RWP Episode #162: Finding Your Niche with Reiki Women Podcast

In this episode of the Reiki Women Podcast, hosts Bronwen Logan, Michaela Daystar, and Carrie Varela dive deep into the concept of finding your niche within the practice of Reiki. 

They explore the importance of aligning your values with your teachings, the challenges of navigating extremism within different branches of Reiki, and the journey towards finding confidence and integrity in your Reiki practice. 

The conversation touches on historical perspectives, modern implications, and personal stories, aiming to help both practitioners and those seeking Reiki services understand how to find alignment and authenticity in their practice.

00:00 Introduction to Human Needs and Integrity
01:25 Welcome to the Reiki Women Podcast
02:56 Aligning Business Practices with Values
05:15 The Journey of Teaching Reiki
09:43 The Importance of Niching in Reiki
13:05 Challenges and Evolution in Reiki Practice
19:50 Extremism and Balance in Reiki and Social Justice
26:56 Finding Your Niche and Integrating Personal History
32:30 Exploring Niches in Reiki Practice
32:46 The Importance of Values in Niching
33:42 Historical Perspectives on Reiki
35:41 Core Principles and Flexibility in Practice
40:01 Building Confidence and Identity in Reiki
43:23 Supporting New Reiki Practitioners
51:12 Upcoming Workshops and Resources

Hosts
Bronwen Logan: https://ReikiwithBronwen.com
Carrie Varela: https://www.reikihealingsociety.com
Michaela Daystar: http://HeartscapesInsight.com

We now have our own email! reikiwomenpodcasts@gmail.com
Our own RWP Group discussion: Embodying Reiki
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Transcript

Speaker 6 0:06

we're humans trying to get needs met and we essentially have the same needs.

Speaker 2 0:10

We all need money, right? We all do. So how do we do it in the right way and in integrity with our values and with what we wanna do in the world.

Speaker 5 0:18

It was apparently asked of Usui "who is it for?" And he said, "it's for everyone. It's for young, old, every gender. It's not something that is about whether you become a Buddhist or whether you go to the other extreme of that, whether you're really into angels. All those things are things that a teacher might bring to a class, but there's this basic fundamental simplicity that sits beneath it.

Speaker 6 0:49

by getting really centered and grounded I can open up my teaching style to make room for people who have a different view than me inside of these other places.

Speaker 5 1:00

We know that Hayashi changed the name so that it became Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu Kai. He respected the fact that what he was doing was different to what Usui had taught him. So he's creating his own branch.

Speaker 2 1:19

One of the most beautiful statements is that there's enough room for me at the top. I don't have to play these games of competition.

1:25

Welcome friends to the Reiki Women Podcast, an exploration into the profound depths of the system of Reiki. From a Japanese spiritual perspective and how that relates to our modern lives, we are keeping it real to Reikis origins, challenging the new age stereotype that things like. Crystals, chakras and angels are authentic aspects of the system. I'm Bronwyn Logan, and when I'm not writing best selling books about the Japanese system of Reiki, 75,000 readers and counting, I'm here debunking, outmoded reiki myths and coaching individuals and groups. Through my website, Reiki with Bronwyn. And I'm Mikayla de star, lead teacher and Weaver of Hardscapes Reiki connecting the dots between reiki and environmental and social justice because our individual healing cannot be extracted from healing relationship with the collective and with the land. And I'm Carrie Rela from the Reiki Healing Society here to help you transform your reiki practice into a thriving, prosperous business. 'cause while passion fuels your purpose, it's time to make it sustainable, authentic, and beautifully. You we're three women diving into the heart of Japanese Reiki. We're building a community that centers women's voices and inspires wellbeing. We're not just for women, we're for everybody. Come join the conversation.

Speaker 6 2:50

Hello friends. Welcome back to Reiki Women Podcast. So delighted to have you with us here, as always. And today we are having a conversation that is. Speaking to really a couple of different groups of folks. So for those of you who are practitioners and teachers, we're speaking to you, and those of you who might be seeking practitioners or teachers, we're also speaking to you. Because in both of those spaces, it's important to understand where we are aligned with a person's practice, their style of teaching, their niche that they have created for themselves in how they present Reiki to the world. And this is a topic that on the surface is kind of a business topic, right? We talk about niching in business training and like finding your unique angle on the particular thing that you do, and then how do you talk about that and how do you connect with people around that niche so that we know that there's good alignment between the person offering the service and the person coming to receive the surface. And that, you know, on the surface is a business topic. Underneath the surface of that topic. However, there is this richness around our values, how we align our business practices, and then how do our clients recognize those practices through the lens of our values? Are we in good integrity between, uh, what we really value, how we wanna show up in the world, and what we are doing inside of our reiki practice, how we are offering that to the world, and what are some of the pitfalls that we might fall into? What are some of the points of extremism or the points of hypocrisy, even the points of misalignment that we might fall into when we are attempting to distinguish our reiki practice and our reiki business? From other peoples and ultimately connect with the right people to receive our services. So a multi-layered conversation, a rich one, one that, you know, I have this conversation in a lot of different circles with a lot of different colleagues, and I think it's a great one to bring to this platform where we are mingling people, looking for reiki, people providing Reiki, people wanting to understand how to do this in the best alignment with who we are in the world. So I'm excited to get into it, and I'm gonna hand it over to Bronwyn to get us started.

