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.
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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 #160 David Roberts From Combat to Calm: A Veteran's Reiki Journey
What happens when traditional therapy fails a combat veteran struggling with trauma? For David Roberts, discovering Reiki became the unexpected lifeline that transformed his experience of being "on fire" into balanced wellbeing.
David takes us through his compelling journey from infantry soldier to holistic healer in this vulnerable conversation about finding healing in unexpected places. After returning from a combat-heavy tour feeling perpetually angry and dysregulated, David's path led him to explore energy healing. The moment he experienced his first reflexology point, feeling "the world was okay for a couple seconds," became the catalyst for a complete life transformation.
As both a Master Reiki practitioner and Army Reserve Master Resilience Trainer, David brings a refreshingly grounded perspective to energy work. He seamlessly bridges Western clinical understanding with traditional Asian health practices, making these modalities accessible even to skeptics. His approach emphasizes the nervous system science behind Reiki, challenging misconceptions that it's merely "woo-woo" or luxury care rather than legitimate healing.
The conversation takes a practical turn as David demonstrates powerful techniques specifically beneficial for veterans and anyone struggling with anxiety, boundary issues, or sleep disturbances. From the simple "typewriter" chest tapping to regulate the vagus nerve to more involved practices for releasing grief and establishing healthy boundaries, these tools offer immediate nervous system relief in just 60 seconds.
Whether you're a veteran seeking alternative approaches to healing, a Reiki practitioner looking to deepen your understanding, or simply curious about how energy medicine interfaces with traditional therapeutic models, this episode illuminates the profound healing potential when ancient wisdom meets modern understanding. David's journey from skeptic to practitioner reminds us that sometimes our greatest healing comes from places we least expect to find it.
David Roberts (He/Him). Is a Master Reiki Practitioner, somatic skills life coach, and Army veteran with roughly 8 years of experience in helping individuals regulate stress, process trauma, and restore balance through holistic and somatic care. As a Master Resilience Trainer in the U.S. Army Reserve, my goal is to bring a grounded and integrative approach to healing. I have provided trainings for groups and individuals, to include clinicians at Wayne State’s outpatient psych program, blending Eastern and Western modalities to support deep emotional and nervous system recovery.
If you’re looking at an approach that can support and guide your nervous system to a more peaceful and balanced place, I’d love to aid you in what ways I can, and speak about how Reiki (Teate) and Somatic Skills can help you achieve healing.
Ready Set Reiki is a journey
From the curious beginner to the Season Master Teacher
All Energy workers of all systems and all levels.
This is Ready Set Reiki, a podcast about Reiki, the universal energy life force, from the curious beginner to the seasoned master teacher, welcoming all systems, all litigations and all levels. Reiki is a journey and not a destination, and on this Ready Set Reiki journey, I refer to myself as a guide rather than a host. So I'm Tracy Seawright, and this is Ready Set Reiki.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone, welcome, tracy Seawright, and this is Ready Set Reiki. I am joining you from my new location yes, I have moved and it's the beginning of a wonderful and amazing adventure. So let me tell you who is joining me today on my journey. Now, his name is David Roberts.
Speaker 2:He is a master Reiki practitioner, somatic skills life coach and he's an Army veteran with roughly eight years of experience in helping individuals regulate stress process, trauma and restore balance through holistic and somatic care. Now, as a master resilient trainer in the US Army Reserve, his goal is to bring a grounded and integrative approach to healing. He has provided trainings for groups of individuals, to include clinicians at Wayne State's Outpatient Psych Program, lending Western and Western modalities to support deep emotional and nervous system recovery. Now, if you're looking for an approach that can support and guide your nervous system to be more peaceful and a balanced place, he would love to help you and speak to you about Reiki and somatic skills to help you achieve the healing. So let's bring in our wonderful guest today, david Roberts. David, welcome to Ready Set Reiki.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you, it's my honor and privilege to be here. I greatly appreciate your time.
Speaker 2:Wonderful, wonderful. So I am in El Paso, Texas, where I have the honor and the privilege of working with many in our military and veterans and our Gold Star mothers. So one of my favorite things to do is, on Fridays, I go down to our Veterans Center, Ambrosia Gullen, and we do get fit while we sit. So it's a really wonderful and a way of giving back to all the amazing and wonderful things that they have done our military has done for us. So let's begin our journey together. So tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3:Goodness, this was probably the hardest question, I think. Actually, you know, it's always like what do you say about yourself? But obviously I'm at the unit today, um in my 50s um, but uh, army veteran, I'm still in the active reserves um, I've gone through a couple different job changes, um, but my background is when I was, you know, 18, I joined um. It was in the infantry and uh, you know, they told me hey man, we're the war's dying down you're not going anywhere, because I was really scared.
Speaker 3:I was going for college. I'm like, oh no, I gotta go for college, I want to get a good education and all that jazz and um, I got to my unit in the infantry and they were like, oh yeah, six months were to point. And I was like what, oh gosh, so went overseas, had um, I guess you'd call it an amazing time, but it was a pretty combat, heavy tour. And when I came back I just found myself feeling very um, just just trying to juggle, I guess, my, my nervous system. I didn't know anything about that at the time, I was still pretty young. I just was like, oh, it's okay to be angry all the time, it's okay to be, you know, frustrated, frustrated and sad and depressed, and this is normal, you know.
Speaker 3:And so, moving forward, I got out of the infantry. I still wanted to keep a foot in, though I was like, oh, I want to keep a foot in the door, I don't want to completely separate. So I went into the reserves as a civil affairs specialist and sort sort of more like macro social work you work with a population much more peaceful mission, and I was like, oh, maybe this will do it for me, but I still felt like I was on fire. And when I got out and I was back in the civilian world, I wanted to again pursue college and during that journey I was like, oh, I'll do social work, that'll help me.
