Summer's Closing

Sterling Silver, old rose's last bloom.

I cannot believe it is the latter part of August and summer, such as it was for us, is closing down.

Oh yes, we will have some gorgeous warm days now, but the sun is setting earlier and earlier and the signs are all there.

A huge clue for me is when my Sterling Silver rose puts out one last burst of glorious lavender color and although the floribunda has several blooms, usually only one has its trademark scent in any density.

So, that day has arrived. I picked it so I can enjoy it inside for a few days, but there won't be many.

And unfortunately, I cannot provide you, my dear readers, with a sample sniff... it's a heady rose smell, really quite strong, with an energy that just heals you as you inhale. I cannot describe it much better than that.

Please enjoy the photos and intend with me that we all enjoy the fall and all the beauty it will bring us as we let the roses rest for another season. (Shot with my Canon EOS Rebel with a telephoto and a macro, just for fun.)

The Cost of Carrying Resentments

I have been studying a variety of modalities in my quest to rebuild my life after being in Colombia.

It has taken me several years to discover some new things, even at this age.

And a few are old ideas revisited.

About a decade ago I went to a Radical Forgiveness Ceremony in Phoenix, taught by Colin Tipping.

There I learned the importance of forgiving all those people that I had viewed as "doing me wrong," or that I wanted to blame for some negative aspect of my life. It was a huge shift for me and I made a leap forward in my personal growth.

But clearly it wasn't enough. Today in another class I was advised that failing to completely release those 'old feelings,' that a re-telling the stories of those events only perpetuates the negative energy and it sticks to you/me. There is another aspect to forgiveness and that is 'forgetness.'

So I have an assignment this month; to list all those people I forgave for something and for once and for all to release the event or memory into the cosmos so I am clear of it forever.

After my mother died, it took me four years to address and bring out a negative thing with someone that was preventing me from fully grieving her death. What a relief when it was released!

Recently I had the occasion at a family event to see a man I was married to for almost eight years. We  created two wonderful children who are now two fabulous adults.  We were able to laugh and joke and be the two individuals we needed to be for the circumstances, with a few shared memories to pass on. I hope he felt as I did, that we were a valued part of the tapestry of the woven history with nothing disagreeable to mar the joyous event.

But there are other folks in my past with whom I need to finish things and forget...maybe not forget them, but certainly forget whatever might be negative between us.

If every resentment could actually be weighed, I wonder if it would be like that albatross from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, where the psychological burden of (in this story) killing a bird of good luck becomes a curse to the sailor telling the story.

You have probably heard the expression "like an albatross around his/her neck," meaning the problem is so weighty it is a heavy burden or penance (either actually or imagined). The albatross is actually quite a large bird; it has a wing span of 11 feet! So a dead one would weigh a lot and stink, too.

So it is with resentments.

I''m working on them, and in days to come perhaps I will have some more stories to share. But probably nothing quite so dramatic as the Rime was... read it recently?

Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks

Had I from old and young !

Instead of the cross, the Albatross

About my neck was hung.

Relay for Life and others...

In the midst of preparing for a kind of relay race back to Colombia to close up and out my life down there, I walked the Relay for Life locally to honor my many MM friends and others who are holding on through adversity with cancer. In particular I want to recognize a 'blog-pal' called Karen who has been a reader and supporter here as well as on other blogs. (NOTE: Swim Across America in Seattle will be happening next month - September 7. I have heard rumors that a new and younger member of the family might be competing so I will be donating and will be there!)

Karen and I have never met, never even spoken on the phone, and yet I feel as if I know her from her postings. A compassionate, upbeat and direct-speaking individual, Karen has been through the wringer with the death of her beloved Hugh from MM and her own health challenges. As I walked around the track, ticking off the laps, I sent healing energy to Karen as I know she was having surgery yesterday.

If you are a walker or a runner, perhaps you will join me in simply sending healing thoughts to Karen - or anyone else facing health issues - as you walk or run. Thoughts are things, I am finding, and while the action of walking or running is somewhat of a meditation, it is also a time when we who are lucky enough to be doing it can send some of that vibrant energy onward.

