Latest / The Starfish Storytellers / Season 2, Episode 11: Healing Stories for Mindfulness and Wellness w/ Linda Frederick
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to the Starfish Storytellers, the podcast that makes a difference one story
- 0:04at a time by bringing storytelling to life.
- 0:21My very first mindfulness experience that I can remember.
- 0:26I was very young, probably between the ages of two and four.
- 0:32I was sitting on my dad's lap in my childhood home in the living room.
- 0:38He was reading the Sunday paper, arms stretched out in front of the two of us, and I was nestled
- 0:44in with my head against his chest, and I just became aware of his heart beating.
- 0:54And at that age, I don't know if I knew what, you know, essentially what a heart was, what
- 0:58it meant, what it did, but I became caught up in it.
- 1:04And that prompted me to then experience this profound awareness, an awareness of who I
- 1:15was as a spirit, as a person, my surroundings, my dad.
- 1:23And it was just this, in that tender, young, you know, form that I was, this wisdom, this
- 1:32sense of wisdom.
- 1:33Of course, I had many other experiences like that throughout my life as we all do, but
- 1:41the next time that I had another profound experience like that was in 2008, I was on
- 1:49vacation with my family, my husband, my children, and we were in a hotel room, everybody was
- 1:54sleeping, I was having a hard time sleeping, so it was kind of tossing and turning, and
- 2:00I found a lump in my breast.
- 2:03And I had another moment of being completely aware, being aware of myself, being aware
- 2:11of my body, being aware of my surroundings, and this, just this, for lack of another way
- 2:17to explain it, just this awakening, this hyper-awareness, this wisdom.
- 2:24And in that moment, I actually wasn't fearful.
- 2:26It was just okay, here we are, in that space, in that space of being aware.
- 2:38So it wasn't until two months later that I actually got the diagnosis that it was cancer.
- 2:45And that night, I had trouble sleeping again.
- 2:49So I went downstairs and I sat in my kitchen, and I was really feeling helpless and fearful
- 2:58at that point, obviously, and I just stared up at the crucifix that I have over my door,
- 3:04my back door.
- 3:06And I wasn't praying, and I wasn't begging, and I wasn't using words, and I wasn't crying,
- 3:13but I was opening myself up to something larger than myself.
- 3:18And I was very aware, again, using that word awareness.
- 3:23I was very mindful that I was surrendering myself to something higher than myself.
- 3:31And I didn't sleep a wink that night, but in the weeks leading up to that night, and
- 3:38my actual surgery, which was about eight weeks, I had some of the most profound mindfulness
- 3:45experiences of my life.
- 3:50Of course, I had the loving support of family and friends and coworkers and doctors and
- 3:59et cetera, et cetera.
- 4:01But it was as if, in that period of time, after having that moment of surrender and that openness
- 4:08and that awareness and that awakening, it was as if the whole universe was speaking to
- 4:16me, quite literally.
- 4:18I would go for a walk and a bird would fly by, and I could swear that I heard words of
- 4:23assurance and love.
- 4:26I was sitting on my back deck, and a beetle landed on my foot, and it was as if the beetle
- 4:31was speaking to me.
- 4:33I would be in a crowded room, I remember once being in a coffee shop, and it was really
- 4:40loud, and I heard my name, but no one said it that I know of.
- 4:46I turned around.
- 4:48So I was getting all of these messages and these mindfulness awakenings, and it was
- 4:59great.
- 5:00Even though I was terrified and I had this daunting surgery ahead of me, it was really
- 5:06a profound way to be alive.
- 5:10So fast forward after the surgery, I get back to life, I get back to work, I get back to
- 5:17being busy.
- 5:18I get back to doing what I do, which is taking care of people, leading group exercise and
- 5:24personal training, and it was taking care of my dad and my mom and just everybody, life,
- 5:31right?
- 5:32I start to lose all of that.
- 5:34I start to not be able to, I don't have those moments anymore, I can't find them, I'm feeling
- 5:42disconnected.
- 5:44So I know I need to get back to that because I don't feel whole, I don't feel wholly healthy
- 5:51without that.
- 5:54So I decided to seek out yoga classes away from where I work, away from where I live,
- 6:02that were geared towards gentle yoga with meditation and mindfulness practices.
- 6:10And so that began to bring me back, it helped, it started to help me to feel as though I
- 6:18could tap into that universal energy that just exists.
- 6:24But it wasn't enough.
- 6:26So I had heard of reiki, but really didn't know a lot about it, but I was certainly
- 6:32open for it.
- 6:34And the yoga studio that I was going to, taking these meditations offered reiki.
- 6:38So I signed up for a session.
