Learning as Self-Care With 3 Stories Featuring Maria Talamantez and Sister Athenasius
As we grow up and experience adolescence, or adulthood, many of us leave our religious beliefs behind. Or maybe we never had a childhood religion to leave behind. This can create the experience of having no beliefs at all.
Mother sent me as a young child to local Vacation Bible Schools every summer. That meant I spent a week each with Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, and the Church of Christers when I was quite young. The Catholics didn’t have Vacation Bible School and I never quite understood why.
I absorbed different things taught by different Christian Sunday School teachers in an unsophisticated format intended for preschool and elementary school children.
Elementary school influenced my religious beliefs, but not how you might think. This was the American Bible Belt in the early 1950’s. In the classroom each morning, right after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, a student recited a prayer.
For some of my classmates, this experience may not have been so bad. For others, it was excruciating.
Standing in front of the class is hard on a lot of little kids. Standing in front of the class and reciting a prayer can be excruciating, especially if they don’t really know a prayer. It was hardest on the Catholics because they began and ended each session with the sign of the cross.
My memory always brings up Maria Talamantez when I recall the morning prayer. Standing at the head of the class, Maria appeared embarrassed, flustered, frightened. And, while she struggled with the Sign of the Cross and the Our Father, I was over at my desk praying quietly and fervently to God and Jesus and anyone else I could think of just thanking them that my name hadn’t been called that morning.
Meanwhile, Maria prayed as fast as she could and so quietly that she couldn’t be heard by most of us in the room. I don’t think the teacher cared, really. She was simply filling a slot required every morning and looked forward to escaping into a math exercise or reading a story.
For me, this was a time of pure torture. And I was so grateful that I was an Episcopalian because I didn’t use the Sign of the Cross. And the Episcopalian Lord’s Prayer seemed shorter and faster than Maria’s Roman Catholic version.
This is part of my journey into adulthood.
Both adolescents and adults spend time thinking and rethinking things they read, heard, and believed as children.
To dismiss these experiences as part of the move into adulthood is a gross oversimplification.
Abandoning our childhood beliefs can be difficult. It’s challenging to move beyond the childhood religious stories we either grew up with or didn’t experience at all.
As a pre-adolescent, I attended a Catholic School in my middle-school years. (The Sisters didn’t call it middle school.) Sister Athanasius had a whole list of books we weren’t supposed to read. And, since I wasn’t from a Catholic family, Sister suspected every book she saw me carry.
Several years later, as a student at St. Mary’s University, I found all of those books she was looking for in my book bag. They were in the university library, sitting on those shelves for the students. Amazing! Forbidden fruit in middle school became the main course in college.
Later in life, my best Reiki therapy and Reflexology students admitted to me that they were struggling with their meaning-of-life path.
Now, as an octogenarian, I find myself smitten with Mother Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ.
If you find yourself at a moment in time where you are taking a look at your life, now can be a good opportunity to explore your childhood teachings. They may be holding you back from focusing on things you otherwise might be interested in.
This place in time opens an opportunity for self-care.
As an adult, you can slow down, seek the solitude, and listen to the silence. Allow your intuition and life experiences to guide you along your path.
The answers you seek may not come immediately but they are there. As you journey on your path, you may encounter changes to your lifestyle which help you connect with your own truth.
You can develop an understanding of your own experience.
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Thurman Greco
www.thurmangreco.com
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Finally, include a Reiki therapy or reflexology session this week.
Reiki Healing and your Chakras
Reiki therapy is a specific healing modality used throughout the planet.
Reiki means “Universal Life Energy” and is the word used to describe this system of healing. Reiki is a light touch given to a clothed body to improve the overall wellbeing of the recipient. Using an intention, the Reiki practitioner gives healing energy to an accepting receiver.
The healing energy flows through the hands of the practitioner.
I feel that the Reiki we practice today is old. Its origins are shrouded in the mists of time.
Dr. Mikao Usui developed and used the healing modality we use today. He operated clinics in Japan in the 20th century. Dr. Usui is not only remembered because of the Reiki he developed but also because of his spiritual lifestyle.
Dr. Usui worked with others in his clinic and in his spiritual practice. Two people include Dr. Chujiro Hayashi and Hawayo Takata.
