I finished my 21 days on Monday and kept going, but didn’t remember to count until today!

What I got out of it:

• The preparation is the most fun for me! Anchoring myself to the center of the earth and the center of the cosmos, then bringing earth energy up through the soles of my feet until I’m full and bringing heaven energy down through the crown of my head until I’m full, then letting them swirl and mingle — wow, yummy.
• My friend Glenda Raver, a Reiki master, gave me some pointers on self-treatment. If what I wrote above differs from what I originally wrote about preparing for a session, it’s because of Glenda’s good advice.
• Reiki theory has it that no matter where you put your hands, the energy goes where it’s needed most. What I noticed was that when my hands were at a place that seemed to need more energy, I could feel more energy flowing in, mostly through my feet but sometimes through my crown. There’s definitely a current, and it fluctuates.
• I’ve been sensitive to the energy in my feet for some time. Doing this helped me gain sensitivity in my hands, especially my fingertips and palms.
• I probably overdid it on my head. Instead of just putting my hands over my eyes, ears, crown, and back of my head, I added in the sides of my head, and one hand on the back and the other on my forehead. It was like I couldn’t get enough energy into my head!
• I also added places to put my hands where I know my body needs it, like the left sacroiliac joint.
• I do feel much more detoxed from the stress of my former job.
• I forget exactly when, but at some point in the 21 days, I began using the distance symbol to share my Reiki treatments with Katherine Daniel, who’s been undergoing chemo and radiation (and felt so good she pulled out her port a day or two early!).
• I have no idea how I’d be doing if I hadn’t done the Reiki, but I think it’s like meditation and yoga. Reiki adds to my vitality, resilience, and equanimity. Over the 21 days, my house was broken into and laptop and DVD player stolen among other stuff, and unavoidably I ran over something that resulted in my car needing to have work done, all the while having my house shown to prospective buyers, celebrating the holidays, and waiting to hear whether a TV show selected my house for beautifying (they didn’t choose me). Honestly, I think I would feel a lot more nerve-wracked if I hadn’t been doing Reiki.

I’m going to continue doing Reiki on myself daily and begin doing Reiki on others. I will keep using the distance symbol for Katherine until she tells me not to, and for Lisa Kurtz, a fellow Appamada Zen practitioner who was in a really bad car accident and has much recovery ahead of her.