Speaker 5 5:10

Thanks, McKayla. Yeah. What a journey that is. If I think of myself when you first start, learning something like the system of reiki. I knew from almost when I first started that I wanted to teach it, but then it's like, so what am I teaching? Am I teaching what my teacher taught? Because my first class was, um, you know, higgledy ty all over the place. A bit of this and a bit of that and a bit of this. But the principal at the base of it. I think this is what I think everybody loves about the system of reiki. It's got this, gorgeous simplicity and that sits at the base of all these different things that people do with it. So I felt that I could tap into that. And, uh, so then it's trying to decide as you go along exactly what is it that you wanna teach. And I think this is what McKayla, you were just saying, it's that bringing integrity into what you're doing. So finding, a heart of integrity, in your practice and then following that, and I, I think that was something that was really important to me. And I can see then, how that journey is an ongoing one because it could be that, as an individual, I could really go down different paths. For me, the path that I was interested in was the Japanese origins of the system. And so, you know, researching that, finding out about that, and that because it's such a different culture, uh, has been fascinating. Uh, I love it and it's something that I guess is always evolving for me because it's something that I start to learn more of. I've been learning Japanese, don't ask me to speak Japanese 'cause I'm hopeless, but one day I aim to be decent at it. There's so many different, um, directions you could take within your practice. Now, just because I am interested in learning Japanese doesn't mean that, my students, for example, should have to learn Japanese or even that. I would even teach anything to do with that. I could add a little bit of that in, because it's a Japanese practice. It might help me to, understand, some of the techniques and practices a little bit better possibly. Uh, but still, it doesn't mean that, it's a better way of doing something, I guess is what I'm saying. Right. So that simplicity that I talked about at the beginning still sits at the base of this foundation. Of this practice. We know that, uh, ZUI was said to have answered in a question and answer format at the beginning of one of the, manuals for the, uh, Japanese Reiki Association. There's a question and answer section. And apparently back in, you know, a hundred years ago, people used to ask questions of the teacher and they would write the answers down in their books. So we have this question and answer, format at the beginning of one of the manuals. And it was apparently asked of Usui who is it for? And he said, it's for everyone. It's for, young old. Every gender. It's not something that is about, whether you study Japanese or whether you, become a Buddhist or whether, you go to the other extreme of that, whether you're, really into angels or, crystals or whatever it might be. All those things are things that a teacher might bring to a class, but there's this basic fundamental simplicity that sits, beneath it. And for me, I think that's a really important thing for all practitioners and teachers to remember that's sitting there and to hold that, I'm gonna say almost sacred, right? It is this thing that is this way of being together. And then we add our own. Niching. I've heard that's a word. Yes. So, uh, thank you for teaching me that. You too. Uh, so niching, into whatever area it is that really interests us. And, as long as we're open about this with people and explain exactly what it is that we are doing, then I think that, that is the most important part. Keeping integrity to your practice and keeping that at the heart of what you're doing. What do you reckon, Carrie?