Speaker 3:and it's still, while it was cool to relate to folks, it still felt like something was missing and I was like just getting curious and I was like, well, you know, maybe I'll I don't know look for some healing modalities, and Reiki popped up for me and around the same time, actually about a year later, I found my current mentor, michael Gillespie, and he's been a social worker since like the 70s, but he was really blessed to learn really cool traditional Asian health practices from a gentleman named Mr Onishi and Dr Lee, and so a lot of like what I do in my Reiki sessions comes from those gentlemen and they're I guess you could call them Yang Shen skills, or they're little tiny skills that are derived from Qigong or Kiko, which is Japanese Qigong, but anyways.
Speaker 3:So now I work. You know, I'm trying to sort of make a whole shift. I was doing social work, I'm trying to make this holistic shift now and um study reiki for phoenix, rising mental health services, and I teach qigong and uh, yeah, and then of course I do the skills education for wayne state universities, outpatients like program and their clinicians, as well as my mentor, and I train other clinicians too on um platforms for continuing education credits. But we teach these skills, um, these these traditional age and health practices with the term somatics, so that way people can jive with it in the in the clinical world. So, um, yeah, I feel like that's a lot about me. Um, and you thought you were gonna have a hard time with that one.
Speaker 2:That's a lot about me.
Speaker 3:And you thought you were going to have a hard time with that one.
Speaker 2:You know I was like oh, let me just word vomit everything. Yeah Well, I love how you said that you wanted to kind of do something with your anger. I know in college my husband well, he was then my boyfriend, you know went into the reserves and I had just found that there were just many times where he was just angry by the world things happening. So I like how you took that opportunity to see what can you do to heal, what can you do to self-regulate beyond you know what the standards you would think in the army would be. You know, I mean these holistic modalities kind of beyond you know what the standards you would think in the army would be. You know, I mean these holistic modalities kind of. Oftentimes, you know, people have judgment towards it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, absolutely I. I'm glad you brought that up. It made me realize. Sort of circle back, the things that ended up healing me were Reiki, they wereigong, they were, you know, these yang shen and kiko skills that I learned, and I remember learning the first one. It was just this reflexology point on the side of my hand, on the knife edge here, right in line with the, the heart line, and I remember just feeling like all of a sudden the world was okay for a couple seconds while I was pressing that point and I was like that's wild, and like I was like I could feel the downshift and I was like, wow, dude, that's crazy.
Speaker 3:Our bodies have, like just one point, that much ability, yeah, and that was sort of the the end of it, like I was like I'm, I'm hooked, I'm addicted. You know that. You know any. I was like any human, I'll take it. And I just remember clinging to that one point. So, um, just uh, desperately. And so I, of course, learned more and was able to really start to build capacity and resilience, uh, which helped me do better reiki sessions for folks too right.
Speaker 2:And then here you've turned around in your being of service and helping so many people. Now, just from taking that step forward, beautiful. Now you mentioned a little bit in your tell us about yourself, about your Reiki. So would you say that you found Reiki or Reiki found you?
Speaker 3:Oh, good question, Can it be like a, both and like a little bit of column A and a column B? Um, cause I had no idea, like, what Reiki was. It was like 2000 and, like you know, uh, 2014. When I got out and, um, I remember just like looking around and I was like you know, know, I've always been interested in, like japanese, like chinese, like kung fu, martial arts, and I was like, let's find something, because I really want to channel myself, yeah, um, channel myself into something. And I went on meetup, um, and I don't know if meetup's still a thing, I think it is.
Speaker 3:But like back in the day, you know, um, I went out there and there was a gentleman, mr andrew anders, and he was like, you know, hey, come do reiki. Uh, it's, it's healing, it's soothing, it's you know, x, y and z. And I said something just sort of pulled me in that direction and I was like, okay, like I've spent enough time at war, I probably should do something healing. And so I decided, well, you know what, let's try it out. It was, you know, it was like a, a couple hundred bucks. So I was like I could spare it, you know, all right, and went in there and it was just this really like I don't know like soothing, peaceful sort of experience.
Speaker 3:Um, remember, sitting, just, you know, in gashow and and uh, doing the hot kureho and this meditation, and um, I, I didn't even, I didn't even know the names back then, I didn't even honor the names, like I was like whatever, it doesn't matter, infantry, you know, but I just called it the fire hands meditation because it was just like I was sweating with how much heat there was and I just thought, oh wow, power, this is cool, you know. Energy, it's real. Um, so the reiki sort of found me and I started doing treatments on myself and others, but, um, it certainly. I sort of fell away from my first view. I went to qigong and kung fu and I sort of fell back into the whole power thing. I was like I need to be strong because of all the trauma, right you? Know I need to be in control.
Speaker 3:I need to be in control, and it wasn't till like a little bit, like, I think, right around the pandemic. Uh, my kung fu teacher was like, oh, I'm also a reiki teacher and I was like, wait, what so?
Speaker 3:reiki sort of found me again and it popped up and he was like, oh yeah, and on top of that I know kiko, and I was like what is that? He's like? It's going to amplify your rate. You know, that sounds cool. So it found me again and I was able to then start sort of reigniting that passion and being able to use that to help others heal. And uh, then I I somehow rekindled the connection with my old mentor, the one I first learned with, and now he's an acupuncturist.
Speaker 3:He's learned so much, he's grown. It's just such a cool thing that Reiki continues to be, even when I start to fall away from it. It's like, hey, buddy, you know you want to practice a little bit, and then it picks me back up and so it's in my life for a reason. But I would say that Reiki, I sought it at first, but it ultimately found me and it continues to find me, like it almost chases.
Speaker 2:It's very cool, yeah well as you navigate, you have this wonderful stress reducing modality in your energetic toolbox. What are some misconceptions you have found as you are out working with individuals about reiki. What are they? What are you finding out there that people are have this confusion about or misconception?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think a lot of folks they they say, oh, that's that, that waving hands thing Right. Or they don't even know.
Speaker 3:They're like, well, what the heck is a rapy? That sounds crazy. So it's still like. I get a lot of those responses from folks Like well, what the heck is that? And I have a much more clinical like I guess not understanding of it because everyone understands it that way, probably too. But my explanation to folks is much more clinical because of my background in social work, my studies with you know the sympathetic, the parasympathetic, the vagus nerve. You know all the trauma stuff that I've learned through my social work career. And so I think one of the common misconceptions is that it's and not to knock anyone because I love this stuff Like I've gotten treatments where people do crystals and call in ancestors and it's super cool and I'm like what I can't do? That Like mine's much more clinical, Like that's legit. But people think it's only those things and it's sometimes it.
