I try reiki (m)

My masseuse, J, is a bit of an Earth Mother.  When she's not giving massages, she is off to New Age retreats in the Berkshires or a yoga class or cooking up a 5-course meal for family and friends from the ingredients she harvested in her garden.  She currently is enamored with the ancient art of Reiki and knows a woman named Kristen (I feel I can name her as you will never meet each other) who practices it.

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also purports to promote healing (I know, what doesn't it do?).  It is administered by laying hands on one's body and manipulating the life force energy within.

I called a couple of weeks ago and set up an appointment for a Wednesday evening.  I was looking forward to it all day.  The appointment was for 8 p.m.  I read a book after dinner to kill time before the appointment.  Got so caught up in the book (V and Heidi recommended One Day...excellent) that I missed the appointment.

So, Kirsten and I made a second appointment for the next Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Or was it Wednesday at 10 a.m.?

Needless to say, I got the day and time wrong and missed that appointment, too.

I was so embarrassed at having screwed up twice that I didn't dare make a third appointment.

To her credit, Kirsten called me. "I feel you really need this.  Shall we try for Sunday morning?" 

Today, I went to my first Reiki appointment.  I lay on the table (fully clothed, thank you very much) while Kirsten placed her hands on my feet, then my abdomen, then my head, then my back.  When I opened up my eyes at one point, I saw her entranced, waving her arms over my body as if she were fanning flames.  I did not want to know what that was all about.

At the end of the session, Kirsten told me that she recommended I come back two more times.

"I feel lots of layers of emotional dust on you.  I tried to remove as many of them as I could today, but there are too many layers."

"You should feel lighter now," she said as I was leaving.

And you know what?  I did feel lighter.  $80 lighter to be exact.