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TransformationThrough Reiki

Journey of a Left-Brained Medical Professional B Y R O B I N F U E R S T , B S P H A R M A C Y , P H A R M D

MY JOURNEY WITH REIKI forthe last 15 years has transformedme—mind, body and spirit—

and this process continues to heal me ormake me more whole. I have a doctorate inclinical pharmacy and have been workingin hospital settings optimizing and dosingmedication therapy in consultation withphysicians, other health care professionalsand patients for almost 30 years. On the sur-face I seem to be an unlikely candidate to bea Karuna Reiki® and Sekhem/Seichim ReikiMaster as well as a Professional Licensed

Teacher with the International Center forReiki Training—and yet I am.

How did such a transformationbegin?—with an accident where the Uni-verse literally and figuratively sat me onmy butt some 20 plus years ago. My hipbone ended up jammed beneath mysacrum, multiple tendons were stretchedout of shape and there were muscle tearswith additional injuries to my back, neckand shoulders. Initially I was unable to sitlong enough to make my 45 minute, one-way commute and as a result was off workfor about a month.

I chose the conservative option of aback brace/SI stabilizer and physical ther-apy. This started an eight-year journeywith chronic pain, and an explorationinto complementary medicine for me. Istarted reading outside the area of phar-macy, books about the mind-body connec-tion by Joan Borysenko and others. I alsoexplored meditation and centering prayer.

I endured sometimes painfully deepmassage to attempt to loosen spasmingmuscles. I even went to a chiropractor(even though a neurologist/neurosurgeon

I once rounded with in the hospital set-ting routinely discouraged his patientsfrom this avenue, explaining the very lim-ited movement that could occur, with therisk of paralysis). My weekly massages andchiropractic adjustments allowed me to“survive and function,” although I wasexhausted most of the time.

I eventually found that through the useof a mantra, “Cosmic Christ, I surrender toyour grace,” and breath work the bother-some back spasms would relax (the conceptof energy had not yet entered my reality). Ialso had some success re-labeling pain in

This was tough for me because at thetime of the accident I was functioning as aType A+ individual. I was a new clinicalpharmacy coordinator for a hospital, amom of a precious one year old, and a wifeof a tenure-track assistant professor with hisown busy schedule. I was also a life-longmember of the local Lutheran church andsang in the choir. With all this activity, aswell as recently finishing a stint in graduateschool and academics, I had shifted awayfrom my decade-long hobby of reading inthe areas of psychology/spirituality.

However the options traditional medi-cine gave me were not appealing—offers toinject a caustic substance into my hyper-mobile sacral-iliac (SI) joint or wire mypelvis together—especially since “resultswould depend on chance or how I hap-pened to heal.” Equally uninviting was theoption of taking pain medication or musclerelaxants for an extended period of time.These agents clouded my ability to thinkand made me feel sick and not myself—notto mention the addictive potential of theseclasses of drugs that I had witnessed otherpatients spiral into in similar situations.

Reiki has made a tremendous difference in my life! It has helped speed recovery after several

car accidents and surgery. I really wonder how people make it through major life events

like divorce or the death of a parent without the love, light and compassion that is Reiki.

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my mind to “muscular tightness” to helpme cope. I took many early morning walkswhen my back/pelvis discomfort woke meup and would arrive at work an hour ormore early “since I was up and I might aswell be productive.” I relied heavily on my“superwoman cape” during these years!

Then my usual massage therapist wenton vacation and I tried someone new.Marie Rimmelspacher was also a ReikiMaster. She explained that Reiki energycould penetrate deeper than massage andthat she thought it could bring more longlasting relief for me. My doubting leftbrain must have shown on my facebecause she sent me home with someinformation to read about Reiki. Interest-ingly enough, as I was reading aboutReiki, my hands started to get warm andpulse. This got my attention, so I signedup for the three sessions, three days in arow that Marie suggested.

Those three sessions changed my life. Imeditated as Marie did Reiki on me. Dur-ing these sessions I had amazing visualexperiences I had never experiencedbefore and felt more relaxation and peacethan I had had in a long time. And at theend of the third session I was pain free forthe first time in eight years! I was excitedto find out Reiki was something I couldlearn and use on myself too!

And so began my journey with Reiki—initially centered on relieving my painand discomfort. My left brain was veryactive during the Reiki Level I attune-ment—wondering what Marie was doingand thinking that nothing had happened.That thought shifted when I became verywarm and had sweat dripping from mybody within seconds of starting to practiceReiki on my partner. My mental reply tothe Universe was, “OK, OK, somethingreally did happen.” I was amazed at thisphysical response. I was also surprised byhow calm, relaxed and clear I felt by theend of learning the standard hand posi-

tions, as well as the positive response ofmy partner. I was more open and less judg-mental for the Reiki Level II attunement!

