Ready Set Reiki
Welcome to ReadySetReiki®
A podcast about Reiki and Energy work. From the curious beginning to the seasoned Master Teacher. Welcoming all those who work with energy.
Join Reiki Master Tracy Searight as she guides you on a journey through this landscape of energy work. Each guest offers an in-depth unique perspective sharing their journey, which had 'a profound effect on their healing and development as a person. Come along on this journey and explore all the possibilities of working with energy.
www.readysetreiki.com
www.feathersister.com
Tracy Searight is an Educator, Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master, Grandmaster, Sound Practitioner, Author, and Podcaster.
Find her on Feather Sister with Wellness living
offering training in 10 different systems of Reiki
Training in Chair Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Restorative
Ready Set Reiki
Episode #147 From Burnout to Healing: Mary Riposo's 20-Year Reiki Journey
Mary Riposo"s
journey into Reiki begins with childhood illness and a grandmother who taught her about Christian mysticism—experiences that cultivated both a rich inner world and sensitivity to energies beyond the physical. Working as a psychologist with a crushing caseload, Mary found herself at a breaking point when building renovations exposed her to toxins, triggering mysterious symptoms conventional medicine couldn't resolve.
A chance encounter with Reiki at a wellness fair changed everything. After just ten minutes in a chair session, Mary felt an energy surge that set her on a path of discovery. What began as self-healing evolved organically into a profession as clients witnessed her transformation and sought her guidance. Twenty years later, Mary has built a thriving practice, co-owns a wellness center with her yoga-teacher husband, and mentors practitioners worldwide.
Mary dismantles common misconceptions about Reiki, particularly the idea that practitioners "give" energy to clients. Instead, she explains, Reiki awakens what's already within us—a perspective that empowers both practitioner and recipient. She shares candidly about business challenges, from overcoming introversion to learning money management, emphasizing that failures became stepping stones to her success.
For practitioners, Mary's experience founding the CNY Reiki Association highlights the profound importance of community. Her advice to those starting out is refreshingly practical: don't compare your beginning to someone else's established practice, expect and learn from setbacks, and focus on finding the system that resonates with you rather than collecting multiple certificates. If you're curious about energy healing or building a spiritual business, Mary's blend of wisdom, humility, and practical experience provides a roadmap for the journey ahead. Ready to awaken what's already within you?
Mary Riposo is the co-owner of Infinite Light Center and the founder of the CNY Reiki Association. A Reiki practitioner for over 20 years, Mary teaches and shares the healing benefits of Reiki for both people and animals.
Mary has completed training in Usui/Holy Fire Reiki, Holy Fire Karuna Reiki, Gendai Reiki, as well as both the Japanese and Western (Takata) Reiki lineages of Usui Reiki. She is also an ICRT Animal Reiki Master.
Before she began practicing the system of Reiki, Mary was a psychotherapist in private practice. Her own wellness journey led her to Reiki, and since then she has made it her mission to teach and share the system of Reiki with others.
Mary is dedicated to making the practice and teaching of Reiki more professional and accessible. To that end, she has authored a number of books, including Reiki manuals and Reiki Journals, Workbooks and Practice Trackers for students and other Reiki Master Teachers.
Mary believes that everyone should have access to the wellness benefits that the system of Reiki provides, and feels that practitioners do their best within a supportive community.
Mary's wise and gentle manner, coupled with her keen intuitive abilities cause her to be sought after as a teacher, healer and mentor to clients worldwide. Mary resides in Central New York with her husband, Tony, founder of Infinite Light Yoga.
For more information about Mary Riposo's Reiki classes, sessions and products, please visit www.InfiniteLightCenter.com and www.MaryRiposo.com.
Ready Set Reiki is a journey
From the curious beginner to the Season Master Teacher
All Energy workers of all systems and all levels.
Hello my beautiful friends, tracy Seawright here for Ready Set Reiki. So today I would like to introduce you to a really wonderful guest. I was fortunate enough to find her on Facebook and she is graciously willing to come on Ready Set Reiki to share her journey. Her name is Mary Raposio and she is a co-owner of Infinite Light Center and the founder of the CNY Reiki Association. As a Reiki practitioner for over 20 years, mary has taught and shared the healing benefits of Reiki for both people and animals. Welcome, mary, to Ready Set Reiki.
Speaker 3:Thank you, tracy, it's great to be here.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, so let's begin our journey together. So I only gave our listeners a little bit about you, but there is so much more amazing journey that you have been on, so tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3:Well, I live in central New York and I live with my husband who is a yoga teacher, so we're kind of like an energy family. And I grew up in this area, about an hour away from where I live now, and most of my family is still in this area. So we're in the Northeast and I worked as a psychologist before I started practicing Reiki. So that's kind of my background. I spent a lot of years more than 20 years helping people heal from the you know, the psychological part of it, from the emotional part of it, and I worked in schools, hospitals, clinic settings, all of those kinds of things within mental health and I was pretty sick as a child so I spent a lot of time in bed.
Speaker 3:I had like lots of respiratory issues, bronchitis, pneumonias, recurring things like that so I was kind of sick as a child quite a bit, and I, you know, I'm definitely more of an introvert anyway, so I enjoy spending quiet time alone and I developed more of like this internal world that kept me occupied, get me through my days and things like that. So I've always been interested in what's kind of like beyond the physical, and my father died when I was very young and I spent most of the time with my grandmother. She kind of raised me. My mother was working and all that kind of thing, but my grandmother was a really interesting person. She taught me a lot about Christian mysticism.
Speaker 3:She was kind of this type of woman who was. She had a deep connection with the Christian saints, almost as if like they were her friends and she would talk about them and that type of thing is if, like, I started to feel like I knew them. So that was something that I was kind of immersed in as a child. It was kind of a magical thing. And you know, I also loved nature and animals. I had dogs, cats, I had a horse when I was growing up and I rode in horse shows. So there was also that connection with the animals and a feeling like I could really communicate with them. So those are kind of some of like the little bit of the backstory about where I come from.
Speaker 2:And I'm sorry for the loss of your father. I recently lost my dad, a few years ago, so I'm sorry for that. Well, how wonderful of your journey of you know it's part of your journey to take you where we're going to. Next question is is when did the Reiki come into your life?
