Hello! I’m Meredith Kendall. I teach Reiki and nursing. I love Reiki, and love teaching it to nurses. Reiki is wonderful for self-care.
Reiki is a philosophy of life, a conceptual framework for experiencing your world. Just for today, don’t get angry. If you do feel anger, examine that feeling. Then release it, and any patterns that no longer serve you. Forgive, love, experience gratitude. Don’t worry. Have faith in the workings of the universe. Those are two of our guiding principles.
One thing I love about Reiki is that it happens everywhere, all the time. To get into my Reiki head, I stop. I breathe, center myself, and drop into the flow of the universe. I sense pulsations of energy around me.
Other things I love about Reiki: anyone and everyone can do it. There is no special equipment and no annual fees. It’s accessible to everyone.
If you want to learn Reiki, find a great teacher. Find someone kind. I recommend you learn plain and simple Usui Reiki. Find someone who is involved with Reiki daily, not someone who does it as an adjunct to three other modalities. Find someone who is committed to Reiki.
I’m so grateful to my wonderful teachers. I consider everyone around me to be a teacher. A great teacher is the person who is driving slowly in front of me, when I want to get somewhere fast. How great is that? This person is teaching me about anger.
Other amazing teachers in my life are my wise Reiki and psychic healer friends. These friends work with healing energies and spirits every day: Betsy Robbins, Marla Gagne, Martha Spruce, Deb Infante, Diane Bruni, Terry St John, Nel Bernard, Denise Correll, and Jeffrey Hotchkiss. I formally studied Reiki with Kaimora in Oquossoc, with Hyakuten Inamoto at a Zen monastery in the Catskill Mountains, and with Frans Stiene at a beautiful woodsy retreat on the Massachusetts/Vermont border.
After learning about Reiki, I started a holistic business, Amethyst Health. Several of us rented a space. We split up the days and the expenses. We offered services, classes, and retail items.
Amethyst Health opened a door for me to start a Reiki program at the local hospital. I gathered a team of Reiki practitioners. Nurses asked every patient admitted if they wanted a Reiki session. A simple click on a computer screen sent a referral to our office, to be retrieved by team members.
After I achieved my master’s degree in nursing education I moved to a larger town to teach. I started a Reiki program there, at a cancer outpatient support center. Again, I supervised a team of Reiki practitioners. We had beautiful treatment rooms and lots of support. I taught Reiki classes there every month, and did Reiki shares with the team once a month. We provided Reiki to athletes and cancer survivors in an enormous tent at our big annual fundraiser. I did that for nine years, and then moved on to other adventures.
Along the way I wrote two books about Reiki, started teaching Reiki at a college and a university, and performed Reiki research. A colleague helped me write-up my research (she did most of the writing, thank you, Dr. Erica!) and we published an abstract. We presented the research at three national conferences: integrative medicine in Albuquerque, holistic nursing in Norfolk, and a research conference in Miami.
Maybe you’re still wondering what Reiki is? Reiki is a way of life, a way of being. Reiki is meditation, love, life, touch, prayer, connection, the energy of the universe? It’s all and none of those things.
Sometimes Reiki practitioners “share” Reiki with other people. We can do that by simply focusing our attention, by breathing and centering, by tuning in to our Reiki minds. Or we can share physically. Often we place our hands on or near a person who wishes to experience Reiki. In my practice, coming from working with patients in the hospital, or people whom I’ve just met, I place my hands on the person’s head, shoulders to hands, and knees to toes. The person is clothed, usually relaxing on a Reiki table or hospital bed, or in a recliner. My practice is simple and quiet. If the person sees images or experiences feelings during the session, I encourage them to interpret these in their own way. I support a person on their healing journey. I’m a guide, not a prophet.
As a nurse, I’m a strong supporter of autonomy and informed consent. It’s important to me, if sharing, to obtain permission from a person before sending or placing my hands. I love to teach and share Reiki, if a person wishes to experience this amazing way of life and health.
Most people who experience Reiki report feeling happier, lighter, and more relaxed. In my practice, most people reported feeling less pain and anxiety. Many people report better sleep. Many wish to take a Reiki class after experiencing a session.
One more thing that I want to tell you. I’m helping to organize a Wellness Conference at MCHP in Lewiston, Maine.
There will be many Reiki people there. It’s on Saturday, September 15, 2018 from 9 am to 2 pm. Admission is $10, all the workshops are free once you’re in the door. There will be lots of fabulous vendors. You can find information here http://www.mchp.edu/
Those books I wrote? The first one is Reiki Nurse: My life as a nurse and how Reiki changed it. The second one is Reiki Stories: My hot hands. Both are available at online bookstores. Available here from the publisher: Reiki Nurse and Reiki Stories
Reiki is amazing. My life is better because I am Reiki. Thank you for this opportunity to tell you about Reiki.
Meredith Kendall MSN, RN, Reiki Master
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Do you want to be part of this interview series? Email me at karen@karencreamer.com!
Karen Creamer
