The road that led me to Reiki was a winding one.

My first experience with Reiki happened around late 2013 during one of my lowest lows. I had just moved to Chicago from Portland, Oregon only a year prior and the culture shock of living in a much bigger city had been weighing heavy on me, not to mention the extreme winters I was struggling to cope with after never experiencing a “true” winter in my life (my first two winters in Chicago were some of the coldest in recorded history).

I was very depressed and lonely, isolated in my tiny studio apartment with my then-partner and our cat.  My body was in constant pain, which is not an exaggeration. Only a few months after moving, I slipped on the ice and injured my sacrum but didn’t go see a doctor (living that no-health-insurance life) which caused significant damage at L4-L5, although I didn’t learn that until years later.

I was also an extremely restless sleeper back then, severely grinding my teeth at night causing constant headaches, and neck and shoulder pain.  My menstrual cycles were grueling with debilitating cramps, heavy flow, and horrible mood swings. I was also just generally feeling unfulfilled, unsatisfied, and unsupported in many areas of my life.  I was barely getting through each day.

Noticing how borderline-miserable I was, one of my coworkers gifted me a Reiki session with a friend of theirs who had recently received her Reiki Master attunement. I gratefully accepted, not having much of an idea about what to expect. Needless to say, the session was magical, enlightening, and miraculous. Incredibly, I spent the next three weeks absolutely pain-free and clear-minded. It was an unbelievable experience and sparked a quiet desire within me to learn this modality myself.

My healing journey

The session didn’t permanently heal me, of course. I was blessed to know an extremely talented Craniosacral Therapist who worked with me for several months. She was also attuned to Reiki and my sessions with her quite literally opened my body, mind, and soul in subtle but profound ways.

I also began receiving acupuncture weekly, taking a variety of herbs, eating very clean, getting regular chiropractic adjustments, doing yoga almost daily, giving myself castor oil pack treatments, and taking Epsom salt baths four or five times per week. As my body healed I began falling down rabbit holes, lifting layers and layers of illusion off my perception of life, myself, and the world around me. 

It was only after I spent a long time on this personal journey that Reiki returned to my life, years after my initial experience, and said, “You’re now ready to learn.”  I was introduced to my Reiki teacher in 2015. She taught me, attuned me, and supported me through great change (and continues to do so now as one of my dearest friends). 

The Reiki attunement and beyond

For those who are unfamiliar, a Reiki attunement is a sacred ritual carried out by a Reiki Master which transmits energetic wisdom and opens a pure portal to universal life force energy, allowing the recipient to become a clear channel for the passage of Reiki. The process is like raising the dimmer on a light bulb, with each attunement increasing the frequency of the recipient’s energy field a little more each time.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Raising the frequency

After my Level Two attunement, the things that were not serving my life could no longer be tolerated and began burning up like a dry forest at the peak of summer. Any troublesome behaviors, interests and relationships were shapeshifting or unwinding from my life at rapid speed. This is extremely common for those who follow the Reiki path because when we actively work on raising the frequency of our personal energy signature, whatever vibrates below that frequency (whether it be beliefs, behaviors, interests, relationships, etc.) can no longer exist around us due to the laws of resonance and entrainment. Everything is energy. This includes everything we think and feel.

Everything vibrates at a frequency unique to itself. When two frequencies come within close proximity to one another, the lower frequency will ascend to meet the higher one. When this process reflects in the physical world, it manifests as either the healing and elevation of our beliefs, behaviors, interests and relationships or, essentially, the death of them. Often, especially when we’re dealing with another human being, the other party (or our own ego) will not be ready for such change and will resist or retreat because it/they literally cannot live around our higher-vibrating energy field. This is not bad or good. It is simply the laws of the universe in motion.

The healing crisis

I most definitely went through what is often referred to as a “dark night of the soul” or “healing crisis” as everything in my life seemingly fell apart. I was very much steeped in the tarot’s Tower energy then and Reiki was the lightning bolt catalyst.

I surrendered to the unwinding, as wild and sometimes painful as it all was. I trusted that the neutral, unconditional energy of Reiki was guiding me toward my highest potentials and now my life is virtually unrecognizable from what it was before, in the best ways. My reactions, how I handle my emotions, what I believe about myself, my relationships, my work, my health, my home...you name it, all areas of my life have improved over time.

And as I continue working with Reiki and learning about the subtle world, my quality of life increases exponentially.  When we recognize that everything is energy and realize the power we have to harness and control its influence on us, we are no longer victims of circumstance but empowered allies working in co-creation with our environment and the universe.

You too can change your life

Do you desire sweeping changes in your life? Are you experiencing seemingly mysterious synchronicities or subtle communications from the world around you? Have you gone through a Dark Night of the Soul or a healing crisis? Has Reiki or another similar modality helped you heal? Are you curious to know more?

Share your thoughts in the comments and strengthen our community with your experience. You can also inquire with me directly. I offer Reiki sessions, classes and various energy-based workshops to assist my fellow soul travelers in their own healing journey.

Tuning in and aligning myself with the subtle world catapulted me toward my highest potentials and I know it will do the same for all who venture along this path. May you embody the changes you seek ~

Warmly, Amber Renee