President’s Message
Reiki is compassion in action. This reminder from Chiyoko
Sensei is resonating with me very much these days. So
much of the opposite we see in
our world today and it even
seems to increase.
What is a good way to deal with
all this unrest? Watching the
news, reading the newspaper,
our compassionate hearts want
to help. How can we do that
without getting lost in all this
negativity?
I often tell the story of one of
my teachers in high school
(social studies) who pointed out
that our society very much
builds on every single family. At
that point in time I didn’t really
agree with that, but apparently
it left quite an impression on
me.
Now I know what he meant. The well-being of a family
starts with every one of its members. That’s where we can
make a difference. It very much starts with ourselves,
trying to live as much as possible according to the Gokai.
When we learn to focus more on the positive side of life,
we become more relaxed and happy and it works like a
domino effect on our families. From there it will spread
into society. That’s my life experience of already 61 years.
With spring approaching it’s a
time of new beginnings, new
life, and new habits. We can
always change, at any moment.
Please take advantage of this
truth. You might want to recite
the Gokai on a daily basis as
Usui sensei suggested:
“Every morning and evening
join your hands in prayer.
Pray these words with your
heart and chant these words
with your mouth.”
Usui Reiki treatment method
for the improvement of body
and mind.
Have a wonderful spring and summer!
Reiki blessings,
Gabrielle Gietzen, Dai Shihan
Chair JRAC
Halifax, NS
Newsletter #9 of the Jikiden Reiki Association of Canada
Winter 2016
Hello everyone!
I really enjoy reading The Dragonfly newsletters. It’s an
excellent way to stay informed. I read the last winter
edition while sitting in a booth at a Health Show (Salon
Harmonie) in Trois-Rivières, where I was to promote
Jikiden Reiki. I was extremely pleased to read that a
motion was passed at the Association’s AGM to encourage
its members to better promote Jikiden Reiki. I decided to
contribute to this
incentive by telling you
about my own
experience.
During the past 2 years,
I have participated in
over ten public events. I
find that this is by far
the best way for me to
promote Reiki and
especially Jikiden Reiki.
After having learned
and practiced Jikiden
Reiki, I was convinced of
its authenticity and effectiveness. Since there are very few
practitioners in Québec, I felt the need to inform others. I
started by updating my web site, registering on various
sites where I could create my own information page, and I
wrote articles. Although this was interesting, the impact
was limited. When I started to participate in health,
wellbeing and spirituality fairs, I was surprised to see how
much the attendees were interested in Reiki and in
understanding the simple and effective practice of Jikiden
Reiki.
Since I found this to be a very positive experience, I
strongly encourage you to participate in such events.
The way to organize your booth depends on your
motivation to participate in a particular show. You may
offer short Reiki sessions, or you can team up with other
practitioners in order to share the booth’s rental costs, all
the while giving the
visitors a chance to
enjoy the benefits of
Reiki. It is quite
motivating and
interesting to offer and
create a space for Reiki.
I did this a few times in
the early 1990s when
Reiki was just starting to
be known in North
America.
Now, I do things a bit
differently. I rent a small
space and I only answer
the questions from attendees. Sometimes, to let someone
experience Reiki, I will ask the person concerned if I may
rest my hand on his/her back or shoulder and, in a short
while, he/she will feel some heat or the energy circulating
in his/her body.
Also, when participating in a health fair, I take the
opportunity to give a talk or do a presentation on the
origins and the benefits of Jikiden Reiki. I do not need
much equipment: a picture of Mikao Usui, a Jikiden Reiki
poster, the masters’ lineage, an information sheet on
Jikiden Reiki, some information on Reiki classes and
business cards.
No matter how you set up your booth, I am convinced that
this type of experience is always beneficial. Of course, it is
a good way to promote oneself, but that is nothing
compared to the satisfaction of contributing in spreading
Reiki as Usui sensei gave it to us. I consider that it is a
humble contribution to the collective wellbeing. I find that
it is like sowing a seed; we do not need to see if it will grow
to become a plant, our task is accomplished by doing the
best we can.
