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Friday, September 7, 2012

5 Steps to Healing from Negative Relationship Energy

Relationships are a key component of the human experience. Some relationships exist implicitly, such as those with family members or coworkers. Other relationships are sought out and forged by us as we travel along our respective paths, making friends and engaging with our communities. Whatever the context of the relationship, whether someone is set to be in your life forever, or they come and go with a quickness, you can help to keep the energy that exists between you healthy.

The following is an energy healing exercise I learned from a dear mentor of mine at A Place of Light in Massachusetts. This exercise can be used both for when you feel like you need to remove negative energetic connections with a person who is no longer in your life OR with someone who is still in your life with whom you have had (or are having) issues.

CLARIFICATION: This does not have to be someone you want to end ALL connection with, but rather can literally be used with anyone in your life with whom you have an ongoing negative energy loop. Sometimes this happens most with those nearest and dearest to us!

You may have heard the expression "cut the tape" or "cut the thread" in reference to severing ties with past traumas or negative/draining/unhealthy relationships. The problem with cutting or severing the energetic ties between you and another is that this only cuts the immediate connection while leaving either end of that connection still rooted in each person! Over time, that snipped strand can simply reform, as the roots of the energy still exist and grow out from both people.

In order to truly dissolve a negative connection, we must do more than pull out our energetic scissors. Try these steps and see if you can feel what a difference they make!

NOTE: Before you begin, find a safe, quiet place that you can sit or lie down and focus inward.

1. Close your eyes and think of the person with whom you have an issue. (The issue can be large or small; it need not necessarily be a deep trauma for this exercise to be effective, though of course it's great for that, too.) Allow yourself to focus completely on this person and your connection to them.

2. As you tune into this connection, notice where on your body you feel the energy. It may clearly be one place, or you may feel it in more than one location.

3. Once you have located a place on your body where you feel the energy is rooted, imagine yourself gently removing the entire source of this energy burden from your body. You may even physically use your hands to do this, imagining that your fingers extend energetically far beyond your physical hands and into your body to remove the unwanted energy and all its roots. Take your time doing this and doing it gently. As you pull the energy out, have the intention that it dissolves completely into the pure energy of Love and Light and harms no one or nothing.

NOTE: There is no need to use your hands in step 3, but do what feels right for you. You may also just recognize the energy blockage and ask that the source of all Love and Light remove it completely, and then smile and allow it to be so! :)

4. Once you sense that the negative energy and its root system have been completely removed, intend that the space left behind be filled up completely with pure Love and Light energy and then allow it to be so. Again, take time here. Let yourself be filled back up by the universal source of all Love! Once you sense that this spot has achieved balance, you can move on to the next spot, if any, associated with this same energetic connection.

NOTE: Do not move on to removing other negative energy connections on your body from other issues yet! Only if you feel that the energetic connection you focused on in step 1 touched your body in more than one location should you move on to that other location. To explore additional negative energy issues, wait until you have completed step 5 before returning to step 1.

5. After all the energy blockages and roots associated with this issue are gone from your body and each place is filled back up with Love and Light, turn your attention to the other person with whom you have (had!) an issue. While doing so, take the time you need to allow yourself to remain in a place of pure Love and Light while you observe this other person's energy. Begin to notice where the energy of the issue resides in the other person's body. Once you notice where the connection lives in them...

IMPORTANT: Ask permission!

Yes, I realize you are sitting or laying here in a meditative state, so how can you ask this person's permission? What if it's someone who isn't even in your life anymore? What if they are no longer living in a physical body?? It doesn't matter. Stay present with that Love and Light shining from your heart and your whole being and allow your energetic/spirit body to ASK their energetic/spirit body for permission to remove the blockage. Be patient with this, too. Allow the answer to come. It may come quickly, but it may not.

How can you tell what a "NO" feels like? This will come through in different ways for different people. In my experience, a NO feels like a sense of resistance or an energetic push back... any kind of energetic dissonance, really. When I feel anything at all that is not a clear openness to receive healing, I pause and wait. I imagine my energetic body holding out the offering of healing to their energetic body... doing nothing but offering... and I wait. Then, I ask again. It has been the rare case where I have ever gotten a repeated NO. Whatever that person might say to you with their physical body if you offered them healing, their highest self most often recognizes and accepts the need for healing. So, even if you get a repeated NO, consider trying again later. And if all you ever get is NO, you must honor where that person is at this time. It is not up to you to determine when they are ready; all you can do is allow the complete release of that issue's energy from your own body and offer their spirit the same. Give the issue completely to the source of Love and Light and ask that the healing be complete for both of you.