Speaker 3:I think there's this, this misconception in society that those things are bad or they're looked down on and they're not real healing and I'm like no brother, man, like sister, like you, gotta, you gotta get in on this because it is real deal healing. I think people they don't realize, they don't know the history of it, that pre-world war ii this was being used in clinics. It was true clinical um, you know, you know a practice and it was healing. And there's documentation that people have found and have documented now from those healings. I mean there's lists and we have them in the books, but we have, like, there's those like articles that my, my, my, I, my, my. I guess you want to call him master, but my master's giving me and he says, hey, look at all of these things, are these news articles where this guy talked about the healing he's done? And I'm like, wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 3:So when do I get to start healing people like that? You know, but it's, it is clinical, it belongs in the clinic, in my opinion, and so I think that the misconception is that that's like that's a comfort. It's not even complimentary. They're like that's that's a, a luxury.
Speaker 3:I'm like no, this is this is so good it's, it's more than just a luxury. This is true, legitimate healing, and there's science that supports it. Um, so I think the biggest misconception that a lot of people have is that it's just, it's funny foo-foo magic and it's the furthest thing from, in my opinion. Um, you know, like sometimes I feel like this feeling is more, uh, more real, or more healing than the healing I get from the doctor, where they're like, oh hey, um, you got the sniffles, okay, well, I'll take some ibuprofen, go home and sleep on it, you know. Or like when I was in the service and I'm like, oh yeah, I'm like I'm pretty sure my ankle broke, and they're like, yeah, run it off, you're fine. Like had I known Reiki back then or had I been seeing someone, I mean the healing might have sped up, it might have been been faster and maybe more increased.
Speaker 2:And I strongly believe that, based on the things I've seen and the things I've read, and just the testaments of my clients and other folks' clients too- my very first Reiki training, it was level one, nizui Rahiho, and after that I kind of went down the rabbit hole of researching and then I came across Dr Hitoshi's healing guide. So he was, you know, a physician and had a clinic and he has this very detailed guide that he has for ailments. Nowadays we would go to the hospital right Like a sword wound and hand placements, and it was that clinical where two practitioners were working on you that it did that transition from sitting to lying down. So a lot of people don't know that whole aspect of it. They again think it's that woohoo, yeah, yeah yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 3:It's like one of those things where I look at the uh, you know, the research now that's out about it and then also like, if it was just that, why would there be like over 800 hospitals and clinics in the united states alone that utilize it? As you know, they call it complementary therapy.
Speaker 3:They have to call something for the insurance, right, um, but they wouldn't be using it otherwise um it didn't work and um, you know, another thing that I'm just about to start doing as well is um volunteering at corwell health doing reiki for cancer patients and it's again. Why would they have the program at a Catholic hospital too, right, Like with this root being Catholic if it didn't work and it didn't have some? Merit you know yeah. So that's me nerding out about it.
Speaker 2:I get excited about it Right Modality to walk alongside your primary caregiver's plan. So not a replacement, but you know to work together Absolutely. So what has been your biggest challenge or struggle you have faced in your healing journey? You're out there being of service and helping so many individuals out there as this master resilience trainer, helping those getting grounded. So what challenges have you faced?
Speaker 3:I think some of the challenges I've faced I mean, there's been a lot along the way um, I think, primarily just getting over myself, um getting over my own mental health and I wouldn't say getting over it, but I would say, probably getting through it right, um, getting through my own challenges.
Speaker 3:Um, you know, I'm definitely like a strong believer and is like, as the reiki flows through me, kind of a vibe right, it's healing me too. Um, and I, and I want to say now that I look at myself, now that I've really squared away a lot of that mental health, my physical health, um, I'm in a much healthier space, mind and body. My treatments have actually increased as well and they become more effective, and so I think one of the biggest challenges in the beginning was just this constant battle within my own mind. I think, too, one of the biggest challenges for me was I was so well ingrained into Western sort of science and things I was like. Well, my initial response to a lot of these things is, while it seems amazing, I always had that voice of doubt in the back of my head. You know, is this really working? Are you really doing something for yourself, or is this just placebo?
Speaker 3:You know, and so a lot of my challenges and struggles came from my own mental health, my own doubt, and I think just at some point it's like when do you just sort of throw all those cares to the to the wind and say, obviously something I'm doing is working, regardless if it's a placebo or not, because I feel better and it's not just my emotions, but it's how I behave and it's how I interact with others, when I don't feel like there's a fire in my chest anymore, right, and I can take a deep breath and I can feel grounded and really feel the chair supporting me, like there's something to that, and so I could probably say that's like one of the biggest challenges.
Speaker 3:Challenges, um, I think too, something that always sort of kept me from continually pursuing this is just uh, you know not again sort of emotional, but like not feeling like I'm good enough because when I came back I was just on fire and so so like I, my family relationship, suffered, I couldn't keep a partner to save my life, like, luckily now, like I love my wife to death, like you know, so blessed, um, but those were things that really, I guess just sort of uh got in the way of pursuing these things sooner and also, uh, with more like zeal and passion. Um, I would say maybe the.
Speaker 3:The other thing I can think of is, you know, it's been a rough ride, you know, coming back from the service, like I was not in a good space, and so there's like times I'd like lost jobs because like I was either too impulsive or I was too angry or I was too something. And uh, again that behavioral aspect like getting along with folks is so difficult, oh my gosh. And Reiki has changed my life dramatically. Now I have this very, I feel, like white energy.
Speaker 3:It's just playful and it's I'm curious about life again as opposed to being so miserable and stuck in the idea of my shortages. And you know, living in that land, living in the land of curiosity, is so much more beautiful. So I would say that, like, those things are probably some of the biggest things I've faced in my healing journey. And I think that the journey continues.