I would also like to add that even if there is no health and
wellbeing show in your area, keep your eyes peeled!
There are always activities organized on Women’s Day, or
Family Day, or Youth Day and Senior activities… Some
opportunities present themselves in Yoga or Tai Chi
centers, gyms, etc. I gave information sessions on Jikiden
Reiki in community centers, followed by some time for
demonstration.
Would you like to share your experiences with us? This can
only help the cause of Jikiden Reiki. Let’s use this
newsletter to help one another.
Lastly, I would like to thank Francine Mineault for giving
me a hand with the translation of this article.
A big Reiki Hug to all!
Danièle Bernier, Shihan
L'Ancienne-Lorette, QC
Jikiden Reki - A Connection to Everyone
In the Fall of 2011 I took the Shoden and Okuden levels
from Tadao sensei and fell in love with Jikiden Reiki.
On the first day when we sat in a circle to experience
Mawashi, Tadao sensei moved the person sitting in front
of me and sat there himself. Freak out!! My hands would
not stay put. They patted, slapped and rubbed. I was so
embarrassed. I willed my hands to follow the instructions
but to no avail. My hands knew something that my head
did not know. At the conclusion of the Mawashi, Tadao
asked his wonderful translator to tell me that my hands
were directed by the spirits of the ancestors and to never
block that. Wow!! I already knew about this connection to
the compassionate helping spirits, but the fact that he
'knew' was astonishing.
On the second day of Shoden, just before Reiju, I went to
the photograph of Chiyoko sensei and silently thanked her
for all she had done for Reiki and continued to pass on
through her wonderful son. A blast of pure love energy
enveloped me. I felt as though I was held in a pink bubble
of love. Tears of gratitude kept me sniveling throughout
the Reiju and turned to tears of sadness as the energy
slowly dissipated. I never cry, so I had no tissues and had
to keep sniffing. Kind people sent tissues down the row to
me and their simple act of kindness started the tears
again. I knew I was in the right place and that Jikiden Reiki
would replace my earlier practices of western Reiki,
Therapeutic Touch, and
Shamanism.
The Okuden level was especially of
interest to me. To receive training
in a 'simple' way to help people
with psychological issues was
delightful. I have since received
many Sei heki treatments during
the bimonthly exchange of
treatments in and near Halifax.
They seem to dissolve my
attachment to, and focus on,
unwanted feelings. How magical is
that?!!! – almost as magical as the
sensational teachers and
practitioners who make these get-
togethers possible.
The Enkaku treatment validated my own experiences with
distance healing and reinforced my belief that a technique
shaped through a cultural belief system different from my
own was nonetheless essentially the same. My partner in
the workshop was from yet another culture with another
way of relating to what we were all learning.
As we exchanged distance healing with one another over
the following week, I was blessed with an additional way
of understanding that none of us are truly different. All are
precious.
The more often I receive Reiju and JR treatments and give
treatments, the more I heal – body, mind and spirit.
Chronic symptoms have lessened and new difficulties
never strongly take root and often
disappear altogether.
This gives me the energy, at 72, to
step up my volunteer work with
cancer patients and their care-
givers in the Sunshine Room
(Halifax, NS). They all love the
Reiki, even people who have never
received any form of energy work
feel relaxed, cared for and
rejuvenated. Occasionally, the
Kekko is appropriate and I am so
happy to be given this additional
technique in the healing arsenal.
Thank you to all the fabulous and
inspiring JR teachers, seen and
unseen, and all the truly wonderful practitioners who
show such compassion, patience and support both to me
and to each other. We are not separate.
Blessings to you and yours,
Sheila Porter RN (RET), proud JR practitioner
Halifax, NS
The Journey Room
The young woman on the table was brought to me by the
head oncology nurse. This was my first Reiki treatment in
the Journey Room at the South Shore Regional Hospital in
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Since this was only the second
time that Reiki had been offered, I had arrived early in case
there were any glitches. The table was set up and there
was a salt lamp, a chair for me to sit in and a sound system
but it took some time to round up sheets, pillow cases and
a blanket. I had brought some of my favourite music and it
was cued up.
