One of my students told me she doesn't feel much when she does reiki. She asked me if this is normal.

It sure is. You might not feel a lot in the beginning. Just keep practicing.

And even after a lot of experience, you might not feel much. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing anything at all. Then the recipient tells me how wonderful they feel. Or I feel a whoosh of energy moving from the top of my head, through my arms, and down to the palms of my hands into the person. Or I read something, like from Dr James Oschman, about how it is possible to measure the electricity coming out of the hands of the reiki practitioners. Or I have an incredible vision of angels or eagles or Hawayo Takata. Then I know something is really happening.

So just keep practicing. Keep doing reiki. Read about it, talk about it, and ask questions. It's real.

So I did reiki at the cancer center yesterday. There were typical sessions all morning: the recipients reported relief of pain and stress and an increase in happiness. I had a student working with me. She is a nurse. She placed her hands intuitively and demonstrated great communication skills: she will make an excellent reiki practitioner.

Then the student left and I did one more session. The recipient was a resident physician with an interest in reiki. I worked on her head and down the left side of her body. I noticed that her arm was cold, but her hand was burning hot: a natural healer. I felt tremendous warmth all through my body as I worked. Then I moved to her right side. I placed my hands on her right shoulder and started to channel the energy. I felt a crick in my shoulder, a pain really. I changed the angle of my arm. Still hurt. Moved my shoulder around. Hey, my right shoulder hurt and I was working on her right shoulder. Hmm. I started to feel chilled, then cold, really cold. I worked down her right side feeling so cold.

When I finished I asked, "Have you ever had issues with this shoulder?" I pointed to her right shoulder. "Oh yes," she replied, "lots of problems with it."

Then Kathi came in to do afternoon sessions. She had a cancellation, so I asked her if she'd give me some reiki. I got on the table and she started. The lightbulb in the lamp clicked off and it was pretty dark. We laughed and she kept working. A few minutes later there was a bright white flash over our heads. I saw it through my closed eyes, and gasped. We laughed again. As she was finishing the light came back on. Strange.

Kathi talked to me as she worked. She said my grandma was there with me, and is so proud of me. Kathi giggled, "She thinks of you as a little girl! She says, 'You are such a smart girl!' Uriel says, 'Don't forget!' What does that mean to you?"

Thinking of my grandma made me think of my dad and uncles. I remembered the funny stories they used to tell. I remembered laughing til I cried, I remembered how whole I felt with my family around me. Waves of grief washed over me and tears leaked into my ears. Kathi felt my sadness and cried too.

I saw Chujiro Hayashi, I think that's who was playing with the lights.

The picture above is me with my cousin Susan and my aunties. My sister Catherine is at the back. We're in a restaurant in South Glastonbury, Connecticut, celebrating Aunt Lois' 80th birthday. It was a couple of years ago.

I love my family and don't see them enough; we're spread out all over the country from Maine to California, Minnesota to Arizona. I've been thinking of going to Sacramento in May for a birthday party to see my family. Don't like to fly, but it would be worth it to see so many cousins and aunties. OK, gotta go check flights and tickets.

Dreams

Does this feel like a period of seismic shift to you? Like a personal shift, an expansion of vision? This is a critical time of change for many of us. We are having significant dreams.

When analyzing dreams I like to sort first. There are anxiety dreams (I forgot my shirt, stuff about work, etc.) that I set aside.Then there are dreams with complicated plots. There are dreams set in interesting locations. There are dream puns and dream symbols.

It's good to have a dream journal, because then you can look at patterns.What are you dreaming about? I encourage everyone to keep a dream journal. Stick a notebook beside your bed and write down your dreams when you wake up. You are probably having fascinating dreams and dream imagery.

I also encourage you to meditate. Meditation can illuminate the images received in dreams. You can explore your dream images while you meditate, and ask for clarification and further meaning.If you have questions, get into a meditative state and ask your higher self for answers. Ultimately, it is you yourself who will do the best job interpreting your dreams.

I am fascinated by dreams set in other times and places. These dreams could show images from future or past lives.

A big house with unusual rooms can represent unused parts of your mind. New rooms can be a metaphor for new subjects to explore: reiki, quantum physics, yoga, etc.Keep learning!

Another thing you can do is lie down and place an amethyst crystal on your forehead to magnify the vibrations of your 3rd eye. This helps you tune into your intuition.

Sweet dreams!