Speaker 2 9:43

Well, yeah, I mean, I think this is a complicated topic. You know, I, I wrote a post about this for my GoPro with Reiki mentorship program is, uh, and the title of it was Tanish, or Not Tanish, you know? Um. And, and really that's probably, that's probably not the greatest question because I mean, pretty much everybody in the marketing world will say, or I heard it said, I, I should say, I heard it said from one of the people that I really admire in the world of marketing say, you know, a lot of times the reason why we're not really making traction in our business is because we're not niching or we're resistant to niching. Um, and I will raise my hands saying I was a resistant to niching because, and it's really hard with Reiki, right? Because reiki is for everyone, you know, and that, that I love the fact that I could, you know, see one client with anxiety and then I could see another client with, um, you know, a health issue and then the next client with a broken heart or, you know, whatever. And it's just like, it's whatever's going on for you. Reiki is there to support you. Um. But, uh, so, you know, this kind of generalist rather than specialist, I've always really like wondered. Hmm. Which is that? Like, what, what should I, what's my strategy? Right? A little bit of that. Um, which we need a strategy for a reiki business owner. Um, um, but you know, as, as it goes, you know, the more you learn about something, I think a specialty just naturally comes and arises and it just naturally, it becomes that evolution of who you are and, you know, you developing your own unique gifts and wisdom and then through that process, you know, like you become to more aware, like, you know, like Broman, what you were saying. You're just like, I was really drawn to the Japanese Reiki and, and now that's, you know, that's a huge part of what you offer, right? I mean, it's a huge part of what you, what you bring forward in your reiki business. Um, and you know, like of course, and then coming back to people who are just seeking a Reiki teacher or a Reiki practitioner, you know, it's nice to find one that does feel aligned with what you need, you know, so maybe you have a specialty around, you know, working with reiki for heartbreak and loss, and that can be a really wonderful niche. Um, you know, and so whilst marketing people say that, that's like the fast track, right? To finding clients that are aligned with you is just to, to really be, uh, specific about what you're offering and why, and who you're offering it for. Um. And, um, you know, I found that it, it, it, it's kind of a counterintuitive thing and it's scary for me. It was really scary because I was like, it felt safer to just keep my doors open to whoever ever wanted to, you know, come and be a part of my practice. But, um, to be a specialist on something, you know, for whatever reason it just felt like, you know, you're slimming down the pool of potential people. Um, so there's that. But, um, you know, we kind of were talking about this topic before we began today, and I think there's also this kinda other side of niching that maybe be helpful to speak to is just that when do we do it wrong and or when are we doing it in a way that's harmful potentially. And, um, you know, I I, I guess I've been in this business or I've been in the world of the healing arts long enough to realize that there's kind of these like generational ideas that. Um, you know, maybe are kind of outdated or, you know, are, are kind of played out and, and, and now there's like a new generation of practitioners coming forward and, and we need something different than what, you know, how is reiki was shaped, you know, with the generation of practitioners or maybe a few generations of practitioners before us. But, you know, so, uh, before, before we talked about niching, you know, there was like the divide and conquer kind of thing. Like, how could you take reiki and make your own lineage? Or how can you take reiki and make it yours or add something to it or make it more special or add a higher vibration to it or bring, you know, this specific angel and deity to it, or, um, you know, and, and, and try to modify it, you know, modify it, you know, um. Maybe in some, you know, way of enhancing it. Um, but then, you know what, what we've, we've, we've seen so much of that, that it's, it's diluted reiki and, and that so many people were given Reiki trainings that weren't very well taught, or, you know, the practitioner or the teacher didn't really have a solid understanding of reiki and or, or the materials that they used weren't, you know, very well put together. Because there's kind of a common, um, you know, uh, practice within Reiki to like write your own manuals, you know, from the outset, you know, learning reiki and then write your own manuals to teach your own courses and, you know, so there's a lot of this way that Reiki has kind of strayed from the Japanese perspective. A lot of those come, things come from. Cultural and spiritual appropriation. It comes through, um, you know, way biases that are present in our society that are reflected in our healing, uh, uh, practices. This is all something I've been diving into in my recent course called decolonized Reiki practice. So for whatever reason, you know, we kind of, we, we modified reiki so much. I mean, there are so many different lineages out there, right? Like, I think somebody, I think somebody in the world of reiki has tried to count them up and there's well over, you know, a few hundred different lineages of reiki out there, and they're all different things, right? Like purple, fra flame, reiki, you know, uh, Kundalini, reiki, all of these things. But we fire reiki all, you know, so many different forms, right? Um, but then are we losing the essence of, of that in, in, in this desire to. Um, you know, you shift the practice or, or make something from the practice of that represented us, of us as individuals. Um, and I think that that's somewhat of what you were talking about, Bronwyn is like, you take the reiki course and you know, no matter how it's presented, well it's presented well. And I hope that, you know, a lot of us have taken really good reiki courses. Um, or maybe it wasn't presented all that well, but still there was a reiki in there, you know, and it was that light of reiki, it was that energy of reiki. It was something that drew you to it. That that's the real glue, that's the real adhesion for anyone in the world of reiki. I mean, I felt that when I first took a Reiki training, and then I felt that, you know, and I know that my students and my clients feel that, and that's, that's the reason why they come back to me. Just as much as it is about the per a perspective and approach that I offer. So, um, I guess we're recognizing that, and I, so I just, I just feel that it's kind of a messy, fine line, um, because, you know, when we do really like, uh, rigidly niche, there might be other people who could benefit from our services that kind of fall outside of that umbrella that we've created, you know? Um, and, um, so, you know, for me, and the way that I really think of it is that in this modern age is like, what, what is a good niche for reiki is one that helps you work with a, a, a chronic health issue or, you know, particular, you know, life circumstance. And how do we apply reiki to that? I think Reiki four, insomnia, Reiki four, um, anxiety, reiki four, heartbreak. Um, uh, grief is another really amazing niche, you know, so it's not so much about distinguishing oneself as like, oh, here I am. I am such this enlightened, uh, healer and, uh, can you see the peripheral flames all around me? And, you know, let me just be in your presence and heal you, as opposed to let's be humble, let's be human, and let's focus on how we can apply reiki, you know, and really help people have a better life, you know, feel better in their body, mind. And, um, how does reiki, how is it particularly well suited for that? And so, in my mind, that's, that's the new, that's the new niche. That's the new really powerful niche. And it's something that isn't so ego driven. It's more, yeah. Really wanting to serve people and learning how to do well.

