MLK Day Reflections

MLK day reflections for my dear community:

We all have something to offer.

Today, I'm thinking about how important internal reflection and meditation are in identifying what that offering is.

In addition to listening intently to the voices of those around us who are marginalized and impacted by oppression, which feels especially important for me and my other white counterparts to do, it feels equally important to listen inward to feel what my gift and contribution can be.

To let the words and stories of others pierce, to feel my own feelings around them, and to ask myself how I want to show up. And to let part of that answer come from inside.

I'm not talking about shirking responsibility here, since there are urgent asks and helpful suggestions from marginalized communities that we need to listen to. This is especially important for those of us with a lot of privilege, because we have to open ourselves up to the experiences of others to see our blind spots and the gaps in our own perspective.

But in addition to that, I'm talking about about creating some quiet time to process the intensity of the voices and the stories that we hear. Reflecting on the emotions that come up, instead of reactively taking actions that aren't fully clear.

And then asking ourselves how we can contribute, what our unique gift is that we can offer. It could be a special skill, talent, time, money, a passion. It can come from the core of who we are as unique individuals.

As all of us have unique offerings to the world, I believe that our offerings toward justice are unique, too. And needed.

Sending love to all of you today .3 <3 May we all find our paths to justice, as individuals and as a collective.

The Time Is Now

The time is now for us to see ourselves. To see ourselves as the bright, radiant, GENIUS, burning, MAGIC beings that we are.

Don’t waste your time trying to get this gift from someone else, trying to make someone else see you for the fullness of who and what you are. You may be occasionally successful, but you’re drinking a cheap imitation of the best, most delicate wine when you don’t make it for yourself.

See yourself. Dare yourself to count you as magic. To see your body as a space-dust-infused miracle. Allow yourself to KNOW, to know because it’s true, that your voice is beautiful or your writing slays, or you are a gifted public speaker or that your hair looks awesome and that you’re doing a really fucking great job in an aspect of your life. Remember that special talent that you know you have. Tell it to yourself and then let yourself REALLY MEAN IT.

I can’t count all of the times I’ve tried to get this acknowledgement from someone else in the past. And I’ll probably try it again in the future, because I forget sometimes. When I found myself doing it the other day, trying to wrest this visibility from another person, I felt just like a needy child jumping up and down, waving my arms, screaming “See me! Acknowledge me! Look at me, look at me!” That didn't feel good, and it was a clue for me.

Because what I really wanted in that moment was to be seen, and to be allowed to fully embody the magic of who I am. But I was looking to another person to give it to me, I thought that in order for it to be true that THEY had to see it.

But the treasure is that I don’t have to wait for someone else to give that to me. No, I can give it to myself, right here, right now. And. It feels even better than if it had come from someone else. 

The striving for love and approval and being seen from someone else can feel like wanting something that’s so expensive that it’s impossible to get. It feels depressing almost, because we don't know when it will come or how long it will stay for. But a subtle reminder to myself can bring about the awareness that actually, that thing is free and I can give it to myself. At any time.

The truth is, for me, I can’t get this gift from somebody else. It has to be an inside job. Because what I am seeking in those moments of reaching out is to just be seen, and I can see myself better than anyone else. And I am SO GRATEFUL for that. Because I am daring myself to see myself as a brilliant, intelligent, radiant being. Because I have to, because it is MY JOB. And it feels scary! And it feels exciting. And it feels right.

The time is NOW for me to see myself. The time is NOW for you to see YOURSELF.

Right now, in this very moment, I’m committing to myself that I am going to acknowledge the true uniqueness of my spirit. That I’m a beautiful dancer. That I have SO MUCH to offer in all of the work that I do, a unique offering that only I possess. That I’m going to feel every molecule of my radiance and aliveness when the wind blows through my long hair. That when I feel myself tugging at the shirt-sleeves of someone else, pleading with them to see me, I'm going to recognize what's really going on, take a deep breath, and tell myself the words I need to hear. I love you. I see you, you are magic. 

My invitation to you in this moment is to think about something that you are really, really good at, and something that you love about yourself. Even if it's something that feels small. State this thing to yourself, out loud even. Look yourself in the eye in the mirror. I am beautiful. I love my teeth. I am really smart. Repeat the statement WITH CONVICTION because it’s true. Allow it to fill you up, say it until you mean it. Say it loudly if you need to. Repeat, repeat repeat.

 You are magic. I can see it.

 The time is now for you to see yourself. What are you waiting for?

xoxoxox

Liz

Many thanks to my beautiful friend Dottie for letting me use this image of her, taken when we were soaking up some river magic on a summer day. 

Distance Reiki Sessions + Testimonial ♥︎

My friend and client, R.B., wrote this beautiful testimonial after receiving a couple of distance Reiki treatments from me back in April. I feel so touched by her words and incredibly grateful to work with her and everybody else I have the privilege of sitting with. Her testimonial is shared below, and I also wanted to share a bit with y'all about the Reiki distance sessions I offer.

For these sessions, I check in with my client prior to our scheduled time via phone or email to get a feel for what's happening in their lives and what they want to focus on in the session. We schedule the distance session for a specific time, and I ask them to lay down somewhere comfortable to receive Reiki. At the scheduled time, I begin sending Reiki to my client, using distance sending techniques I've studied. Receiving distance Reiki can make you feel very sleepy or relaxed, some people may just drift off to sleep during the session. Other folks may not feel anything, and that's ok too. 

