I'm getting personal today to share the Reiki experience that transformed my entire life. Yes, you know I love Reiki - it's woven through my blog and services. But this isn't just some certification I picked up on a whim because I thought it sounded cool. It’s so much more to me than that. It’s everything.
How Anxiety Led Me to My First Reiki Experience
In 2013, I returned home after 15 months backpacking abroad. During my travels, a 10-day Vipassana meditation course unexpectedly unearthed some deep anxiety I'd buried. This anxiety peaked when I finally boarded my flight home.
I remember it vividly. The flight attendant's American accent felt like a rude awakening - a reality slap I wasn't ready for. The entire journey home felt dreamlike, unreal. Overwhelming anxiety consumed me as I wondered how to reintegrate into a life I'd left behind.
I was supposed to have "found myself" and achieved some state of inner peace while remaining open to the endless possibilities of life. Instead, I came home feeling incomplete, with the same restlessness that drove me to leave now screaming even louder.
That persistent anxiety led me straight to Reiki's doorstep.
My First Reiki Session: The Good, The Bad & The Divine Guidance
Something about Reiki called to me immediately. After a quick Google search, I booked my first session.
What struck me first was a sense of comfort I'd forgotten existed - the feeling of coming home to my true self. After just one session, I was deeply motivated to learn Reiki for myself.
While the energy work was transformative, my experience with the practitioner was less than ideal. She imposed her opinions about what my healing "should" look like, even after I clearly declined her suggestions. When I shared a personal experience of the sessions, she told me it was "extremely unusual" and that she'd "never seen this" in her 14 years of practice. I was left feeling triggered and gaslit.
Fortunately, my response to this type of experience is to run away with an even greater resolve to follow my gut. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it led me to the teacher I did end up training under.
My new teacher resonated instantly. One of her first comments was that she doesn't determine whether someone is "ready" for Reiki. This is truth. Nobody knows what you're ready for but you. That first practitioner suggested I needed to be "perfect" before learning Reiki – which is absolutely backwards to me. Reiki became the very tool that helped me heal and come home to myself.
The Signs That Confirmed My Path
During my certification process, I was also called to see a psychic that I found on Groupon. I just thought it would be fun, but it kind of blew my mind.
Without any mention of Reiki from me, she had my teacher's name come through and told me it was important for me to continue on that journey. Everything she said resonated completely.
Reiki has always felt divinely guided for me - not something I randomly stumbled upon, but something meant to be part of my journey. And if you're reading this right now, I believe you've been divinely guided here too, in some way.
Why I'm Forever Grateful for My Reiki Journey
Beyond what initially brought me to Reiki, I want to share why I'm so deeply grateful for its existence. In the years following my first Reiki experience, profound changes transformed my life in unexpected ways.
Here are five life-changing benefits of learning Reiki that I'm grateful for every single day:
1. Reiki Provided a Pathway Back to Myself
Reiki gave me a map when I was hopelessly lost in my own life.
The Cage I Built Around Myself
For years, I lived in a cage of my own making. I felt stuck, trapped, with no clue how to break free.
I used to think it was other people who put me there. This belief led me to some maladaptive strategies – always pleasing others in hopes they'd release me, or striving for perfection so they might reward me with freedom.
Of course, all of this happened below my conscious awareness.
Inside, I sensed this approach would never work, as the restlessness within me only grew louder with time.
I tried countless escape methods. Substances helped me temporarily forget about the cage. Staying busy distracted me from seeing the bars. So did meditating, healthy eating, and working out. I even traveled across the world to prove I could free myself – but wherever I went, there I was, still trapped.
Deep down, I think I always knew intellectually that I had created this prison. But knowing that truth didn't show me how to dismantle it.
How My Reiki Experience Changed Everything
Reiki didn't just help me acknowledge my self-made cage – it showed me how to remove the bars instead of fighting them, ignoring them, or feeling helpless before them. It offered a path to alignment that didn't require escaping through substances or distractions.