- 6:42And when I walked in, the practitioner greeted me, asked me who I was, you Linda, hi, welcome.
- 6:49And she asked me how long I had been practicing.
- 6:53And I said, what?
- 6:56I thought she meant yoga.
- 6:58And she said, how long have you been practicing reiki?
- 7:01And I said, I'm not.
- 7:04And she just kind of chuckled and said, oh yes you are.
- 7:08I wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but I was like, okay, this is, you know, I'm
- 7:12trying something new, whatever.
- 7:13She takes me in.
- 7:17I tell her a wee bit about myself, literally two to three minutes, just what I do, why I
- 7:21was there.
- 7:22And she gives me a treatment.
- 7:23And it was great.
- 7:25And afterwards she explained to me that the work that I do, I give so much of myself.
- 7:32I give my heart.
- 7:34I give my spirit.
- 7:35I give my physical energy.
- 7:38And I'm draining myself.
- 7:40I'm not tapping into a higher source.
- 7:45And she explained that that's what reiki is all about, is channeling that and suggested
- 7:50that I study.
- 7:54So fast forward three years, I myself became a reiki master teacher.
- 8:04So I just fell in love with that.
- 8:08And immediately upon becoming a level three, actually you can start, you know, doing the
- 8:17work.
- 8:18So before I was even a master, I was already working.
- 8:22And I opened Linda's Healing Wagon.
- 8:24I started offering reiki and meditations.
- 8:29So I am quite honored and blessed and thrilled to be able to say that this is what I do for
- 8:37work.
- 9:03Hello.
- 9:04I'm Leanna Henry and welcome to the Starfish Storytellers.
- 9:08I'm the CEO of the Black Dog Group, a Marcom and project management firm headquartered on
- 9:13the east coast of the U.S. in Quaint Colonial Bedford, Massachusetts.
- 9:17I'm your host and passionate about storytelling.
- 9:20I'm actually on a mission to raise up the next generation of storytellers.
- 9:24We've named ourselves the Starfish Storytellers after the Starfish Story.
- 9:28The moral of the Starfish Story is based on the power of one.
- 9:32No matter how big the challenge, each action we take makes a difference and has an impact.
- 9:37One step, one starfish, or one story at a time.
- 9:41Every episode we welcome a new storyteller who will share their story meant to inspire
- 9:45and connect with you.
- 9:46Then we'll break it down and offer tips for any listeners who are ready to tell their
- 9:50own stories.
- 9:51So thanks for tuning in.
- 9:53Now let's get started.
- 9:55Today's episode is about healing stories, using mindfulness to transform your life into
- 9:59wellness.
- 10:01With me today is Linda Frederick, an exercise physiologist with over 30 years of experience
- 10:06in the health and fitness industry, a Reiki master healer, a nationally certified personal
- 10:12trainer and the owner of Linda's Healing Wagon.
- 10:16And I'm really happy to have you here.
- 10:17So welcome, welcome, welcome.
- 10:18Thank you.
- 10:19It's so exciting to be here.
- 10:21So we like to get started every episode by having our guests introduce themselves.
- 10:26Can you tell your listeners a little bit more about yourself?
- 10:30So yeah, I am from Lowell originally.
- 10:35I live in Bilrica now with my husband, mom of two amazing children.
- 10:41I've had, as you said, a lifelong career of working in the fitness and wellness industry.
- 10:50Actually started at age 17 teaching aerobics.
- 10:54Back then it was called aerobics.
- 10:58And enjoyed many years of that and I'm still doing that in part.
- 11:05But I'm really enjoying expanding and getting more involved in mindfulness and healing and
- 11:15finding ways to stay calm and as what you call a hyper drive, I think you said, society.
- 11:23So Linda's Healing Wagon is on the road and in person here in Bedford right next door
- 11:30offering services to help people help themselves.
- 11:34Yeah, yeah.
- 11:35And I loved your story.
- 11:37Thank you for sharing your journey with your health and how you got to reconnecting with
- 11:44that mindfulness moment.
- 11:48And that sort of higher power, I have a lot of background in recovery and so I speak recovery
- 11:57language and higher power is how I speak and knowing that there's always something bigger
- 12:04than me out there.
- 12:06It's very comforting.
- 12:07It's very comforting to know that I'm never really alone because there's something bigger
- 12:12out there than me.
- 12:14So today we're going to talk about storytelling on this podcast and it's a vehicle to transform
- 12:20people's lives.
- 12:21So we wanted to talk about the tools and tactics for mindfulness and wellness because that's
- 12:25what you do.
- 12:26And some of the tools include Reiki, meditation, healing movement.
- 12:31I know that I've kind of seen you on your Facebook page doing that.