Hawayo Takata brought Reiki to the United States after World War II
It is said that Dr. Usui meditated on one of his five principles daily:
Original Reiki Precepts
Just for Today,
I will not worry
I will not be angry.
I will do my work honestly.
I will count and be grateful for all my many blessings.
I will be kind to every living creature.
When I offer a Reiki session focused on balancing the chakras of the recipient, my client is usually seated or lying face-up on a massage table or other flat surface.
I offer my client a blanket and eye pillow if it’s appropriate.
After setting the intention, I invoke the symbols: Standing at the head of my client, I draw first the ChoKuRei, then SeiHeKi, then HonShaZeShoNen. Finally, I repeat the ChoKuRei again.
I place my hands on the shoulders of my client.
So far, this part of the session should take 5-10 minutes. However, this time length can change with the practitioner. Each practitioner works in a different way so the time will not always be the same for everyone.
I then move to the side of the client and go to the first chakra.
I balance the primary chakras beginning with the root chakra. I balance each chakra by hovering my hands over each chakra about 2 to 6 inches above each chakra. I usually spend about 5 minutes on each one although these times can change depending on the client.
I am an old massage therapist and believe that touching my client will help me do my job better in many situations. As a massage therapist, I feel that I gain a better understanding of what is happening.
However, this is a personal situation and will be determined by your training, and previous experience with not only Reiki but other healing modalities.
A Reiki session works with the physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual levels of a person’s body. On a physical level, many people appreciate the warmth generated by a Reiki practitioner’s hands. On a mental level, the client is often comforted by knowing where the practitioner’s hands are at all times.
Respect your client privacy at all times. It’s important to do the right thing at that moment. Some people do not want to be touched at all, no matter what.
Always respect your client’s privacy. Chakra balancing is extremely intimate work. And, Reiki energy naturally finds its own path, going exactly where it is needed.
The first chakra to be balanced is the root chakra. When I balance this chakra, I place my hands outside the person’s hips where they meet at the base of the spine. This chakra is your client’s connection to the physical world. Trust is an important issue here.
The second, or sacral chakra is located about 1-2 inches below the navel. This chakra is the seat of creativity and inspiration.
After balancing the second chakra I move on to the third or solar-plexus chakra. This is where the upper chakras and lower chakras meet. The solar-plexus chakra is found just above your waistline, where your client feels the chakra as “butterflies”. This chakra is where your client finds her power.
Moving on from the third chakra to the fourth chakra, balance your client’s heart chakra – the center of love, healing, and compassion. Your client’s heart chakra is located in the central chest.
After balancing your client’s fourth chakra, move up to the fifth, or throat chakra. This chakra houses voice and self-expression. As expected, this chakra is located in the throat.
The fifth chakra, the third-eye chakra, is located in the forehead in the area of the eyebrows. The third-eye chakra focuses on intuition and awareness.
The next chakra, the crown chakra, is found toward the top of the head. This is where the higher self and the divine come together.
After balancing each chakra and finally coming to the crown chakra I focus for a few moments at my client’s feet. After all, I’ve come to a full circle along my client’s body. It has been a session of shifts and adjustments – many not yet known by the client. It may take several days for your client to begin to understand what is happening.
A Reiki chakra balancing session can often be repeated more than once or twice in a lifetime. Your client may want to have several weekly or monthly sessions. A few of your chakras may want to be balanced several times until they are happy in their new place.
Whatever the outcome of the chakra balancing session, a few minutes spent at your client’s feet for grounding purposes are a good idea. The options here are many. Have you taken any reflexology classes?
No?
There’s a video out there that might inspire you. You probably won’t spend more than about 5-10 minutes on your client’s feet. You are there to offer a path back to present time for your client.
The are many classes waiting for you on YOUTUBE. Some are mine and some are produced by other teachers. But, whichever one you choose, the idea is to gently finish your session.
One final suggestion: a chakra balancing Reiki session, or a regular Reiki session, are both good for the body and the soul. Every person needs some Reiki every week or so. If you feel you don’t have the budget for this, learn Reiki and partner up with another practitioner.
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