Barking - yes, it is like groundhog day, isn't it? I'm trying to declutter so I can Space Clear the house but as fast as I do anything it gets undone again. That really is my priority atm as we have had a pretty tough time since moving into this house and it seems to have soaked up the negativity. Sorry I disappeared abruptly last time, I forced myself to cancel my membership as I was on here too much. As I am again! I think I will have to do a net search, I don't know any local Buddhists, although the various churches here are so massive that not to be Christian is a bit odd. I was myself until early this year - I gradually lost my faith over a couple of years' until I couldn't fight it any more.
Earthymama, I am more than happy to chat about Reiki. It is amazing, isn't it? Well, it was founded by a Buddhist in Japan but you don't have to have any faith to practise it and my teacher has taught everyone from atheists to pagans to priests. Originally it was intended for self-help and improvement rather than as a treatment for others and it is in the West that it has developed as a therapy. I decided to become empowered/attuned b/c my dcs were getting ill, esp. dd2 who was very sick last year, and like many mums I had held her in the night praying that I would be able to heal her, trying to project my love into her to make her well. I'd remembered a mum on here saying she used Reiki on her SN dcs so thought I'd give it a go.
Before my course I didn't believe in chakras or meridians, and although I understood the principles behind energy and vibration it wasn't something I had any experience of - a crystal was just a stone to me, for example. My expereinces of alternative therapies ahd mostly been negative and I was prepared for another let-down. I went in and tried to feel energy off my teacher's hand and couldn't. After being empowered I could feel and incredibly strong push of energy, like magnetic repulsion. Being empowered is a bit like having a mega Reiki treatment and I goth three in a day! I learned how to balance chakras and get energy to flow through meridians.
Dd1 loves it and regularly asks for Reiki at bedtime, it has brought her 'growing pains' under control. When the three dcs had bad colds I used it on all of them, and I could feel a massive amount of heat in my hands around the head, throat and nose areas, that went when the colds did. For myself it has helped with a food intolerance. It has also helped with guided meditation in that I can visualise light and energy which I couldn't before, and with yoga in that I now work from the inside. I can feel energy off my crystals. Dh, who is a total sceptic, was so freaked out when I balanced his chakras that he hasn't let me do it since!
I'm happy to let you know who I was empowered with if you're interested. It makes no sense why spending a few hours with someone who does some symbols in the air and sends you energy and touches your shoulder should mean that suddenly you can do these things but it's what happened. I really would recommend anyone with dcs to do Reiki level 1, even if you don't want to be a practitioner.