Reiki brought clarity to the confusion I'd been swimming in since childhood. As a sensitive kid, I felt my inner voice repeatedly shut down by the world around me, absorbing messages that my emotions weren't trustworthy, were inconvenient, or simply didn't matter. Though likely unintentional, I internalized these signals and eventually started questioning my own truth, losing touch with who I really was.
Years of this led me to unconsciously use dissociation as a coping mechanism, gradually shutting down my emotional responses until it became an automatic pattern wired deeply into my nervous system. Reiki helped me reconnect with my body and feelings – something I desperately needed to reclaim my authentic self.
The Journey Home to Self
After a lifetime of hiding, Reiki finally allowed me to find myself. It brought me home to the truth of who I was all along – already whole, already perfect.
This clarity created a bridge to deeper self-awareness and healing. Now when distractions arise, Reiki is my tool to overcome and understand them. It keeps me true to my path and amplifies my inner truth above all the outside noise.
In the process of removing the bars, I replaced my dismissive and sometimes self-critical attitude with love and compassion.
Reiki helps me remember that true healing isn't about fixing what's broken – it's about returning to the most unconditionally loving part of myself. From this place, my body finally has the space to heal and release everything that doesn't truly belong to me.
2. My Reiki Experience Taught Me to Trust Myself Again
When I reflect on my Reiki experience, this might be the greatest gift it gave me - remembering who I truly was and learning to trust myself again.
Rediscovering Wonder and Possibility
With each bar removed from my self-made cage, I reconnected with the loving frequency that was always mine. Reiki didn't add anything new – it simply cleared away what wasn't authentically me.
The childlike wonder I had suppressed for years began to resurface. That sense of life being vast and full of possibilities came flooding back. I could finally see the world through those eyes again.
Finding Peace After Religious Confusion
Religion and I have a complicated relationship.
The God I was taught about as a child never felt right. The religious teachings actually disconnected me from my authentic self, making me question my inner wisdom. I was constantly told that God is love while simultaneously being exposed to shame and judgment, leaving me thinking, "but this isn’t what love is."
I ran from religion for years because of this confusion. What made it particularly difficult was that I always sensed something greater existed. I felt spiritually supported, so certain aspects of religion resonated, but were mixed with wrongness I couldn’t shake.
As a struggling kid, my prayers for help seemed to go unanswered. Part of me wondered if God was punishing me for being a sinner (even though that felt deeply untrue). Because I didn't fully believe help would come, it never did - the law of attraction at work.
Through my Reiki experience, I discovered a profound truth - we're all energy. Our bodies, thoughts, feelings - everything exists as vibration at its core. Science confirms this, but Reiki allows you to FEEL it firsthand.
When I stopped trying to connect with the God of my childhood and instead focused on Universal Energy, I found a path to trust that actually worked. This provided the support I'd been seeking and reconnected me with my own understanding of the divine presence that had always been present.
From Healing Myself to Helping Others
As I've learned to trust my truth again and stop hiding it, Reiki has given me the courage to pursue my dreams. It's given me the strength to face everything that would need to come up and be processed to reach those dreams.
The cognitive dissonance and confusion in my head has quieted significantly. Because of that, I can finally focus on others - something I've always wanted but couldn't do when stuck in survival mode.
Now I want nothing more than to offer others the same profound healing I've experienced through Reiki. I'm passionate about sharing these tools that supported my journey.
I've always been inspired to help shift collective consciousness—or at least contribute in my own aligned way. My path is by creating ripples of peace and helping others cultivate that feeling of safety and wholeness within themselves.
Instead of feeling different, misunderstood, and alone like I did for so long, I now feel part of something bigger. This brings a contentedness I never knew before, which for me is nothing short of amazing.
3. Reiki Helped Me Transform Helplessness into Power
I want to share something remarkable that emerged from my Reiki practice - the power to take action when I previously felt completely helpless.
Finding Action Where There Was Only Worry
I've always been a sensitive person. Maybe you can relate? I feel the pain and suffering around me deeply, and for most of my life, I felt powerless to do anything about it.
