RWP Episode #175: Reiki's Real Life Applications: Becoming Yourself in Crisis

Transcript

bron 0:05

What we can do from a Reiki perspective to help people who are freaking out We have these moments over and over again in life, and the question how do we respond in that moment has everything to do with whether the outcome gets us to a solid place that's positive or possibly wrecks our whole life. Someone will come towards you with a crisis and it's very easy to get swept up into that and that is where you can join into that space or you can actually sit back into that grounded space and allow whatever needs to happen around you. and you can stay yourself in the midst of a crisis.

0:51

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 used. 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.

bron 2:17

Hi, and welcome to Reiki Women podcast. So, um, it's Mikayla and me today and Mikayla's got a story. We're gonna find out how the system of reiki can be used in real world applications and, Mikayla, I'm not gonna say anymore. I'm gonna let you tell us what just happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sometimes these topics just kind of pop up in our real life, in the midst of our day to day, and they're like, Hey, we need to talk about this on the podcast. Uh, so yeah, so I almost got scammed today. It was fun. Uh, you know, just like a, one of these dumb things where somebody's. Trying to buy something from you on Facebook marketplace. I was selling a purse on Facebook and the person's like, Hey, let me Z you the money, and I'll pick it up in the morning. I'm like, great. Here's my email for Zelle. And I sent a bunch of like anxious texts, like, did you get the money? I sent you the money, did you check your email, check your spam folder, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like really anxious about this money coming through. And when I kind of dug in and yeah, I found the email in my spam folder, which should have been the first red flag because usually when I get Zelle the money, that email just goes to my regular folder. Um. You know, I, I got that little twinge in my belly of like, this doesn't feel right. But I was, you know, went through. I was like, all right, I don't see this money showing up in my bank account, but this thing says it was sent. And then there was another email that was like, oh, you have to expand your account to receive money from business accounts and call this number to do it. And again, that little twinge in my belly that was like, eh, something's not right here. But I called the, you know, I was like, all right, well, let's see what this is about. I called the number, and you know, as this person is like spiraling this. Incomprehensible explanation of what, why this money isn't getting into my account, and then I have to walk you through a process and you have to send this person $450 and then we'll refund it. And that's how it expands. Like, blah, blah, whatever nonsense. I, I found myself in experience that maybe you and maybe you, dear watcher. Uh, have hound yourself in before where you start to feel like you're getting swept up in something. Like, I, I don't quite understand what's happening, but I want this to be legitimate and I don't wanna cause a scene. I don't wanna look dumb by like not understanding what's going on. You know, I've had experiences like that where I might go along with something like this because I don't wanna look like I'm, I'm not. You know, with it or whatever. And you know, this is how scams work, right? They kind of get you in this heightened state where your nervous system is kind of swept up off its feet and you go along with something and they're moving really fast. They're trying to, you know, get you to move quickly with them so that you bypass whatever your intuition might be telling you. And I have had that happen before, and I know many, many people do. And. In this instance. What happened and why we're talking about it here is that my relationship with my reiki practice kind of came alongside this nervous system hijacking that was happening where I'm feeling this urgency and I just want this to be resolved. And if I just follow these instructions, then it'll get resolved. And the way that that urgency and that desire to just. Get it solved was overriding my intuition, that little twinge that was telling me something was wrong, but my reiki practice like came alongside of that. And in a, you know, particular moment while the person was rambling off whatever explanation, again, I had the presence of mind to just take a few breaths into my belly, just a few, Josh, and cook your whole breaths, get myself grounded, get my feet back on the ground. 