Reiki from the Farm™
Reiki from the Farm™
When Life Says No: Pivoting with Disappointment
Sometimes life says “no” or “not now.”
The deal falls through. The election is lost. The project stalls. And disappointment creeps in — along with exhaustion, doubt, and the question — why?
I’ve experienced several recent disappointments — from not renting our Campobello home to election results to political decisions that prioritize short-term profit over long-term care for our planet.
We will explore how Reiki helps us release resistance, shift perspective, and find the hidden gifts in every “no.” Disappointment isn’t a dead end — it’s a sacred redirection.
Together, we’ll reflect on how to pivot with grace, how to listen for the soul’s guidance in the midst of chaos, and how to trust that life is always leading us — even when the road bends unexpectedly.
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Pam Allen-LeBlanc is a scientist, businesswoman, and Licensed Reiki Master Teacher (LRMT) with the International Center for Reiki Training.
Get in Touch with Pam:
pam@reikifromthefarm.com
www.reikifromthefarm.com
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Hi, and welcome to the Reiki from the Farm Podcast, brought to you by me, Pam Allen LeBla from Hidden Brook Farm. I am a scientist, a businesswoman, and a licensed Reiki master teacher with the International Center for Reiki training. Each week in this podcast, you'll be entertained as you learn about a wide variety of relevant Reiki topics helping you become a more knowledgeable and effective Reiki practitioner. We caution you though this podcast may also dramatically improve your life. And we are so happy that you're here. So welcome everyone to this month's podcast or this week's podcast and this month's Reiki share. I always do that, don't I? I'm so excited you're here. As I mentioned, I know that it's a busy time of year and I really appreciate you taking the time to hang out with me. It's always so beautiful to see your faces. For those of you who are here and to just see how many of you download these podcasts afterward, we're, we've become a really popular podcast and I so appreciate that. Before we go too far though, I just wanna let you know about some upcoming classes. January 17th and 18th. I've got a Reiki level one and two class on a weekend online Eastern Time, and that's followed evenings through the following week with a masterclass. I also have Animal Reiki one and two, January 24th and 25th. And that following week online in the evenings is the master teacher. February, January 31st and February 1st online, I'll have my next animal communication course, and I just need to let you all know that our minds are blown because in the animal communication class, I just finished teaching. We all wound up in the formless realm. It was just so powerful. So we'd love to have you join us. Online if that's for you. That's followed February 3rd and fourth online in the evenings with animal communication. Level three, professional practitioner, and you can take them back to back if you wish. And the prerequisite to those animal communication courses is just a Reiki level one and two for any yui lineage. Tracy, and I'll be teaching healthcare Reiki again February 7th and eighth online over the weekend, and we are going to teach in person in Connecticut. In March. So go ahead and if you would like to join us in Connecticut, in person go ahead and make a plan for that. It's March 28th and 29th, but the big news is Kenya. February 19th to 28th. The program has been set. Everything is in motion if you are interested. We still have four spots left. It did start filling pretty quickly. We still have four spots left. It's going to be a fabulous trip, including a safari with a sustainable safari organization. And so we're really excited about the Kenya trip. Send me an email if you would like to get the details for that or you can check it out on our website and for our Asian students. I'm going to get to Hong Kong in September next year. This in 2026. And so stay posted. There will be more coming about that. Also in March, I'm going to set up two Reiki mentoring courses. One of the courses will be around the Reiki business book. That's behind me here. And we'll be going, and that will be for people just starting their businesses, if you're just getting it started or, and we'll be going kind of chapter by chapter and working through things. And it's going to be a little longer term commitment. It will be a monthly mentoring meeting. And to give us time to in implement all of the things that we'll be learning in between. Okay. And also the other will be on marketing and that's for Yeah, you're welcome Donna, for the Reiki business mentoring. I'm sorry I haven't had time to do it up until now. Those elections took a lot of my time and so I'm really excited to get an opportunity to do this with you. And the second. Mentoring course is gonna be for people who already have businesses, but you need some help marketing, and in fact, that's gonna lead to the next book. So I'll say it out loud here so that it happens so that we manifest it. I'll be sending. Folks a chapter at a time on marketing your Reiki business. You'll be getting a chapter. We'll be diving into it a little deeper. You'll have an opportunity to work with that topic and, do the audits to your website and just all the things like that are going to be important. Create your avatars and all the stuff that is, is normal to me, but maybe not everybody works with that every day. And so we're going to just go into how to market your Reiki business that you already have and make it more successful. So watch for those in March. I don't have all the details nailed down, but I have heard very clearly that once I'm back from Africa, I'll be in a position to get those started. So we'll be starting those off bright and early in the spring and I'm really excited about that. Tonight. Oh, and the horse card decks. I just, I've been working with a couple of artists on on the