew and used. As soon as I returned home I began searching to find out about Reiki and how was it taught. I asked everyone I knew about it. Keep in mind, this was the Northern Virginia suburbs where not even massage was legal.
It was also just before computers became common. I didn’t yet know about Google.
What I really wanted to know was where I could find a teacher. I definitely didn’t like being the only person in a class not connected to something that was obviously important to the rest of the people in the room.
While searching for a teacher, I discovered only 6 Reiki books. One title I remember: “Essential Reiki” by Diane Stein.
I also learned that two friends were Reiki Masters. In seeking a Reiki Master Teacher, I learned that people I knew very well were keeping deep dark secrets from the world. The secrets? Reiki.
Amazing: Knowing that a close friend’s deepest, darkest secret was Reiki says things about my close friends, about Reiki, and about Virginia.
Kathy Levin and Barbara Kaplan were healing people and not even sharing their skills with anyone. And, finally, they weren’t even whispering the names of their teachers. Both women claimed to have learned Reiki years before. Their stories could have been begun with “Long ago and far away…”
I dug and dug and finally found a metaphysical gift shop in Vienna, VA which taught a variety of interesting things on the weekends. Reiki was buried in a long list of interesting spiritual-sounding classes at Terra Christa.
Needless to say, Mary Ruth Van Landingham and her classes were a gold mine for me. I learned nine different types of Reiki and a whole host of other things. For the next few years, I was a student in most of the weekend classes in Mary Ruth’s classroom behind her shop.
Soon, Reiki joined my below-the-radar healing sessions of reflexology, massage therapy, canine massage therapy, animal communication.
The Reiki training I received fit well into every service I offered.
Not in the Reiki category, but important: Dan Chesbro ordained me at Terra Christa. Throughout the years, most of my Reiki students reached out to Dan Chesbro for ordination.
Mary Ruth Van Landingham planted the seed for my first book “Healer’s Handbook”. It took years from Mary Ruth’s guiding suggestion to an actual book. My life experiences had to catch up with the text.
While all this was happening on the weekends, something else happened that was quiet, calm, positive, and distinct.
My life changed. I turned some kind of spiritual corner.
Reiki is not necessarily an out-loud modality. Reiki touches every life differently. After all, we’re all each individual and unique.
It became a part of my life without much fanfare. And, it was certainly easy to learn. Through the years, it’s become such a part of my life that sometimes I feel I don’t give it enough credit.
Reiki is automatic and quiet. Reiki doesn’t need a lot of attention. It stays with me. It doesn’t need equipment and it doesn’t require periodic recertifications.
I use Reiki and reflexology together regularly. They work hand-in-glove without the need of a prescription.
I’m grateful for the healing modalities I’ve learned throughout my life. They served my clients and students well. Sometimes I feel I don’t give Reiki and reflexology the credit they deserve.
When I think about it, part of the usefulness of Reiki and reflexology is that they don’t need attention. They don’t need credit. They just do the work.
SO, thank you Reiki and reflexology.
And, thank you to everyone who has read and does read this blog. Thanks for buying the books and thank you for referring me to your friends, relatives, and neighbors.
I regularly invite Reiki practitioners to come on my show to discuss and receive Reiki.
Find out more about healing and wellness at www.thurmangreco.com.
Finally, thank you for dropping by my Tarot booth at Mower’s Meadow Saturday Sunday Flea Market. This is one of my favorite places in the whole wide world. The Flea Market is both mystical and magical. Join me there!
Respectfully submitted,
Thurman Greco