My trip to Colombia will be short and very busy, so I may not post here until I return. I leave you with some pictures from the past couple of weeks and this thought... I have eliminated ALL SUGAR, even in its hidden forms (malodextrin, dextrose, sucrose, corn sugar, etc.) from my diet and body for the past 50 days along with white things like potatoes, rice, (even brown rice) pastas, breads, etc. sticking to fresh vegetables (organic when I can get it) and various proteins. With mild exercise, I have gotten rid of almost 30 pounds of excess baggage (glad they didn't weigh ME at the ticket counter before!) and corrected some health issues of my own.

The Olympics with beach grass in the foreground, WA

The beach grass in close-up at Port Williams, WA

Protection Island, in Puget Sound, Washington

I'm not quite a shadow of my former self, but I'm working
on it. Photo of me with my beach-walking buddy.

Healing and Low Ceilings

Part of my retreat to Washington from Colombia has been to find some solutions for my persistent back ache and I am happy to report that the various activities, one of which includes regular trips to the local whirlpool, seem to be doing some good.

Looking toward the upper end of the Olympic Peninsula under grey skies.

It has been a bit of an adjustment to wake up day after day in the dark, and sometimes grey, skies. That also seems to be making a turn as the days get a little longer and the low clouds occasionally rise up above 1000 feet. Today, while coming back from attending to some things in town, I could see Mt. Rainier very very clearly. The skies surrounding this massive ancient volcano were the palest of blues and the top two-thirds of the mountain are white with accumulated snow. Truly impressive.

There are signs of spring coming here with medium green shoots of narcissus and daffodils trying to push up through the earth, the lilacs and rhododendrons are filling up in preparation for their colorful displays and on my table, as a valentine gift to myself, is a lovely blue hyacinth - a reminder of the ones that used to pop up long ago in our NH garden, sometimes still with snow around their little roots! (The scent of it is just divine!)

Blue Hyacinth on kitchen table offers up hope of spring.

Due to sightings of cougars in the woods nearby, and the movement of male elk with their spring-time desires overriding their good sense about staying away from humans, I have not been able to do much walking out and about. The malls are too small for any really good striding, but I am making friends with people who have some safe trails so gradually I am increasing my outdoor activities.

My watercolor art classes are intriguing and I really enjoy the teacher's methods, even if she does go on a bit about things unrelated to art. Tonight I went to the Museum of Art & History in Sequim and heard a presentation by a quilt artist on how to incorporate photographs into a quilt... it is totally amazing what people are doing with fabric and thread and other things here! The local Episcopal church, St. Luke's, has created over 50 quilts this past year and had them blessed and delivered to people in the community who needed a prayer quilt. An astounding amount of work, in my opinion. So there are vast groups of artistic people here on this 'spit' of land in western Washington, motivating me to be even more creative.

The ancient volcano called Mt. Rainier loomed out on the horizon as
some of the grey clouds lifted for awhile from the Olympic Peninsula.

The biggest challenge has been that I am not doing much photography as the greyness makes the images less than sharp, more often than not, and I never seem to have my tripod ready for those days when I see something worth photographing. But the Sequim-ites (??) assure me that sunnier days - or at least brighter ones - are just around the corner. So come back and see if they were right and if I have indeed started finding some interesting things to photograph.

Ohhhhh, and lest I forget... my sister is celebrating a big "0" birthday today. In order to protect the innocent, I am not going to reveal which number precedes the zero, but I am intending it is a day filled with happy surprises... hugs to you, dear little sister!

A Healing How To.. from The Intenders

The Mot-Mot eats bugs; lots of them!

Many of you have experienced a message from me, some even in person, which goes something like this: "I (or we) are intending _(fill in the the blank with a positive present voice statement)_ for the Highest and Best Good of All Concerned, so be it and SO IT IS!" And I usually add a "Whoooooooooo!" or an "Amen!" at the end in order to make sure the Universe knows I want to be heard.

This was partially learned from a group called The Intenders of the Highest Good, and some of it came from other sources, including my grandmother, Elsa, who believed strongly in the power of the mind. Long ago I used to annoy my children when I would wave my arms in a circle and call out "White Lights!" as they were leaving the house or the car or getting on an airplane. It was my early effort at communicating a blessing, a thought of protection for them, seeing them in their Highest Light of Protection and Good.

Orange blossoms have the most wonderful scent!

When I started this blog, one of my personal objectives was to be a cheerleader for those with MM and to use intentions in that sideline position. It has been gratifying to hear back from some people that they have appreciated my expression of commitment to their well-being. But I am the one who has realized great benefits from my almost daily 'meditations' of healing messages.