Speaker 3:Yeah, some of the biggest things I've faced in my healing journey and I think that the journey continues. I think that the journey will always continue and there will always be new phases of that healing in my life, and I think it's one of the most beautiful things about anything like Qigong or Reiki or these somatic resets, the Yangshen and Kiko, is the more that I do them, the deeper I can go, the more I realize and I go wow, there's so much more to this than just I place my hands in this position, you know. Or there's so much more than, oh well, I just tap across the collarbone and I'm better now.
Speaker 3:Like it's just there's so much depth and just gold, gold in the practice. So, yeah, I would say that myself, myself, was my biggest, my biggest boundary.
Speaker 2:That ego. Yeah, making friends with that ego. It puts us into some trouble, doesn't it? But I like how you call it a journey, because it really is. It's not about that destination, because once we think we're there, something else pops up and we realize we still have more healing to do Many people also. Another misconception is it's a one and done. You know it's a bippity, boppity boo, but it isn't. It's cumulative. It takes time and you may not see it right away, and it may be a year or two years later and something that maybe would have triggered you five years ago. You react a little softer to it yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:I love that. You said that and I think it sparked something else for me. My one of my mentors, he says you know, uh, and he said you know, miss takata talked about how this was a gentle healing art. This was short wave therapy, if you will right, like this, uh, radio waves. In a sense I think it's cool like we actually produce like hurts from our hands, like super, super sick. But, um, he was, like you know, traditionally she recommended four to five sessions in a row, you know, because we wanted to be able to slowly peel back layers. I love he said it's like a push pop, so like all that crud is sort of on the bottom, you pushing it up, so finally it exposes itself. And I think this is like very common in a lot of like traditional asian health practices. But you might not feel something at first. Next session, all of a sudden you feel a little crummy. By the third or fourth, all of a sudden it's like, wow, everything's better.
Speaker 3:It's this idea of like things might get worse before they get better because I have to sort of purge and get all that nastiness out and then I can tone it, then I can really put in this solid, beautiful, white, golden light energy, whatever you know, you see, um, but yeah, I get to, I get to really heal with this reiki at that point. So I love that like reiki, like sort of does a combo deal in my opinion, like it's it's smoothing the energy out, it's sort of slowly sifting through all the bull crap and pulling that up while like continually healing you with goodness. It's like this both, and it's a dialectic, if you will. I guess it's really beautiful right right practice, practice, practice, practice.
Speaker 2:Definitely the the difference maker and right sticking around and you mentioned madam takata, and if no one had caught this you said about the shortwave right after Pearl Harbor, she had to change and Americanize Reiki and take that out. So if you look in the book called the Healing Touch by William Rand, it's a level one, level two master manual. He actually has a picture of it, painted over the word reiki and putting that on there because she had to shift and change what was going on. You know. But you know we accredit her for keeping reiki going. So yeah, that just shows you you know how you need to shift and change is a little bit as our out there being of service yeah so when it is time for you to get an energetic tune-up, what qualities do you look for in a reiki practitioner?
Speaker 3:I think that I look for someone who really embodies the precepts right. Like you know, I really want someone who's not quick to anger, who's who's not really worrying. I want them to be able to to have gratitude for that practice and entreat with compassion, um and I think you can sort of read that on somebody. Um, and again, I mean I think about, like from a western perspective, like the vagus nerve and mirror neurons, right, like if you, if someone walks into the room and they have some stuff going on and and no, not knocking them at all but I think that someone can feel that there's a resonance. And so I look for a practitioner who can really separate, you know, when it's time to heal from their personal lives.
Speaker 3:I think it's really, really, really important, because there was a point in time I could not do that, so my treatments were you know, when it's time to heal from their personal lives, I think it's really, really, really important, because there was a point in time I could not do that, so my treatments were not as effective. And so I look for someone who is that still calm water, because I want my biggest nerve, I want my energy, I want my chakras, I want my, all my stuff, all the goodness right. I want it aligned and I want it to be smooth, like, like a placid lake you know, and so I think of someone like that.
Speaker 3:But I also enjoy it Like, and I totally welcome like bubbly personality, like I'm I'm a goofball, so I want people to have good energy and, um, you know. But I look for someone who just takes care of themselves. Um, when I think we take care of ourselves and again I'm, I'm, uh, definitely what's the word I'm looking for I guess I can say that there was a point in time, like I said, I didn't take care of myself, like I'm guilty of it. That's the phrase I was looking for. I'm guilty of it not doing that and, at the same time, right coming back and doubling down, and so I just think someone who takes care of themselves is really, really important. Again, from my own experience, like not having taken care of myself and try to do these things. So, yeah, someone who embodies the precepts, takes care of themselves, can be that sort of still water for me and, yeah, I would say that those are probably the things that I look for in a practitioner.
Speaker 3:I personally enjoy more traditional treatments and, at the same time, like I've had it where my master that I'm still apprenticing under you know, um, because in this lineage, um, you know, he does acupuncture, so like he'll put. He'll put like a. He was like do you have a? He was like read my pulse, he goes. Do you have a cold heart? I was like what? I was like what are you talking about? He's like do you have circulation issues, man? I'm like, how did you even pick that up? He's like, well, I got a man. He's like the Reiki told me, the energy told me. So he's like let me put a, an acupuncture needle in your arm here. You know I was like okay, cool. So like you know, he's putting something in Shen Men and my heart line. And all of a sudden it's like this warm rush of heat and soothing to my heart.
Speaker 3:So I also welcome a combination of treatments as well. I think it's fascinating. I've only ever received one thing or the other, so when people can find things, I find it super fascinating too. Definitely not knocking that. I definitely want to experience more of that. So I look for creativity too, I'd say, and a practitioner.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. It's interesting, you know, when we talk about different ways that people bring in modality, that there really is no wrong way to do it as long as you have that intention, that it's your intention. That is what's important with that. So our next question we have for you is what advice would you give someone who's just entering spiritual work?
Speaker 3:Yeah, jeez, louise, that's a good question. I would just say do the research, stay curious, look around, experiment, just really go to whatever spirit calls to you know, like reiki might not be for somebody, and that's okay right like do something else, man.
