Healing: A Personal Story

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Berkeley On His Way To Surgery

Reiki makes a difference.

My dog Berkeley was born with a few dental issues. Four of his upper teeth were cutting into his lower jaw, causing inflammation that would eventually lead to an infection in his lower jaw. After careful research, I scheduled his surgery on a Friday of last February.

The surgery went well, but after three days Berkeley started bleeding. I will spare you the details, but I have never seen such a small animal lose so much blood, and lose it so fast. It was horrible. Was it from the surgery? Did he eat a chicken bone?

After a trip to the vet, I found out it was a reaction to his pain medication. I was very relieved to find it wasn’t something worse, but Berkeley was still far from well. He was given medication for his colon and had to eat boiled chicken and rice until his digestion returned to normal. That meant he had to poop, which might take as long as three days.

Berkeley was feeling pretty bad. When we got home from the animal hospital, he got out of the car and just rolled over on the garage floor because he was so tired. It was scary and heart-breaking.

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Berkeley Healing

As soon as I carried Berkeley inside, I started giving him Reiki with both hands. It was cold and rainy outside, and my hands were warm with energy. Berkeley turned over on his back and snuggled in for all he could get.

I have never seen any person or animal take in so much Reiki as my nineteen-pound dog did over those three days. For about a year before the surgery, Berkeley and I had been meditating and sharing Reiki every morning. We were doing a beautiful Reiki meditation I learned in Kathleen Prasad’s Animal Reiki courses, that does not require touch. Now, though, he wanted Reiki with my hands on him.

My boyfriend Geoffrey is also a Reiki Practitioner, and we both gave Berkeley Reiki throughout the evenings, often all three of us sharing Reiki at the same time. Berkeley comes to work with me, so he also had Reiki between clients during the day.

When giving Reiki to animals, the animals let you how much they want, and I watched carefully for any signs of Reiki over-saturation. Berkeley always turned over asked for more. There were even times when he was so uncomfortable he did not want to be petted, but he always wanted my hands on him for Reiki.
Doing continual healing work with Berkeley was a profound experience. Many times during those three days there was no “me” giving Reiki, there was no “Berkeley” receiving Reiki, there was just this beautiful, peaceful, loving connection. There was just this space where we were all connected, and everything was ok, really ok. It’s impossible to describe fully.

What could have been an emotionally stressful time became a great gift with Reiki. If you are the least bit interested in learning to share Reiki with your animal, you can start by checking out Kathleen Prasad’s book “Reiki For Dogs.” Even if you have never done energy work before, do one of her “Try This” exercises and see what happens. You may be amazed.2016031695105327

I would like to thank The Berkeley Dog and Cat Hospital, Dr. Isaacson, Reiki Teacher Kathleen Prasad, Sharon, Maurine, Neal, Terese, Bruce, Mojo, my Mom and Geoffrey Matsumoto for all your support during Berkeley’s recovery.

Jeri Lawson is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

Healing: Grounding and Creativity, Part Four

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Painting by Livia Stein

Being grounded and safe does not hold back our creative energy. It is so much easier to push our comfort zone when we are grounded and present in the moment.

Grounding is incredibly valuable for manifesting our ideas and vision in this world. Are you ready to quit your day job and finish that book? Start your own business? Rent a studio to paint in? Travel to Asia?

Start by getting grounded. Then it is so much easier to make it happen. Take the big leap or do one tiny simple step; trust and honor your process. It’s all good.

From Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

“Simple Definition of grounded— used to describe a person who is sensible and has a good understanding of what is really important in life.”

Jeri Lawson is available for very grounding Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

Healing: Grounding and Feeling Safe, Part Three

DSC_4057 Grounding helps the body feel safe.

Feeling safe is very healing.

Feeling safe and grounded in your body, even for a few minutes, is so beneficial after an accident, surgery or other traumatic event. I have energetically supported many clients through divorces, chemotherapy, and the loss of a family member by holding an energetic space where they can feel safe. Many times that feeling of being safe was the pivotal factor they needed to relax and heal themselves.

During a series of healing sessions with a client, I sometimes ask, “Do you feel safe in your body?” Physically safe?  Emotionally safe? Financially safe? I have found just becoming conscious of where we do not feel safe, in our bodies and in our lives, has opened many pathways to clearing unconscious fear.

What makes you feel safe and grounded?

  • A healing session?
  • A walk in nature?
  • Being around family?
  • Not being around family?
  • Talking to a friend?
  • Working?
  • Having a certain amount of money in the bank?
  • Giving yourself Reiki?

Life on this planet is a wild ride. Being grounded can be immensely helpful in not letting fear and anxiety stop us from living the life we want to live.

Jeri Lawson is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

Healing: Grounding and Food, Part Two

Check out Cindy's Krasner's heart-based, plant based meal prep and delivery at Taking Root
Check out Cindy’s Krastner’s heart-based, plant-based meal prep and delivery at Taking Root

Do you eat when you are not hungry?

Do you eat when you are tired, stressed or unfocused?

Food is grounding. Eating makes us feel nourished, supported and more present in our bodies. Many people overeat because they are ungrounded.

Eating to feel balanced and grounded is not a bad thing, especially when you are conscious of what you are doing. In fact, that is the key, making conscious choices of what and when you eat, instead of reacting from habitual emotional patterns.

An energetic healing can get you grounded, and a series of sessions can clear your energy field of emotional blocks, congestion and toxins so your body can stay grounded. People often change their eating patterns after a series of healings, because they feel balanced.