I joined an Intenders group in St. Augustine, FL, almost a decade ago, after being trained as a Reiki Master, and have learned a lot during that time about the effects of energy and especially as it relates to healing. And I am still a student. I am learning how water and food can affect that energy, but the mind is a powerful tool as well.

This is not to say that just because you are 'thinking positive thoughts' that you will overcome a health issue, nor is one to blame for an illness or condition because of not having uplifting thoughts. But I do personally believe that focus of thought is part of the equation of healing. So to help explain what I mean, I want to offer a message recently delivered from Tony Burroughs, a co-founder of The Intenders, which says it so much better than I can.

This is a Utah sunset shot I captured last year.

The following doc comes from a recent Intenders Newsletter. It says a great deal about what we stand for and where we’re see ourselves headed in the way we act toward each other.  We've received so many favorable comments on it that we thought we would share it with those of you in The Intenders Facebook Founders Circle.  It’s called Healing: A How To . . .

"Teach no one that he is what you would not want to be." This line comes from A Course in Miracles and it is worth rereading a time or two until you understand it because it says so much to those who are intending to make a happier, healthier life for themselves. Indeed, these few words hold a key to discerning and dispelling all that we have been taught about sicknesses, defense, money and almost everything we believe in.

For when we look closely we realize that we have been taught how to get sick, how to defend ourselves against enemies unseen, how to manifest lack and limitation, how to act in conformance with all that our society deems proper and just. Fortunately, people are waking up now and we're beginning to ask ourselves: "Are these things we have been taught continuing to serve us? Would the people who taught us (and continue to teach us) to believe in disease, defense, and destitution want to be experiencing these things for themselves?" It's very doubtful.

At this point we can stop and play the Blame Game (as so many of us have done in the past), or we can take a new tack. We can begin to reexamine all the old beliefs we were taught, discard those that are making us sick or unhappy, and we can make use of another line from The Course which says, "When a brother behaves insanely, you can heal him only by perceiving the sanity in him."

We in the Intenders would say that we see him in his Highest Light. We see his Perfection, his Divine Essence, his Spirit Self - and in doing so something quite magical - a transformation - begins to happen. He picks up on what we're doing and he contemplates a change in his behavior. No longer will he teach that which he would not want for himself. Now he's taken the first step in healing wounds he's carried with him from way back.

This is what is happening all around us these days. In the midst of seemingly relentless chaos, more and more people are holding the template of the Highest Light. We're seeing everyone and everything in its Highest, Sanest, Most Joyful State of Being, and, as a result, we're having a profound effect on the world we live in. We're healing it. We're healing it all - and here's the best part: That's exactly what we need to be doing in order to heal our own wounds from way back.

Tony Burroughs

10/1/11

Bougainvilla grows everywhere here.

Early on in my Reiki training, we learned that when we are healing others, we are healing ourselves as well. That isn't why I started doing Reiki, but it has been a wonderful adjunct to my practice. Reading "A Course in Miracles" daily for one year was another way to come to a greater understanding of how my early 'training' has affected all my life. 

Clearly I am no saint, nor am I about to claim to be The Healer. I am merely the conduit, the plastic pipe through which the energy and the message flows. I wanted to share this message so that others might join in this flow, this wonderful possible effect of healing it all... and for all of us to be in our Highest Light for the highest and best good of all concerned.... so be it and so it is.... whooooooooooo!

Beginning a New Year

"La Ventana (2011)" is my first work in oil in several decades.

I celebrated my birthday recently and it seemed appropriate that I had also completed an oil painting I started awhile ago. It is view out of the window of my casa to the slopes beyond. In the blog, "On Being An Artist," I published the start of the piece and while I took pictures along the way, I never really knew when it would be done as I struggled to find my way from mid-point to the end.

In a way, The Painting, the first oil I have done in ages, is a metaphor for my life, except that I hope that mine isn't done yet! But the mid-way struggle is not unlike what we go through in the 40's and 50's trying to find the right balance of color and shape in our lives. Then as we arrive at the 60's we find a certain level of acceptance of limitations based on our experiences, health and desires, and we move on, using what we have to the best of our ability.

I am calling it "The Window" or "La Ventana" and now my next challenge is what will I paint next? Will it be "The Door?"