I had met this
young woman in
the Journey
Room while she
waited to get
processed and it
was clear that
she was
concerned about
what was going
to happen. As
she lay down on
the table I explained a bit about Reiki and told her about
the music that was playing, “Paul Horn under the Dome of
the Taj Mahal” and that the session would last 20 minutes.
As I whispered the Go Kai to myself I thought about the
events that had brought us together:
The announcement that the South Shore Regional Hospital
was finally establishing a cancer patient support service
similar to the Sunshine Room in Halifax had been greeted
with great enthusiasm by alternative and complementary
therapy practitioners on the South Shore. The project had
been over ten years in development and had faced many
obstacles but with support from the current hospital
administration, dedicated volunteers and the community
at large both space and financial resources were finally in
place in 2015.
When the call for
volunteers came
out in the
summer of 2015,
several Reiki
practitioners
applied and
Gabrielle Gietzen
was able to set
up an
information
session with key
staff at the South Shore facility that included sample
treatments. An additional treatment session was arranged
for staff that missed the first session. A wide variety of
issues were discussed with experience gained from the
Sunshine Room playing a key role. The sample treatments
really made an impression and staff quickly realized that a
separate treatment room would be needed if the
envisioned services were to be provided in an effective
manner and got to work developing a solution.
The Journey Room opened in late October with volunteer
greeters. The plan was to start therapies in the new year in
a separate waiting room that would be converted to a
treatment space three mornings a week.
2016 started with 6 Reiki practitioners (4 Jikiden and 2
Western) taking a full day general orientation at the
hospital which included WHMIS, privacy policies and
emergency and sanitation procedures. Our applications
had been accepted,
we had been
interviewed, our
credentials had been
checked, criminal
records checks had
been completed and
references had been
interviewed. We were given an additional orientation for
our specific volunteer duties and pictures were taken for
our ID cards. Due to holidays, delays in certification, and
previous commitments only 2 practitioners were available
to do treatments in January.
Before I knew it the 20 minutes were up. I asked, “How do
you feel?” She said, “I didn’t know what the Taj Mahal
looked like on the inside so I imagined that I was in one of
the big cathedrals I saw in Europe and then I went to into a
forest. Thank you”. She seemed much more relaxed as
she prepared herself for the next step on her cancer
journey.
My fellow Reiki therapist, Bev Nodding, related to me a
similar experience with a patient she treated in the chemo
room. This patient had been anxious as well, and as Bev
worked with her she fell into a deep, restful sleep that
lasted through the lunch break.
This must have made an impression with staff as my first
patient in the following session arrived in the treatment
room attached to an IV pump that was delivering the
hydration that was the first part of her chemo session. The
nurse explained that the pump was on a battery and
arranged the tubes so they would not be in my way.
By the end of January we had completed 6 Reiki sessions
averaging two treatments per session. Recipients included
patients waiting for
chemo or other
medical
appointments,
patients receiving
chemo, caregivers,
family members and
volunteers.
Staff and volunteers have been exceptionally supportive
and we are now fully equipped with a rolling stool, a fleece
for the table, a reclining chair for patients who cannot lie
on a table and a constant supply of sheets, pillow cases
and blankets.
Comments from participants have been universally
positive and as we move into our second month two more
Reiki therapists are joining the team.
Cathy Oliver, Jikiden Reiki Therapist
Baker Settlement, NS
"It’s her first chemo session, she is rather anxious and her blood pressure is too high.
Can you help her calm down?"
New research shows Reiki aids the
wellbeing of cancer sufferers February 6, 2015
As a new study shows that at least half of the population
will get cancer at some point in their lives, a University of
Huddersfield research project claims that the
complementary therapy named Reiki can improve the
quality of life for cancer patients by lowering their levels of
anxiety, depression and fatigue. The findings are to be
presented at a major conference and larger-scale research
could follow.
The project was named An exploratory study of Reiki
experiences in women living with cancer and it was
conducted by Dr Serena McCluskey, who is a Senior
Research Fellow in the University's Centre for Applied
Psychological and Health Research and Professor
Marilynne Kirshbaum. They were joined by Dr Maxine
Stead, who has an academic background in psychosocial
oncology research and is now the owner of a holistic
health spa in Huddersfield.