A big part of me believed I couldn't allow myself to be happy with all the suffering in the world. It seemed wrong to feel joy when others were in pain. But here's the hard truth I had to sit with: is my suffering helping anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, it’s only contributing to the collective pain.
So what was I supposed to do? Helplessness has been my familiar companion throughout life, sometimes sliding into hopelessness. I thought at least if I felt the suffering, it meant I cared, right? That had to count for something.
But again, no. It was only adding more heaviness to the world.
Was I just supposed to ignore it then? Distract myself? Lean into my own happiness and pretend the suffering wasn't happening? That didn't feel aligned either.
Reiki: My Tool Against Helplessness
Reiki shined a light on this dilemma and offered me something I never had before - a way to actively send love and compassion while reminding myself that becoming consumed by suffering helps no one.
It allowed me to stand in my truth and welcome in joy alongside the acknowledgment of suffering, without the guilt I'd carried for so long.
Now when I worry about things in the world, when I get overwhelmed and overcome by helplessness, I never have to just sit in those feelings. I have a tool. I get quiet, center myself, and send Reiki to all my worries – to climate change, to natural disasters, to hunger, to our political division, to abuse victims and war zones... whatever's weighing on me that day. It keeps me from contributing to the very energies I want to help transform.
Reiki When My Child Needed It Most
Beyond global concerns, this extends powerfully to personal challenges too. I've faced a few health scares with my kids, especially my oldest. One night, he had to stay overnight at the hospital because he was really sick and struggling to breathe. For months after, every time he got sick, anxiety would surge through me. Even hearing him call from his room would trigger that panic.
Reiki helped us both through this. Instead of just sitting in my fear, I gave him Reiki – sometimes in his room, sometimes from a distance. It allowed me to actively help him instead of just worrying.
He also needed surgery when he was just 1½ to remove a cholesteatoma from his ear. He had to be put under anesthesia, and I couldn't even be in the room for that part. My partner had to watch him go limp in his arms before leaving him to surgery. It's routine for the medical team, but as a parent, it was heart-wrenching. Your child trusts you completely, and they're too young to understand what's happening. They sense your fear but can't comprehend your reassurances. When I tuned in, I sensed he was feeling abandoned.
During that waiting period, I sent him distance Reiki to aid his recovery and wrap him in love and safety. I feel INCREDIBLY grateful to have learned Reiki before having kids.
The Boundless Reach of Reiki
With Reiki distance healing, you can send healing energy anywhere – to people, places, and even events. Your loved ones, your home, your workplace, or places you'll be visiting like a doctor's office – energy knows no boundaries.
It even transcends time. You can send healing energy to future events to combat fear and worry. This incredible tool gives you an action in the face of uncertainty, keeping you in your power instead of at the mercy of your anxieties.
You can direct Reiki to anything – pets, electronic devices, food, the environment. Any aspect of your life that needs balance and healing can receive this energy.
It transforms worry into action and empowers me in a way nothing else has. Instead of spiraling into fear about what might happen, I can send Reiki and trust that whatever unfolds is for the greatest good of all involved.
4. My Reiki Experience Showed Me I'm Never Truly Alone
One of the most profound revelations from my Reiki experience is the deep knowing that I'm never truly alone.
Feeling Divine Presence Through Reiki
When I feel Reiki energy flowing through me, I directly experience divinity both within and around me. It's not some abstract concept or wishful thinking – it's a tangible sensation that reminds me there's far more to our existence than what meets the eye.
There's a massive difference between hoping something might be out there and actually knowing it in your bones. Reiki bridges that gap. It takes me beyond wishing or theorizing and plants me firmly in the territory of knowing.
This knowing has reinforced the trust I've been rebuilding in myself. When you directly experience divinity flowing through you, you stop questioning your gut feelings and inner truth. You recognize they come from somewhere sacred and trustworthy.
Reawakening Spiritual Connections
My Reiki journey has led me to other intuitive tools like pendulums, tarot, and oracle cards. I used to be totally skeptical of these things (maybe you are too?), but the accuracy of the guidance they provide can't be dismissed. These tools have only deepened my trust in the unseen support that's always available.