- 12:35And those are three modalities that give folks calming moments to recharge in a culture that's
- 12:40on the go, plugged in, turned on all the time.
- 12:46Can you share some of your more of your thoughts on that?
- 12:49Yeah, I am all about whatever makes you or helps you to unplug recharge.
- 12:57So it can be just a long walk.
- 13:02It can be knitting.
- 13:04It can be art.
- 13:05It can be music.
- 13:07And I think for a lot of people, connecting with other people helps.
- 13:15So joining a class or working with a trainer or taking a meditation class, just having
- 13:23shared space and feeling as if you're being held through a facilitator of some kind of
- 13:30teacher or a practitioner is a wonderful way to get going if you're struggling with it.
- 13:37Or if you're just unable to make the time, signing up for a class, signing up for a session
- 13:44makes you accountable and then you have that facilitation, you have that help.
- 13:50So I'm going to go off script here for a sec because something you said is just really
- 13:54interesting to me.
- 13:58We live in a society now that I feel like sometimes struggles to connect together, to
- 14:04get with each other.
- 14:07I see it with my young people, then I have three young people that are my kids.
- 14:13But I see it in society in general and COVID didn't help us at all.
- 14:23When people come to your class, are you sensing that?
- 14:27Are people connecting with each other?
- 14:29Are you getting a little bit of both of it?
- 14:33Are people coming to your class and then after a while they kind of relax and then they're
- 14:38connecting to each other?
- 14:40How is that?
- 14:41Are you seeing that at all?
- 14:43I am.
- 14:45At least at my space, my Linda's Healing Wagon space, which is a small, beautiful room on
- 14:52the second floor in a historic home here.
- 14:55People tell me that the minute they walk in the door, they feel like they're calming down.
- 15:02It is literally an opportunity for them to turn, and they turn it off.
- 15:07Then one of the first things I say is, make sure your phone's off.
- 15:11You can bring it in, but just make sure it's off.
- 15:15I think people are starving for that.
- 15:18So many people are so busy that they just do not take the time or make the time.
- 15:26My advice would be, if you can't go out and attend something or do something sort of as
- 15:34grand as having a Reiki session or take a meditation class, just going in a room and
- 15:42giving yourself a minute, literally a minute of peace and quiet and however you can achieve
- 15:49that, whether it just be deep breaths or whether it be turn on some soft music or say a prayer,
- 15:55say a mantra, it doesn't have to be an hour long.
- 16:01The longer it is, the better, but just taking a moment to recharge however you can is so
- 16:08important.
- 16:09But I do agree with you, I think that it's more profound when it's with other people,
- 16:15and it's even more profound when you surrender, when you entrust yourself to have somebody
- 16:22help you, which is what I did to recapture and what I do now to help other people feel
- 16:30the way I felt and feel the way I do now.
- 16:33Do you find that people are able to reconnect and connect with others after one session?
- 16:39Do they find that they want to come back for more sessions because it might take them a
- 16:45little bit longer?
- 16:46Well, absolutely.
- 16:47It's a practice.
- 16:50All of these things are a practice.
- 16:52Now a healing Reiki session might be a one time thing for somebody.
- 16:57Most people want to come back.
- 16:59Most people love it and they want to have that again.
- 17:03They want to try it again in terms of meditation and in fitness classes, different strokes
- 17:10for different folks.
- 17:13Sometimes people try it and it's not the modality for them, if you will.
- 17:18But most people just are, to answer your question, they're starving for it.
- 17:25They want to eat it up.
- 17:26They want to take it in.
- 17:27They want to receive that calm, that sense of calm, that sense of connection.
- 17:36I think they're actively looking for it and it takes time.
- 17:42It's not a one time deal.
- 17:45That's one of the things I prompt people all the time.
- 17:49Shoulders back, chest up, take a breath.
- 17:53I have to remind myself, of course, because I, like everybody else, plugged in and running
- 18:01all over.
- 18:05I do find that, at least in my circle, I do have clients, a lot of repeat clients, people
- 18:14I've known for many years, and my meditation offerings that are right at my space.
- 18:21It's not the same people every week, but there's a lot of repeat.
- 18:25They're a little community.
- 18:27We're not a support group, but we are a support group.
- 18:30Becomes that in a sense, right?
- 18:32Absolutely.
- 18:33Yeah.
- 18:34But a fun one.
- 18:35Right, right, right.
- 18:36Not in a bad way, but I would imagine they go there, they look forward to it, and they're
- 18:41like, this is my, I step through the door and I leave the world behind.
- 18:46Exactly.
- 18:47Which just seems like that's kind of the environment that you've built for folks.
- 18:52And like you said, people are starving for it.
- 18:56Yeah, absolutely, for sure.
