Back in 2001 I was a primary school teacher. I was exhausted, depleted and desperately needed a change of direction. I felt I was missing out on my son’s early years at home, and I was finding it hard to combine my long hours of work with my home life. And actually, for years I’d wanted to work for myself and I’d felt for a long time that there was a lot of stuff about me that teaching wasn’t utilising.
I was fortunate enough at that point, to find myself in the position where I could stop teaching and spend more time at home. I knew I wanted to study something part time and see where it lead me, but didn’t really know what. The week I took the decision to leave teaching I went for a tarot reading, and the lovely lady who read my cards said “they” (spirits) were telling her I would be studying aromatherapy. PERFECT!! I thought, and dashed home to see what courses were on offer. I switched on my computer and “Asked Jeeves”. Well, the first course that came up was the Tisserand Institute in London, which as it turned out was the perfectly do-able, one weekend a month. So off I went - my new career path had begun. The course was brilliant, really life-changing, and I met some fantastic, like-minded people, and loved being involved in the world of therapies right from the word go.
I first came across Reiki in 2002 when I was at college. One of my tutors suggested it as a wonderful way of protecting yourself from feeling drained after massaging clients. Friends on the course who knew me quite well said straight away – “Louise, you’ll love Reiki, it’s totally up your street”. With this encouragement, I cast around for a bit more information on the internet. I remembered the lucky break I’d had with the Ask Jeeves search for an aromatherapy college, so I had another go. The first web site I found was Reiki Evolution! Call it a coincidence if you wish, but I knew I’d found the right Reiki Master for me. I signed up on the spot to take Reiki 1 with Taggart, through Reiki Evolution.
Shortly before taking Reiki 1, it seemed like a sensible idea to try a Reiki treatment for myself before I got permanently connected to the energy, so a Reiki 1 friend from the aromatherapy course gave me a 45 minute treatment at her home, on her massage couch. WOW! Even as she began I felt waves of energy washing over my face. This was followed by a blissful treatment where I saw fabulous colours on the inside of my eyelids – mauves and golds, felt energy turning in my third eye – I could hear it humming as a minesweeper effect of energy spun slowly from this point. Towards the end I actually drifted up out of my body about a foot above the couch. If this sounds somewhat alarming, I can honestly say it wasn’t at all. I was totally relaxed and felt myself to be in a very safe, nurturing space indeed. I felt thrilled that this was going to become something I could give for myself in 10 days time. After the treatment I felt deeply relaxed and energised at the same time. I felt very aware of who I am, far more accepting of myself, and very special – kind of twinkly...!
With this experience as a taster, I had a wonderful day with Taggart and 3 others, being attuned to Reiki 1. I was so impressed with the total professionalism and friendliness of Taggart and the wonderful resources that supported the course. My main recollections of the day now, are the turquoise bands of colour that seemed to be passing before my closed eyes during the attunements, and the vividness of the glorious technicolour of everything in the street at lunchtime. Amazing.
Reiki 2 followed on 3 months later. With it came a deeper connection to the energy and a far more intuitive way of working. Personally, I feel bogged down following very specific instructions and have always preferred to go with the flow of what feels right when I’m doing any kind of work – so this intuitive approach suited me really well. I found I was starting to use Reiki in my own unique way and was becoming more creative with it too.
A year after that I took my Masters / Teachers course. I really wanted to know what the biggest Reiki kick there was felt like! I wasn’t disappointed, and have been opening up to far deeper psychic experiences as a result – something I’ve always been aware I had and which I wanted to develop in a more focused way. I now find intuitive stuff like psychometry and tarot reading flow far more naturally and I’ve had some wonderful inner experiences when meditating.
These days I use my Reiki every day, and in lots of different ways. I find it tremendously useful in my therapy work, and use it during aromatherapy massage and reflexology treatments, as well as on its own. It’s often a lovely introduction to Reiki for people who might not have come for Reiki as a therapy in itself. Also, it’s nice to have something safe and helpful to use for say an inflamed, arthritic knee joint, which cannot be touched during a massage treatment. Sometimes I send Reiki through reflexology points on a client’s hands or feet, to reach specific parts of the body. It’s remarkable to feel how strongly Reiki can flow when it finds a path through someone’s energy system in this way.
Clients are usually fascinated and intrigued by the effects, mostly very profound relaxation, lots of heat from my hands, and sometimes, beautiful colours too. The only problem is it’s hard to persuade some of them that the treatment has finished and it’s time to get up off the couch as they are normally so comfortable and deeply relaxed!