Speaker 19:17

Yeah,

Speaker 6 19:20

there's so many layers to this conversation. Um, my brain is like going in all the directions. Um, but I think like at the heart of what's, what I'm reflecting on as I'm listening to you all and as we were talking about this topic earlier, is I'm really seeing in myself, I'm, I'm, I'm self-reflecting on my own journey with this is what I'm doing and I'm really seeing a certain pattern that has existed for me in different realms of my life. And in particular, I'm thinking about in my life as a political activist and my life as a Reiki teacher. And there's a certain similar kind of arc that happened in both of those spaces that does interconnect because part of my niche, if you will, part of my perspective as a Reiki teacher is bringing in. You know, social equity concerns. Um, but that, that arc, you know, that pattern that I am reflecting on with, you know, with some humility is this arc of extremism. And you brought this up, Broman originally, this was kind of the original like entry point for us for this conversation was like noticing, you know, a tendency as we're trying to differentiate ourselves or as we're finding ourselves inside of the system of reiki as we're, you know, aligning our values and our interests inside of reiki. And maybe, you know, from a business perspective, wanting to stand out from the crowd that there can be this kind of polarization into extremes. And, you know, in the reiki world, that might look like. An extreme Western version and an extreme kind of origins version. Um, you know, so the extreme western version might look like some of what y'all have named, like constantly inventing new lineages and saying like, well, if I don't have a, a lineage that I have named, and this is my lineage because I have a particular affinity for dolphins, and so I'm gonna create dolphin reiki, and now it's gonna have its own thing and it's gotta be a separate thing. Um, you know, like I see that as kind of a western extreme where there's this kind of intense blending of traditions and perspectives from all over the place and kind of putting that under the umbrella of reiki, but then like copywriting, like this, this new version of it, not acknowledging that reiki in its original form actually looked quite different from all of that. Right? Like for me, it often breaks down of like, there's, there's actually two different. Like fundamental understandings of what's happening inside, of like, you know, in, in the spiritual sense from this one branch and this other branch, right? But, so there's these kind of extreme versions inside of Western Reiki. And then on the other side, there might be extreme versions inside of those of us who want to retain and kind of, you know, reclaim the origins of reiki. And that might look like, um, you know, saying that you have to be a Buddhist or you have to have studied Japanese, like you were talking about earlier, Bronwyn, or even holding up USI as like, uh, you know, a savior. Like this is the only person Acknow, you know, disregarding the fact that when USI was creating this particular system, there were hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of other people developing new systems of spiritual practice at that same time in Japan, in the Maje period. And that reiki as a spiritual concept and a spiritual point of focus existed. Hundreds, if not thousands of years in Japan prior to Tsui's time. So that, you know, reiki as a point of practice inside of its origins is not a monolith either, right? It, it has its own very rich, um, presence inside of Japan that, you know, as Westerners in the 2020s, we can only really dip our toes into, um, and I've, you know, I've really loved learning as much as I can about some of those threads that go back much further from so, but, so there's these extremes and, and what I see in my own trajectory is that I have fallen into those extremes myself. And that that mirrors the way that I worked inside of social justice generally, where I started on a very extreme kind of hard left, you know, it's us versus them. Like we're right and there wrong, like very dualistic perspective on politics like. You know, there is a right way to think and it's mine. And they're wrong the way that they think totally wrong and makes no sense and has no grounding in reality and they're out of their minds. And so we have to change them and fix them. And you know, then there was, and then, you know, so this was 30 years ago. So then there's been this trajectory in my life that has involved a softening of that right versus wrong, that dualistic perspective. It's included opening up to a greater level of humanity and diversity within humanity. It's involved becoming more confident and rooted in my own values and beliefs, because a lot of that extremism came from a lack of confidence and a lack of solid like solidity with who I am. And so anything that seems to contradict who I am, like unsettled me so much that it must be wrong. Right. And. And so there was this, you know, trajectory of softening and opening to other perspectives and opening to connection with people who thought very different and eventually an ability to understand why a person might be thinking and acting the way they do. Even if I disagree vehemently with what they're thinking, what their reasoning is and what they're there for, doing, what their actions are. But I can understand why they're doing that, why it makes sense for them, and where those that where those places of connection between what makes sense to me. Like we're actually sharing certain values, we're just going about meeting those needs or you know, actually more, more, essentially we have the same needs, right? But we're going about meeting those needs in very different ways and it's those. Those methods of getting the needs met, that where we're in conflict. But at the essence we're, we're humans trying to get needs met and we essentially have the same needs. And so I'm in a very different place now, um, took me decades to get here around the ability to, um, be in greater connection and solidarity with people who are very different than me. And just, you know, I promise I'm bringing this back to our topic at hand, but we did have a, we did have an episode about politics a couple of weeks ago, so, you know, kind of still on that, on that train. Um, I've been in a lot of like reflection and learning with, um, you know, some of the teachers that I follow around this kind of critical analysis of the left and, and seeing this pattern that is very common to left-leaning political activists. This, this inability to connect across differences. Um, around philosophical difference and this like, need to be right above all else. Right. And, and that, that's actually gotten us like, it, it's a problem and it's, it's made us less effective and it's made us less responsive. It's made us less able to connect. It's made us less able to build coalitions across difference. And we need all of those things to be true now. So I'm glad we're talking about it.

Speaker 4 26:54

Mm. Back

Speaker 6 26:55

to reiki. I did a very similar thing with my trajectory with reiki as I, you know, I learned a very kind of classic western reiki, western osu, Reiki originally, and felt out of integrity with that. 'cause I knew that there was this whole like, deep wellspring of Japanese culture and history that I wa hadn't been taught, that I didn't know. Um, found that through you, Bronwyn. Ultimately, um, and went just hard left in that direction. Like, like if you're not teaching from as authentically from the Japanese origins as it is humanly possible for you to do, you're doing it wrong and you need to stop. Right? And, um, you know, and, and I came out of the gate, you know, at a certain point on the one hand, very timid about that. So like, I went through a period of like, I can't talk about this 'cause nobody else thinks this way. And so now I can't, now what am I do? I'm, I'm in this crisis of like, I can't talk about how I really think that it should be because nobody will agree with me. But then I, I, or I have to give a breaky. So ultimately I just came out the gate hot with like, y'all are wrong. All of you wrong. Right? You're doing it wrong. Right. You should be doing it this way. And um, you know, and I'm exaggerating a little bit, but you know, I did. Come out with a certain amount of abrasiveness, um, during those early years of teaching and, you know, really didn't wanna work with students who had connections with the Western path or who wanted to blend them or who valued certain things about the Western Reiki that they'd known, or, um, you know, just, you know, there was just, there just wasn't a softness around that from how I was operating. And pretty quickly realized how alienating that is right to myself, to others, and that there's so, and that it's unrealistic, utterly unrealistic for me to come out and say, everybody needs to only teach in this way. We need to disregard the last, you know, 75 years of reiki in the United States, and totally do it this other way. Not realistic, not desirable, not valuable to actually hold that, and also very disrespectful. To the really beautiful experiences people have inside of Western Reiki.