Speaker 3:Um, if you know that energy healing in general, or reiki or aerobatic medicine, or just tcm or acupuncture, reflexology or tweena or anything right like any of those healing modalities. If they are calling to you, I would say pursue it with your whole being. Like we get one of these bad boys, like these lives right. And I want to chase things that are like a vocation for me, that really are just singing to my spirit, my heart, you know, make me feel accomplished and purposeful in my life, and so I would say, like get curious, stay curious, don't just get hung up on one thing.
Speaker 1:If you want to learn it all, heck, go learn it all, have fun um yeah, like that's, that's sort of like one of the things I would say, and I would just say like um, I'm looking at my notes too.
Speaker 3:I'm like I got my notes too, no, um. But also to like collaborate right, like I think it's really hard to and I think I still struggle with this too like getting uh clients and things and getting people to sort of buy in and like don't be afraid to collaborate with somebody, like get a part of like a cohort almost right, and then it's like a community too, so like there's a communal aspect to that.
Speaker 3:My teachers always said, like the most important three teachings are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Right, like your inner Buddha, like the teachings themselves and then like the community. I think that can like the teachings themselves and then like the community. Um, I think they consider a lot of spiritual based things, right, but community is so important, yeah, so if you're looking to get involved in the work, make, make friends, yeah, get your name out there. Um, find a mentor, find somebody who has been in the field longer than you and you really resonate with I I see it a lot like in the different facebook groups that I'm a part of.
Speaker 3:It's just there's a lot of I was just talking to my wife about this the other day I feel like there's a lot of gatekeeping.
Speaker 3:I feel like there's a lot of like these are my clients, these are my clients, and there's not a lot of sharing or referrals and maybe that's just my experience. I'm sure that there's places where that happens all the time, like referrals and things, but I feel like it's just like building a community is a really important part of that. So that way you can get in, you can network, you can, you know people can say you know what? Actually, I really know David. He's a really cool dude. You're going to jive with him. You actually, I really know David. He's a really cool dude. You're going to jive with him.
Speaker 3:You might have jived with my treatment, but I guarantee you he's got this skill set and you're going to love that. So hit him up. Or you know, I have friends that you know. They definitely they network with different acupuncturists in Ann Arbor, ipsy and stuff in Michigan, and so they're sending clients back and forth and I think it's so cool. So you know, yeah, make it a vocation, have fun, stay curious, collaborate, network, be friendly, get out there, share the wealth. I think that sharing is caring.
Speaker 3:And I think that even just sharing a couple of clients with somebody, even if it's just a couple of times, they really light their fire. I think it's just find people that are going to keep you motivated, because it can be a burnout too. Again. Go back to taking care of yourself. That would be one more thing. If you're going to get involved in this stuff. Take care of you. Do it on you. Do your treatments, Do your qigong. Do whatever you do. Do it for you. Do your treatments. Do your qigong do. Do whatever you do. Do it for you.
Speaker 2:Got to pull yourself up and here's the thing, even though you know we're both masters, even as a master teacher, it's okay to stop when you're getting that burnout and go back to those techniques. You know I'm I sold a house, I I'm selling another house and I just found myself I'm entering burnout with everything I was doing and I stopped and I went back. I went back to do those medications and things that were in the manuals to reset. It's okay to pause in your journey and say, Okay, you know what, I'm not taking anybody right now. I had somebody and I had to refer them.
Speaker 2:I'm like I just don't. I don't have it in my schedule right now. Right, I don't think I'm my element where I can be of service. But here, here's one of my students. You're more than welcome to this, you can be of service to me. Here you go. If you want to wait for me, that's great, but it's okay to pause. It's okay to go back and say, let me redo this, Let me work on myself, you know, and that's kind of where that ego is put to rest instead of I'm a master, I don't need to take steps back.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I love that. Yeah, I think it's so important that we just take care of ourselves. It is, it is.
Speaker 2:And even if you just Something happens and you get off the, we had one house that had an air-conditioned die 13 days before we sold it, and then the current one that we have that we're selling it broke again. So two different houses, both air-conditions, which is a higher expense, right? What do you think? Roof, windows, air-conditioning Just for today. Just for today, just for today, absolutely, you know. I might have to sit there for a little bit. Yeah. But we're human right, we're having a human experience. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Absolutely Truly.
Speaker 2:So what books do you recommend?
Speaker 3:Good question. I'm not a super avid reader. I'm I'm very kinesthetic in my approach, like I like the hands on it. Um, I love the history though, um, and I, I and I do love reading some of the manuals. I think they're really cool and I have read a couple, um, so yeah, I've only like read a couple reiki books, um, but again, you know, I think the ones I read were great, because again, I'm more, I guess, like clinical in my practice, anyways, like I want to know those things.
Speaker 3:So like the original Reiki handbook, you know, of Dr Mikawa Usui, and then Hayashi's Reiki manual, and then the other one that I read was the Japanese Art of Reiki. I think it's a friend, shaina, which I thought was really cool, his his interpretation of things like just really being about cultivation and peace and self healing and stuff like is like just really being about cultivation and peace and self-healing and stuff like, oh, dude, I was like preach, you know, because that's what I needed when I first came back and, uh, really, of course, what sung to me was the, the self-healing aspect of it you know, being able to do teate or hand allowance and put my hands on someone else and heal them, like that's cool, I love that.
Speaker 3:But for me, like I was like really just wow. So if I put my hands like this, if I do this, if I'm like this, if I have like, I was like wow, you know. So I love that and I love the clinical aspects that those other two books on the hi Ashi Ricky manual and the original handbook of dr you see the, the clinical aspects they bring to it as well, based on my background with social work and the vagus nerve it just those really resonated strongly with me. Yeah, yeah. Otherwise I've only read like a lot of. I think the philosophies go together but like different, like Taoist texts or Buddhist texts. I think the thing that got me really on this whole journey of East Asian kind of health practices originally was and I highly recommend this book for anyone actually who just wants to read it is by Osho and it was. I think it's called Encountering with Nothingness or it was like the Empty Bo with nothingness.
