Aqua Mama's Story
My Reiki Journey
I started my Reiki journey in 2014. That summer, a friend and I were talking about metaphysics one night at work, and she mentioned Reiki. I’d never really heard of it, but I was intrigued when she began describing it. Over the next few weeks, we continued to talk, and I decided this was something I wanted to learn. My friend knew me well enough not to let me just say that and let it go, as I express interest in many things. Instead, she found a class in Muncie, IN near my home. She convinced me over the next week to sign up.
The class was in September and was intended to be a Reiki I and II intensive weekend, but I’d only signed up for the level 1 class on Saturday. Jessica Miller was my Reiki instructor, and it was through her teachings that I fell in love with Reiki. We went through the first half of class, and at lunch break Jessica suggested we go to a local Indian Restaurant to eat. No one else wanted to go, so we spent our lunch talking about Reiki and our families and eating delicious food. After lunch we got attuned to Reiki I and practiced with it until the end of the class. I was the only student not returning for the second day, and I cannot explain the amount of regret I felt on that drive home even though I hadn’t really connected with any of the other students there. I cried the entire trip and longed to return on Sunday, but we were unfortunately not in the financial position to drop that amount of money on a whim.
Jessica is from California and only visits Indiana once a year, so I waited until September of 2015 for her to return. I took Reiki I again and made certain to register for Reiki II as well. When I walked into the classroom, I could already feel the energy. I began to think that I hadn’t been entirely ready the prior year, but 2015 was when the Universe wanted me to truly begin my Reiki path. We had 6 students in the class, and I connected instantly with all but two of them. I connected especially well with one person in the class and found out that she was studying under Jessica to be a certified teacher under the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT). The woman’s name was Terry Dulin, and I was paired up with her both days to practice giving full Reiki treatments. She asked me at the time if I was already practicing Reiki professionally, and when I told her no, she told me I should be.
This second time through was also my first introduction to Holy Fire® Reiki. After already having my attunement in Reiki I the previous year, I noticed an increase in the energy that flowed when I used Reiki. It felt amazing. That feeling has stuck with me all these years.
During my Reiki II class, I experienced what I like to refer to as my “big Reiki moment.” I’ve been told everyone, at some point in their Reiki journey, has an “ah-ha” moment or an experience that is so profound that it sticks with them and helps them to know they are on the correct path. We had just arrived back from lunch, and I’d made some hot tea from the lobby. Being the klutz that I am at times, I managed to burn my hand when throwing my tea bag away. It burned so badly that my finger turned red and blistered. The pain was extreme, but nothing was going to deter me from finishing out the day, so I took my seat to continue. We received our Reiki II Attunements right after lunch, and Jessica went around the room performing the Attunements. The energy in the room felt unreal at that point, and by the time my teacher finished with the Attunements, the blister and redness on my finger had completely healed. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, but it was at that exact moment that I knew I was in the right place. Reiki was going to be a large part of my life.
Once we finished the weekend classes, I went back home feeling refreshed and excited to begin the groundwork for becoming a professional Reiki practitioner. I got some business cards printed off, and I really went a little overboard. Anderson, IN isn’t the most accepting place for things such as these, and no one really seemed interested in experiencing a Reiki session. I acquired a couple clients on my own, and my friend Vickie, who owned a small spa at the time, helped connect me with a friend of hers who was interested in a Reiki session.
I went about this for a couple years, staying in touch with Terry from time to time. In January of 2018, I finally reached out to her and told her I was ready to move on to the next level. I’ll forever be grateful to her as she found a time to come all the way to Indianapolis that summer to hold an ART/Master class to help me reach this goal. I ended up being the only one in the class, and we had an amazing class experience. She introduced Holy Fire® II to me over the three days we spent together, and I loved every minute of it. I was excited to get to the Master level so I could pass along Reiki to others.
Since then, Reiki has evolved even further to include Holy Fire III, which I was able to upgrade into. In the summer of 2020, I was also fortunate enough to take another class with Terry for Karuna level Reiki. That class was 3 days of intensity with some beautiful classmates where I learned much regarding deep healing.
I could not do all of this without some special people in my life. My dearest friends Brandi, Brandy, Natasha, and husband Chris have been extremely supportive of my dream and have pushed me when I've been down on myself. My awesome son Aiden has been by my side and helped me at events, even when he'd rather be elsewhere. The beautiful women at Twisted Twigs, Brytneigh and Kinsley, have shown me what it's like for small businesses to lift one another up, and I'll forever be grateful to them for their love and support.
I'm so excited to share Reiki with you all. It's become my passion, and I want to continue to love and grow into this practice every day.