Speaker 3:Oh wow. Well, I like to say that Reiki kind of found me when I needed it right, which I think I've talked to a lot of people in our field and how that kind of seems to happen. It's like this trend that I've seen with people. But I was, like I said, I had been sick when I was a child. I was recovering from this illness that kind of really knocked me out when I was an adult and nobody could figure out what was going on. I was working in mental health, like I said, and I was in a hospital setting, a clinic setting, and I had this really massive caseload of clients who were released from inpatient and they were coming to me for outpatient therapy and really like heavy caseload of difficult clients that had a lot of challenging issues and I would say I was booked out for evaluations and clients for more than a year out. It was just this heaviness that, like I couldn't take any time off. There was no way of like getting a week of vacation off. I think I hadn't taken a day off. There was no way of getting a week of vacation off. I think I hadn't taken a day off in more than three years.
Speaker 3:I was super close to burnout and at that time I remember they started to do a renovation of our building and we had to work through it and, like I said, I always had this respiratory issues and you know weakness in that area, and so I was breathing in particles from dust and demolition stuff and they were putting in carpeting with that toxic fumes and all of that type of thing. And I remember just sitting in that office day after day and feeling like my chest was feeling heavier, I was feeling sick, I was feeling tired and I just kept working through it until I couldn't work through it at all and I just ended up going out on sick leave and I would go from doctor to doctor and they couldn't figure out what was going on. It was like the respiratory thing, but then I had rashes and I had joint pain and I had fatigue and I couldn't get out of bed and I was dizzy and I couldn't see very well and all of this weird stuff. It was kind of a mystery and some of the treatments, I have to say, actually made me feel sicker. So I started to think like I don't really know what I'm doing here. I ended up having to move out of my apartment because it was mold growing there and I didn't realize that. So I move away and during this recovery period I started to, like you know, even more want to be seeking something else, you know, a different way of life, a different way of being right. I just, you know, needed to like heal from this burnout.
Speaker 3:So I ended up going to this wellness fair locally and I had a short Reiki session. I was walking around kind of looking at the booths and what people were doing and I was drawn to this one woman who had purple tie, dye shirt on and things, and she had this purple sign that said Reiki and I had no idea what it was and I was like I'll try that. What the heck right, and I had, I would say looking back, it may have been like a 10 minute session. I mean really one of those little mini sessions, not on a table like we do often now, sitting in a chair, sitting in like a banquet chair, straight back chair. And I remember for the first time, feeling like I had energy and I thought, in my you know way of thinking at the time, she is giving me something, she is like pouring something into me. She is, she has something that I don't have and she's giving it to me. But I didn't care. I was like I need more of this stuff. I just I was like, what is it? Where do I get more? How do I do this? How do I feel like this all the time? And so I started to get Reiki sessions after that. So I started to get Reiki sessions after that and, um, pretty soon, my um Reiki therapist I'll call her she said you know, you could take some beginning Reiki training and you could start practicing Reiki on yourself in between our sessions. And I was like, uh, yeah, I don't think so. Like, for one thing, I feel like I have no energy, I feel weak, I feel tired. You know I'm feeling better from the sessions, but I don't think I could ever do that. So I was again putting you know something on her that she had, something that I would never have. Right, I've changed my mind about that pretty quickly. But I ended up doing it.
Speaker 3:I learned Reiki for myself. I took level one and my goal was to come back into balance, right to relieve my physical symptoms, come back into balance and that type of thing. And it definitely wasn't to open a Reiki business at all and I realized through practicing, and especially through the self Reiki. And I realized through practicing and especially through the self Reiki, that I became aware of where things were out of balance in my life and what choices I was making that were not really supporting my wellness and all of those types of things. And it also gave me, um, the clarity about what I needed to do, about making changes around those things. So it wasn't that somebody was healing me from the outside, giving me energy, pouring something in like a gas tank or anything like that. But I started to feel better once I started to make those changes and listen and I actually lost weight. I felt more positive about life and remember I said I was a real introvert.
Speaker 3:I was able to start talking to people more. I was interested, like curious, about, you know, interacting with people more, which was unusual for me, and at first I had no idea that that was part of the healing because I only thought of it as physical, because I was feeling out of balance physically at the time and that's why I was going for it and I think a lot of people do think Reiki is, you know, physical healing. Maybe A lot of times people come to me for a session and that's kind of what they they talk about too, like what can, what can it help me with? And they think about physical. But when people started to ask me, what are you doing? You seem like you're feeling better, you seem like you're happier, and things like that, and I told them about Reiki. And then that's when, um, it started to happen, people were like you need to show that to me, I need to do it, and I don't. And I'd say like, oh, go to my Reiki person. No, I want you to do it. So they were asking me for sessions and then it turned into they wanted to learn how to do it themselves.
Speaker 3:So I ended up completing my training and it was the impetus to teach other people. But it was really organic. It was like I was not thinking, oh, I'm going to have this you know this business and open a wellness center and do this for the rest of my life. So you know, I eventually did quit my job, opened a full time Reiki practice and then my husband and I opened a wellness center and we ran that for more than 10 years. And we ran that for more than 10 years. And you know, then it's kind of like that's been going on for more than 20 years for me. So I exclusively practice and teach Reiki and it's just my life at this point. So that's kind of the way that it found me.
Speaker 2:That's kind of like that long story short, but that was it. Yeah, long story short, but that was it. Yeah, uh, many people don't understand that there's multiple systems of Reiki. What are the systems of Reiki that you've studied?
Speaker 3:Well, oh my gosh, I have, uh, I have done a lot of different, uh, reiki styles. So at first I learned Usui Shiki Ryoho. That was my first instance, right when I said I, you know, went to Reiki training and I didn't even know at the time that there was any difference, that there were different systems of Reiki.
Speaker 3:So that was the beginning, and I took that training and then I took Usui Reiki, ryoho, and then I took Gendai Reiki, no, then I took Shambhala Reiki, then I took Gendai Reiki, and then I took Usui Holy Fire Reiki, holy Fire, kuruna Reiki, and I think there were a couple other ones too that I can't not like bringing up on top of mine, but it was one of those people that was a seeker for a while. I was, like you know, gaining one certificate after another. I need to learn a different style Now. I need to learn this other style, right, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did the same thing. I kind of similar journey as you as well, where you were seeking that more, you know, until you find that just right or that just right for the client that's with you. So, yes, the Goldilocks Reiki. Yeah, the Goldilocks Reiki, there we go.
