What is Reiki?

"The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy." (This from www.reiki.org)

This question is brought up a lot by people who wonder what I mean when I suggest that I can "do Reiki" to help ease pain, frustration, promoting healing or even to help solve a problem. It is not "I" doing the work, but the Great I Am within me directing me. I've been trained as a Level III Reiki Master and been practicing since 1997. I was inducted by Kaimora, a Reiki teacher who worked in an area near Rangeley, Maine and in St. Augustine, Florida.

I sit and focus on the name, photograph or simply the energy of an individual or situation and allow myself to be the channel for that energy to come through to be used by that person or situation for the highest and best good. If that individual isn't ready to receive the energy, it just washes over them - no harm, no blame. If they are receptive, it goes where it is most needed.

When I can actually be present with someone to do healing work, I have heard comments like, "Your hands are putting off a lot of heat," or "I can feel tingling when your hands are near that spot." I don't actually touch... some Reiki Masters may, but I have better results keeping my hands about 2 inches away from the body.

It is also a useful practice for healing animals. I had a cat that had seizures once a month and the vet was offering me a chance to spend a lot of money while he "investigated" the problem. I sat down with the cat and asked her how I could help and then we agreed that I could send her Reiki on her schedule - cats are like that. In a few months she had no more episodes.

My objective in offering up my time for this healing work is to be of service. I have no offices, no forms to fill out, and I do not charge anyone to "put the energy out there" for their needs or that of their loved ones. I have a relative who is dealing with Multiple Myeloma and so one of my offerings is to send energy out to the various MM bloggers... one might say I am like a water fountain where anyone who is thirsty may come and have a drink. Since the energy is there, free for the taking, it can be "captured" or it just goes on flowing on its own.

It is a great practice to work on being "of the world" but not "in the world."

A surprise for me

The project that Jey-hu and I are working on requires a special paper in a custom size. We found a place in Seattle that orders unique papers and because Jey-hu had a customer to see near by, we decided to do both together. Oh, I forgot to mention that due to the CAR-deeact arrest (the engine simply stopped working) of the truck, we are down to one piece of transport for a short while. So we are combining our errands.

Well, the surprise was that we went back to the factory district for the paper, and after picking it up, Jey-hu said, "Since we've finished the work part of the day,

I'll show you another part of Seattle." I was unaware that Pioneer Square was nearby and since it was mid-afternoon we found a place to park very easily. But I also didn't bring my regular camera and had to rely on my phone's camera to get this shot of a "hot" street... we've had unseasonably warm days out here in the NW, and the hazy skies also tell that tale.

And as we headed home, the traffic was building and my tolerance for being stuck in a hot car on a hot pavement began to wane... who would have ever thought this former Florida-dweller would have complained about the heat in Washington?

Dedicated to Andre

A blogger with Multiple Myeloma known as Andre has had a tough struggle of late. He is best known for his love of competitive motorcycle riding, but he is also a truly gifted photographer. I first discovered his blog when I was "introduced" to the illness over a year ago because of a relative's diagnosis. His lively, and aggressive, commentary about his battle with the 'beast' gave me hope and in return, when he had downturns, I tried to offer some uplifting words or energy on his behalf.

As a motorcycle rider myself, I fully appreciated the "wind in my hair, bugs in my teeth" experience, even if I had to finally give it up for reasons other than health. So perhaps the combination of being a rider and photographer like Andre, though clearly not as proficient in either (!!), along with the MM connection, created the blog-bond between us.

During these past 15 months, I have journeyed across the U.S. from Florida to Washington and up the Western coastline. I have seen thousands of 'bikers riding, enjoying the freedom and the views of this impressive country. And in part, because of Andre's blog, I started my own. This photograph of the highway across the Navajo Nation through the Painted Desert is a route Andre took on one of his 'cycle trips and his photos are much better. You can see some of them here: http://wandering-tourist.blogspot.com

So, today I want to dedicate this blog with photographs of places of beauty I have seen and tried to capture - to Andre, if only to bring a point of light in his direction. If thoughts are like prayers and have wings, may they all fly in his direction....