Last year I took this photo of a friend at her finca. Before I decided to return to oil painting, I used PhotoShop. I have worked some other photos in a similar way and actually have liked the results more than the sharp image I started with. If I could find a reasonable place to print them on canvas, I might try some them in that format as well.

So, it's a new year and I'm exploring...

I "PhotoShopped" this shot to make it a softer focus and
to eliminate the distractions of the greenery so that she
was truly the center of attention.

Ten Tips for Traveling Solo

After reading the two remarks from readers about my safety, I thought I might write a little bit about being a solo woman traveler to those who may be thinking or dreaming of going someplace farther away than the next big city alone.

And I am sooooo appreciative of my reader's concerns... and it is because of those issues that I took this subject today and offer my Ten Tips for Tight-Assed Traveling... mostly for women, but men might find this helpful, too.

There is always a lot to see in a new city or country; take
time to do your research before going to enhance your trip.

First, I think it is essential if one is planning to travel solo anywhere, by car, plane, train, bus, ship or NASA moon rocket to have some kind of itinerary mapped out which is shared with several people who will be receiving your calls, text messages or e-mails along the route.

Second, an agreed-upon phrase to use which will indicate there is a problem and thus some kind of plan of action worked out. It is comforting to know that when you carry a cell phone it is like a homing device for the authorities. As long as it is on, it will "ping" various cell towers in range and you can be tracked in that way. (So if you plan to have an affair and don't wish to be found, leave the cell phone behind.)

Third step is to make plans so that when you arrive someplace you have a car, taxi, or hotel van ready to meet you after customs or baggage delivery. This is required if you arrive after dark! 

If you are driving on a trip (such as across the country as I have done more times than I care to discuss), make it a rule to stop before dark. If possible, call ahead to reserve a room. These places along highways are less security conscious, so if you are at all concerned and feel the room offered doesn’t provide the kind of security you want, ask to have it changed and that’s why you make sure you arrive before dark!

TIP: Those GPS systems are worth their weight in gold for finding the lost motel or hotel in a strange city in the dark!

I didn't take my own advice on this: After getting up very early in Florida on Thursday, I arrived in Bogota that night about 8 p.m. I was concerned that the hotel I had reserved for the night would not know my flight information and would not be at the airport for me because I couldn’t remember when I made my reservation on line if I had told them I was arriving by plane. Guess what? They must be psychic! They were there; I just didn’t know it. (More fool me... an American woman arriving in Bogota for one night is very likely to be arriving by plane. How did they know which one? Do you really think you are traveling incognito? That’s a fiction.)

But I got assistance from the nice folks at Avianca (airline I flew in on) to find out if there was a hotel shuttle - there was - and to help me locate the representative. The Avianca arrival location at Bogota's airport is away from the regular arrivals so that was another part of my concern. But my name was on their hotel list and they whisked me away and got me into my room by 9 p.m.

Most of the international modern hotels today are very secure and don't do such foolish things as hand over a key and announce in a loud voice, "Here you go, Miss, your room number is 1234 and it's the single room you asked for," as happened to me in Denmark 35 years ago, resulting in a room invasion. That's a story for another time and although I was married, I was traveling alone, going on ahead to wait for my husband.

In fact, arriving at a hotel in Bogota, Colombia is like arriving at a G-9 summit meeting with armed guards, police dogs and undercover agents watching as people move about the lobby.

Have a camera handy if you enjoy capturing light and colors as I do.

The Ar Hotel Salitre is brand new (open only three months), very modern and charming at the same time. There was live music in the bar, the staff is sharp and professional and helpful, and even though the airport is close and the hotel is in a busy section of the city, most noise from outside is greatly diffused. And the hotel food was delicious, which is more common than not, at least in Colombia.

Security is top notch, with guards at the entrance, a para-military structure is in place with a dog patrolling the entrance outside along with its keeper, and all the rooms are only accessed by a card and you must have the card to access the elevators and other facilities - they have a fabulous spa and 'soaking pool' for guests; something I will hope to enjoy during my next visit.

I have written about Bogota before, but if you want to get some of the details and see some photos (I am usually here for such a short time and usually arriving in the dark, so I don't get the best ones.), then please click on the link.