Speaker 3:The just right one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the just right. So you've been doing this for quite some time now. You've been out teaching, supporting others. You were an author. You've done some amazing things. What are some of the misconceptions that you find that people tell you or question you about Reiki?
Speaker 3:You know, this is a really good question for me, because I spend a lot of time as I'm teaching and as I'm coaching people and mentoring, really kind of helping people demystify and bring in information. That kind of blasts through those misconceptions, because we all have these blind spots and because Reiki isn't standardized or anything like that, there's just like we kind of fill in the blanks sometimes in between. So there are lots of them and I think that in a way it's hard to pick just one. But I think the one I was talking about, that I was kind of alluding to before, was like I felt when I first had a Reiki session, the energy was being poured into me from the outside and I kind of jumped to the conclusion in my own mind that the practitioner was giving me energy, that it was, you know, and I felt sick and weak. So it was kind of a logical conclusion like, oh, all of a sudden I don't have any of this within me. I didn't realize that. You know, it was something that can be awakened within us, that we already have that like as a really empowering kind of understanding and belief, and I thought that Reiki was something that was channeled from one person to another. So it was kind of like being sent through the hands or sent from one person to the other, like this person, you know, reiki master, had all this wonderful powerful energy that she was, you know, kind of giving me a little bit of Um.
Speaker 3:But I really I try to help people understand from a different point of view that as a practitioner we create the space for that healing response and it happens within every one of us.
Speaker 3:We all have a healing response, we all have Reiki within us.
Speaker 3:It's just kind of activated within a session and so it really starts to bloom and activate within us. And I think that's kind of more of an Asian way of understanding how energy healing works, rather than like that Western way of like you get transactional and like you give it to me and then I give you some money or something like that at the end. Right, and I think it's such a big deal because when we think a practitioner is doing something to us, giving something to us for one, we can become disempowered, like it's not us, it's someone else doing the healing to us and we think that we need something outside of us to make us whole and we also can put that person on a pedestal, create this imbalanced relationship, and then we may also think that you need to have physical touch in order for healing to happen, because the person is, you know, touching you and you know, making you healthy again, or something like that. So that's one of the big ones that I talk about all the time. Wonderful.
Speaker 2:And even do you find, when even people see the word Reiki, there's that trigger that comes up. I was at an event and a woman came up and she said, hmm, reiki, yeah, that's not for me, and walks off and it's like that's okay. You know, but even the word seems to bother people. And you know, your husband is a yogi and I'm a yogi as well. He probably experiences that as well in the yoga community. When people see yoga, like, oh, I don't do that. So many misconceptions out there. So 100%.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it's wonderful that you're out there and you're helping individuals and educating them. You know, to make it more professional, more accessible to all Wonderful. So you are a mentor, you are a coach. You have helped so many people on their journey to wellness. Well, what has been one of the biggest struggles or challenges you faced in your own healing journey?
Speaker 3:Well, there have been a lot, for sure, question about that, um, but I think that, like, when I first opened my reiki practice, I thought this is like the best thing in the world. I was so passionate about reiki and I thought people are just gonna be flocked to this. Oh my gosh. It didn't have anything to do with me, but but I thought Reiki is so wonderful, it's helped me so much. Of course, people are going to see that and, like you said, they kind of were like give me the side eye about, like what? I don't even know what that word means, but I don't think it's for me, right? I just was very naive about it and, um, you know, I had no idea, like I had no business experience from the start, right. So it was just, like you know, a mental health therapist, right, psychologist, and I knew how to work with people one-on-one, and I just had this really strong calling to share Reiki with others. Like I said, it was so passionate and I didn't really realize that my intention wouldn't be enough to create this successful business. I had to learn a lot of business stuff. I had to learn how to create systems, how to manage money, because I was always working for someone else, so I never asked for money. I had to get over a lot of blocks about being shy about asking for money. You know, dealing with how to manage money, how to do marketing, you know, being an introvert, it was super hard to promote. And so I.
Speaker 3:The thing that really got me through that was that I believe so much in the power of Reiki to help people that I was like you have to get over yourself. You know, you just have to. I kind of like coached myself through it. I was like you need to just get over yourself. I just kept sticking with the deeper why and what Reiki had done for me and it was almost like it was a calling that had to be fulfilled, like, I think one time I went to a psychic that said, oh, you are living a server suffer lifetime, and I was like, what does that mean? And she was like, unless you do service, you are going to suffer your way through this. And I was like, oh, you're right, I feel like I just need to give back. You know I really do and I don't feel like I'm, you know, somebody that's just going to like go into, like business for business or anything.
Speaker 3:So you know, I would say if I had it to do over with I wouldn't do anything differently. But because each challenge was a lot, there were a lot of challenges, but each one of them helped me to learn something like super important. And now, when I help people start the Reiki business, grow their Reiki business, you know, learn all those types of things, I do it from experience and from, like all of the hard stuff that I was like oh, I remember that really well, I can help you figure that out, you know, not from like, oh, I'm a business coach, you know, and I just I can just tell you, because you know I'm a small business person, I figured it out from like, oh, I'm a business coach, you know, and I just I can just tell you, because you know I'm a small business person, I figured it out from like all of the failures and yeah, I think you just have to fail in order to learn and to be successful in the end. Sure, sure.
Speaker 2:I mean you've walked the journey here right and being of service and helping others along the way. I don't know if you have seen the pattern, but in 2020, it seems that there have been many to have come forward to the call of this service and going out and having and it's. I would say it would be uncommon for you know me, to find someone who just has one modality. They have multiple things that they're pursuing or passionate about and when they receive that call, they're so either enthusiastic or maybe they question themselves can I do this? And then they take that step forward and then, as they're navigating, they're like oh my goodness, now there's social media, now I got to do invoices, now I have to do this, and it gets kind of overwhelming and certain things Should I make it an LLC, you know? Should I trademark this? Just things they never would have thought about, just simply because they had connected with this energy and they want to share it. You know they want to do this.
Speaker 2:They feel the call to be of service. So it's wonderful that you were able to go through your journey and put these tools together, everything from books to your journals. I mean amazing. So thank you for doing that and taking those as you would make, color them failures and turn them into kind of a map for people to show them how to go.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much. Yeah, it really is like that you said it exactly is like that you said it exactly.