Speaker 3:Um, so if you, just look at osho, look up osho and look up empty boat. Like it'll probably pop up, but definitely one of the most amazing books. I felt like he was talking around in circles, though, and I was like, oh, this is all too philosophical, this is too crazy. Um, but it was such a good introduction to uh, that eastern philosophy, um and uh, just his interpretation of what you know. Shang tzu and lao tzu are trying to say uh in their writings. So, like I, I loved it. I was like, wow, this really broke it down for me. If I can be that still water, that empty boat, then I. When I devoid myself of everything, then I'm full of everything, or it's like a conduit, and I was like oh man and it tied right into Reiki for me.
Speaker 3:I was like oh wait, what? Like, let's go. So that book too I guess I would also recommend, because I think that's a really great lesson, if not, if not even just for Reiki but just for like your own personal life, your own emotional regulation, your own relationships. So, yeah, all right so what other services do you offer? Do you do classes? Yeah, yeah, so, um, I haven't stepped into like the whole like teaching role yet.
Speaker 3:I'm like I'm not sure if I'm ready for that you know um, and reason being so, like my teacher michael, that I learned from original or um that my second mentor still my mentor to this day, like with kung fu and all those things, um, his school of thought from mr onishi when he learned this back like in the 70s from this gentleman, was um, you know, it was very much more about self-cultivation. It was like traditional, like shorinji monks from japan, and they were very in line with the shaolin, so shaolin, shorinji um, but a lot about cultivation, self-cultivation. So that's a little breaky. We never learned, we never had attunements. It was all about self-cultivation.
Speaker 3:So we did a lot of kiko or qigong to cultivate that energy. So it was a very different kind of um reiki, if you will. There is hands-on healing in kiko. There's a couple different practices or a couple different schools of thought, but they have like brushing of meridians and things. So you know, while it's not explicitly Reiki that part of it, the rest of what he taught us was and so I'm a master teacher in that lineage but I was like I don't know, it's just not. A lot of people are probably going to want to sit there and cultivate energy.
Speaker 3:They sort of want to just have that lineage passed down kind of vibe yes, I'm tuning you into this frequency as opposed to I have to tune myself in and cultivate all this qigong and qigong. If people are into it, I'm willing to teach it. And then in the other lineage, with Mr Anders, I'm only okuden in that, so I don't have the training in that regards to give an attunement as of yet. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, I'm really excited to continually apprentice under him. But so you know, that's the Reiki side of the house. I can give a bomb treatment, but I don't want to teach as of yet, unless someone's willing to do the cultivation of energy and I could teach Kiko at that point, which is really fun and really really cool.
Speaker 3:Um definitely amplifies my reiki sessions. Um, I do teach qigong at lucky flow acupuncture. Um, that's in livonia, michigan. So if any of you michiganders are listening, um, but livonia, michigan, uh, lucky flow acupuncture is thursday evenings and we're looking to expand that um to like a teacher program as well. So, like that way we can, we can sort of certify teachers and pass these arts on. So yeah, so I do teach Qigong as well. And then with Phoenix Rising Mental Health Services, we're still rolling out this holistic programming. But you know I do?
Speaker 3:I have done skills coaching for folks as it pertains to Qigong and Qico and how can that help them with their own emotional dysregulation, anxiety, sleep issues, eye strain, just general fatigue. So you know, those are some other services that I definitely offer and then, hopefully in the future, I'm getting medical, medical qigong certified as well. So providing medical qigong therapy for folks as well would be really fun. Um, that's like probably within the next year, so hit me up in a year, uh, for that service specifically. But yeah, so those are the other things I do currently in the holistic realm and that I really love to do for folks. Um, teaching qigong has been such a joy and just to see people you know heal and be like, oh, I slept so good or wow, I really felt the energy, like that was way, that was way cool. And I'm like, bro, we're just on the surface, Like let me tell you, you know, but even the surface level practices, the basics right, are so foundational and so life changing you know so been really, really fun.
Speaker 3:I love doing it, but those are some of the other services that I offer and I currently do for folks.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. Do you offer anything online, do you?
Speaker 3:offer anything online, so not as of yet. That's coming soon, probably, as I'm doing Okuden with my mentor. The other lineage that I was talking about with Michael, I call it the Onishi lineage. They never did distance stuff, not that I know of. It was all like hands-on, which I was like oh, hey, that's cool, but Mr Anders is very like no, this is very real and I've experienced it from. Hey, that's cool, but Mr Anders is very like no, this is very real and I've experienced it from. Like across the room, like it's super.
Speaker 3:I was like you didn't even have your hands anywhere near me, bro, and he was like yes, that's the power, so probably like in the next couple of months or so.
Speaker 3:I would imagine I'm going to start offering things online as well. I didn't buy into it. For the longest time I was like that's the bunny foo-foo stuff, nope. But then when I felt it for myself, I was like, oh wow, that's wild. Like my headache is gone and you never even touch me. So in the next couple months, absolutely Probably be offering things online for Reiki. We're looking at creating an online platform as well for Lucky Flow Qigong, so that'll eventually be available and people are also just more than welcome. Just to hit me up as well, and I can definitely just do like, like a consultation with somebody. Like do you want to learn qigong? Do you? Do you want to learn some kiko? Like, do you want to learn some somatic practices to help with your nervous system that are, you know, they're steeped in and really come from traditional Asian health practices? Like I got you, that's too easy. I would love to provide that for folks.
Speaker 2:So yeah, like you know, hit me up that leads right into the next question how can we get in touch with you if someone's listening to this and you're like, yeah, this is my person?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely um. So there's quite a few ways to get a hold of me and I hope that. I hope that whoever's listening does um. But phoenix rising mhscom, um. So it stands for phoenix rising mental health, but again, it's just phoenix rising, mhscom, um. And again, you know I operate the somatic skills coaching, qigong coaching through them that I could also probably do online through that, through that practice. Luckyflowcom is where I do. Luckyflow acupuncture is where I do the Qigong classes on Thursday evenings.