Fourth on the list: Have currency for the country you are going to visit in hand when you arrive. There is nothing more risky than having to get money changed upon arrival and there are LOTS of people watching you when you do this. Most of the larger and international banks can get you some initial funds (equivalent to $200 USD, let's say) for taxi rides or tipping or meals. I make it a point also, to have small bills in a small wallet for these purposes and never, never show larger bills from that wallet. I keep the larger bills in another location in my bag and when I go to the loo, I transfer what I think I will need into the small wallet.  This avoids any big display of money when getting in or out of cabs, vans, or busses when you are really at your most vulnerable to pick-pockets, etc. I also try to have a tip amount tucked away in a pocket so I can just reach for it, knowing ahead of time how much it is.

When buying souveniers, remember that most sellers do
not have change for large bills and you will draw
attention to yourself unnecessarily.

Fifth point: Savvy travelers (men or women) dress to impress or dress to be invisible. I have learned I am more comfortable dressing to blend in and also to be comfortable. Long flights in tights are in the past for me, thank goodness! I wear Patagonia ‘sweater-things’ with zippered pockets ensuring tip money won’t be easily removed or lost and they are wonderful in multiple temperature zones. I wear black pants with a bit of elasticity so they give and don’t show the dirt. Then when I arrive I don’t necessarily look like I’ve been put through a travel wringer, though I occasionally feel that way. The last aspect of this point is that when you travel and are comfortable with how you look and how you feel, you have an air of confidence that tends to put Sneaky Snakes (apologies to Tom T. Hall) off to look for more vulnerable hits.

Sixthly (just kidding): Take your jewelry with you to wear for that special event you are going to, but limit what you wear. I wear a pair of simple gold hoops, a band on each ring finger and a simple silver or gold pendant (sometimes). Although not married, the wedding ring finger band discourages unwanted conversations and the other band seems to add enough confusion that I just continue to do it.

Number Seven: Never, ever take more luggage than you can handle all by yourself! Depending where you arrive and when you arrive, there may not be any porters or other service people to assist you. So all that rolling stock, ladies, better be able to be stacked, wrapped, hoisted or heaved onto your existing bags or your back... and the new baggage rules are 50 pounds per bag - absolutely - no wiggle room. Avianca even limits the weight of the carry-on to 10 pounds now. Spend $7 at some department store and get the baggage weight thing that tells you how much your bag weighs. Oh, and weigh it as well if you are taking it with you.

TIP: If your trip requires more than one bag and more than one stopover, choose one bag to be the one you open at the hotel and leave the other one alone until you are at your destination. This ensures you don’t mess with the weight of each bag by packing and unpacking at all your stops along the way and also makes getting up and out the next day a little bit easier.

Eight down, two to go: Do not tell strangers your life story while standing in line or at the gate. You do not know who is going where and what their agenda is. If someone asks you where you are going or who you are going to see, just change the subject or ask them those same questions. BE PRIVATE. It is possible to be friendly and still be very private. If they persist, be courageous enough to tell them it is none of their business why you are traveling. I am sure I have offended some people by telling them that, but I also ensured that the Sneaky Snake farther back in the line was not going to find out my plans.

Ninth: After arriving, don’t let your guard down. Pay attention to the people around you. Listen to your intuition. Even if you are going to be in a hotel with a group, don’t forget that there are people watching you. Some are hired to do that by the hotel or facility, but there are others who are looking for a chance to improve their situation by messing up yours. This doesn’t mean you have to be paranoid about everything and fearful - not at all. It does mean that you make plans to do things with an eye to your own safety.

Remember: if you have an agreement to call someone upon arrival, please do what you agreed upon. When I was in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the biggest number of calls we dealt with were people who were called in, by concerned friends or relatives, as “missing” but they were actually those who failed to call in that they had arrived at their destination and were safe.   

Obviously... (amazingly not so obvious to some people) don’t leave jewelry, computers, other valuables like mp3 players lying around the hotel room... that’s why they have wall safes. Use them.

Last - Number Ten: The biggest reason for traveling alone is that you can sleep late if you want to, you can see what you want to see, you can stay as long as you want at the museum, have a massage or go shopping. There are a lot of joys to traveling alone. I met several really interesting people on my recent train and plane trips. I laughed, I enjoyed a meal with one of them, I got some good tips on new books to read and shared photographs of my travels with someone who is never going to be able to do what I am doing. She said, “I am not envious because I am too old for that. But you have made this old woman’s day of travel one she won’t forget. Thank you!”