When I call in spiritual guides during my practice, I physically feel their energy. This sensation allows me to know without doubt that they’re present. No leap of faith required – just direct experience.
I also remember sensing and seeing spirits as a kid. Around me, the common response was that these experiences weren't real—just imagination. This perspective, combined with certain religious teachings I encountered, led me to develop a fear around these experiences.
Over time, I shut down this natural part of myself out of both fear and my own desire to fit in with the prevailing beliefs around me. My Reiki experience has gently reawakened these abilities and shown me there's nothing to fear when I'm standing in my truth and personal power.
A Constant Guide Through Life's Journey
Because of this reconnection to spiritual support, Reiki keeps me solidly on my path. When I feel that old pull of confusion about what to do or whether to trust myself, I remember I'm supported. I'm not alone. I connect with Reiki energy and allow it to guide me toward my next right step.
It's a guide that's always with me through any challenge or obstacle.
And not just for the hard times – Reiki helps me recognize and celebrate the good moments too. It helps me see how life is happening for me rather than to me, and to trust in life's synchronicities. Even difficult experiences become opportunities for growth.
You can certainly walk through life letting every challenge take you down, wondering why you're so unlucky. Or you can tune in and learn from your experiences. That choice is always yours.
The more I've opened to viewing life this way, the softer and more grateful I've become. My Reiki experience has transformed not just how I handle difficulties, but how I experience the entire journey of being human.
5. Reiki Healed Me and Continues to Heal Me
When I first sought out Reiki for anxiety, I had no idea what I was signing up for. The healing journey it's taken me on has far exceeded anything I could have imagined.
The Science Behind How Reiki Heals
One of the most documented benefits of a Reiki experience is how quickly it brings your body into a state of relaxation. When that energy starts flowing, your body naturally shifts from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest mode.
Think about it - how often do you actually give yourself space to process stress or emotions? Most of us rush through our days, handling one task after another, then escaping into comfort activities without ever dealing with what's built up inside us.
The truth is, your body CANNOT heal while it's in fight-or-flight mode. Period. And our culture only makes this worse by encouraging us to speed up instead of slow down.
The constant need for instant gratification has us reaching for our phones even to go to the bathroom. Many people can't be present with the people around them without a device in hand. This restlessness builds up in our bodies, perpetuating any mental or physical health conditions we already have.
Your Body Thirsting for Healing
When Reiki is offered to your body, it's like water for someone dying of thirst. Your system can finally relax and work on healing instead of focusing on all the "important" threats it perceives when in a heightened state.
Your body doesn't care about healing when it thinks it's facing a tiger. All that other stuff gets put on hold.
Such a big part of the Reiki experience is simply creating space for healing to occur. It allows everything blocking you from your truth and naturally higher vibrational state to surface, be seen, processed, and released – no longer stuck inside, holding you back.
Getting to the Root of What's Blocking You
Working with your energy field reaches the core of what's holding you back by shifting the unconscious blueprints and deeply embedded conditioning in your system. Whenever I find myself trapped in the same mental or behavioral loops, I turn to energy work instead of struggling on the surface level. My Reiki experience taught me that some of our most persistent challenges respond better to energetic healing than things like physical interventions, therapy, or thought work alone.
In my healing journey, I've resolved issues I'd been stuck on for decades. Things I'd tried to address countless times but could never get past. Finally, there was clarity. Finally, there was release of these long-held patterns I didn’t know how to heal.
Reiki led me to specifics. For example, I used to think if I just blanket-forgave someone who hurt me, the work was done. What I discovered was that I needed to forgive specific things for the different patterns that showed up in my life because of how I interpreted that person's impact – not by digging for every little thing, but addressing them as they naturally surfaced.
Reiki guided me to my answers and showed me what people or resources would help on my journey. It even revealed blocks I didn't know existed.
