by Michele R. Fritz
Suffering most of my life with some form of ailment or another, I was constantly seeking a “cure.” Throughout my life I have had chronic sinus infections, digestive issues, headaches, low energy and feelings of anger. As a child I was overweight, lonely, highly sensitive and felt like an outcast.
In my teenage years, I was the kid who had her head on the desk, trying to sneak a nap. I had mononucleosis when I was nineteen.
In my twenties and a young mother, I went to a doctor complaining of low energy. I was told I was depressed and needed medication. Not wanting to be medicated, I soldiered through the debilitating fatigue. To add to the fatigue was the stress of working, raising a family, shopping, putting a meal on the table every night, household chores, trying to make ends meet and seeing that everyone’s needs were being met. I lost my father from a fatal heart attack at the very early age of 47 during this time period as well. From that experience I learned the importance of being informed and listening to your body. Had my father known the warning signs of heart disease, I believe he would have gone to see a doctor. But even with this knowledge, my health continued to deteriorate.
In my thirties, I tried allergy injections that didn’t help at all and if possible, made me feel worse. The sinus issues, low energy and headaches continued, I always felt like I was coming down with something and my head had a heaviness that I could not explain.
I started my forties with a hysterectomy. My energy was so low during my forties that after several tests showing nothing, I decided to undergo a sleep study. I was told I had a “sleepy brain” and was put on a narcotic that helped me function. During this time, my husband and I fought the highly contagious Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) for a solid year, passing it back and forth. I found out I had trouble absorbing nutrients, and I had an issue with mercury. In my late forties, after losing a few dear people who were close to me, I literally felt like I needed to be in a hospital; I felt that sickly. I was having trouble breathing and felt like I had a weight on my chest. I had kidney stones and was sent to a specialist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. At that time I actually was depressed — feeling sick all the time is no fun. I wanted more from life—I wanted to enjoy it!
In my search for wellness I have tried every different modality I could think of and spent a lot of money doing it. While I got marginal relief from some of them, none really seemed to be the answer I was looking for—something was lacking. While they eased the symptoms for awhile, they were not addressing the source of the problem. What WAS the problem? My energy remained low, I was irritable, I had aches and pains, I didn’t like the world or myself.
Then, in 2006 I had a random encounter with a Reiki practitioner at an arts festival in a Pennsylvania state park. After watching her work on several people, I was drawn in like a magnet. The session was so calming and relaxing. I had never experienced anything like it, and while I didn’t understand it, I was willing to accept it. It was total bliss; like giving someone a drink who was dying of thirst. I wanted to feel like that all the time. She gave me a hug at the end of the session, and we talked a bit. She said she was visiting from California and was returning there. I never saw her again.
Fast forward to the spring of 2012. My husband Tom was diagnosed with prostate cancer and hurt his back doing absolutely nothing. A new yoga studio opened in town, and they just happened to offer acupuncture. We made a call and within a few sessions Tom’s back was feeling better. With his good results, I decided to give it a try. Tom continued to see Michael, the acupuncturist, during his radiation treatments and after. So we were both seeing Michael and getting to know him pretty well.
During one of my sessions in the autumn of 2012, during the time Tom was undergoing radiation treatments, Michael mentioned that the studio had started offering Reiki classes. I immediately signed up for the next class, remembering how well I had felt after my first encounter a few years back. I didn’t sign up for me however; I had Tom in mind, wanting to do something that would help him with the effects of radiation and the stress level he had always dealt with on a daily basis at work.
I was sent the manual to read with a handwritten note from the teacher. I read most of the manual and took the preparations very seriously. I didn’t eat meat or sugar for three days and cut back on caffeine. I wanted to make sure the attunement worked! I also walked in nature, did yoga, had shiatsu and acupuncture sessions, and contemplated my life silently. It all had a very sacred feel to it and I wanted to honor that.
I walked into the room that morning in February 2013 feeling a little nervous and intimidated, and I remember having a terrible headache. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into but knew that it was something that I had to do. Jenny, the Reiki Master, quickly put me at ease. I was surprised how quickly the time went by and while I didn’t understand everything that was taught, I didn’t doubt any of it. During the class we underwent a guided meditation, which for me, was very healing in and of itself. The attunement was very healing as was the practice session on the table. I left with a peace of mind that I had never known before.
My intent was to help Tom, but Reiki actually started to heal ME.
I’m not saying all of it was pretty! I worked through some bouts of depression, spent a few days crying where I actually had to leave work, yet knew that it was all part of the healing process. I practiced the Gassho meditation, not really knowing what I was doing, but forging ahead anyway. I gave Tom one-hour nightly sessions for several months. I started reading anything that had to do with energy healing. Books seemed to be presenting themselves to me to be read. I purchased William Rand’s The Reiki Touch, which I found to be very powerful, and I started to journal and meditate and treated myself with Reiki on a daily basis.
I quickly went from Reiki Level I to Reiki Master and went through several reattunements as a review in preparation to become a Reiki Master Teacher. I started the Karuna Reiki® training. During every attunement or reattunement I would get a headache that started at the base of my skull. During one particularly bad headache, I meditated on the issue and was guided to quit the narcotic! I listened to the divine guidance and quit cold turkey. Through more meditation and guidance, I’ve quite caffeine, wheat, corn and dairy. My energy has been stabilized, and I don’t feel like I’m lacking at all from not being able to consume these things. In fact, when I do eat something that I have a sensitivity to, my energy takes a hit! I’ve also been led to a holistic practitioner who was able to help me with nutrition and supplementation suited for my body.
We purchased a table and now have a room in our home devoted to Reiki. Tom has been attuned to Levels I and II and in the near future I plan to teach him IIIa. I attuned my daughter in November while she was home for a visit.
Reiki has become a lifestyle for me and my husband. It has tuned me into my intuition. I am finding my voice and confidence. I am finding out who I really am and I AM healing! “It is a process,” Jenny says, “like peeling back the layers of an onion.” I have found this to be very true. I still get sick, but when I do, it’s not as severe, it doesn’t last as long and it’s not as frequent — many of the symptoms that I’ve dealt with all my life have gone away.
Prior to Reiki I felt like a negative energy sponge, always taking on other people’s pain, anger or bad attitudes. I always wanted to be a positive person, but didn’t know how to stop having negative thoughts that were attacking my health. Through my Reiki practice, I am now attracting positive energy instead of the opposite. I also feel like I know the real me for the first time in my life; Reiki put me in touch with my higher self — the self above ego.
Due to our personal experiences, Tom and I are being guided to work with children of special needs, children whose parents want to approach their needs holistically, possibly in Wyoming, if the universe can help us figure out how to get there. It is my sincere desire to travel to Sedona, Arizona someday for Crystal Healing training with Laurelle Shanti Gaia and to Stonehenge for an attunement with William Rand!
So, what WAS the problem? Through my angel guides I have discovered that both my husband and I are highly functioning autistics, and we weren’t addressing our spiritual needs—we didn’t know how. Reiki blew the door open to our awakening and spirituality and now our lives have been forever changed.
Reiki is a spiritual practice that promotes healing on a very deep level, and it is my feeling that you get out of it what you put into it. Along the way, you may feel like it’s not working, but give it a little time — not everything can be healed overnight. Everything is divinely planned. May you be as blessed as I during YOUR Reiki Healing Journey.
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin
Blessings.