If you are planning to do a cleanse or change your diet, a hands-on-healing can be an excellent support. Here are a few other ways to reground:

Taking Root
Taking Root
  • Go outside and walk or stand barefoot on the earth. Click here for more information on earthing.
  • Take five slow connected breathes deep into your belly. This is also quite energizing.
  • Visualize that grounding cord I wrote about last week. It really works.

Click on the photos and check out Cindy Kastner’s plant-based company – Taking Root. She has a passion for food and health, and her business is all about healing. There is so much love in every dish!

Jeri Lawson is available for sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

Healing: Grounding, Part One

http://www.kristenloken.com/
Photo by Kristen Loken

When I started writing about grounding, I realized there was a lot of information to cover. Being grounded is so essential to our biofield, our health, and our lives. I’m a little surprised I have not written about grounding before now.

My definition of being grounded is the feeling of being connected to the earth, present in your body and in the moment. Being grounded helps us feel safe in our bodies, peaceful, centered, strong and alive.

 

Here are a few signs that you may not be grounded:

  • You misplaced your keys several times this week.
  • You have been bumping into things.
  • You feel fatigued, spacey and find it hard to stay organized.

In my energetic practice, many imbalances I discover in my clients energy field quickly resolve once they become grounded. I have found issues like headaches, anxiety, and jet lag fall away just by grounding.

How can you become grounded? Continue reading “Healing: Grounding, Part One”

After the Retreat: How To Keep The Peace

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A few weeks ago I wrote about a retreat I went to in Idyllwild, California. There were two group phone calls afterward and someone asked: “How do I keep this peace, this connection, and joy I felt during the retreat in my daily life?”

“You don’t ever have to leave it! Make it your priority to touch this place through your practices each day. Be devoted. It will stabilize through your devotion. “

Supriya Neika Whittemore, Sound and Silence Retreat Facilitator

I realize now that devotion is a deeper place of commitment to peace than I have experienced before, and this commitment to peace connects me to everything – my work, my relationships, my life. So simple.

What a beautiful perspective.

Thank you, Supriya.

Jeri Lawson is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

A Video Report: Healing Touch Therapy Reduces Pain And Anxiety

I just love this little news video about Healing Touch. Click here to watch it.

I love the shot of a women receiving a session with her full-length boots on. I love hearing about another headache that was released with energy work, and I love the fact this was made in Ketchum, Idaho.

Enjoy.

 

Jeri Lawson is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

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Healing Studio Window

 

A Healing Retreat

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Several months ago my friend Mary Gaetjens asked me to drive with her to a retreat in Idyllwild, California. At that moment, I was feeling way too attached to my schedule, and I knew it was time to get away from my to-do list. Sometimes just the right thing arrives at just the right time.

The retreat was called Sound and Silence. There was silent meditation, chanting, good food and quiet time in a stunningly beautiful place

It was perfect. The photo above is of one of the 12 women I shared this extraordinary time with. I had forgotten how deeply restorative a retreat can be.

There is so much more I want to say about this adventure, but for now, I think the photo pretty much sums up the whole experience.

Click here to find out more about the Sound and Silence Retreats.

Jeri Lawson is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

Healing And The Nature Of Energy

WoodcutDistanceHealingiWeb One question I am often asked as a healer is: “Aren’t you afraid you will pick up your client’s bad energy?”

I even had a woman who did not want to come for a healing because she thought her energy was too “bad.”

In almost 20 years of doing energy work, I have never found any bad energy.

I have found “stuck” energy, energy that felt frozen, and people with very low energy flow. These are just a few of millions of ways we can be out of energetic alignment, and these imbalances can be very uncomfortable and even extremely painful. They may even manifest as emotional, mental and physical symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, or high blood pressure.

The nature of energy is clearly addressed in Healing Touch, Scope and Standards of Practice, a small booklet published by the Healing Touch Program. There is a section of 30 statements entitled Major Concepts and Principles Specifically Taught in the Healing Touch Curriculum. Below is #23 of these principles/concepts:

“The nature of energy that a practitioner helps to release from a client’s energy field through Healing Touch clearing methods is neither good or bad, but neutral. It is not harmful the practitioner, who is merely acting as the facilitator of gathering, moving, and releasing it from a client’s  energy system. As long as the practitioner remains grounded and centered, s/he is protected from any untoward temporary symptoms that can occur when two energy fields become blended, as during an energy treatment. The practitioner can clear/release that which no longer serves the client, trusting that it is being received into the Universal Energy Field where it can be transformed according to Higher Power.”

This is a big topic that can be explored in future posts. Are you an energy practitioner or have you had a healing? What are your thoughts or experiences with the nature of energy?

Jeri Lawson is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork sessions Monday through Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, in the Temescal Area of Oakland, California

Self-Mind Clearing: The Video

Penny Burdick, MD, HTCP is a board-certified holistic family physician. She retired from an active family practice of 31 years at the end of 2011.

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Dr. Burdick created a modification of a Healing Touch technique called Mind Clearing that you can easily do on yourself. Self-Mind Clearing is a set of hand positions that balances the energy flow within the brain and relaxes the mind. Her Self-Mind Clearing technique has been approved by the Healing Touch program and was published in the March-April 2015 edition of Energy Magazine.

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Try it right now!  Click below to watch the video and follow along with Sita Thompson, who demonstrates the complete technique.

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You can also check out her blog here:  http://mandalahealingtouch.com/self-c…/self-mind-clearing-2/

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Thank you, Dr. Burdick!

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