Speaker 3:Again, we'll be expanding that. Or you can just call them too For those of you who are in Michigan sorry for those of you who are not we will expand it to Zoom eventually. I'm trying to talk into it, but that's 734-724-5867 is their number. Again, thursday nights 630 to like eight. Roughly, it's pretty fun, roughly, it's pretty fun, uh. And then, uh, if you wanted to, you could reach out to me at my professional email, which is just d, and then my last name, roberts um, at phoenixrisingmhscom. Hold on just one sec, I apologize, um, but so d roberts at phoenixrisingcom. And then my personal email, droberts4317 at yahoocom. So those are all the ways to pretty much get a hold of me. Please feel free to reach out to me. I would love to just spread all of the knowledge and train and teach and heal.
Speaker 2:All right, Sounds good. Well, that ends the first part of our journey. I'm going to guide you towards the second part, which is questions from social media and from listeners. So here we go. Number one as an Army veteran, how do you explain wakey to our fellow active military and veterans?
Speaker 3:yeah, good question. So, um, you know, obviously, like I've sort of been like hinting at throughout the whole part, you know the whole uh interview here is you? Know um, veterans can be grumpy. We can be very, um just almost bullheaded about some things, and I can say that because I am I can say it too, because I'm married to one but it's, it's, it's this truth, right?
Speaker 3:so, um, you know, but we all come from different walks of life, um, it's a volunteer, it's all volunteer service, right? So you know, from all walks, and some people come in and they're very spiritual already, so they're very open to those conversations.
Speaker 3:Um, some people are more religious and so they're like oh, I'm gonna so you know, and then some people are just like I drink, like let's be real, like that's what that's their coping. So when I you know, I pray that they change that. But that's like that dark army humor, right, they're like that's how I cope with my things. And so a lot of times I try to approach it from the viewpoint of the Western science attunement right or a somatic reset, um, or I'll say uh, it's teate, which opens up the conversation.
Speaker 3:Well, what does teate mean? Oh well, it's a hand allowance, it's a hand healing right and they're like you know, and that opens up. You know sometimes funny doors and you know goofy jokes, but it's a way in to then say yeah, and if you're interested, right like this could help with these things. It helps adjust your nervous system.
Speaker 3:So you know, common issues for veterans are we can't sleep we're wired, um, you know, or we wake up periodically throughout the night, uh, every hour, or whatever it is right which leads to emotional dysregulation, anxiety, panic, like ptsd, stuff, right from, like what if they were at war? Or you know, just honestly, the military is enough to give anyone PTSD, sometimes regardless if you went to war. And so really, sort of capitalizing on those key points and saying this treatment that I can offer will help you to adjust or reset your nervous system so you can finally find rest. And if you don't believe me, then just try it. Like what's the harm, truly, um, what's the worst that happens? You, you know what, what's the best that happens? You get the best healing of your life and what's the worst that happens, you, you know, just, I invested in my relaxation. That's pretty cool, you know, um?
Speaker 3:so even if I don't feel anything, at least I got to be able to relax, and so I keep it at sort of that more western clinical mindset when I talk to veterans about it, just because a lot of them that I've encountered don't really get the spiritual stuff or they go right back to that misconception that it's all woo, woo, fuzzy baloney and then it ruins my credibility. You know, I'm like, ah snap, I'm no longer clinician david who provides reiki, I am now just crazy reiki guy, and so you know, there there is sort of that juggling act, but I would say I always stick to calling it somatic resets and then eventually, when I, when I've warmed up to them, I will then tell them, um, that it is that yeah it's the same thing with yoga too.
Speaker 2:There is that misconception, especially in the military, with yoga as well. So often changing the name helps and, like football, you said, especially our veterans who are in their seventies and eight nineties. They have that misconception about yoga Like, oh, I'm not doing that, so you have to-.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's true. You know, it's even in army funded programming. Can you hold just one second? I'm so sorry, Tracy, I apologize. Thank you sorry. Everything is good all right.
Speaker 2:Number two how has your somatic training and skills helped you enhance your Reiki sessions?
Speaker 3:Yeah, good question too. So, again, the school of Reiki that I really had originally learned from was more about cultivation practices, and so even with the cultivation, it's helped my own health and well-being, my own um, my own sort of wellness, and so when I'm practicing these kiko skills or these somatic resets and I'm relaxed, it allows, personally, I feel, energetically for a much more open conduit, so there's much more energy that's able to flow, um, and so another thing that I think it sort of helps with too right is, um, I don't just do them for myself, I also offer them to my clients, and so the clients, you know, because I do them myself they usually experience a little bit more energetic flow, which is nice, um, and I would say that whatever they usually come in for, or whatever I pick up on during session, I'm like oh you know I think you could use this, would you be open to it?
Speaker 3:And then usually they're like, oh well, yeah, heck, yeah, man. So I'll teach them a couple of different skills to help them regulate you know, their nervous system and really just honestly, keep the energy flowing between sessions. Right, I think it's very common that you know, if you have a consistent client, they might come once a week, and that'd be really really great. Or they might come once a month, and so I want to give them things between sessions that's going to help improve their energetic flow and continue the process of healing.
Speaker 3:So the Kiko, you know, qigong or Yangshan, those little resets are great to give clients. They're easy to do, they're quick, they're simple, efficient, they don't take more than 60 seconds and they're extremely effective. There are deeper protocols that are three to five minutes, and I would say this for clients that are really into this. So I always try to gauge it too. If it's a newer client, I'm going to give them something really simple. If it's like a client that's continuous, or like one of my friends that I've been healing for a long time, then I'm like, okay, try this bad boy out, you know, and I'll go over that whole movement sequence with them and they're like Whoa. So it helps myself and it also helps amplify the energetic flow in general and keep them steady between sessions.