That’s my reason for traveling... to share, to care, to listen, to talk and discuss, to learn something new, to have fun. I hope your next trip is successful and that you get out of it everything you expected and for those things that are not, may those surprises be wonderful memories.

Summer is over.

This photo of the pier near the ferry landing in Edmonds, Washington, does not give a hint that summer is over. I took this last week. Yesterday the air was clean, crisp, clear. And cool. Summer is over - at least in this neck of the woods.

I was left to my own devices all day long - not necessarily a good thing. After walking about the Alderwood Mall for several hours and buying only a monopod for my camera, I figgered it was time to head back to the home base. The restless feeling was still there, and the sun was making a beeline for the horizon, so I thought it might be time for another Mukilteo sunset.

(Do you know what a "beeline" really is? It's a straight line, taken from the observers of bees, flying from the flowers back to the hive.)

This shot (left) of the Olympic range has all those perfectly delicate pastel colors I try to recreate in my drawings but never quite master. (This was what I saw at the ferry landing when I began thinking it was time to consider something rash, like running and jumping on a departing ferry boat.)

On board the ferry heading for Whidbey Island.

OK, so grab the camera, something warm and the car keys. Amazingly enough for a Friday night, the line to the ferry was practically gone! I found a place to park and went to Ivar's and ordered a small shrimp and french fries. As I was sitting by myself, I thought, "Why don't you just get a walk-on ticket and take a ferry ride? It's a nice night, not too windy, no one has to be asked 'Can I?' and maybe you'll get some interesting shots." I went quickly to the ticket window and the fellow said "If you hurry you can get on this one, $4.10 please, and be back here by 8:30." Deal.

Arriving at Whidbey Island.

I was feeling a bit lonely and whenever I get to that place, I find if I do something for someone else, I always can bring myself back to center. Healing me, I heal others - like Reiki which works in reverse. I decided I would take some pictures to share with a particular blog friend who suffers with MM, and who has other challenges which make mine seem infinitesimal by comparison. So this story is for B, not the B belonging to Feresknit, but a B nonetheless - perhaps more of the B-line, since this individual is such a straight-shooter.

The ride over was brisk - brisk by speed standards and easily by temperature standards. The air has a bite from the north which makes the  photography especially crisp, but also nips at one's fingers like an ice puppy making a down vest very desirable.

Waiting to take the same ferry back to Mukilteo.

I loved watching the sky change color and tried to get a clear shot here, but the ferry passenger waiting spot doesn't have great views. The land mass on the horizon is Everett with the Cascade mountain range faintly seen.

Then as the ferry boat whistle blew, I went to the other side to catch this shot (below) of the pink clouds and their light on the water. Really, who could take a bad shot of sunset anyhow? As I listened to the churning of the motors below, I got that same kind of excitement I used to get when we got underway from the harbors in the South and I knew we had an adventure in store. There is a new one ahead for me.

As the ferry heads back across the Puget Sound to
Mulkilteo, the last light of the sun catches the clouds.

But traveling just 20 minutes by boat doesn't constitute the bigger one of which I speak. This was just a side trip, a break in the routine, a short diversion from the longer journey. This was just helping me get myself back on center by sharing something lovely with someone I wished could be sharing it with me... not any friend, but a special pal who listens and gives me feedback. Now that is a Friend indeed!

Arriving after sunset at Mukilteo.

As I walked off the ferry, the fellow who had to help me figure out how to scan my ticket and kept  his calm while the line handlers were impatient to let go and let the ferry get under way greeted me as if I was returning from an around-the-world adventure. "How was your trip?" he asked.

"Quite lovely," I replied. "I had a great time." His smile equalled mine. "That's great! Have a nice evening."

I held up traffic for just a second while I snapped this last shot coming off the ferry and walking toward the parking lot. It sums up my day. We cannot make shore without the beacons of our friends, guiding us toward their light, their unspoken caring pulling us into a safe harbor and calmer waters. And like lighthouses, we don't need many. 

Mukilteo Lighthouse still shines for sailors.

In a few days, I will pack my suitcases and head south - far south... back to South America for a couple of months. I will miss the turning of the leaves, the impending cool of winter. Instead I will be in 75 degrees every day for several weeks and then will come back to the absolute chill of November. Another adventure in the making. More stories to tell.

I will be sharing those travels as I have access to the Internet, so I hope you will check in now and then.

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."