A New Chapter

"Many people will Walk in and out of your Life, but only True Loving Individuals will leave footprints in your Heart."  After a tumultuous past week, with feelings of hope intertwined with feelings of loss, I thought that I needed to take a break from blogging.  So here I am catching up! Ten days ago, I traveled to Wisconsin to see a very close and dear Cary, known as my Tayuka, which means grandmother in Lakota.  By the Sixteenth of August, her heart and kidneys were physical failing.  She was in and out of a comatose state. 

Upon my arrival at the beautiful and recently built rehabilitation center and long-term care facility where Cary was residing, I marched through the main doors armed with my bible, my mother, my sister, and sage. One of Cary's favorite remedies consisted of burning sage.  This practice is an ancient one focusing on ridding areas of your home and environment of evil, dark spirits and shadows. The sage, especially when burned, is such a strong scent that many believe it drives evil spirits from the area.  If anyone has ever volunteered or had the fortunate event of visiting one of these beautifully manicured and landscaped facilities that consist of multiple floors and units, you must know, and I should say anyone with common sense must know, that you cannot burn sage.  Infact, you cannot burn anything. Most individuals in these facilities, like Cary are on Oxygen - highly flammable.

So imagine, a young twenty year old woman marching into one of these facilities with her bible in one hand and a handful of sage in the other.  Her mother quietly walking behind and whispering, "it's 104, the room number, Hannah, stop marching, Hannah!" And her sister, giggling as her mothers' whispers do nothing to stop this young twenty year old on a mission to see a woman who in her mind is a strong spiritual healer and is just deprived of her favorite child (haha yep me!).  And even more so, when she hears this young twenty year old's voice, this older woman whose physical body is failing will open her eyes and immediately get better. 

Honestly, who doesn't go into one of these care facilities thinking that he or she is the one that is going to make everything right.  I highly recommend volunteering in a care facility. You will immediately understand why it is so hard not to march in with the intent and belief that you can make the difference.

Continuing to walk, almost stumbling over my steps down two flights of stairs to the long term care unit, where I proceeded following a long narrow hallway to the very end. The nurses conspicuously followed me to the room, numbered 104 on a gold plaque outside the large door. I walked in the door and said exasperatedly, "Cary I am here!"  There was no answer or movement. She simply laid there with her eyes closed breathing in oxygen. Her nose and mouth looked dry and the skin was cracking.  Oxygen is very drying.  

I let the tears stream down my face. The nurses stood plainly in the doorway just staring. They didn't offer me a tissue or say it will be ok. They didn't know what to make of me. It wasn't until my mom and sister who quietly asked to come in from behind the two nurses blocking the entry way into the room from the hallway, did they stop staring and quickly move out of the way with a sort of huff, as if my mother and sister were a startling nuance that just so happened to direct them back to their duties. I picked up the sage and said Cary I brought you sage. I kept acting like she was going to wake up any minute. I had rehearsed exactly how the visit was going to go, and what I was going to do once I arrived. The key is to not think. You have to plan your actions ahead of time.  I handed her the sage and then I thought what the heck let's just put the bundle of sage close to her nose, maybe she will be able to smell it.  Still she didn't wake. So I said Cary I am going to give you Reiki.  She didn't move. I drew the symbols in the air and said them outloud. I carefully placed my hands over Cary's head and began to breathe. 

My mother, my sister, and I are all third generation reiki healers.  We each have symbols placed in our aura that assist us with moving stagnant energy around the body.  Reiki is alot like chiropractics and acupuncture, only without the physical movements and needles. You need to know the body so you can move the energy around and you can either place the hands over certain areas or you can have them hover above the body. Reiki is always focused on moving stagnant energy, which can be very harmful, from an area laden with excessive energy to the outside world or to other areas in the body so that each area is balanced. The areas are known as chakras. There are seven basic chakras in your body and these emulate intense beneficial and positive energy when they are balanced. If you are a spiritual healer, all of your chakras are balanced.  The balance is key to creating and passing positive energy onto others.  

Cary is a well-known spiritual healer. She is a second generation reiki master from Hawayo Takata, who is one of the original masters. Usui Sensei began the practice of reiki. He fasted for 21 days on Mount Kurama, where he was given a vision of how to place his hands on others in a form of healing.  Cary also received healings from the John of God,  MataAmritanandamayi, Amean Hameed, an infamous Tibetan Monk, and many more individuals that I have or have not had the pleasure of meeting in person.  She also survived two near death experiences, which means that she was pronounced dead for a period of time longer than a few minutes and then, resumed life activity.  Can you imagine meeting Cary?  She could see your past, touch your future, and be forever in heart during the present. She was so strong that I met many who flew to see her just to be touched by her. 

Being one of my closest companions during my dramatic teenage and early adult years, Cary taught me how to see the present, she taught me how to forgive the past, and to hold on and hope in the future. Nonjudgmental in her beliefs and actions, she profoundly changed my entire life path.

I am forever grateful to Cary.  When I was around the age of ten years, she chose our family to mentor. With her fellowship, I began meditating, reiki, and buffalo drummings at the very young age of eleven.  Carys' talents and wisdom combined with my young age and naivete motivated my practice.  I soon could see and hear so many wondrous elements of the spiritual world. I heard the flutes of the Lakotas and even saw the animal spirits who often rid our ailments.  Animals are an important element to any spiritual healer because of their innate protective behavior.

I practiced up until I went to college, and then sometimes during college. When I graduated, I continued to move farther away from the gifts Cary had instilled in my soul and being.  I was afraid to practice without Cary around because I believed that people would think I was crazy.  I did not want people to view me as different or not "normal" especially not during college, and after college, well that could be even worse! I could be considered an outcast! 

When you are young and do not know the world as it is in all its grace and disasters, you are at ease with the teachings and practices of your elders because you truly believe they hold the key to wisdom. They are the ones that beautifully manicure and landscape your realm of knowledge. 
 
I was given the gift of insight, even more so, the emotional companion of insight which is compassion from Cary - an amazing gift. 

Insightfully, I proceeded to give Cary a healing, and when she didn't wake, I decided to call Amean. It was Amean who provided Cary with a healing that awoke her from her comatose state. She spoke three words, "thank you, perfect, and amazing."  She laughed and listened to our stories. Can you imagine someone whose heart beat is so slow - the nurses even insisted on us saying our goodbyes - waking up after someone over the phone provides them with a healing? 

It was then that I realized that Cary's biggest desire was for me to continue learning all of the wonders that are combined with the faith and love of healing.  You must have faith to practice reiki or meditate, which is quieting your mind into a blank state.  You must have faith that God's gift of light and energy will flow through you.  I do not possess God's gift rather it flows through me to the person to whom I give Reiki to.  I am healed in the process of giving rather than receiving and those who receive reiki from me provide me with more strength and faith that I can continue to give. 
Reiki is cyclical just like nature. Everything that is good and full of love is cyclical for when one things receives, it must always give back and in giving back, it will continue to receive.

I will be beginning a new chapter in my life.  I have a new job.  I have old goals like scoring high enough on the LSAT to receive substantial funding, and I am going to embark on a journey where I will develop my gifts.  I sincerely believe that everyone has the ability to be the footprint in anyone's heart.  I appreciate all of those people who continue to support me, but not only do they support me, they also continue to sincerely love me.  Thank you for you have all been footprints in my heart and will continue to be.