Six months later Marie invited me tojoin her in traveling to a nearby monasteryto help assist her in giving Reiki sessions toseveral nuns interested in learning Reiki,so they could experience it before beingattuned. One of these sessions was unique.To start with, I saw my first angel—aminiature being in white with wings whowas beckoning with her finger. My leftbrain, of course, interpreted this as some-thing for the Sister with whom I was doingthe Reiki session. Then my crown chakraopened wide and so much energy was com-ing through that I became so dizzy andnauseated that I had to sit down for a fewminutes—again, my left brain explainedthis away as not drinking enough waterafter a vigorous hike up the butte behindthe monastery prior to breakfast. At lunch,the Sisters were entertained by my inter-pretations and gently suggested that I con-sider the option that the angel was invitingme to journey with her.

I observed Marie teaching the ReikiLevel I and II classes and afterward, for thefirst time, started considering taking theART/Master training, although still insist-ing to myself that I would be using thislevel of training for self treatment andproviding sessions for friends and family.After the class, Reiki was offered to any-one who wanted to receive it. One of thevolunteers, a sweet, barely five-foot-tallnun in her 80s came into the room, lean-ing heavily on her cane. At the end of thesession she spryly hopped off the table andinsisted we follow her down the privatestairway to the kitchen for an ice-creamtreat, forgetting her cane upstairs!

Later that summer I took theUsui/Tibetan Reiki Master class and aSekhem/Seichim Reiki Master class too.In the fall I was thrilled to noticethrough Reiki self treatment I was able to

suspend my regular visits to the chiro-practor because the energy was able tokeep my body relaxed so that tight mus-cles didn’t pull my spine and hip out ofplace, and did so much more gently thanthe chiropractic adjustments.

During this time period I was alsoexploring the labyrinth, a metaphor forour spiritual journey through life.1 It was amajor shift to be offering workshopsaround the labyrinth, which meets peoplewhere they are at on their spiritual jour-neys and helps them take their next step.I even noticed that I was now able to quietmy chattering brain more easily duringmeditation and labyrinth walking. I couldactually “be still.”

I slowly started to realize that I was beingasked to be a bridge between traditionalmedicine/ religion and complementary med-icine/spirituality, especially after the KarunaReiki® Master training that following year.One moment this was crystal clear was atweek-long continuing education conferencefor advanced pharmacy clinicians. I wasenjoying the learning process and comment-ed to the Universe that “my heart is hereand engaged with pharmacy.” The reply Ireceived surprised me: “And your soul isnot.” What a wake-up call for really startingto listen and discern more about what mypurpose on this earth is all about.

Around this time I started a Ministryof Light ordination program as part of myintention to expand the scope of my Reikipractice with others. Originally the reasonfor beginning this program was to be ableto touch people and do hands-on healing“legally.” This program, in addition toReiki, ended up dropping depth chargesinto my “traditional” psyche and acceler-ated my healing and becoming morewhole on many levels.

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1 Robin Fuerst, “Reiki and the Labyrinth,” Reiki

News Magazine Spring 2010 (Southfield, MI:

Vison Publications) 33–36.

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Now the concept of being a bridgewas expanding to include using thebridge of light energy of HSZSN to helpwith connections. It also became clearthat Reiki needed to be more integratedin my life—no more being a “closet”Reiki Master at the hospital or church!Also, being able to use HSZSN andKaruna Reiki® to connect to (theHSZN) and help release (the KarunaReiki®) “issues in the tissues” of pasttraumas, recover soul parts and do ances-tral healing has deepened my own heal-ing and my work with others. This con-tinues to amaze me and be an incrediblegift in my practice!

To fast forward to today, Reiki has madea tremendous difference in my life! It hashelped speed recovery after several car acci-dents and surgery. I really wonder how peo-ple make it through major life events likedivorce or the death of a parent without thelove, light and compassion that is Reiki.Reiki has calmed me many times in the mid-dle of the night as I wrestled with the deci-sion to move to Bend, OR and then mostrecently to resign my pharmacy position anddevote all of my time to my Reiki business.

I now appreciate Eastern, Western andcomplementary medicine practices as wellas spirituality, and I appreciate knowingwhere each can be useful either alone or

synergistically. Embracing mysticism andenergetic healing has shifted so much in mylife. My life is no longer ruled by endless listsof things to do, with no time to breathe andcelebrate accomplishments. I am a morepatient and present person, able to moredeeply and richly connect with those Iserve. The pace of my life allows for time forinspiration and spontaneity. These changesallow me to experience the joy and peacethat comes from connecting with this Uni-versal or God-consciousness energy we callReiki. All is one and is love. 1—Robin can be reached at healingjourneyop-tions@gmail.com

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