Speaker 2:So you had shared your story from your childhood about the loss of your father, illnesses. Looking back, what do you wish your younger self knew about Reiki.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean maybe my younger self, in terms of like when I was first learning Reiki, which was about maybe 25 years ago, I think. I remember saying to you a little while ago that I was like I didn't even know that about, maybe the origins of Reiki, the traditional Japanese practices, like where it came from, even that it was a system, like I definitely did not know what the you know the backstory of Reiki was, or that it was a system. I thought it was simply hands-on healing. Right, I was one of those people Again, that's a misconception that I try to help people with all the time. But you know, I didn't realize, I mean, I didn't realize any of that, and I had this kind of this blind spot because, like I had said too that I was growing up in this Christian metaphysical kind of you know world. So, you know, when I was introduced to Reiki, there were all of these overlays of you know angels and spirit guides and all of this kind of thing, like so this overlay of Christianity, of shamanism, of Ayurveda, and I took all of those in to think that those were all part of the system of Reiki and where it came from.
Speaker 3:And so I ended up kind of taking a step back and saying I really want to learn more about what the truth of all of this is. So I went to, you know, just almost become like a self-proclaimed Reiki scholar in a way. I wanted to just deconstruct all those things and bring it down to where did it come from? So I was viewing Reiki from the eyes of somebody who had, you know, grown up in where I had grown up. So I was seeing it in that way.
Speaker 3:But I think that it's important. I would have liked to have known a little bit more about the styles so that maybe I could have chosen one that really would have worked for me from the start, or that was more traditional, because I really love the traditional part of it. I don't necessarily like as much, but all the stuff that I had kind of done myself, like using crystals and pendulums and all of those types of things, they're all kind of more of a Western way of practicing Reiki and they're fine. But as I've learned from them, I also then bring it down to the very basic, simplest of the you know Japanese perspective that you don't need all of those either, you know. So I kind of wish I had known more of like what the history of what the whole thing was all about before I jumped into it. But you know, even with the hat, it's okay because you, you learn and you evolve and everything is exactly the way it should be.
Speaker 2:Very good.
Speaker 2:I feel the same way too.
Speaker 2:I started with the Azui and the manual that I received.
Speaker 2:It was passed down from teacher to teacher and so when I got mine I would read through it and I still had a lot of questions and it seemed like there was some missing pieces in the lineage that I came from and all I had known at the time I had lost my sister and I was going through all the modalities and things and I had a steady practice of yoga and it was my friend that would circle back and say you got to try Reiki, you got to try Reiki, and I thought that was the only one. And then I found out about Holy Fire and then I got a hold of the Healing Touch and I'm like whoa, like here's everything together like a whole story, and, oh my goodness, like it really put it all together for me with that. So I had wished I had known about Holy Fire first, or at least the Healing Touch Manual, and then finding out you know other books and things and other systems, and it's like a whole other world out there. So, yeah, same.
Speaker 3:I didn't even have a manual for my first class or my second class. Yes, to think of it, yes, yeah, so it's really interesting how that goes Like at first. You know, maybe you don't really need a lot, but I was really like thirsty for the information about you know who are these people and where did they come from, and what was the timeline and what was going on at the time and what did they believe and how did it develop and all of that kind of thing. I had a lot of questions, like you.
Speaker 2:Right. And when I wrote my manual because in the lineage I was from, like I would take the manual and then I would write it and do it for my students. And when I came to El Paso and I was training some individuals here who had different systems that they studied, and they were like, oh my goodness, like we had just like PDFs, like we didn't even have a manual. And you have a whole manual and you recently shared on Facebook recently about an article about Azui and about someone else who might have really had the credit for it, and that was an interesting read too. So know that it's a constant learning and things do change, as you know. They find, you know, papers or notes you know from students of Azui or something was mistranslated and we're trying to decode all of this. So it's good to stay relevant on this information.
Speaker 3:Oh, 100%, and if anybody listening is really interested in that. Justin Stein is a great resource. He has books. His most recent book is Alternate Currents about Takata, but just look him up and that article was written by him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So that's was fascinating because I remember I was listening to William Rand, uh, a lecture he was doing and he was saying that you know, hey, there's some information that's coming out that may change history a little bit, and so be on the look for that. And then, even when I'm out and sharing it with practitioners who've been doing this for 10, 15 years, I'll say, hey, did you know this information? And they're like no, no, and they've been teaching it a certain way. And even when that information came out, I go back to my students and say, hey, I just want to let you know this is what's happening, this is the information you know. You might want to bring that into your teaching as well, to stay relevant.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and don't you think like that's one of the downfalls of not having standardized, anything like no overarching, you know, I don't want to say governmental agency, but no, you know, association or something like that that would distribute that information to everybody that is practicing and teaching? It would be kind of great. I mean, there's positives and negatives, but we're the ones that have to end up kind of great, I mean, there's positives and negatives, but we're the ones that have to end up, kind of like, trying to share to as many people as we can when new information comes out.
Speaker 2:Right. And I remember when I first taught and I know my teachers were I had two teachers that taught the class and they're very dedicated, very intelligent women. But I was pretty sure in the lecture I heard that you know, Azui and Hitoshi did not have manuals, and then. So I taught my first class and I said that. And then when I went to do the Holy Fire I thought no, it was Madam Takada that didn't have this. Oh my goodness, and here's the Hitoshi healing guide. And I had not seen that until I got my healing touch book Right.
Speaker 2:And then I'm like, my goodness, I've been teaching people and my background is an elementary school teacher, so that's really important to me. I mean, I know, once upon a time I taught that Pluto was a planet. Right, that's taught about the Berlin Wall, the USSR, things that aren't relevant, you know. And I'm like going back and telling the students no, this is it, make sure you know this. And you feel horrible, but that's what I learned at the time. But it's also the courage to say, hey, you know what I learned, and now I know, and then I'm going to fix it yeah.
Speaker 3:When you know better, you do better yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it would have been nice to have that one type of here. It is all the information, and so that's why, when I went from a zooey to a zooey holy fire, it was like, ah, this is making sense, I have a timeline here, you know, I know where it was, where it's continuing, so, yeah, so when it's time for you to get an energetic tune up, what qualities do you look for in a Reiki practitioner?