Speaker 29:19

Hmm.

Speaker 6 29:20

So, you know, I've, when I think about like, and all of this, you know, in part was me grappling with what is my niche, right? I'm a newly fledged teacher, so now we're talking about eight, nine years ago. I'm a newly fledged teacher. I have this passion to teach in integrity and according to the origins, and I'm learning as much as I can about that, but there's this way in which I'm alienating myself. Because of this like hard line that I'm setting and how do I soften that without losing connection to my values and feeling like I'm out of integrity again? And that was a really challenging question for me for a long time. I really wrestled with that for a long time and I really, you know, went back and forth and ultimately it was like my students that really showed me the way, because what I noticed is that so many people who are coming to me were people who were already trained in Western Reiki and wanted this perspective of, you know, wanted to understand the origins and have that, you know, tighter connection to those origins, but also really valued what they were already up to in the world, you know, as reiki practitioners. And that that was, you know, not something that they were gonna just toss in the garbage. At the same time, I also had to acknowledge and respect and take delight in the places where my own personal history that is not Japanese at all absolutely is present in my reiki practice. Right. Because in trying to be dogmatic and extreme on this other side, I was ignoring whole parts of me that were very much present in my reiki practice. You know, things from my Celtic lineage, things from my American lineage, from, you know, experiences that I've had in other spaces that were valuable and that I wanted to be present. And so all of that, you know, was difficult self-reflection. There was a lot of painful self-reflection in there. Um, but ultimately really ended up nestling me into what I would now call my niche. And it feels so comfortable here now, right? I feel so much spaciousness. I feel so much rootedness and so much connection, right? These three qualities that our reiki practice can bring us, um, in having wrestled with those extremes, right? Having gone to those extremes and then acknowledging it and saying, Ooh, that's a problem. I don't actually like where this is taking me. And finding that sweet spot back. And, you know, in, in simple terms, my niche is that I, I'm primarily a Reiki teacher. I do Reiki sessions, of course, but my emphasis is on teaching. And I work with people who primarily want reiki and their life for self practice. Who value the origins, the Japanese origins, and want that to be, um, centered in their practice. Not exclusive, but centered in their practice and who have some desire to have their reiki practice intersect with the world around them. And so having a social justice lens, having a, you know, an equity lens, like wanting to, to find the ways in which their reiki practice helps them to show up in the world, um, in a way that matters to them. So those are the three characteristics of my niche. And inside of that, then I get to work with all kinds of people, right? So there's that. I love Carrie, that you name, you know, starting to name some of these ways that we can niche and it can be around a certain type of treatment, right? Like niching around working with a particular condition or people experiencing a certain thing. For me, what I found is that my niche is really around values. It's around those three values, self practice. Centering the origins and including a justice perspective. That is my niche. And then inside of that niche, I get to work with people who are experiencing a wide range of, you know, whatever they're experiencing, and make a lot of connections. Um, so yeah, thank you for helping me take that little, little walk down memory lane and like, you know, really see this, um, this pattern that exists in my life that probably exists in other parts of my life. I should pay attention to the, of jumping to an extreme view of something that feels really connected to my values and then finding the, the way back to a softened place around it. Um, I value that, that experience. So,

Speaker 33:37

thank you.