If you get a YES, gently intend for the source of all Love and Light to remove all the energy of that blockage in the other person's body, including all of its roots. Set your intention and shine the Love and Light from your heart as you allow the Love to heal the blockage in the other person. When you sense it has been removed, ask that Love and Light fill up the space left behind in that person, then sit back and smile from your heart and let it be so!

Ahhhhhhh... :)

BONUS STEP: Rinse and repeat for the next issue on your list! Check in with yourself about any other pressing issues that have taken root. Smile, and know that healing is possible. :)

P.S. Please read the comment section for info about how my own most recent healing went... and be sure to tell me about your experience!



Friday, August 17, 2012

Reiki Scam? BAD. Reiki Studio? GOOD!

Whew! What a week! It started out with me almost getting scammed by a couponing company who pretended to be interviewing me to be THE Reiki practitioner for the local VA hospital's medical staff benefits program. It wasn't until after the "interview" that they asked me for $200 up front and $40/month after that to advertise my Reiki practice on their website. Wow. Trying to scam Reiki practitioners is preeeeetty low.

But, there was a silver lining. When I actually believed for a hot minute that the VA hospital wanted lil' ol' me to be their on-call Reiki Master, I called up my amazingly fabulous contractor and scheduled the finishing touches on my studio renovation for the very next day. I needed that studio to be ready for the masses of clients I was about to receive!

So... womp wommmmmp... the VA hospital opportunity was a fake. But! I have faith that the universe had other reasons to nudge me over the line into readiness with my studio. Bring on the masses!!!! :)

And let's not forget CLASSES! I now have a perfect spot to teach and gather with folks interested in Reiki. I intend to start up an Asheville Reiki circle very soon, and will also be announcing a class schedule and starting to brainstorm about other spiritual workshops that I will be offering to the community in this lovely new space. Please get in touch with me if you'd like to stay in the loop for any or all of the above.

In the meantime, as promised, here are pics of my new space! Next stop... decorating:)


Live in the Light!

Haley


This is the door to my Blue Mountain Reiki studio. I love that the first image I took of it was "accidentally" (serendipitously!) overexposed. The Love and Light shining from this place just had to be seen:)

~ Entrance to Blue Mountain Reiki ~

Come on in! :)



I took out all the old, crumbly, cardboard drop-ceiling panels and replaced them with nice white vinyl ones. My contractor also donated some recessed lighting from the unwanted leftovers of another job, so now the ceiling doesn't have lonely light bulbs poking out of it anymore. Bonus!
 
The floor used to be old carpet on top of chipped up tiles. I ripped up the carpet and had self-leveling concrete poured over the entire mess of broken flooring. The blue paint was the final touch. I love it! :)

This is looking back towards the entrance. The studio has two windows, one on each of the main walls, and they let in a nice amount of light.

The bathroom is around the corner from the entrance (you can see the closed door just left of center in the photo). It has a brand new door, brand new ceiling, and brand new toilet.
Hard to get a good shot of the bathroom, but there's that new toilet! Yay for toilets that flush! Ha;)

This is the super-sturdy solid wood door that now exists between my studio and my laundry room. This fabulous door is what officially makes my studio its own, separate space. Pretty cool!

Look! It's me! In my new studio! AHHHHHH!!!!!! :)

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Reiki and Science ~ Not at Odds!

It is always a fun challenge to try and come up with fresh ways to talk with clients about Reiki. Personally, I find practicing Reiki to be my own way of meditating and connecting with Divine Love... but one doesn't have to believe in anything in order for Reiki to work and, as a practitioner, I have to be thoughtful about explaining Reiki in a way that doesn't turn more scientifically minded clients off.

This is one of many reasons I am so grateful for the ongoing scientific research that supports Reiki's effectiveness (click here for further reading). With studies steadily emerging to show that energy healing just works, and that it is provable in test after test, maybe the community at large can fully embrace it as a resource for their own health and well being.

A HUGE thanks to the scientific community members who have gone the extra mile to test Reiki in the field, and to incorporate it into hospital systems and whole-person health endeavors. May you all be blessed with a continuous flow of Love and Light in your lives!


>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<

 Haley
(c) Haley Steinhardt

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Reiki, Fear, and the Sweat Lodge Ceremony

I had the great honor of participating in my very first sweat lodge yesterday! I have been lucky enough to be introduced to a local Native American traditional women's circle here in Asheville (special thanks to Anne Heck), and through my participation, have found a truly safe haven for my heart and soul as I walk my own spiritual path.