Speaker 2:Right, I often say I, I, the way I teach, is like I teach myself out of a job, because I give you the tools that you can use and you're not able to come to class in person or you're unable to have a session in person, absolutely. Number three can you share one particular technique that you recommend for individuals who are currently serving or who are retired from the military Sure?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so. Again, this goes back to that population that probably, if they're open to it, great, but they're probably not as open. So when I was thinking about the skills to share because I have like a 40 page document like each one has like 10 skills on each sheet, so there's a lot right, and I'm still learning, you know, which is crazy but I picked out three that I thought were pretty dang good, and we've also taught some of these at Wayne State University for folks that are struggling with things like anxiety, sleep, grief, which is again very common for veterans as well. Even if we don't know, we're grieving and it comes out as anger. So the first technique that I'll do is I call it the typewriter or chest tapping, and I'll open my blouse just a little bit so you can see like underneath the collarbone here right, there's a couple of meridians that run vertically right, and so what I'll do is I'll take my opposite hand to that side, so I'm creating bilateral stimulation to sort of tone the vagus nerve, and then I'll tap from the inside, underneath the collarbone of my chest out towards the shoulder, and when I hit where the chest and the shoulders sort of meet, I will then reset myself that's why I call it the typewriter and then I will continue to um, tap out, and so I can just do this, maybe 60 seconds or so, and this really, or I can, you know, do it as much as you want, and then I might switch sides too and do it on the other side, but I would say that that one is really good for anxiety. It's really good for sleep. A lot of us get anxiety before sleep. Even so, it's something that not only could you do for veterans, you could do for yourself too, which is nice. But I think it's an easy one, it's accessible and it's not too far-fetched, because I can pitch that as well vibration tones the vagus nerve Pressure, and touch tones the vagus nerve. It shifts us from sympathetic to parasympathetic. So, yeah, I would say that that is an easy skill. Um, and then I have two more. Is that okay, cool, awesome. You know, for those of you who can see these things, um, if you're not listening to the podcast now you, you're watching it.
Speaker 3:So this next one is really fun.
Speaker 3:This is actually from Hiko, so this is like it's almost like an extended kenyokuho or like the dry bathing Really neat, and it combines some elements of pikua in it Pikua, pikua, pikua-chan, or, you know, kung fu-chan.
Speaker 3:So I will start by pressing the backs of my hands together, not super hard, just enough to where there's pressure, and I might breathe in like a couple times here, two or three, and then when I'm done I sort of let them fall to the sides, sort of really trying to feel for that drop, that gravity. So there's a sense of embodiment here that's happening, and then I'll just come up and do my dry bathing One, two, three, one, two, three. At the end of the third I then breathe in and I pull the hands behind and then I breathe out and I push the hands out, creating a barrier. So from the side, after I've created this barrier, I'll then breathe in and cross the hands in front of me, like this I'll then stand up, creating boundaries and space, and breathe out, breathing back in, then down, breathing out, then breathing back in, and I turn to the left, looking over my left shoulder, and I push the palm out, so I'm creating space.
Speaker 3:If I was doing it this way, behind me and in front of me, then I come back to center and then I go to the right and I do the same thing.
Speaker 3:And I come back and I just settle, and so that is a little bit more of an involved skill. That's something I might teach a veteran who is struggling with their boundaries and struggling with, you know, grief, releasing grief because, too, this pushing and stuff, this breathing, opens up the heart and lung space and the lungs hold on to grief, and so if I'm using this breath work and I'm pushing and extending, I extending, I'm releasing that as well.
Speaker 3:Um, so that's number two. That's sort of like, again, super, you know, uh, I think you know super dry bathing in a sense, right, really creating that sacred space around me. Um, cause, also, we tend to struggle with our boundaries, as veterans too. You know, keeping my boundaries and then also like not saying no to somebody, or, you know, always saying yes or always saying no, whatever the case might be, our relationships can suffer. So this one's really good for that too. It teaches a physical sense of what is a boundary you know, this is my space, this is safe for me.
Speaker 3:So it's very grounded um. And then the last one is very simple. It's just um, I call it the karate chop, and we literally just knock the sides of the hands like 36 times Don't worry about counting, though, because that sort of puts you in beta brainwaves and that's like we're stressed anyways and so I just want to feel the vibration. I want to be able to just notice the sensations in my body, and this one's really good for anxiety and overthinking, and I combine it with if I were to stand up and do this. Once I'm finished that chop, I might bring the hands to the side and then I would breathe in, and then I physically touch my sternum and I guide the energy as I breathe out down and off of the hip, and I would do the same with the left hand down and off the hip. So there's a sense of and again, I might do that like eight to ten times. It just depends on how much you want to really bring that energy down. When I'm guiding energy down, I'm grounding. When I'm raising energy like this, I'm getting hype right, so up that center line. So that's the practice.
Speaker 3:The third one I wanted to share. I think all three are really effective. We've taught all three at Wayne State University and we've had great effects from it. We've had letters of effects from it. You know, we've had um letters of recommendation from, like, their assistant director. He's like this these guys are, they're crazy, they're cool, so, um, really cool things to share with your clients who are struggling with even just normal trauma or anxiety, and then clients who are veterans, right um, and? And we're going to have very similar um potential issues um that might not be had, might not have been resolved. So yeah, so that's, that's all my um, my skills I wanted to share. I think I got a, I got a lot of mo? Um and I'd love to share them. I would love to, uh, have people consult with me or have people just hit me up.
Speaker 3:As it's a small world and I'm trying just to network with anyone I can you know I love it. I love the work.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for sharing that. That was our last question and, as we were talking, is there anything you may have forgotten or something you'd like to share with the listener? The floor is yours.
Speaker 3:I would say no matter what gets thrown in your way, please don't give up. Please don't do that. This world needs a lot of healing and I don't care if you're what population you're a part of, um veteran, or you know um, or else, like we all need help, um.
Speaker 3:So please, if you have a gift, please help you know, please get out there, get passionate, get on fire about something and put your passion to the test. Ignore all the, as Arnold would say, ignore the naysayers. Ignore them because there's going to be naysayers, there's going to be people who say this doesn't work and there's going to be people who say you're goofy and you're dumb or whatever else. Don't listen, don't let them get you down. Continue the good work. Continue to fight the good fight in the most peaceful and healing way beautiful.
Speaker 2:Yes, even if you have to pause, like I paused for a little bit, take a breath and keep going absolutely all right. Well, thank you, david. So much for joining me on this journey. I really appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule to be on Ready Set Reiki. All right, beautiful, 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 rake in.
