A Reiki Connection

I recently attended an exceptionally enlightening combination ART/Master class with nearly two dozen other Reiki practitioners from around New England. The class was facilitated by William Lee Rand, founder of the International Center for Reiki Training. William is the Western world's defacto expert on all things Reiki, and he is the author of the textbooks currently used by nearly all western Reiki teachers. His classes are wonderfully enhanced by his depth of knowledge and his exceptional skill in helping students realize deeper understanding of their spiritual path through guided meditation.

Since one of the subjects addressed in the ART (Advanced Reiki Training) level class is how to use crystals and gemstones to enhance the effectiveness of Reiki sessions, William invited us to bring any of our special stones or sacred objects to the class and place them inside a crystal grid in the center of the room to absorb energy for the duration of the class.

This was a 3-day session, and since it was within driving distance of my home, my plan was to commute back and forth each day rather than stay at the hotel where the training was being conducted. For the first day, I had brought only a couple of very special stones with me that had personal significance. I placed these in the circle, along with a business card for the Reiki practice my partner and I are developing, intending and praying that the energy of the class would help our venture move forward successfully. That small guided act with the business card is now paying indisputable dividends, but that will be the subject of another article.

On day two of the class, I was leaving my house for the drive...actually I had already locked the door and was getting in my car...and I very clearly and clairaudiently heard the words: "You forget your crystal ball". This was particularly strange because, although I owned a crystal ball among my many often eclectic possessions, it had no real meaning or connection to me and mostly sat abandoned on a bookshelf in my bedroom. I had wanted one for a long time since I have a great interest in divination and scrying, but I had never found one that really spoke to me energetically so I had settled on this one during an extensive search of the many spiritual shops in Salem MA. Although this crystal didn't give me any particular energy, it had an aesthetically attractive flaw which caught my attention so I bought it.

Despite the fact that I wasn't particularly attached to the crystal in question, I have learned that when my guides speak to me, I need to follow through, so I went back in the house, went upstairs, grabbed the crystal ball, dusted it off and was on my way again. When I got to class, I added it to the collection of everyone's sacred objects being charged in the grid in the center of the training room.

Later that morning, William led us on a wonderful guided meditation to meet our Reiki spirit guides. During the meditation, I had the most beautiful experience of arriving at the level of the illumined beings and being greeted by Jesus, my primary spirit guide. On this particular visit, Jesus passed me off to a diminutive man who appeared to be of Tibetan or some other Himalayan heritage. He was dressed as one would expect a Buddhist monk to dress, and he never spoke a word, but took my hand and led me to the center of a large room where we sat on the floor and he showed me a "movie". I still cannot explain the mechanism by which he showed this film...there was no screen or projector...it just appeared in the air like a holographic image - it looked a lot like an old 8mm home movie complete with the noise of the projector running and the grainy choppiness of the video quality (now I'm really showing my age...not everyone knows that before Blue Ray, DVD, VHS and even Beta was eight millimeter!).

The film began by showing me purchasing my crystal ball in Salem MA and then jumped forward to the present time in this Reiki class. I saw myself get up from my chair in the circle, walk over to the grid, pick up my crystal ball and walk over to another student and present it to her as a gift.

This other student is a woman named Sharon who is a long time acquaintance of mine from work. Although we have known each other for well over twenty years, we rarely saw each other and were never familiar enough to be called friends, just mutually respectful co-workers on a professional basis. Despite all of this, it was actually because of me that Sharon was in this Reiki ART/Master class. Several weeks earlier, Sharon had called me out of the blue because a mutual good friend named Mark had mentioned to her that "Bob is into that Reiki hocus pocus too." You'd have to know Mark to appreciate him...he's a great hearted and devoutly religious man...just not all that in touch with spirituality. Anyway, as Sharon and I shared a conversation about our common interest in Reiki, I mentioned to her that William was going to be giving the ART/Master class locally. Sharon eventually decided to register and take the class.

After William brought us back from our meditation, he asked if anyone would like to share their experiences. My journey had been so direct and exciting this time that I couldn't wait to share it, and I relayed the story to the group much as I have here, closing my comments by telling Sharon that the crystal ball was now hers as the universe intended, and I had obviously just been the "delivery boy", not unlike the Reiki practitioner's role in any Reiki healing session. It was at this time that I noticed that Sharon had been holding the crystal ball nestled snugly in her lap throughout the entire meditation, having obviously been powerfully drawn to it.

She immediately began to cry...joyful and healing tears...and then told the class that in the previous day's meditation when she was addressing some particularly nasty demons from long ago in her life, she was shown this very crystal ball and became aware that it was a key to her healing. When she walked into the class that morning and saw it in the circle, she had no idea who brought it or why it was there, but she recognized it immediately from her meditation. Remember...this crystal had a very specific and unique aesthetic flaw which is what caused it to catch my eye in the first place so it is easily recognizable.

The guided journey that brought this crystal home to Sharon is simply an amazing example of the energetic connection which binds all members of the Reiki universe together. Reiki chose me to be a channel to deliver this crystal to its intended home for the greater good of all involved, and I felt honored to have been used for healing in such a wonderful way. I know Sharon will always treasure and care for this crystal. She has already been significantly healed by its energy, and after all is said and done, healing for myself and others is the only reason I embraced the Reiki life in the first place.

This was just one of many healings that took place during our class, and the entire hotel seemed to pulse with Reiki energy as the class went on. The experience was so defining and life changing that my partner and I decided not to commute home after the second day but rather to stay at the hotel to enjoy and absorb the energy overnight.

Several weeks after this experience, I had the opportunity to speak to Mark, the mutual friend who had caused Sharon to call me about our common interest in Reiki by his innocent, off-the-cuff "hocus pocus" remark. When I told him the story and explained how he had played a key role in this chain of wonderfully spiritual events, I could tell his heart was warmed that his God would allow him to be a part of something so beautiful.

Just for today...don't worry.

Bob McGrath
Master Practitioner/Teacher
Pathways to Harmony