By Janet Goldenbogen-Self, RN, Holistic Health Educator
published in the Peninsula Daily News HEALTHY LIVING September 2008
As an RN, Reiki master/ teacher and Holistic Health Educator, my phone rings with individuals seeking guidance for better health and balance. Recently Mary called stating she has just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, her marriage is failing and she is headed towards a diagnoses of diabetes. These three disorders to her energy patterns took some time to develop. Research and my own experience prove how energy balancing techniques can reorder those patterns. I chose Reiki and whole foods to help Mary.
What common link do Reiki and whole foods share? Both are energy/vibrational medicine choices offering the wellness continuum we all crave. Chi or vital energy flows through each one of us forming subtle biofield energy patterns of our body, mind, spirit and emotions. These biofield energy patterns are not exclusive to humans. All living beings, including plants and animals are vitalized by Chi. The goal of energy medicine is a return to order of the electromagnetic frequencies of the subtle body energies. This reordering brings healing, not always cure, but healing.
Per James Oschman’s book ENERGY MEDICINE The Scientific Basis, ” the rationale behind vibrational medicine is straightforward: diseases and disorders alter the electromagnetic properties of molecules, cells, tissues, and organs… In some cases an imbalanced system is restored by introducing a signal that cancels a discordant or pathological frequency that is disturbing the body.”
The signal can be sound, acupuncture needles, flower essences, homeopathics, herbs, whole foods, meditation, chi kung, tai chi or the centered, with intention emanations from a body worker’s own tissues, eg. Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Massage.
Energetic pharmacology is another term from James Oschman’s book I like to use to explain these signals that restore order as a valid, credible choice instead of or in addition to conventional chemical pharmacology.
REIKI
Spiritually guided vital energy translates Reiki into English, but it is so much more. Reiki is a Japanese method of energy biofield balancing that has been in existence for millenniums. A Reiki practitioner taps intentionally into the always-available Chi, waits to feel this vital energy begin flowing through them, then places their hands on another (or themselves) and waits for the energy to flow. This energy is a flowing river of healing bringing relaxation, pain relief and whatever else may be needed to bring comfort. Once an intention is set, the Reiki will flow where it is needed i.e. physical, mental, spiritual, emotional planes, or all as needed. It is not up to the practitioner to decide where the energy must go. The Reiki practitioner becomes a conduit for the chi to flow. The beauty of Reiki is that it works! It balances and reorders energy patterns.
It’s confusing to determine what is Reiki with so many forms of hands-on-healing available. What differentiates Reiki from other methods is the attunement process included in Reiki training. We all are included in the flow of the universal energy biofield and each one of us has our own human energy biofield which is connected to the whole field. The attunement process strengthens the connection between the human field and the universal field. I refer to my life before Reiki attunements and my life after. Something shifted within me to enhance my spirituality, which I define as the path I’m taking in life to enhance and empower my inner spirit. Reiki can do just that, both for the practitioner and the client.
The Reiki method most frequently utilized in the West is the Usui method. Dr. Mikao Usui lived in Japan from 1865-1926. As part of his spiritual path he brought Reiki to a higher vibration and fuller method of practice than had been previously known. This is the method that I teach and utilize with my clients. It is taught in 3 levels of separate classes. Students are offered the opportunity to come to my home monthly for Reiki exchanges as a way to practice what they learn in classes. I also offer private sessions.
WHOLE FOODS
What is a whole food and how can it help me? Quite simply, a whole food is whole. It has not been refined, or changed in any way. Whole foods are grown or raised with a consciousness of wellness with organic soil, no pesticides or hormones…nature at its best. Thus, they are abundant with vital chi. I prefer to think of food as medicine when referring to energetic pharmacology. Whole foods fit Merriam Webster’s definition of “medicine as a substance or preparation used in treating disease or something that affects well-being.” Food can create discordant imbalances and, on the flip side, can reorder imbalances. Paul Pitchford states in Healing With Whole Foods, ” Food also acts as a foundation medicine. It is sometimes slower to take effect, but more profoundly affects all systems of the body. If diet is used correctly for prevention and treatment, other medicines are required less, if at all.”
Let’s take the example of a grain of a wheat berry to show the difference between a whole food and a dead food. A whole grain wheat berry is a perfect source of nutrition, offering protein, carbohydrates, fats ,vitamins and minerals, not to forget the fibrous bran. So, what happens? The bran gets removed so it will cook quicker. The germ, where the healthy fat, vitamins and minerals live, is removed and then sold to sprinkle in foods to fortify them. What’s left is the inner carbohydrate and partial protein. Yikes! Why not keep the food whole instead of having to fortify other foods with it’s removed parts. A healthy energetic biofield craves the balance and harmony that nature provides.
What Mary can expect from me is a review of her current nutritional intake and lifestyle which is then fine-tuned for her individually. I can also offer her to participate in a “Take Charge of Your Life and Your Weight” support group to help her succeed in the food and life changes she will need to make. Reiki sessions and a whole food diet will gradually reorder her energy patterns. She may find she’d like to take a Reiki class to be able to balance herself and/or others. Clients have told me “Reiki is amazing.” “How could I have been eating what I did for so long when it made me feel so bad. Now I know what it feels like to feel good.”
Janet Goldenbogen-Self, RN, Holistic Health Educator practices in Port Townsend. She offers individual consultations and group classes for life and weight management, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch. 360-379-8134