The distance sessions I give are similar to the in-person sessions I give -- in addition to sending the Reiki energy and working on specific parts of the body, I also receive intuitive information about the issues the recipient is working with. The distance send usually lasts for about 30 minutes. Which is interesting, because although this is shorter than a session I do in-person, it has the same power and potency. Distance sessions work very quickly, with the information flowing in with speed and clarity.

After the session is over, I compose an email to my client which details the information I received during the session, as well as affirmations and sometimes suggestions for incorporating healing and self-care practices into their daily life. It's a really cool way to experience healing work, and I love being able to offer this because it allows me to work with clients that are not in the same city as I am. It's also just nice to be able to experience a session in your own home! If you are interested in booking one or have more questions, please reach out to me :)

Here is R.B.'s experience of working with me to receive distance healing:

“I've never had an easier time writing a testimonial!

As someone who has had extensive energy work with a handful of different practitioners over the course of my adulthood, I consider myself to be experienced and informed as a recipient of various methods of energy healing. With this established I am so very thrilled to have found Liz as a healer. Her method is more than intuitive, it is part of who she is and comes to her so naturally and powerfully, which I can only say as someone who has the most successful healing of my history in her hands. You can feel her clear strength when she works with you.

Her method of communicating to you, as one of her clients, is direct and well-articulated but also LOVING. The love she has for her healing, for those she heals, is always evident and part of why she is so successful. She tells me what she encounters in my field with language that is simple but that resonates deeply. No mystery, no coldness. So much information and so much warmth carries the information she gives you.

I think it is important that, even while holding the necessary boundaries that are expected of a healer, the healer is strong and involved enough to translate your energetic information with a involved and compassionate voice. Liz has mastered this practice and I can truly say with no hesitation that this is why her healing method has been the most successful for me.” 

Again, I feel so honored and grateful to be able to do this work and to share this special space with others. Thank you for reading. 

With love,

Liz

Why Mira Can't Go Back to Her Old House

The colors of the Dark One have penetrated Mira's body; all the other colors washed out.

Making love with the Dark One and eating little, those are my pearls and carnelians.

Meditation beads and the forehead streak, those are my scarves and rings.

That's enough feminine wiles for me. My teacher taught me this.

Approve me or disapprove me: I praise the Mountain Energy night and day.

I take the path that ecstatic human beings have taken for centuries.

I don't steal money, I don't hit anyone. What will you charge me with?

I have felt the swaying of the elephant's shoulders; and now you want me to climb on a jackass? Try to be serious.

Mirabai (c.1498-1546)

Translated by Robert Bly

Your Spirit Guides Are Here to Strengthen, Support and Encourage You!

My favorite part of practicing reiki is the connections that I build with the curious and open clients I get to work with. Each session is an adventure and each client is an intrepid traveler. I love it when someone has an experience that stays with them for days or weeks after a session and provides them inspiration and motivation. I feel incredibly grateful and privileged to be a part of that. 

One of my clients, M., came to see me in the beginning of the year and, during her session, we met one of her spirit guides. Her guide showed up as a beautiful white horned horse. Although it was new for M to work with spirit guides (as it was for me not too long ago!), she was open and curious about how her guide could help her, and began doing work with her guide on her own. 

M sent me this email several weeks after our session together and I’m copying it here (with her permission) because I share in the excitement of connecting to ourselves and to our guidance and experiencing cool synchronicity! For me, working with energy healers has been a beautiful way to connect with the resources of support and encouragement that are all around me. Those resources show up as friends, family, god/higher power, spiritual guides, nature, and more. I so deeply value helping connect others to these resources, reminding people that they are supported and encouraged in this walk.

“Hey, Liz :)

I hope you're doing well! I've been thinking about you and your advice to trust my spirit guides, and holy crap, something crazy just happened--good crazy. I thought you might enjoy this little anecdote. 

I've had an idea for a children's book over the last couple of years. I fleshed it out a bit a while back and then put it away, thinking it probably wouldn't pan out. 

A few days ago, I laid in bed and asked the white horned horse we saw at my last visit to talk with me, show himself, or anything he wanted. After a couple of minutes, and out of absolutely no where, my book idea popped into my head with a certain urgency. I hadn't seriously thought about it since last year, and here it was. 

So, I played with it and dug a little deeper a couple of weeks ago, but lost confidence in it. So, I put it away again.

Today, I walked past a bookshelf at my office I see every single day. The same books are in the same spots, except one that caught my eye, so I picked it up. 

Low and behold, it was a freaking children's book titled "What Do You Do With An Idea?"

....MIND. BLOWN.

I laughed so hard in amazement ("What the whaaat?!"). Lady, you do wonderful, brilliant work. Thank you so much for what you do and for opening me up to the spirit world, because it's super cool.

You rock.”

Your own team of badass spirit guides -- whatever shape they take -- are here to support you, to hold you, to encourage you, to motivate you. And sometimes to keep badgering you to do something until you listen! It's my experience that we can meet these amazing beings in meditations, on hikes, during sessions with energy workers, and in other ways. However you encounter them, they are here for you to lean on. And I feel very blessed to share in this discovery process with the people I work with.