Speaker 3:Well, I do check people out before I decide to go to somebody, and I recommend that for anybody that that is going to see a practitioner. I like to get a referral, like a reference from somebody. I like a word of mouth like, oh, you know, I've been to that person before and I really like them because of whatever it is. So I usually look them up online, whether they have a website or a Facebook page or something. What I'm looking for is information about their perspective, maybe their background in terms of like you know what their training is. You know, like we were talking about, because Reiki isn't regulated, you don't know what you're getting. You know, so it's good to do your research. I think, like someone who's completed their Reiki training is good. Typically, I like to know what style of Reiki they practice, whether they combine different modalities and you know if I'm looking at their website or you know their social page. I like to see transparency, like, especially on their website, like if they actually put what their offers are like, describe them and put their prices up, because we were in the roundtable yesterday. We're talking about pricing and how people, when you see on somebody's website, like what this offer is, but then you have to like get in touch with them to find out how much it costs offer is, but then you have to like get in touch with them to find out how much it costs. It's like just that next step is just like you know you, just it stops you in your track. So I like to see, like this is my price, I'm comfortable with it, so just state it right out there.
Speaker 3:I love to see that and like this is one of my really big pet peeves. I like to see a photo, a picture of what that person, just a headshot. I don't care what it looks like if it's outside, if it's with your kids, I don't care, you know. But just to like get in it. You get an energetic impression of like who that person is Like.
Speaker 3:I remember you know picking when I was doing my PhD, picking professors based on you have this little like manual type thing to see like who's who and where they you know what classes they teach. I'd look and I'd be like nope, and I'd be like, oh, that person I can learn from Right, why? Just an energetic, intuitive, hit Right, right. I like to see a photo of the practitioner, a photo of their place, if I'm going to in person, like you know, so many times, people will say like oh, they had this great business name. It was like center for something. And then it was someone's house, in the side door of their house, and I was like I don't think I'm in the right place, right?
Speaker 3:So it's okay, it doesn't matter what the place is, as long as you kind of know like I'm going to be going into and it's going to be on a city street or it's going to be in a plaza, you kind of just want to know, um, and then I think the more important thing is, like, within a within the session, um, I love a practitioner that's on time, that doesn't make me wait like super long, um, and that keeps to the time of our session that we book, like if it's an hour session, you know I usually have to do something after, like see a client or something like that.
Speaker 3:So I love it if you know they keep to the timing. Even though so many of my clients and colleagues say, well, I give people more way more time than than I, you know, than we book, like I get it's an hour session, but we usually spend two hours, and I'd be like I my heart will be palpitating if it got to be an hour and a half, cause I know I have to be somewhere. So that was not going to help me. I kind of really need to know and plan and be able to be feeling safe and secure within that timeframe that everything is going to happen that needs to during that timeframe, and then I'm going to be able to get to my next thing without feeling like I have to speed across town or something.
Speaker 2:Right, right, it's interesting. You said about the price, because there's a place here in El Paso it's like a bike shop and it's also a restaurant, very nice, and my husband had gone in to look at the bikes and I said what did you think about it? And what he didn't like about it is none of the bikes had the prices on it. And he said, if it doesn't have a price on it, it's too expensive for me.
Speaker 3:I like it.
Speaker 2:We had. I had an opportunity to have Christian Stone on and we did like a group where we did a red flag, green flag about practitioners, and it was the idea that what if the practitioner let's say they're old school and they don't have a website? They don't, maybe they have an outdated photo, right, I mean, they have that one picture from 20 years ago that looks perfect. Do you think that's a red flag for someone who you know? I don't have a booking system. You can text me or call me. I don't have a website.
Speaker 3:I don't. I actually don't. I kind of feel like I get it if somebody is like maybe old school or older or non-techie or something like that, because a lot of people in our field are, they don't like tech. But even if I see like I like to see a current picture, but even if I see like a picture that's like pixelated or a little bit older and you can tell like maybe it was a 20-year-old picture, I still get their energy, I still get it.
Speaker 3:I don't care if they don't have like I like it if they have a booking system. That's easy, that I could just click on and put my you know credit card information in makes it so much easier and I recommend that to my clients and everything. But you know, I still might do it. I still might be like well, you know what, I'm going to try it. And if everything seems clunky like, if everything seems clunky like they're just they're not there on time or they're, you know, then I'd be like all right, it wasn't for me, but may not be a red flag for me.
Speaker 2:Okay, this might really age me, but I remember when I needed a doctor I'd move somewhere and I was trying to find a doctor, and remember the telephone books. Right, we didn't open up the telephone book, I'm old enough for sure.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, I look at the doctors, you know, and I'm like, okay, and I looked down and there was the name Dr Mary Baker. I'm like that's my doctor. I could just feel and this was way before I mean, I was like 23 years old and I felt that like yeah, that's, that's my doctor. And she was a fantastic doctor, helped me deliver four of my children, you know, and that was my doctor. So just just the energy from that name.
Speaker 3:So yeah, somebody could be mentioning a name to you and you're like, oh, there's something in there, there's something to that. I have to remember that person and I have to go see them?
Speaker 2:Yes, very good, very good. So, as a mentor, as a coach, as a teacher, you've been in this business for so many years. You've got beautiful books and journals. What advice do you give someone who's just entering the spiritual work?
Speaker 3:Well, I think that we need more and more people doing spiritual work right now. I think it's like crucial right now. So I would really encourage anyone who feels that calling that kind of has even has a doubt or is not sure to consider doing it. And you know, I know there's imposter syndrome, there's fear, there's all the things that can pop up to stop us. But there's also a lot of help out there. Now there's so many more mentors and coaches and, you know, so many more support people that can help you do it.
Speaker 3:You don't have to do it alone like I did. I had to figure out every little step, you know, on my own, and I remember, you know, kind of reaching out to people. There were a few Reiki people in my area reaching out to them and they were like, oh, like, I have this thing that is new and people are coming to me. So I'm not going to share that with you, but I think now there's so much more where I mean the people I know, like you and all the people on our Facebook groups and all of that they seem to be so supportive and so willing to share strategies and things like that.