'cause I was starting to get swept up and the energy of, you know, what they were trying to do, um, the urgency that both the people on both sides of this, the person on the phone and the person who had initiated the. The whole thing in the first place, trying to buy the purse. You know, they're obviously trying to get me swept off my feet, so I'll just comply with whatever they're doing and I had the presence of mind to pause, take a few breaths, get my feet on the ground, and just kind of close my eyes and. Listen to that intuitive voice, and it was immediately like, this is a scam. Get off the phone. So I hung up and um, now I get to go to my bank tomorrow and see if there's anything that needs to be done about that. But what really struck me was that there have been plenty of times in my life where I have felt some kind of crisis. Come through, right? Because, you know, somebody hacking your entire bank account is definitely a form of a crisis. And we're presented with crises over and over again at different scale. Sometimes they're relatively small, right? But, but they still kind of have that, oh no, something is happening. Feeling sometimes they're of course, of course, quite monumental. And all stops in between. We have these moments over and over again in life, and the question like how do we respond in that moment has everything to do with whether the outcome like gets us to a solid place that's positive or possibly wrecks our whole life, right? I mean, some of these things can really wreck our whole life and when we have a practice in place, right? When we have a practice in place that we understand is intimately tied with our day-to-day life, the mundanities of our day-to-day, it's not something separate from that. It's not something that we retreat to or that is about having, you know, only looking at magical, cathartic, spiritual experiences, which of course can happen. Those are lovely when they do, but that really what our practice is about is these day-to-day moments about getting our feedback on the ground. And being able to tune back in to a voice that had been talking to me the whole time. That little twinge in my belly that had been there the whole time that I was kind of pushing past to reconnect us with that small still voice inside of ourselves. That relationship between our three diamonds, our. Mind, our gut and our heart and the outside world. That is when our reiki practice or any other practice that does these things for us, actually changes our life, like actually operates as something that. Fundamentally changes our life, and I just was reflecting on that, you know, after this experience and other moments when I either was or was not able to take that pause, get grounded and respond from that place. There's been so many times in my life when I have responded from a very ungrounded place, from a place that was very much. A nerve a, a hijacked nervous system. And the outcomes of those moments at times have been horrible. You know, like there's been real consequences from having a moment when I was unable to respond from a grounded place because my nervous system was hijacked. And so, yeah, I just wanted to kind of bring that into our conversation here of um, really. Number one, reflecting on the importance of regular practice so that we have the, we have that reflexive relationship with the practice, right? I wasn't consciously thinking, oh, I should take a pause and do some reiki right now. It was automatic. It just came automatically and it wouldn't have if I didn't practice Josh and regularly when things are okay, when things are not a crisis. So I just, I'm always. An evangelist for regular practice when you're feeling okay, so that you build that muscle memory with the practice when your nervous system is hijacked. And then to also, you know, bring back into our conversation the value of our Reiki practice in the day to day. Um, and I think I'll, I'll pause right there and pass it over to you, Roman. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, I'm glad you didn't get scanned. I can see it from a number of different angles and, that sense of being in the vicinity of a crisis and you being, the cool, calm, space that other people can be with as well. I can also see it from that angle that, I've had experiences where, someone will come towards you with a crisis and it's very easy to get swept up into that and that is where you can join into that space or you can actually sit back into that grounded space and allow whatever needs to happen around you. But to be that solidness, that strength for others. It is just for yourself as well. And, and also it can be for others, but you can't actually be in that solid space without already knowing that space. And I think that's what you're talking about, about that relationship with your practice. So if we know what it feels like to be really grounded, really, um, trusting of ourselves. Then that is a natural state for us to move into when something happens. And once again, it's another state where we're going, oh, right now I need to tap into my inner wisdom and my, my, my, um, that, that gut feeling of, it's none of that. It just is a natural moving into that because your body. I mean, your whole self knows that that's the place to be, for there to be an outcome that's going to work for everybody in this situation. So, yeah. Getting into your practice, knowing your practice, knowing yourself through your practice is, incredibly important. And we can't do that if we haven't been there. So the experience, yeah, yeah. As you were talking, I was thinking about the ways in which, you know, that this begins with or dovetails with fundamentally having a sense of self knowledge about. Well, what is the way that we tend to respond to a crisis, right? What is, what is the way that our nervous system tends