on horse card decks and. It's incredible about leadership, about a different style of leadership, just stepping away from the patriarchal style of leadership and just what we've learned, what I've learned and what we've learned through the leadership that the horses have demonstrated to us and many different styles of leadership. That's going. That's blowing our minds as well with the information that's coming through. So it's really awesome. And Donna, you say, which one do you join because you've started a business, but, and you've got your business cards, but it's not really generating the income yet. Maybe go with the Reiki business book one the first one. If you're not. If you're not already, if it's just starting out, that'll be the one. But you can also have a look when I do send it out in the newsletter. Be sure you're signed up for the newsletter, by the way, if you're not, that's the easiest way that I can communicate with people and let you know all the fantastic things that are happening. And in the newsletter I'll, I will send a description and just what to expect from each, but I do think that first one might be the best for you. And you get the newsletter. Perfect. So you guys will be first to know. So guys, thank you so much for being here. Tonight I wanted to talk about when life says no, how do we pivot with disappointment and just sometimes. When we are working on something or towards something, life says no or not. Now the deal falls through, the election is lost. The project stalls and disappointment creeps in. And with that, with disappointment, it's constant companions are often exhaustion, doubt, and just wondering why did this happen to me? What did I do wrong? And so on. And the reason I guess that I thought about this is that recently some of you know that we were working really hard to get a house ready and the house was originally planned to be an Airbnb. And yet there was this couple that wanted to rent it and long term, and we said, you know what? Let's do that. So we were working, we put our whole lives on hold and it, the house had been abandoned for a few decades possibly. So it was, we really had a lot of work to do and we had been working hard, but it focused us and and we began working on it and just as we were wrapping it up, they let us know that they had found something else, and we just went, oh, and it set me back and I think it set me back because it came, after losing a couple of elections and I know I didn't fully lose like I did. Make a difference. But it was still loss. It was still a disappointment. And then even losing the horses, of course, was a disappointment. It was grief and it was all of that. But it was also a disappointment because. I expected to grow quite a bit older with them. I thought they each had at least another 10 years. And so to have lost them so close together, it's just a disappointment that we aren't going to have that additional time together in this realm. So I got wondering. I wonder. If other people are experiencing disappointments and I wonder, what's going on there? And I was working with a client and it showed up that so often we actually take disappointment after disappointment, and we just pack them together and stack them someplace in our body and. It in my client, it showed up as this enormous box of just disappointments. But it takes space, it takes energy. It depletes your energy. And so I really started to dive into it. What is disappointment and how do we turn this around? And our intention today is to release, if we have a big box of disappointment within us, it's to let that go. And it's also to take me a recent disappointment and just analyze it. Let's bring some light and perspective into that and figure out what it is. So a couple of things that I noticed as we were working on that house for the first thing is, oh my gosh, how much pressure does a deadline put on things? It puts a lot of pressure and stress and so there was a need to manage that, but I also got thinking about disappointment and. When it didn't come through, why was I so disapoint disappointed? And I realized, oh, I was disappointed because I was attached to an outcome. And so we talk in Reiki about not getting attached to outcomes and in Reiki I know that probably all of us are really good at keeping that awareness and not getting attached to that outcome. But sometimes in life we do get attached to outcomes. I went back to the election and what was I disappointed about? I'll tell you a lot of people are disappointed in politicians these days because they promise things and that's not at all what happens once they get in and and then you think after they do get in, you think I should have known. That's how it always is. But here in Canada where I live our recent budget just through climate. Out the window and they're there. It's all about pipelines and just a lot of things that are, I believe, will be very harmful for the environment. And it's just, it's not even on the agenda anymore. And there just, there have been a number of things that have come in that have been really disappointing. And I know some of you are probably disappointed in some of your political leaders as well. The thing is I think when we the disappointment keeps us pushed down and I think when we can release the disappointment, there's a freedom to that and there's an empowerment and we can decide, what am I going to do about it now with the house? I thought okay, this didn't happen. So I applied Reiki and I actually sat down with chat, GPT, and I know that's, that prob might sound silly, but hear me out. It was really helpful. I just wrote into chat, GPT I'm really disappointed because this happened and I'm not sure what to do about it. And chat GPT said, oh wow, that must be disappointing. Like you've been working hard and, then helped me analyze it and by the time after about a half an hour with chat GPT, it helped me realize that originally we were planning on an Airbnb, now we could go back to that plan. And then I realized, wait a