Breaking Free from "Just How I Am"
For the longest time, I thought certain emotions were just part of who I was – that I'd have to learn to live with them. Reiki has taught me that's not true. Even my longest-held emotions – helplessness, restlessness, anxiety – could be released from my body, or make them much more manageable than I ever thought possible.
It also eases physical symptoms. Again, it gives me an action instead of helplessly waiting for some doctor to "fix" me.
What's really cool is that the more I release these long-held blockages, the less physical symptoms pop up and the healthier I am overall. I get sick less often. My immune system is stronger than ever.
Don't get me wrong – I'm still human. Reiki doesn't make me invincible, but it helps me release things that don't belong to me more quickly. Viruses and environmental toxins can hold on longer when there are unresolved issues for them to attach to.
The Path Forward Is Clear
I continue to heal, but now, instead of falling deeper into helplessness and confusion, I know the correct path for me. I don't have to wonder what will help or accept any condition as something I'll "just have to live with."
I know what's possible. I know where to go to heal. I connect with Reiki and allow it to guide me to my answers.
Reiki has shown me that true healing isn't just possible – it's our natural state when we remove what's blocking it.
My Reiki Experience: Finding Your Way Back to You
That’s me in Sapa, Vietnam in 2013 on my real life journey to finding my way back to self.
Honestly, finding Reiki has been everything to me. I'm not sure where my life would be without it—probably a lot less peaceful, still pretty confused, and nowhere near as free as I feel today. I'm most grateful for the clarity about who I truly am and for learning to trust myself again. The empowerment, constant support, and having a healing tool always available has transformed my entire existence.
Ultimately, Reiki is a journey back to your true self. As you receive this energy, you're taken on an inner expedition where growth happens naturally, your perspective expands, and healing touches every aspect of your life.
But let's not give Reiki ALL the credit, because transformation always begins with you.
Getting Real About the Journey
I didn't learn Reiki and then—poof!—all of this magically clicked into place. And I hope I haven't overwhelmed you or made you think I had to move mountains to get here.
In fact, I never set out with any of this as a goal. It unfolded naturally, step by step. It's been a beautiful progression where I've learned and grown more as I’ve gone, and with greater ease than anything else I've tried before.
I wrote this to show what might be possible for you too. But I don't want you thinking you'll learn Reiki and instantly transform. It's a pathway to all of it, not an instant “fix”. You still have to recognize your own power and work with Reiki, hand in hand. It will not do the work for you.
Finding Your Own Practice
If Reiki resonates with you, I encourage you to learn it for yourself. And if you're already attuned, consider this your encouragement to continue practicing regularly.
When I first learned Reiki, my initial enthusiasm started to fade. I thought I had to do a complete self-treatment every single day, and that was my only "Reiki time." I felt like I had to stick with that routine or it wouldn't work.
It doesn't have to be that way! Don't let it become another to-do hanging over your head.
When I brought Reiki into the moments throughout my day, pairing it with intention in real time—that's when things started to rapidly progress for me.
Your Most Important Investment
In a world where the only guarantee is change, I will never regret investing my resources into creating safety and certainty within myself. What would our world look like if we all carried this inner safety? It's certainly needed on our planet right now.
You are your most important investment! I encourage you to invest in tools, practices, and wisdom that will ALWAYS be available to you and can never be taken away, regardless of what happens in the world outside.
Life can be experienced and enjoyed so much more fully when you're confident you can handle whatever comes your way. You'll show up with more light and joy, and naturally become a comfort to those around you.
Find your light and shine it!
Ready to Start Your Reiki Journey?
If you're curious about how a Reiki experience might transform your life:
- Join my 7-Day Reiki Box Manifestation Challenge where you'll be introduced to powerful tools to help manifest your desired results or overcome current challenges. You'll also receive FREE distance Reiki for 7 days of the challenge!
- Schedule a one-on-one distance session with me to experience personalized Reiki healing from the comfort of your own home.
- Visit my Reiki class resource page to learn how you can become attuned to Reiki yourself and have this healing tool available to you anytime, anywhere.
Your journey back to yourself is waiting. Are you ready to begin?