Speaker 5 33:40

Thanks. Well. Yeah, I've loved hearing all of those things and it, it did bring me back to thinking about Zui and the beginning of the practice way back when and how hii, for example, you know, what was normal in those days was if I studied with USI and I went on to practice that, for myself, maybe with others, I would call it the name of whatever USI called it. Yeah. We know that Hayashi changed the name so that it, you know, became Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu Kai. And that means that he respected the fact that. What he was doing was different to what Usui had taught him. So he's creating his own branch, his own, variety of, of the teachings that he'd been taught, which is a respectful thing to do. It's saying that, what I'm doing is different to what I was initially taught and because he really was the first from what we can gather, the first sort of, professional out there doing treatments, I think that's sort of interesting that we think about that in terms of what we are doing and if we are going to change things a lot that we need to think about what we are actually calling the practice that we do, and whether we. Should call it something different. It does amaze me actually, that people will create whole different systems and still say, oh, you know, I practice the system of Reiki. And I think, well, and this comes back to what you were talking about, Carrie, that this core, it needs to be, you called it glue. It needs to be a strong glue. It needs to be something that makes sense. It needs to be something that's solid. Um, it's a set glue. Yeah. If we are going to practice the system of reiki, we need to have a very strong understanding of this. Otherwise we will get lost and we'll be off doing something else, which is fine. Go and get lost because it's part of your journey, right? That's part of who you are and what you need to go through. And, we all go through different things and, I'm not perfect. Uh, what I practice is not perfect. But I think that this understanding is very important and it comes back to this heart of what we are doing. And if we don't have. Understanding of what it is that we are doing. How can we practice, if we are just changing our mind every five seconds about, oh no, it's this and no, it's that. No. And, and if I asked you why you do that and you can't tell me, then I think, are you getting the benefit of this? Is the world getting the benefit of this? And that comes back again to what Carrie was saying. I love that you came back to that thing of why are we doing it in the first place? Yeah. We are not doing it. To be able to brag about that. You just spoke to Archangel Michael it really is about healing the self. And so we need to have this, this thing inside that helps us, gives us some path that we can follow, that if I have a question, I know how to answer it because I have that strength in the base of my understanding of what the hell I'm doing. And it is why they often say you should always have a teacher because, that helps to bring you back into line with what you are doing. I guess that brings me to also those ideas of Lineage. What is a lineage? We sort of touched a little bit on that. We've done another podcast on that in the past. Um, you know, recently I was writing that a little blog and it was just about, feeling confident in your practice and that that is the thing that your teacher passes on you, hopefully, yeah, hopefully. But it's also something you can grow within yourself and it's an ongoing experience, but ideally as a teacher for me, or as a practitioner, that I want the person that I'm with to, find that confidence in what they're doing so that I'm imparting something that helps them find that confidence in themselves. And then they have that heart, that strong glue that's going to be there for them, that they can, draw on that. Both of you have talked about this idea things become very, dichotomous black and white and, it's either this or that. And Kerry, you called it generalist, and I think it is rather difficult to be a generalist because what is the glue, what is the heart? Actually, I feel like that heart maybe there's just different layers of it, but it feels like. If I'm teaching from a Japanese perspective, which I do, and I can tell you what it means from a Japanese perspective. I understand that. Understand that, how that relates to my body, mind, uh, my, my heart, that means to me, that would be quite different to maybe someone who is teaching in a western way. Yeah. And so we do have actually different hearts of that. Yeah. Yet beneath it all, once again, it's just sort like these layers, isn't it? Beneath it all. There is this thing that. And maybe it's the glue of the world. Forget about anything else. It's tapping into this really, very, very deep, um, interconnection of all beings. And, uh, forget about names, forget about lineages, forget about anything. And just this whole very deep place that, that we know, that we all sit in. And, uh, that would be the ultimate glue, I guess. But then we bring it up as we move up into this human world and we bring it up into these different experiences of how we interpret that and work with that,

Speaker 2 39:57

yeah. I, I love all of that. And, um. Yeah, I mean, I, I think to me, what kind of comes up and I think, you know, threads of this, you were sharing Mikayla threads of this, you were sharing Bronwyn is that like, is, is, is how do we create, you know, an identity around what we offer and what we do within the world of reiki and not be self-righteous about it. You know, not just be like, oh, I'm better than this. And, you know, and I think that that's an easy trap to get into potentially, or so at the beginning, you know, of our journey because we might not feel a whole lot of confidence and feel really, I mean, I know that as a yoga teacher, oh my gosh, first five years teaching yoga was painful because I, for myself and my own mental health, yeah. I was like really in comparison, you know, always leveling myself up to everybody else around me and not feeling good enough. Um. I really struggled with that. I'm not gonna lie. It was, it was a real struggle. And so some part of, you know, creating my own identity was, uh, you know, trying to, trying to, to be better than somebody else, you know, rather than just being who I am, you know, showing up and being my authentic self. And so that's the lovely thing. I'm so glad I've grown out of that space. Like, I'm so glad I don't have to do that anymore because it's a painful way of, you know, living where it's like we're always trying to measure ourselves up against other people rather than just being ourself and being able to show up and be our genuine self. So, um, I hope if anyone's listening that, that you've grown out of that. And if you're not yet grown out, out of it, snap out of it. And, uh, you know, a niche can be reflective of that, right? It can be reflective of your values, like what you were saying, Mikayla, that's absolutely true. You know, this is the world I believe in and that's why I do the work that I do. You know, and that's why I offer the things that I do because I feel like this is something that's important to me. Um, and so my values are essential part of my business. Like it's just an essential piece. And to live by those values and, um, bring them and weave them into my, uh, business is very, very, very rewarding. Um, yeah, it's, it's also a reminder too that not everyone has the same values. And just because I have these values doesn't mean that you have to have these values otherwise you are not good enough. And, and that's how we can kind of. Use this one upmanship. You know, once we feel like we've gotten to the top of the pedestal, like now we can like shame, blame else who's coming up the, you know, the staircase with us. You know, one of the most relaxing statements, I think, or one of the beautiful statements is that there's enough room for me at the top. Like I don't have to play these games of competition. I don't have to, you know, jump through a gazillion different hoops to be respected, you know, and, uh, understood for who I am and what I have to offer my own unique gifts and wisdom. So it's just a lovely feeling to like move beyond all of that. But it's a process. And you were talking about a newly fledgling Reiki practitioner. And I, you know, for me, a lot of this is like. I feel in my business, like I really wanna help those people because they, uh, need help. You need support in that period of embodiment with your reiki practice. Um, and so I think of it as weaving a basket, you know, and a reiki level, a reiki level one through three course. It's really about learning how I can weave my reiki basket. Like can I give a session and feel comfortable doing that? Like, do I, can I give a session to myself? Can I give it to somebody else? Um, you know, and I'm talking a little bit more about like somebody who's motivated to do reiki as a business path, but even those people who do just want to learn reiki and wanna bring it more into their life. Um, I think we've done too much within Reiki courses to try to really like make everyone who takes a reiki course, a re reiki practitioner or professional reiki practitioner in the sense that they're charging money for their services. Like. I love Mikayla, that you have this niche around really wanting to support people to just be their reiki. Like have reiki be part of your practice. That doesn't, it might translate into offering Reiki professionally, but it also could just translate into making your life better and like enjoying reiki because it's an amazing practice, you know, and it brings you so much joy and healing insight, you know? Um, yeah. And then, you know, same with like, you know, becoming a Reiki teacher, it's like building another basket. You know, once you've learned how to start one basket, it's, it's like a different basket. But you still, you know, you need to gather your leaves and you need to gather the resources you need to make that basket. And when you ca, you know, when you make the basket, you can capture some of the bounty that's alive for us in the universe. You know, you can fill it with oranges or your specific type of Reiki clients. Um. So, you know, uh, I, I think that that helps the extremism to some degree. It helps us be humble in the learning process. Um, and I think there's, uh, you know, a smarter way of doing it too, that, you know, through trial and error, the so much of us who've been doing reiki for many years, you know, we're learning a better method. We're learning better ways. And the, the, you know, the niche is like one of them. It's one of the core things that really help build a reiki practice. Um, yet not to say who, you know, who knows that there might be a blind side or dark side to that too. But, um, you know, I think, uh, building a niche is kind of more important if you live in an area that, you know, there's a lot of other Reiki practitioners, so it is important for you to. Be more specific about your approach and your perspective. Um, and then, but you know, sometimes also within communities where you might be living in a conservative area or a smaller town or smaller community, it's kind of almost enough to be a Reiki practitioner. I mean, reiki could be its own niche depending on your area and what you're doing and what your perspective is. So I'd love to pass the mic on to my soul system. Mikayla, what do you have to say here?