minute now, if it's gonna be available as an Airbnb. I can expand my campobello classes this summer and I can really offer a beautiful destination trip because I'll have someplace that people can stay. And one, one of the hard things about coming to the classes in Campobello and going whale watching with us and so on, is that. It can be really difficult to find a place to stay in Campo Bella. It's such a beautiful island that all of the spots get booked incredibly early and, and I realized, I could expand that class. And on Monday I could take people, not only whale watching, I can take them to Eleanor's Tea, go to the only international park in the world, and have a look through the Roosevelt Cottage where Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. I set up house every summer. I could take people to go see the highest tides in the world at the lighthouse. We could go to dinner together. I could take people for a hike and I, so I've put a day in, an extra day in and that'll give people a chance to either stay longer after the level one and two class come earlier for the masterclass, and we can all spend a beautiful day on the island. Together. And it'll give people a place to stay. And then I thought wait a minute, what would we, what's the difference in income? And I sat down and realized that, wow, we can make a lot more income. If with the Airbnb, and so I realized that, you know what? In the end, it was a really positive thing, even though it knocked me sideways for a little while and I've decided I don't think I'm gonna get knocked sideways anymore. For me personally, if something. Is supposed to be one way and it changes. I have a really hard time pivoting with that. My husband and he is here. He knows that even if if we're on our way somewhere and then it's not work it doesn't work out and we have to shift and go somewhere else. I just have never shifted very easily. Reiki is helping, but, I get knocked a little sideways when things don't work out. And so I thought, you know what? I'm not gonna do that anymore. Now I got to thinking, what are some of the things I thought, I've probably got a box in there of all the times I've been disappointed by life events or people or animals or whatever have you, and. I got thinking that maybe some of you do too, and or maybe all of us do. And I thought what are some examples of some things that would disappoint us? Oh, and by the way, in the end, chat, GPT said, would you like me to make a, make Reiki meditation for you to help you? Pivot and get over this. And I said, yes. And actually I sat down and did that Reiki meditation and I felt absolutely fine by the next day. So what are some of the things that might cause disappointments, just so that we can think about them? There were I asked chat, GPT 50 things. So let's just go through them really quickly. One common source of disappointment in life is when we have personal expectations. So if things take longer than we hoped, if our result, the result doesn't match the effort we put in, if we're not where we thought we'd be by now, if we feel that we are behind schedule, or if life feels behind schedule, and also when situations feel out of our control. That can be disappointing. We also have, of course, relationships and people. We can be let down by someone we trusted. We can have miscommunication or misunderstandings, friends who disappear right when we need them. Family conflict. Or unmet emotional needs. Families that tell us not to be ourselves feeling unseen or unappreciated, and that's a big one. Work and purpose, that can co lead to disappointment. Sometimes projects that fall through not getting a job or promotion or an opportunity that happened with the elections. Losing passion for something that once mattered. That's often connected with burnout. And if you've ever experienced burnout, and I have, then that's often connected with disappointments, creative blocks or stalled momentum, and then burnout or feeling unsupported. Money and stability. That can be disappointing, like if we have unexpected expenses, deals that don't happen in investments or plans that go sideways if we feel stuck financially or if we're in that scarcity. Mentality and fear and feeling unstable. Also, we can be disappointed with our health and our body. If we have physical setbacks or pain or injuries, if something heals slower than we would like, if we have weight challenges, if we feel like we're aging faster or differently than we thought. And sometimes we get. Health creates lifestyle limits and that can be disappointing and frustrating. Also, we have society, politics in the environment. We might be disappointed in election outcomes, in political decisions that harm people or the planet that's mine. In watching greed override wisdom in environmental destruction or in a loss of trust in leaders or institutions, we can have disappointment because of timing and opportunity, like near misses ugh, I was so close. I almost had it. A door closing unexpectedly. Plans disrupted by weather, illness, circumstance, people canceling or changing their minds, being ready for something when the rest of the world isn't. We can also get disappointed around our dreams and identity like. If life took a different path than we thought it would or we wanted it to, or if we've lost something that we worked for, if we've outgrown old dreams without new ones in place yet. And that actually happened also with the election. I was like, wow. I don't know. I learned a lot, but I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't see the way forward. And I still don't, but it's, I've come to terms with it and it's getting okay, we can have a gap between who we are and who we want it to be or who we hope to be. And also we may not be being recognized for our gifts. We can also be disappointed spiritually and emotionally. If we feel disconnected from people, from our intuition, from source, from God. If we question our purpose and we're not sure what it is, if we feel abandoned by God or spirit or