Speaker 3:So I think that just encouragement of you know to do it and to know that there are going to be challenges. You will fail and it's just part of it. So don't let that stop you either, because you know, embrace that when you fail, that means you're learning something. You can continue to be persistent, pick yourself up, continue to work, to learn. Maybe what you know, what was it that you didn't do right? You can learn how to do it.
Speaker 3:And then the other thing is I always say don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle or end, because we always see all these people that look very glossy and beautiful on, you know, facebook and Instagram and everything, and they look like their business is thriving right. They look great. All of their you know graphics are beautiful. But they may be at the middle, they may be at that you know that pinnacle of their business and they may have a team working with them. They may have so much help and support and we're doing it like all on our own and we're at the beginning. So it can feel really hard Like, oh, I'll never get there. I just think, you know, stick to it, know that you're in the beginning and you're not somebody that you should be comparing yourself to, like Oprah or something like that. You just it's not a fair thing. So just know that you can do it and you can get help for it and don't, you know, fear reaching out to others for support.
Speaker 2:Right, and I'll give the listeners an example. So you know, and you have. You know you're training students. Right, as I train students, they go out and you see our students success and that's fantastic and we want them to go out and share the gift of Reiki. And it kept being this idea that you need to get a space. You need to get a space. You know, because I was either going to people and this is for the yoga as well and it got to the point that I couldn't find a space that I turned my little Jeep into beep beep, the yoga Jeep. I would go to them. So I would go and I would do these things. I'd have people come here. I did the 70, 30% at different studios where I taught the Reiki and everything. But I think the collective was you need a space, you need a space, you need a space. And here the commercial property in El Paso is quite expensive. I mean, first you wouldn't think so. You would think this is like New York, the way they price the property here. So I found something that I would say, looking back, wasn't right but was just right at that moment. So I got this little small space, I decorated it beautifully and I was working out of it and it was doing quite well.
Speaker 2:But here we go, parking became an issue. You know, here there's not that much regulation. It wasn't even paved, it was like sand here, because it's in El Paso, a restaurant next door, super popular, had a drive through in the back. People would park behind my clients. It was becoming a point where the clients didn't want to come because they were nervous they couldn't get this parking spot, and so it was a situation where I actually didn't sign a lease and I was about five months in and I thought, you know what, after a situation where the students were feeling like there's nowhere to park, I thought I don't think this is working. But it was this idea that if people think I pack up and leave after six months, that I'm a failure and that I'm not making money, which was the opposite. This space could fit like five yoga students. It can fit, you know, reiki student or practitioner or a client in the back.
Speaker 2:But it was like you know what, I have to do what's best for me. This doesn't feel right now and I decided you know what, can you find somebody else to take my spot? And the owner did and I moved out after six months and it was the idea that you know what I'm supposed to be going out to other people in other places and I had to be okay with that, that, saying you know what it may look like on the outside. I might have failed, but I was doing well and I thought this just isn't for me.
Speaker 2:It didn't feel right, it wasn't flowing, the clients and students were having a difficult time and I said you know what, I'm going to let it go. And then, by letting it go, the very next day, I got a big job opportunity right and things kept coming. So have faith that your, your path may not be as someone else's, and that's okay. You give it a try and if it doesn't feel good, have the courage to say you know what, this isn't for me and just say you know what, I'm moving on to something else.
Speaker 3:So I love that and I call that following the energy, like kind of following your intuition and what's kind of opening up for you. That's like the opposite of failure, Because internally you're listening to what's really working. And then it just gave me chills to hear like you got that job opportunity as soon as you let go what wasn't serving you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I got two big opportunities, but I mean I have. And the other thing I had is I had contracts multiple. Yeah, I've where I teach at the college and I teach for the veterans and I teach at the border control, so I had other things going on that was helping supplement the space as well. Again, it wasn't like a huge amount of money a month. I was paying on it. But I went to another space here and I thought, okay, I will just do the 7030 contract with them.
Speaker 2:I walked in with my mat, my little Bluetooth, I did an hour session with students and then I walked out and I thought, yeah, this is what I'm supposed to do, just go to other places and get out of there instead of having my own. And it just felt right in my body. So you know, listeners, listen to yourself, because it may be a different journey for you, because I would do the same thing. I would look at me like, oh my goodness, I'm working so hard and here I'm doing a yoga class and I have five people and I'm looking on Instagram and this person is 25. What's wrong with me? Am I a terrible teacher? Like, why isn't this happening? So it's that vanity matrix where they're going to put the great classes on there. You know like, oh, they're not there when it's just one or no one shows up, right? That's like the day in, day out. So give yourself a little grace on that, and that's exactly right.
Speaker 2:All right, so the next one here. What books do you recommend? Gosh, well, I'm a book nerd for sure.
Speaker 3:I love books, oh my gosh. Well, I'm a book nerd for sure. I love books and I like to write books too. So I kind of have to say, I grow your Reiki business book, and it's a Kindle book, which does not mean that you have to have a Kindle, but it's available on Amazon and if you get it, you can read it on any device. It gives a lot of strategies for how to get clients and how to keep clients for Reiki.
Speaker 3:I also have the Reiki journals and practice trackers. They're kind of not a journal in terms of, like you know, writing down your feelings and things like that, but it's a journal, like you know, keeping track of how you practice and cheat sheets in there about different practices. And you know there's a lot of great, just ways of when my students fill those up. They're like look at what I've done over time. I've been doing self Reiki for like all these weeks or all of these months and now I'm bringing in, you know, imbuing things and imbuing spaces, and here are the Reiki sessions that I've given and they've documented all of those.
Speaker 3:But some other ones are Reiki Business Ready by Christian Stone. We talked about him, right, he's one of our friends and he has a great book on Amazon as well. And then I just want to mention irradiating our Reiki light. It's by Ricky Friedman and it's a compilation book. I put a little chapter in there about animal Reiki and it's this really big book and it's a book that you can you know, physical printed book and it has so many. She brought together so many Reiki practitioners who all have experience in different ways, and we all wrote these chapters and it just is this wonderful book to just look, read, as you know, anytime you get open to a page and you'll get inspiration about how wonderful Reiki is and how it works. So I love those. And there's a million more books, but just to start with those, let's start with those Very good.