She is herself a practitioner of Reiki, a Japanese technique
in which the hands of a healer are said to release positive
energy. There is scientific controversy over Reiki, but the
University of Huddersfield researchers were purely
concerned with its potential to bring about improvements
in wellbeing.
They have concluded that "Reiki could be a beneficial tool
in the self-management of quality of life issues for women
with cancer". The team now believes that there is a case
for Reiki being added to the roster of complementary
therapies that are available via the NHS.
"Acupuncture and other techniques that were regarded as
quite unorthodox are prescribed on the NHS, so we just
thought that more research on Reiki was needed," said Dr
McCluskey. "We are not suggesting that we can establish
scientific effectiveness, but we are adding to the body of
evidence for the quality of life benefits it has for women
with cancer."
Detailed interviews
Over the course of a year, the researchers conducted
detailed interviews with ten women who had received
Reiki therapy at two hospices in the local area. They
discovered benefits such as a release of emotional strain,
"a clearing of the mind from cancer" and feelings of inner
peace and relaxation.
The benefits could last for as long as a fortnight, said Dr
Stead. "It really gave them an escape from what they were
going through. They were often undergoing a lot of
treatment, and the Reiki was a respite and seemed to help
them cope. It got them out of their blackness."
Dr McCluskey and Dr Stead, who is now a Reiki Master,
were colleagues at the University of Leeds in the
Psychosocial Oncology Research and Clinical Trials Unit –
largely funded by Cancer Research UK – where they
researched quality of life issues.
"Due to more effective methods of diagnosis and
treatment, people are living longer with cancer and it is
now often classed as a long-term condition. "Patients don't
go into the hospital or see consultants as frequently, so
they often look at things outside of normal medical
treatment to help them cope with the effects of living with
the disease, such as depression, anxiety, fatigue and pain,"
said Dr McCluskey.
Pilot project
The findings of the pilot project are to be presented in a
paper at the 2015 conference of the British Psychosocial
Oncology Society, taking place in Leeds (March 19th-20th).
The researchers plan to publish their findings and also
hope to expand their work.
In addition to the fact that Dr Stead is a practitioner of
Reiki at the Alexandra House Health Spa in Huddersfield,
her fellow researchers have also experienced the therapy
and report the benefits, although not on a scientific basis.
"We are aware of criticism from the empirical evidence
about the validity and credibility of Reiki and so we did a
scientific literature review on the subject. We will publish
the findings of that," said Dr McCluskey.
Dr Stead added: "We don't know exactly how and why
birds migrate to the other side of the world and come back
to the same place every year. But one day we might be
able to – and the same goes for Reiki."
Source: University of Huddersfield (UK)
http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2015/february/newresearchs
howsreikiaidsthewellbeingofcancersufferers.php
Promoting Jikiden Reiki
A motion was passed at this year’s AGM to provide funding
for the promotion of Jikiden Reiki. The fund is open to all
JRAC members who are participating at health fairs or
other such events in which they provide informational
materials and/or other endorsements for Jikiden Reiki. The
motion, in part, reads as follows:
"..... a fund will (be) established in the amount of $1,200
for 2016 to assist in the promotion of Jikiden Reiki. This
amount would be allocated at $100 per person for 12
people on a first come, first serve basis."
Interested JRAC members should contact Gabrielle Gietzen
(e-mail: [email protected] or call (902) 483-9111).
www.jikiden-reiki.com
Webpage for the JR Institute Kyoto
Please have a look at the English part of the official webpage. As a Jikiden student, you are registered through your teacher. You can find yourself under her/his name. www.jikidenreikiassociation.ca
Webpage for the Jikiden Reiki Association of Canada If you have any JR events, news or an article you would like to contribute, please send them to [email protected] and I will be happy to include them. We welcome your comments and suggestions on any aspect of our newsletter. Mike McCarty, Shihan Kaku Dartmouth, NS