Lots of "T's" and one was coffee...

This is a shot as we raced across the bridge between Seattle and Mercer Island with Saturday's sun shining through the nearly cloudless sky. We stopped to help a friend of Jey-hu's solve a curious alarm problem. It was my first visit to the island and I can see why it is in such high demand as a place to live! We met two of the three family cats and I sat on a deck high among trees listening to the birds and boats - very relaxing -while Jey-hu and Mr. T discussed the cause of the alarm.

I only mention the alarm problem because it brings to mind the risk of using barbecue grills too near doors or windows of the domicile. Using compressed gas, these grills may give off CO2 aka carbon monoxide in deadly amounts. Please make sure you light the grill at some distance from the residence.

And even at a distance, check the direction of the wind to make sure it is not driving this heavier-than-air substance into the home. Without the CO2 detection device in this gentle man's dwelling, they might not have been warned that something was amiss.

Our next stop was at least an hour south of Tacoma and we realized too late that the new Link Sound Transit trains were having their debut running and we got caught up in the festival atmosphere near Martin Luther King Blvd.

Then we tried to take a short cut and found ourselves too close to Seattle's Safeco Field and all the sports fans - yikes! - and yet another detour landed us in the factory district, just west of

I-5, too far west from where we wanted to be. However, it looks like this area is being re-habbed and re-vamped so getting a chance to see some of the creative uses of the buildings made it not a wasted trip after all. It turns out that Tully's is quite a large company now and part of an ever larger establishment - as of last March - when they were purchased by Green Mountain Grocers in Vermont. Surprising to me to find this out as a drinker of lattes from another well-known Seattle firm, but this company has not been marketing as strongly as the other one.

And, the bigger connection for me was when we returned from Tacoma and we were on the freeway heading north. I saw the large "T" on the building and realized it was the coffee company. Now I will always recognize that spot on I-5, and probably want to stop!

The cherries are ripe!

Today I could finally begin picking the cherries off the tree that hangs over our deck. The birds have already started enjoying them and I could see places where they had pecked (instead of picking!) off the fruit, leaving only the seed.

When Jey-hu got back from working, he and I managed to collect about four pounds and after pitting them all, I cooked them. As lovely as they looked, they were toe-curling sour! With enough fructose I was able to pull a little sweetness from them and made a cherry pie and some cherry crumble. I don't have my favorite "Fanny Farmer Cookbook" to build these desserts, but did pretty well from memory.

Jey-hu told the neighbors to come over and help themselves as there is easily another eight to ten pounds of fruit to be enjoyed. When we had to run an errand later, and while I was waiting for him, I caught this pretty sunset in Snohomish, which is about five miles from where we live. A few nights ago we joined some friends for a Mexican dinner alongside the Snohomish River which is a pretty wide waterway that flows right into Port Gardiner Bay, which connects to Puget Sound. Here is a picture of the Bay that I took earlier in the week.....

Flowers along the way...

Since Jey-hu and I both enjoy photography, and we both seem to be drawn to capture flowers (and sometimes weeds) in their native habitat, I thought it might be fun to share some of the various colorful presentations we found as we drove from California to Oregon along the coast. This rugged little clump of yellow flowers (left) was found at Point Lobos, CA, amid many craggy rocks, boulders and sand. It caught my eye because it reminded me that sometimes it takes that kind of persistence to finally bloom and to be noticed because one is not in the midst of thousands of others.

And yet, masses of color are created when many gather (or bloom) at once... another sort of beauty. These trumpet-style flowers caught Jey-hu's eye because they were so tiny and the color was so deep.

There were many wildflowers along the roadways and just up from the beaches, especially in California. Here is an example of what we saw near Big Sur. So much of the coastline is in

danger because of all the building going on, it was quite delightful to see portions which were not impacted at all.

How interesting that all the greens and yellows go so well with the blues and greys of the ocean and sky... do we ever see discordant colors in nature?