Speaker 6 47:00

Yeah. Um, yeah, I think that the last thing that was coming up, especially as I, as I was listening to you, Carrie, is that, um, when we settle into that confidence and that clarity around what our perspective is, right? Like niche is another way of saying like what our perspective is and you know, who am I as a person? In terms of how that's reflected in my work and how I talk about my work and you know, who I would, who I would love to work with, right? The people who really light me up to work with, where there's a really strong simpatico there. And one of the things that I really have found to be true as I'm reflecting on this, you know, process for me of coming to my niche is that the more confident and settled that I got into the values that were really the most important to me. You know, the three that I named and like where even inside each of those values, like what that glue that you were talking about, Bronwyn, like that core of each of those things is for me, in other words that like. Immovable core of the mountain, like, I'm not gonna move on this piece. This, this piece is essential. I'm not gonna teach outside of this piece. I'm not gonna work with people who wanna step outside of this piece, this piece. I'm not a good fit for people who are not aligned with this core piece, right? We're just not a good fit. We're not meant to work together. If someone wants to kind of shift and come in this direction, great, but I'm, I am not moving from this place. Right? This is my immovable mountain right here. Like, and I have a line for each of those, you know, three values that are, that define my niche. But what I have become aware of is that there's a whole lot else. That actually is, is flexible. Right? So you talk about, you know, one of the core teachings that I adopted from you Ronwyn is, is being both firm and flexible in our process. So there's parts of my niche that are firm, like they're immovable for me. And then what I've discovered by getting really centered and grounded in those firm places is that there's a lot of other places that are actually quite flexible and where I can, you know, open up my teaching style to make room for people who have a different view than me inside of these other places. And that that metaphor of the mountain is so valuable for this because there is that bedrock at the center of the mountain. That's what makes it a mountain that allows it to be big and mighty. But so much on the mountain is incredibly flexible, right? The soil is constantly shifting. The, the, the water that's running through the bedrock and the cracks is always flexible. The plants that are growing on the surface of the mountain are incredibly flexible. There's animals moving around the mountain that are flexible. So I, I think that is like, I guess my parting point of reflection for myself and my parting words of advice for any of you who might be seeking to find a niche that feels comfortable and spacious and, and just, you know, it's just like that coat that fits you so perfectly is, you know, really spend some time on finding the things that are your bedrock. These are the things that are absolutely the most important to you. And that might be, it is absolutely the most important thing that I'm working with people who are experiencing this problem, for example, or that are aligned with this value, or that are looking for services provided in this way, right? Like, whatever the. S type of thing. It is, that matters the most to you. You know, what is the bedrock for you that is immovable, that this, this defines who you are as a Reiki practitioner. And then from there, what are the layers of flexibility that ripple out from there? At a certain point, there's gonna be places where I'm not gonna move in that direction, and other places there's gonna be like, wow, it's actually quite delightful to now include something I hadn't thought of before. So, um, I know I'm talking about that kind of vaguely, but, you know, because there's so many different ways that one could niche, but I think it's a, it's a way of thinking about it that can be valuable. And if any of you wanna chat about that in terms of your specific thought process around your niche, I'd be happy to to do that. 'cause I find it a really fascinating conversation. And as we come to the end of this conversation, I'd love, um, for us to just, you know, remind our listeners that we are, uh. Not sponsored, we're sponsored by ourselves. Uh, our work is brought to you today free on the old YouTubes, um, by the work that we do in the world. And so I'd love to just open it to the two of you to see if there's anything you'd like to share, uh, that you have coming up, that you would like folks to know about ways that they can be supportive of your work, um, in the world and your particular niche in the system of reiki.