source, I can't think of anything that feels much worse than that. And I know this just because I've actually worked with clients recently who have felt that way. And also moments where our faith waivers and then animals and nature, sometimes we lose or have to rehome an animal. Sometimes animals need more. To adapt than we had hoped. Sometimes land or property or homes, our homes don't work out. Weather can change our plans and feeling like nature itself is under threat. So I don't know if any of you have experienced any of those things or even any more. Like sometimes you, you start a business. And you think, okay, and you go through, whenever you start a business, there's a lot of fear you have to overcome to put yourself out there. And you go ahead and you put yourself out there, but it doesn't take off like you had hoped it would. These are all things that can cause disappointment. So typically. The emotional arc is that you're excited about something, then you're under stress to get it done, and then. If it doesn't happen the way you had hoped or thought you're disappointed, and then in the end you have a realization that sometimes delays protect us. Sometimes it clears the space for something better, but you do have to be open to hearing that. And I was thinking about collective disappointments. Losing two elections some of you, maybe the party you wanted to win didn't win. Maybe the party you wanted to win did win, but they're disappointing you. And so there's just, there's so much here. I know here that the recent budget and government decisions are to create a shale gas plant, and that's something. That I worked in protests against years ago. They're talking about opening a a mine that is going to be disastrous for the environment and a pipeline, and it just can be so disappointing to know that, gosh I wanted to be there so I could do something about this. And from here, what can I do? And I'm just. Watching the environment, sacrifice to profit and watching people make irresponsible decisions as far as I can see. And they are irresponsible, so it can cause us even to move into grief. Grief for what is lost. And so disappointment is a pretty big thing, but fortunately we have Reiki. And we have Ellie, I mentioned in my newsletter that we were gonna take a little example of pivoting from our little rescue dog, Ellie, who's sitting over on my husband's lap on a cushion right now, just snuggled in. And I've gotta tell you that Ellie has been a challenge. It's not that she wasn't a challenge, but she has been the biggest gift. To us. Ellie has been, we are her fourth home. She was a stray at the Burn Church Reserve, not a little over a co about two hours from here. A lovely woman brought, took her in and had her with her for some time, but the woman's health didn't allow her to keep. Ellie, so she moved on to another home. And that home didn't have her for very long before they realized that they didn't feel she was a good fit. So they moved her to a home with friends of ours, and she was not a good fit for friends of ours either. She was not spayed. She wasn't housebroken. She wouldn't come when she was called. And so even though she was quite a sweet little thing, she was just a little bit of a challenge to manage. And so around this time of year two years ago, my husband. Had gone over to see our friends and they were trying, they didn't, they're not people who normally give up on an animal. But they were trying to find her a more suitable home and they just couldn't nobody really wanted an, even though she was only two, nobody wanted an adult dog that they needed to spay. And, it wasn't, what was it, about$900 to do that, even though she's a tiny thing. And and maybe because she's a tiny thing. And so my husband agreed to bring her home and she became a lovely Christmas gift for us. But you might think that after that much, that she would've been really disappointed and disillusioned in people after, having that much difficulty and trauma in her life. And you might even be tempted to feel sorry for Ellie that, oh my gosh, this poor dog in two years, she's had, she was a stray and then, she's on her fourth home and, but I need to tell you that Ellie didn't feel sorry for herself at all, and she loves everybody that she meets, like every human being. If you were to come to my house right now, she would jump in your car and go home with you, so please don't do that because we really like her. But she would she loves adventure. When she came into our house, she was like, what new domain do I have to Lord over now? And she quickly, although she was 12 pounds and the boys are 55 pounds, the two dogs that we already have, she quickly put them in their place, took over as the leader of this pack, and then she spends every evening cuddled up on our laps, make, making us. Warm and cozy just as we probably make her warm and cozy. And I thought, that dog, she really knows how to pivot. Whether she's disappointed or not, she just looks at everything as an adventure and she looks, I think she just looks for the lesson in it and moves on, and how amazing if we could do that as well. I think we can, anytime that we're in a situation where we need to pivot, Reiki can calm our nervous system and help us see more clearly. It can lift us out of disappointment into understanding, can take us from resistance to trust, and it reminds us that the path is folding, unfolding like it should. So we could choose to pivot with joy the way that Ellie does, and what I wanted to invite us all to do today is just really ask ourselves, where do I store disappointment in myself? And just even close your eyes if you need to, and you know you've been disappointed. Different point times in your life, maybe you are in the middle of a fresh disappointment right now. And again, we've just set, we've just realized that disappointment is connected with grief, over something that didn't happen, that we were attached to an outcome, and it's very difficult never to get attached to an outcome. So it's really