to go when it's getting hijacked? You know, what is our trauma response that is kind of more natural, and that can be, you know, generally categorized in the fight, flight, or freeze. Spectrum or fawn spectrum of responses. And you know what I found is that we tend to have a go-to response, right? We tend to more often move towards the fight side of that or the flight, the running away, or the freeze side of things. Not that we can't. Access those different things, but we tend to have a go-to way of being that has to do with our background and what we experience as a child and what kind of personality we are. And for whatever reason, you know, whatever that combination for me is, uh, my go-to response is the freeze response. And so in a crisis, I will freeze up. I don't run away, I don't fight. I, I freeze up. I have other close people in my life who. Fight. And I have other close people in my life who flee, who run away. That's just what their nervous system is queued towards for whatever reason. For me, it's freeze. And what that part of what that means is that I'm all I, in my past, I've often been mistaken for being that cool in a crisis person, right? Because I do get very still and very quiet and like. You know, perhaps seemingly reflective, but in the past, what's happening inside is I've gone blank. I can't think, I can't respond appropriately. I can't make a good decision. I am, I'm now hijacked, right? I am, and, and therefore susceptible to whatever is going on, right? I'm gonna tend to defer to whoever else is taking action in that moment, even if the action they're taking is not good, right? So in this case. The person taking action was trying to get me to give them bank information so that they could rob me. Um, in the past, right, many, many years in the past, I absolutely would've been a person who would've just followed those instructions because I would've been frozen, because that feeling of, okay, there's something wrong here and I just needed to be resolved and I can't deal with the discomfort of it would've put me in a freeze state, and that's. Outwardly perhaps can be misinterpreted as I'm cool in a crisis, right? But I am well aware that I was not at all cool in a crisis. I was cold in a crisis 'cause I was frozen. And so, you know, having that, that self knowledge of like, where is it that my nervous system goes when I'm confronted with a crisis, am I a person who will automatically go into fight mode? Am I a person who's gonna try to flee, try to get out of there and. Always remembering that those responses are there to keep us safe, right? It's this amazing capacity that our nervous system has that our whole being has to try to deal with something that feels like we can't deal with it. It's amazing what our brains and our nervous system can do, and when it tips into that place of being out of control, it, you know, it's no longer actually keeping us safe, right? It's putting us in danger. And so one of the things that, one of the most pointed things that I noticed over time when working with my reiki practice specifically in this way, like once I found Josh and Cookie Ho, um, was the thawing of that freeze response. Not to say it never happens anymore, but much more consistently. I, I don't go to that place, right? I don't freeze up. I am able to actually be cool and calm in a crisis, right? Because the other side of that coin, like my natural giftedness, right? Like it's, it's kind of like the things that are. Um, really challenging for us are, are kind of the flip side of our superpowers because I am naturally very calm. I am very introverted. I'm very self-reflective. I'm very observant. So I am naturally a cool and a crisis kind of person, but I wasn't able to access that ability when I couldn't manage that nervous system response. And so being in relationship with the system of Reiki and the whole system, certainly. Josh and coho, most particularly for this example, but the whole system, right? Working with the precepts, being able to really assess better my relationship with fear and worry, right? Like is this something to really be worried about? Or is this something that just is activating my sense of fear and I need to really let it go by using my practices? Um, you know, using 10 ohira as a way to kind of get back on my body and like thaw that freeze response by using some, some gentle touch on, on my body has been really powerful. Um, using mantra, using sound right, that vibration to help. Get me back in my body and get more grounded again. Right? You're noticing a theme, get back in my body, get back my feet on the ground, get back into a grounded space so I can respond to the crisis appropriately. All of those, uh, elements in the, in the system of Reiki have contributed to that. But Josh and Koho is the go-to, you know, and, um. Again, just really making a, a case for practicing regularly when you're feeling neutral so that these practices come to you when you have frozen or when you've gone into that fight response when you are trying to run away from something that really you need to stay present for. And this feels, you know, I mean this is valuable and true throughout our whole lives, 'cause crises of various size come through all the time. Well, we are in a, in a era