Speaker 2:So what services do you offer? Do you offer classes, events and trainings?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I offer Usui Holy Fire Reiki sessions and classes and I do teach all of the levels of Usui Holy Fire Reiki, but I also teach ICRT, animal Reiki. So there's a level one and two and a master level for that. But a lot of what I do is coaching Reiki clients, like coaching and mentoring, and I help people with starting you know a professional practice, growing their practices and getting more clients and get you know kind of creating a real business, like you know how we start, like see how it goes. And then you're like, oh, I need this and I don't really have a policy, I don't have a you know a system for this or whatever. And I also I'm kind of one of those people that I like to create things and so I have all of these printable resources that are called like done for you Reiki printables. Um, I, you know I needed things like class certificates and I needed um forms for clients, gift certificates and all of these things like aftercare recommendations and things like that, and so I thought I'm creating these for myself and my students are asking me where do you get your certificates and how do I get make a gift certificate? I don't know how to do it.
Speaker 3:So I just started making those and I create them so that they're done for you. So they're all you know. They look beautiful, but then they're also in for many of them. They they're, you know, pdfs in a, but then they're also in for many of them. They they're, you know, pdfs in a way that you can write in your own information, then print them so you can write your contact information or you know anything about you, or the class certificate. You can put, of course, the students names in there and all of that. So I have a whole bunch of those. I have a whole bunch of those. And then you know, I do things like a lot of free things, like I have an online Reiki circle once a month and I have my Reiki coach on call podcast, my YouTube channel and new. I just started writing on Substack. So that's kind of fun because I love writing.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. So where can we find you so?
Speaker 3:where can we find you? So mainly at InfiniteLightCentercom. That's my website, but you can look for me on Facebook under my name, my YouTube channel is under my name and then my podcast is called Reiki Coach on Call, and so is my sub stack. So yeah, All right.
Speaker 2:Well, that ends the first part of our journey. I'm going to guide you into the second part, which is social media questions and questions from Reiki students. So here we go. Number one what inspired you to create the Central New York Reiki Association?
Speaker 3:Well, I created the CMY Reiki Association a while back, like about 15 years ago, the NY Reiki Association a while back, like about 15 years ago. I had been teaching for a few years and I started to get a bunch of students that wanted more opportunities to practice, to learn, to share that kind of thing, and so then I started offering like Reiki shares. I did an annual Reiki retreat and then people wanted more, they wanted to be like together, they wanted community, and I thought this is great because I never had community when I first started out. So I, you know it was organically kind of driven in that way and I created. It was local, so we called it Central New York Reiki Association and it was for all levels of Reiki people. You didn't have to be a Reiki master, which was different at that time because many of the organizations needed you to be a Reiki master in order to and the biggest thing that people got out of that, of course it's still in existence. But over time people have said to me the best thing about this is that we get to come together with like-minded people, other Reiki people that get us that we can share with, that we can kind of, you know, talk about life in terms of, you know, through a Reiki lens, kind of figuring out what to do about certain things and all that. You know. It really is wonderful.
Speaker 3:We, especially during the time that we were able to get together in person. We do it online now, but we would get together in person and we would sit around an actual table and we would have a Reiki chat. We would just talk about people would bring up topics and we would talk about those things and everyone absolutely loved that. And then we would kind of break out and we would go to the Reiki tables and we would do, you know, share Reiki with each other. It was a beautiful community idea to start with and of course, I have have.
Speaker 3:Now. I have bigger communities because, you know, everything's online now and I love the access. I still love that group of local people that still are there and we still they volunteer in the community. They do, you know, workshops and trainings in the community. They do fairs and stuff like that and just get create access. I mean. One other thing we did too was we had a Reiki clinic for a long time, so it was an in-person Reiki clinic. We just opened it up to the public and people would come in and just either observe if they weren't ready to even receive a session, or they would have a mini session like a 20 minute session.
Speaker 2:Beautiful.
Speaker 3:It was really, really nice.
Speaker 2:Do you recommend someone you know just starting out in this journey of Reiki to join some type of association you know, like Reiki Association, Reiki Alliance, reikiorg, or like one of like yours?
Speaker 3:I mean, I don't think people have to for sure, but there are some things that are good about them. I don't think you should spend a whole bunch of money on organizations because it isn't the type of thing that you need to, like some other, some other career, that you kind of do need to in order to be feeling like you're legit. It's not there yet with Reiki, but I do think that there are benefits, like, for example, some places have a listing that you, of course, they're going to put you on an online listing. People find you like I don't know how many times, cause I'm on a, I'm in a few organizations like that and so many times people will contact me through my listing for a session, for a class or something like that. So giving you just marketing visibility, I think is super important and, depending on whether they have like what you're looking for, are you looking for connection?
Speaker 3:And depending on whether they have like what you're looking for, are you looking for connection? If you are joining an organization where people get together, that would be great. If you're looking for visibility, that's good too. And sometimes people give resources. Like for mine, I have a whole like online platform that has resources like trainings and the printables and certificates and all kinds of little things that you just click on and you get access to. So if you're kind of looking for, I'd like to have more information and more of all of that. I mean, I would say, just kind of look at what they have to offer first before you decide to pay for one.