I will admit, I was quite nervous to experience a sweat lodge! I have long dealt with two deep-seated fears that have come up for me at very inconvenient times in my life: a fear of extreme heat (picture me wincing and jumping as I go to take brownies out of the oven) and a fear of being in confined spaces (think me in a crammed car on a long road trip, stretching arms and legs over and on top of my fellow passengers so that I feel I can breathe!).

In truth, these old fears have not reared their heads much in recent years as I have settled down and into myself and my connection to the energy of the world around me. But, I knew that I would be directly challenging these aspects by participating in a sweat lodge.

Even so, I was determined to do it, and the cradle of love and support these women provided was just the safety net I needed to allow myself to take this step.

We did four rounds, one for each direction, starting with the East in honor of the Spring Equinox and the rebirth of the year. The first round was very difficult for me. The hot rocks came in, the flap closed, and the water was ladled onto the stones... and as the steam rose, so did my fear. I laid down and pressed my face to the cool earth, breathing it in and shaking and crying, the prayers of the women around me filling my ears as I pleaded with God to purge me of this fear... tears and sweat washing over my face... finally reaching a place of just saying, "Thank you, God... thank you, God... thank you, God..."

...and when the flap lifted, I crawled out into the light, not knowing if I would return for the second round. The light washed over me...

(c) Haley Steinhardt


A bright yellow butterfly descended from the sky to dance right before my face... and I returned and crawled back into the lodge.

As the flap closed a second time, I crouched low, anticipating the fear. But as the steam rose from the honored stone ones, no fear rose in me. I cautiously allowed myself to sit upright and feel the full strength of the heat. And in that moment, I realized that I was unafraid. !!!!! What an amazing gift!!!!!!! I am tearing up now just writing this!!!!!!!!!!!

I sat in for all four rounds, growing in strength, and in that strength, being able to offer it to others as we all worked through the things we came to lay down in the lodge. There were many moments where I was called to send Reiki to the circle of women, channeling it round and round in an unbroken flow... and also to individual women as they poured out their hearts into that sacred womb turtle lodge.

I can say without hesitation that it was one of the most powerful and transformational experiences I have ever had, and I am eternally grateful to the women who physically and energetically supported me passing through another doorway along my path towards my highest purpose.

A Ho Mitakuye Oyasin!

LOVE,

Haley


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Reiki Benefits

What are the benefits of Reiki? I found this great little chart recently and wanted to share it with you all:)


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Reiki Q&A

ICRT Reiki Master Teachers Laurelle Gaia and Michael Baird share some poignant thoughts about what Reiki is and how they have experienced it. I particularly resonate with how Laurelle describes it as the energy of Divine Love:)

If you haven't tried Reiki yet, welcome to the new year... :) There is no moment like the present to do all you can to help yourself feel and be your best!

With Love and Light for all...

Haley


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Reiki for Healing ~ Reiki for Transformation ~ Reiki for Acceptance

It is my belief that Reiki energy comes from the source of all love and light. I don't pretend to know the name or shape of that source, but I am comfortable calling it God, or Great Spirit, or True Source, or any number of beautiful, meaningful names that we humans have chosen to give this massive force of goodness. 

Over the past week or so, I have called on this Great Spirit to fill me with love and light so that I may be a clear Reiki channel for many in need, including myself. There have been several deaths in my community of people, and several hospital visits and hospital stays on top of that. 

So, how can Reiki help us to cope with illness, injury, and death?

As far as illness and injury go, many people are familiar with the fact that Reiki is great for helping with pain management and stress reduction, both of which can, in turn, give the body a break and help encourage it to heal itself. Reiki is a wonderful gift for those who are suffering. 

But what about death? Can Reiki help us grieve? I believe it can. To me, Reiki would not exist without the love and light of the True Source of All. Allowing that love and light to fill us up creates a safe space within our hearts for grief to be released. 

One of the services I love to offer is Grief Transmutation. In this ceremony, I use Reiki to bring healing where it is needed, to dissolve any negative energy surrounding the grief and transmute it into the strength to create a safe, loving space for each individual to feel their grief, find acceptance with it, and release it in their own time.

I also believe that we can send Reiki to those who have crossed over... send the intention for them to be enveloped in love and light, and to know that it is okay for them to go and be in the light.

I am thankful to be able to offer Reiki to spirits in every stage of being, from birth to death and beyond. The Source of Love and Light is boundless... limitless... and I am filled with that energy each time I practice Reiki. What a gift for me, and what a gift to share. Beautiful.

>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<

LOVE,

Haley