presently, um, particularly those of us in the United States where there are a lot of crises being tossed at us from society, from the political climate, from wild shit being done, uh, through our government. It's like every day we're getting a new crisis tossed in our face and. It can be incredibly difficult to assess which ones of these really need my response, and which of these do I just need to move right past? Which of these can I actually respond to and, and, you know, need me to make an adjustment or take a response? And which do I really just need to manage my sorrow and my grief and my anger about? Um, that level of discernment is essential. When things become unstable, when the systems and structures that we previously relied on to kind of keep our lives moving at a more or less steady pace, at least in terms of the, the overview of society, when they start to slip, when they start to crumble, when they shift, when they become unreliable. We need to. Even more than ever be our own sense of reliability. We need to be able to rely on our intuition, on our own nervous system's, ability to respond to knowing the things that we know, to trusting ourselves and our community, uh uh, to be able to really check in and know through our nervous system, through our thoughts, through our heart, through our gut, that gut response. Is this something I actually need to respond to and can respond to? Or is this something that I need to process my feelings about and move on from? And I don't know about y'all, but those things are coming every day. Every day is a new thing that needs to be assessed in that way, and. Thank the sweet soil that I have reiki because I feel, I actually feel equipped to handle it. That could change as things go on, but, but thus far I can honestly say I feel equipped to handle it, which is, feels kind of a wild thing to say. Yeah, it's pretty cool. It also made me think again in that same sort of way that I was talking about others, you know, so you're talking about the self. Just talking about being with others in those situations too. And what we can do from a,, Reiki perspective, I guess, to help people who are freaking out about all this stuff. Right. And, Sui said that we heal with the eyes, the hands, and the breath. And that's related to what you were saying about how you felt about yourself and you know, that just. Even touching yourself brings yourself back, Even if someone is freaking out, just even touching someone is a way of connecting with others that can really support people. It's a, it's such an amazing, interesting phenomenon, isn't it? That just touch and, it's reminding people of that connection that we have, uh, that we're all in this together. Safe touch is, is so, important I think in this world. When USI talks about the eyes, you know, we are connecting with others. We're listening. We're showing our involvement, our understanding, our being with someone else. And then we have, the breath, which it can be our voice. It can be our energy. Energy moves on the breath. So talking with others, being with others in that way, and this is a real holistic way of living our lives with the system of Reiki. And it's the natural things that we do, but we can trace it back to that and we can see that in a whole sense. We can be there for others in that way. And we can be there for ourselves of course, as well, and paradoxically, right, it, it, it, it's like from the inside out, right? Like always reminding ourselves that reiki is first and foremost and always a self-practice. And that, you know, and I've told the story on the podcast many times of, of, you know, entering into the system of Reiki, really from a outside in perspective, like I, I wanna help other people. I'm here to, you know, heal other people. Uh, because that'll help me feel better. And then, you know, finding like the truth that reiki is a self-practice and that the way that we really can impact others is by being solid in our own practice. And then that, that sense of stability and calm and, you know, connection and healing radiates outward. Um, it's, it's such a sustainable. Way to be. Mm. Right. Because only, you know, being there for others is not sustainable. Right. But, uh, pardon me, ion only there for, um, anyway, uh, being there for others is unsustainable. Uh, but being there. Coming back towards being ourselves. Yeah. Right. Being ourselves, coming back into, you know, what we know to be true. And then letting that ease out from us is mm-hmm. Utterly sustainable and cyclical and regenerative. Right. And so it's like, it's about, uh, having a regenerative nervous system that can, you know, better respond. That's not to say it can't get overwhelmed, that we won't have moments where it's too much. Where, you know, we can always. Be overwhelmed by something being too much. Absolutely. There's no shame or wrong in that. Um, but having this perspective of that the, that this practice is from the inside out is a more sustainable way of being with it. And then it, it becomes natural to be there to be that calm, you know, center, I don't know. Wyn, what would you, what would you encourage people around this, you know, what would be your advice for folks? Um, yeah, I think you've gotta know what it means, what it