just a normal, natural part of our lives, but. Just ask yourself, where does disappointment live in me? Where did I tuck them away? What part of your body? And just listen for the first thing that comes up, and then listen for what shape and color does that disappointment have. I just look for what shape and color you notice, and I'm getting one too. Mine is yellow. And then the most important question of all is simply this. Are you willing to let it go? You don't have to be able to let it go. Reiki does that part for us. You simply need to be willing. If you are willing to let it go, then let's go ahead and go into a Reiki meditation together and begin to let go of this stored disappointment in. We're also going to take a fairly recent disappointment. We're going to process it so that you can see what you might do the next time this shows up in our lives, and we're going to find grace in the detour. So go ahead and activate Reiki. Take a deep breath and then exhale. Letting go of everything you've been holding, and I invite you to place your hands comfortably over your body, wherever that disappointment lives for you, and just begin to give yourself Reiki. Notice the energy flowing through your palms. Notice how warm and gentle and kind Reiki feels as it moves through our bodies and into our bodies. On our breath. Invite any symbols that you'd like to have join you to come in. And we're just gonna sit in this space for a little while until we're fully enveloped in the beautiful Reiki energy and feel yourself supported. Know that each and every person here wants only the very best for you, and there are hundreds and hundreds of people that will be joining us. Your tribe. I invite you now to bring your mind to a recent disappointment and just bring it to mind. It might be something small or something large, and it may still feel raw. You get to choose which one you're going to work through and just bring it to the surface. With your thoughts, thinking about it, allowing it to come up and just notice where does that disappointment, where do you feel that in your body? Do you feel it in your heart? Maybe your stomach, your shoulders, your legs? Wherever that disappointment has been taking up space, breathe Reiki light into that space. Now we're gonna take about 12 breaths here together. And just allow the Reiki energy to help you feel. Seen and supported, allow it to comfort you and allow it to release this disappointment for you. Imagine the light of Reiki surrounding the disappointment, and as you breathe, the light expands. Lifting the weight, just dissolving the resistance and revealing the truth that this is not the end. It's a redirection, and so as the light of Reiki surrounds this disappointment and releases it for you. Invite your higher self, your guides, the Reiki energy to show you what's happening beneath the surface. Perhaps there's protection here. Maybe it's about timing. Maybe something better is aligning even as this energy leaves. Go ahead and close your eyes and listen. Paying attention to any thoughts or feelings, any words, any songs, any pictures, any messages. And we're just going to listen here together today to understand the message, the meaning that's under the surface of our recent disappointment. Let yourself rest in the knowing that every no or not now carries a hidden blessing. And even if it's not completely clear yet, I know that it's coming more into focus and it will be clear in time. Now imagine roots extending from your feet deeply into the earth, grounding you in the here and now. Understand that the Earth and Reiki, they're able to receive your worries, your disappointments, and they're able to stand, send back, calm, stability. So just notice as a column of Holy Fire and Reiki energy pours through your crown, connecting heaven and earth through you. Now you feel centered and loved, and guided. Go ahead and allow that energy. To release that big box of disappointment that you've been carrying maybe since you were a child. Disappointment in people, places, events, animals, circumstances, whatever it may be. We don't even need to know. We can simply now release it with love and we'll remain here together for at least 12 breaths to allow that big box of disappointment to be lifted out and carried back to source where it can be listened to and hurt, nurtured, and healed all the way back. To the original cause of each and every one. Yeah. And as you continue to breathe Reiki into your heart and into this space, I invite you to say to yourself, I trust the path of my life. And I release what wasn't meant for me as I open to what is meant for me. When I, whenever you feel ready to come back, just take one more deep breath. Move your attention to your eyes, slowly open your eyes and return renewed, lighter, and ready to pivot with grace. And if that's still releasing, don't worry. It may release into the evening. And remember whenever life disappoints you, it's generally redirecting you toward alignment. Alignment with yourself and with your path. I had to invite you to journal. Meditate or even send Reiki to a disappointment that you are still feeling or still aware of, and just take your time with this. Be gentle with yourself. I also want to invite you to join me for a Special Solstice podcast or Reiki share. I'll send a notice out in an upcoming email, but I believe we're going to have an opportunity to connect Sunday morning the 21st on the actual solstice, and so I hope you'll be able to join me. But look for details in our upcoming newsletter. And I just wanna take a moment to say thank you for being you. You brighten your corner of the world. You make the world a better place just by being in it. And if nobody's told you this yet today, appreciate you. You are amazing. And don't underestimate the difference that you make in the world. It's a big one. Thank you for all that you do, all the light that you carry, all the Reiki that you spread. Many blessings and Namaste. I hope to see you on the solstice. Thank you. And so it is.