For myself, after Reiki 1 I found that I felt more energised after doing hands on therapy work, where I often used to feel drained and depleted. Now I can honestly say I’m often bouncing off the walls and fully recharged and energised after doing my treatments, as Reiki has been flowing through me all the time, even when I haven’t been focussing on it.
I find that regular, daily Reiki meditations build the strength of the flow of energy to a far more powerful level, and this is the ideal. It’s not always easy to fit in a quiet 20 minutes, but there are lots of ways you can treat yourself or others in day to day situations. The energy is strengthened simply by using it a lot, as well as by using the meditation techniques I learned from Taggart. It doesn’t have to be complicated. One of my favourite times to give myself Reiki is at the cinema – no interruptions for an hour or so – I just plonk my hands on my tummy and off I go, intending for the energy to flow through my hands to the bits of me that need it most. Another good place is on long car journeys (when I’m not driving, obviously!).
A couple of years ago I took up Ashtanga Yoga, and I find that during the meditation part of the class (after an hour’s yoga), I can feel energy swirling around my body. The first time it felt like huge canary yellow butterflies wings flapping over my head – fast initially and gradually slower as it continued, and the next time it was a wheel made of about a dozen arms, turning slowly and elegantly around over my third eye, like a mandala. Whether this is to do with my connection to Reiki I can’t say for sure, but I have my suspicions! Whatever, it’s really beautiful and a very special way to finish a class!
Ultimately for me, the best things I have gained from being attuned to Reiki are:
Firstly the opening up of an amazing spiritual world within myself, one which I wouldn’t give back for anything, and one I feel safe to explore with the protection of Reiki.
Secondly, the knowledge that my connection to Reiki will never leave me – it’s always there for me and I can call upon it to help pretty much any situation I choose.
In December 2005, I took the plunge and started teaching Reiki classes. What an amazing journey that has been so far! I have learned so much from my students, have met some truly wonderful people and made some fantastic friends too. I now have a wide network of Reiki people in and around the East Midlands area, all who can do Reiki. To date I have had the privilege of connecting over 50 people to Reiki, and recently taught the first of them at Master / Teacher level which was hugely rewarding, and felt like a huge milestone on my own Reiki journey.
In 2006 I forged ahead with an idea I'd had on holiday with a friend, and organised a Reiki Trip to Egypt - for anyone who has been connected to the beautiful energy of Reiki. In the course of planning for the trip, I also got the opportunity to teach Reiki in Spain.
So September (the Lemon Grove Reiki Retreat at Los Limoneros, Andalusia, Spain) and October (Reiki Trip to Egypt) were spent with some wonderful people in the sunshine, enjoying our Reiki together and having a truly marvellous time.
As I write this, I am just awaiting the final details of the itinerary for the next Reiki Trip to Egypt in October of this year, and am preparing to announce the dates for the next retreat to Los Limoneros in the early summer.
In Spain, I was fortunate enough to work with Simon Evans, a highly regarded taichi practitioner and teacher, who is also a Reiki person. Simon did some fantastic classes for the group at Los Limoneros and we found that the energy work we did with him dovetailed beautifully with the Reiki. So I am delighted that Simon will now be working with me on both trips in 2007, and sharing his considerable expertise and his passion for taichi.
So plenty of opportunities are in the pipeline for anyone who would like to meet other Reiki people and spend some great times together - either in the Andalusian Mountains, or in Luxor, Egypt, exploring the energies of the Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Egyptians.
My journey with therapies and Reiki has certainly been a rich and fulfilling one so far...
Louise Heseltine
In 2006 I forged ahead with an idea I'd had on holiday with a friend, and organised a Reiki Trip to Egypt - for anyone who has been connected to the beautiful energy of Reiki. In the course of planning for the trip, I also got the opportunity to teach Reiki in Spain. 
So September (the 
As I write this, I am just awaiting the final details of the itinerary for the next Reiki Trip to Egypt in October of this year, and am preparing to announce the dates for the next retreat to Los Limoneros in the early summer. 
In Spain, I was fortunate enough to work with Simon Evans, a highly regarded taichi practitioner and teacher, who is also a Reiki person. Simon did some fantastic classes for the group at Los Limoneros and we found that the energy work we did with him dovetailed beautifully with the Reiki. So I am delighted that Simon will now be working with me on both trips in 2007, and sharing his considerable expertise and his passion for taichi. 
Warmest wishes, sunshine and Reiki,