feels like to become, because it's never gonna happen if you don't know what it is. So you need to find a practice. Well. Here's the practice, um, as you said, Josh and Cohoe, great practice, foundation practice. Uh, but maybe also, you mentioned other things too, hands-on healing. Just that sense of trust in yourself. Learning to trust yourself, what that feels like. And yeah, using the voice chanting, because that is a very embodied sense, which can really be supportive for people if they're having trouble, uh, feeling something, knowing what it feels like to understand that we are more than what we probably think we are. And that we can have this grounded, energetic self, at our disposal at any time that we want, but we do need to know it first. Yeah, absolutely. And I think along those lines, you know, for me, I really encourage folks to, you know, give yourself a, a self-assessment around. And maybe you already know, right? I didn't know for the longest time until I started working, uh, you know, with reiki and I started learning more about trauma. Alongside of that, I didn't know what my response was, where my go-to. Comfort place for my nervous system when faced with a crisis. I didn't know that I was a freezer, even though there were very specific moments where that response was, was present then, you know, now I can reflect on. So I just, you know, really encourage everyone to, to do, you know, some journaling, some self-reflecting, some conversations with folks, whatever helps you to, to get clear on what your natural response is in a crisis and. To think about the ways in which that natural response can both be an incredible detriment, an incredible hindrance to you. Like my freezing was a hindrance. I couldn't make decisions, I couldn't take right action. So I had to defer to other people and there's go with whatever they decided, which was not always good. On the other side of it though, is your superpower. What on the other side of it is the ways in which you are uniquely well suited to respond in a crisis. People who. Might go to the fight response and maybe cause all kinds of troubles. With that fight response. They have access to an incredible amount of energy that I struggle to access. That fight response floods your system with an incredible amount of energy, but then it's about how do I direct that energy and am I in. Still in a clear state of mind, are my feet on the ground? Do I feel grounded? Do I feel in touch with myself? That you know, that, that sense of knowing your belonging, your, your beingness that you're describing, um, so that that energy can be put to good and right use. Um, so yeah, have a, have a little moment of reflection with yourself. Get, get clear on, on what your nervous system. Tends to go to, and not in a way to make, to make that shameful or to to be condemning about that, but to understand that that actually is an incredible ability, that you have to manage a crisis. And these practices can fine tune that nervous system response so that you can be in control of it. You can respond the way that you want to, you can respond appropriately and you can. Stay yourself in the midst of a crisis. Mikayla, if someone is in flight mode, what would be the benefit of that? Would it be stepping away and being able to get a clear head from that space? I think that's absolutely part of it. Similarly, to fight, you get flooded with a lot of energy. You get a lot of adrenaline from the runaway response. But I think you actually also nailed on it, is that ability. To, to discern when you're clearheaded, when it is time to step away and regroup as opposed to staying in it, right? People who are more fight oriented, I'm thinking of one person in particular in my life, have a really hard time stepping away, right? They need to stay in it. They need to stay engaged, they need to see the thing through, and they can be really, you know, have a blinder on to the value of taking a break, pausing. Getting clear with yourself and then reengaging. Yeah. And so yeah, I think that flight response really gives you access to that kind of discernment when you're able to stay in your own self. And I think if people are interested in this, I know you've got a course on trauma. Um, yeah, that is specifically around for Reiki practitioners to create an environment that, um, minimizes the possibility of triggering those trauma responses in, in our clients and our students. Um, and then just kind of understanding those responses better, um, understanding them in ourselves and recognizing them and other folks so that our space can be maximally, uh, safe and trusting and, and, uh, grounded for the people who come to us. Um. And there's, yeah, there's lots of really great resources now for understanding their nervous system, understanding, um, these very normal ways of being that can feel really mysterious and daunting. But lots of good resources out there now. Yeah. Fantastic. Alright, well I think we've, looked at the real world situations today. Time for you to go to your bank and, sort that out. That's right. Uh, all right. Well, uh, thanks for being here, with us today, everyone, and it's been a great chat and we look forward to being back next week with Carrie. Yeah. All right. Bye for now. All right. Bye.