Speaker 5 51:47

I have a workshop coming up in a couple of days, so I'm not sure that's probably a bit close. But, uh, it's on, uh, hand, uh, mudras and how we use them in the system of reiki. So how we use our hands. So thinking of it in a, in a deeper, uh, way than how we, probably consider when we're doing hands on healing, for example. Are we aware of what's actually going on with our hands and why we work with them. I'm doing a specific workshop on that, but also. Just another thing is that once a week I do something for 15 minutes, uh, a week with students and, uh, anyone can sign up for that. And that is that we do, I do RA u which is the, initiation process, for the system of Reiki. We come together just for 15 minutes and, uh, I'd love to see there, it's a beautiful way to bring, a moment of, conscious awareness of, of who you are and what the system of Reiki is to you and being in community with others So, come along, join me with that, and you can find all those details on my website. Reiki with Bronwyn. Very

Speaker 2 52:56

what

Speaker 6 52:56

coming

Speaker 5 52:57

up?

Speaker 2 52:58

So much so, yes. Uh, what I've got cooking in my reiki kitchen right now is it just happened, I taught this workshop called Decolonize Your Reiki Practice and Undo the legacy of cultural and Spiritual Appropriations. So we kind talk about all three of those topics extensively, decolonization, cultural and spiritual appropriation. It's something that we spoke many times to on this podcast and many things that I've spoken to. You know, McKayla and I worked particularly together on this topic as well. And it is, it has just so happens to be a core part of my niche, you know, core part of who I am and the approach that I try to bring forward within the system of Reiki. Um, and so I have, uh, you know, I taught it live, but I've packaged it up as a self-study course. Um, so it's available for you for a purchase at any time, although the price will increase after April 15th. So. If you're listening to it now and you really wanted to join me for that workshop, it's still available to you at a discounted price, but price is going up folks, um, for next time. So. And then, um, uh, I guess, uh, you know, coming up next in my, uh, kitchen is a course I call moving from Babylon to Avalon and creating seven income streams for Reiki professionals. And it really is very deep in this idea of niche. So how do you build your niche and, and, um, maybe a little bit more geared towards somebody who loves the healing arts and loves reiki and maybe have some other, you know, modalities in your toolkit and you wanna bring 'em together and you wanna bring 'em together in a way that feels really good. It feels, um, an integrity, doesn't feel spiritually appropriate. Um, but then you also want it to support you financially. And so the whole course is, is, is really about building a stronger foundation, uh, for you financially and, um, you know, how you go about doing that. So, lots of different ways, kind of a holistic way. I will support you in that. Um, through kind of more left brain logical stuff like spreadsheets. To, um, a more right, right-brained spiritual approach using reiki and, and really looking at reiki to help us, um, strengthen one of those core needs. We all need money, right? We all do. So how do we do it in the, in the right way and in integrity, in integrity with our values and, um, with what, what we wanna do in the world. So those are, those are the things happening in my my world. What about you, Mikayla?

Speaker 6 55:31

Yeah, well, I'll also talk about two places where my niche is on full display. Um, so one is on my think if it classroom. So similar to you creating, uh, standalone classes that folks can take at any time, self-paced courses, um, that you can dip into at any time. It's, um, a project that I started last year that I'm gonna be really focused on this year is building that library of self-paced classes inside of my Think Offi classroom. Um, and so just as an example of classes that align with those three elements of my niche, my, um, cultivating a trauma informed reiki practice classes in there that's very much aligned with the, um, social justice and, and social good side of my niche. A, uh, class on the, um, energy map that is, um, inherent in the Japanese origins of the system of reiki called Powered by the Three Diamonds is a class very much focused on, um, exploring those Japanese origins. And on the side of, uh, reiki for self-practice, there's a course on, uh, building our intuition through reiki practices that come from those Japanese origins. So just three examples of the self-paced courses that are available to you right this very minute on my think if at classroom wide range of prices, um, and, um, lengths duration of the classes that are gonna be showing up there. So that link will be down below. And then, uh, I'm gonna make a plug for my YouTube channel because that really is the place where I get to really freeform, explore my niche and share with you such a wide range of. Um, teachings and reflections and practices that come through from the, you know, wealth of experience that I've had in all of these different realms across, you know, three decades of my life. Um, weaving them together in, um, you know, hopefully ways that are dynamic and engaging for you. Um, and building that YouTube channel is part of my, um, part of my goal for this year. Um, so I've got about 1,260 subscribers at this very moment. Um, my, my next goal is to get to 1500 subscribers on my YouTube channel, which is hardscapes reiki at YouTube. And so I invite you to join me over there. Um, subscribing is free to you and it just means you get to connect with me all the more often liking the videos. It's free. It stimulates that algorithm. Lets YouTube know that you like what you're seeing, and of course, sharing those videos around. Um, with people that you think would be similarly interested. All of that helps tremendously in building a channel. So my YouTube channel, hardscapes, Reiki, and of course the YouTube channel for this very podcast. All of those same invitations are there for you if you are, um, engaging with us over on YouTube. So, um, yeah. Help us to stimulate the algorithm and increase our reach to have these conversations across a wider audience because they're important and we believe in them very much so. Thank you friends so much for being along with us this week. Um, please do join the conversation with us down in the comments. We love to know what comes up for you as you sit with these conversations. If you feel that you have a niche in your reiki practice or you are seeking a practitioner with a particular niche, please do let us know down in the comments. And if you've had any particular struggles or triumphs in finding your voice in your reiki practice, how do you talk about your work, how you show up as a Reiki practitioner? Let us know that as well. And until next time, thank you so much for being with us. We love you. We will catch up with you next week. Bye-bye bye.