Speaker 2:Right, very good. Number two Now we have. One of the silver linings for the pandemic is the accessibility. You know being able to connect with people from all over the world. We have TikTok out there, that you know. My children know what Reiki is because of TikTok, because they've seen somebody on there. How do you explain to people that do not believe that you can do a Reiki session or a Reiki training online that they're insistent that this is only done one way and in person?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I think that comes up a lot, actually, like for people that are new to Reiki. Even from Reiki trained people I get that and I kind of think, in a way, the confusion or the mistaken belief comes from the idea that Reiki is hands-on healing, that you need to be physically in the same room and touch someone in order for it to work. And maybe that's because you know when you observe a Reiki session, that's what you see typically is someone doing hands-on. So if you don't fully understand it, you might think that distant Reiki or remote Reiki, whatever you want to call it, can't work. But some people are actually taught that in their training that you know that's just the way it is. That's the way it should be. You have to do it with touch, but Reiki is energy, it's spiritually directed life force energy. So it is non-physical to start with. Right, it doesn't require physical touch. I mean, the physical touch is great and it's supportive in many ways, but you don't even need to be in the same room, you don't even need to be alive. Actually. Right, we can practice Reiki with people who have passed on, people that have not yet come into this world, but it's so easy to work with Reiki in a non-linear way or non-physical way. It transcends space and time. When we use the distant Reiki symbol that we get in level two, it's also called the oneness symbol. So in that way, and it's not like we are starting up or activating Reiki where we are and then sending it like a bullet train to another person and then they take a little time and then they receive it. It's nothing like that. It's more that we understand through Reiki and we experience through Reiki that we already have a connection, that we're already interconnected and so we don't need to touch them physically in order for them to experience the connection, in order for us to experience that deeper truth. Yeah, it's just part of the system of Reiki and from you know, level two, hopefully, people are starting to learn that and really deepen their understanding of it and their experience of it as they go into the master training and beyond, because it's a lifelong thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and you know, all of my sessions and all of my classes are distant. They typically are on Zoom. I can, you know, sometimes I get on FaceTime or on the phone or off technology altogether to do a session, but it all works and so many of my clients say that they have an even more profound experience with distance sessions. Like they'll get into. They'll be like laying in their bed, all curled up, with the covers on and everything else during the session, and they can keep their camera off. I don't need to see them during that session, I don't need to hear them during the session, but a lot of times it's really nice to just do that in real time so that we can talk to each other and, you know, talk like we would before a session and after a session, and then they can hear me.
Speaker 3:Some of my clients, who were always in person, were skeptical when I went to online starting in March of 2020. But most of them came around. There were a few that were like, yeah, I just can't go there, but most of them did and most of them are still my clients and love, love it because they don't have to travel. They don't have to. You know, you live in a warm place, but I live in a pretty cold place typically and it was always hard, like for people. They're like, oh, I don't want to come out Cause it's icy, the roads are icy or it's too dark, or or you know it's, you know it's expensive to travel.
Speaker 3:Like a lot of times I'd have people coming from like an hour or more away to come and see me for a session or for a class. So there's no commute time. It's convenient. You're in your own space, you know, you can have all the comforts that you need. You don't have to get up off of a table and go out into the cold and drive or anything like that. But yes, for sure it can be done and it's for somebody that's good, that kind of is questioning it. Try it. Yeah, right, just yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, every day, every morning, I get up and I send Reiki to my sister and my dad and I tell them may all of their heavenly lessons be done with grace and ease and harm to none. So I do that every day.
Speaker 3:I love that. Yeah, I practice distant Reiki every day too, and I can send distant Reiki to my day right as it's unfolding, for myself as well for anybody else. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2:Okay, number three. Now, this came from a Reiki student who studied Azui and was just questioning you know, there's many different systems Amaria, money Reiki, crystal Reiki, kid Reiki and so she said you know, seeing that you've had different systems as well as a practitioner herself, do you think it's beneficial for someone to have multiple systems or styles of Reiki?
Speaker 3:Like I said, I have been trained in several different styles of Reiki and I only practice one. I only practice Usui, holy Fire Reiki. Um, hmm, I don't necessarily think that it's a great. You know that it's something that you really need to have or that it's beneficial really, um, I think I was looking for the Goldilocks Reiki that worked for me perfectly and I found it for sure. So it was an evolution, I would just say to start somewhere. But there can't be any mistakes. So you start somewhere and you're like oh, maybe this, you know, like your space that you were renting, maybe it works for a time, and then you go to the next thing as you evolve. So I don't think that I would like quote unquote recommend it. Like I think you really need to have several styles of Reiki at your disposal, like so that when you're in a session you can use this one and then in the next session you might use a different one.
Speaker 3:I don't necessarily think that's the reason that you might do it. I think it's just kind of like what works for you in terms of the practices? Does it suit you at your level of evolution, at your level of practice right now? Does it suit you for your lifestyle and what you believe and how you want to work? I think that's maybe the question that you would ask yourself is more like let me just kind of see what the and I know it can be confusing because people ask me this all the time Do you know about this? Do you know about dragon Reiki? Do you about know about money Reiki? Oh, you know angel Reiki or whatever, and they're like I want to know all of it, right, cause they think they're missing something. But you're really not missing anything. I mean, as long as you have a basic Reiki course that really has like the basic stuff in it, you can go in any direction you want to.
Speaker 3:After, so, I think that, like maybe not, I wouldn't start with one of the fringier more new ones. I might have. Just look for one that has like covers the basic stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And then kind of see where you want to go from there.
Speaker 2:Right and I kind of looked at it. I guide people in a way to say your first one get a good teacher, solid foundation. Once you go through that, you're at your master's. You can go take those online courses that you pay like $14 or $9 to learn Celtic Reiki in three hours. Right, absolutely. But have that strong foundation, all right. Well, that was our last question and, as we were talking, is there anything you might have forgotten, anything you'd like to share, any message that you would like to give to the listeners?
Speaker 3:The floor is yours to give to the listeners. The floor is yours. Well, one thing I'm thinking about is that I'm happy to say is that I'm going to be participating in the Reiki Business Summit that's coming up in September and that's hosted by Christian Stone, and this is the second one we're doing.
Speaker 3:second, year of it and I'm going to be talking about different Reiki business paths that you can take. So we've been talking today about you know, different ways of working, and so I'm going to kind of just be going over like maybe, all the different ways that Reiki can be expressed in terms of like bringing it out into the world. So I'm really excited and looking forward to that and if anybody listening is interested in that, you can go check it out at reikibusinesssummitcom.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful, well, thank you, mary, so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to join me on this journey. It's been wonderful. I really appreciate your wisdom and knowledge and hopefully the listeners are taking notes and listening again and I'm sure they will be checking out you in that summit. That's a great summit and what a blessing to have Christian to put that together. As you said in the interview that when you started you didn't have these guides, and here they are. Here they are so many resources to help guide. It doesn't have to be a lonely journey. It doesn't have these guides, and here they are. Here they are so many resources to help guide. It doesn't have to be a lonely journey, it doesn't have to be difficult. You have the helpers out there. Remember what Fred Rogers said look for the helpers, they're out there.
Speaker 3:That's exactly right. Thank you so much, Tracy. It's been so much fun talking to you.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. All right, my wonderful listeners, if you would like your question featured on Ready Set Reiki, reach out wwwreadysetreikicom. I'm Tracy Seawright and this has been Ready Set Reiki. © transcript Emily Beynon.