- 19:01You and I met at a networking event, and then I had the opportunity.
- 19:05It was really wonderful that you came and worked with me on a storytelling workshop,
- 19:09a corporate event.
- 19:14You shared a little bit or a lot actually about why you went into this space and what
- 19:18kind of got you there.
- 19:22Do you feel that, you know, my question for you is, you know, is it a passion for you?
- 19:26But it's almost like it seems like you've hit sort of these crossroads along the way
- 19:31in your life that really brought it back for you.
- 19:34Like, it must have felt like this is a calling.
- 19:38Exactly.
- 19:39That is exactly the word I would use.
- 19:41I do feel like because I have been blessed to, I'm an empathic person, I'm an intuitive
- 19:51person, because I have been blessed to be tapped into these mindfulness moments.
- 19:59I feel like I've been guided my whole life.
- 20:01I mean, anybody could say that really, I guess.
- 20:05But what brought me to where I am now, if you had asked me, you know, 20 years ago,
- 20:18would I have my own space?
- 20:21Would I be offering meditation classes, women's circles, shamanic journey meditations?
- 20:29Would I be practicing Reiki privately and in a hospital?
- 20:34I would have said, what?
- 20:35Like, you know, it unfolded.
- 20:40It unfolded, but it unfolded because of my openness, my own personal need to be well
- 20:50at every level of my being.
- 20:52I had the physical part down fine, but not necessarily the spiritual and the mindfulness
- 20:59and the mental, I hesitate to use that word just because it might steer somebody, but
- 21:09having your mind in a good place and having your heart in a good place and having your
- 21:14spirit most importantly in a good place is harder to achieve harder now than ever.
- 21:21Well there is a mind-body connection.
- 21:23Of course.
- 21:24Right?
- 21:25I just feel that when you're doing Reiki is that, I mean, if there's not alignment
- 21:31between mind and things that are happening in the mind, the body will react to it, right?
- 21:36Of course, yeah.
- 21:38So when you can understand that the mind and the body and the heart and the universe are
- 21:44all really one, that's mindfulness.
- 21:50And it's easy to forget that as we rush around and get about our busy lives and we're inundated
- 21:57with screens and whatnot, but it has been for me, this journey that led me here has
- 22:10been so transformative.
- 22:12And being that I'm a teacher, essentially, if you would ask me what my primary role is,
- 22:19I would say that I'm a teacher.
- 22:22It's my honor and it's my duty to share that with others as best I can through my example
- 22:33and through my words.
- 22:34Well, I mean that calling, you just, you must have felt very strongly, like you just knew
- 22:41this is where I need to be.
- 22:42Absolutely.
- 22:43This is what I need to be doing.
- 22:48So we've talked a little bit, you mentioned meditation and you offer this to your clients.
- 22:56Can we dig in a little bit on meditation?
- 22:59So can you tell our listeners what a guided meditation is?
- 23:03Like, are there different types of meditation and how does that work?
- 23:07And why is a guided meditation a good meditation?
- 23:15And then if somebody is being led through a guided meditation, what might they experience?
- 23:21So guided meditation quite simply means that you are listening.
- 23:29You are listening to a narrative.
- 23:32So I, as the storyteller or the guide, I am telling, prompting people, you know, see
- 23:44yourself here, you're walking here.
- 23:50I might direct you to, let's say, now you see a cottage in front of you.
- 23:56I leave room for people to come up with their own vision.
- 24:01So I might say there's a cottage.
- 24:04Observe this, observe that, notice the colors.
- 24:08How do you feel?
- 24:10But so a guided journey meditation allows people to basically relax in the experience.
- 24:20It's very similar to listening to your parent or a loved one recite a bedtime story.
- 24:30Bedtime stories, telling people a story actually changes their brainwave activity.
- 24:39Actually if it is one in which you can kind of get lost in it or get found in it.
- 24:46And so that's how I would describe it.
- 24:50It's like a bedtime story.
- 24:55So it produces a sense of relaxation.
- 25:00It brings people to a place where they are almost asleep, sort of in a daydreaming phase.
- 25:09Which is deeply relaxing, but also an opportunity for people to be tapping into their own inner
- 25:15wisdom.
- 25:17To be discovering things about themselves.
- 25:20To find things within them that perhaps they need to let go of.
- 25:27And to find things that they perhaps want to attach to more readily.
- 25:33To be healthy, to be well, to be whole.
- 25:36So that's kind of a lot of explanation.
- 25:40But people say first and foremost that it's relaxing.
- 25:44And I think being in the presence of somebody else and being held, if you will, held in
- 25:49a space of intentions of compassion and healing makes a big difference.
- 25:57And everybody bringing that same desire, that mindset makes a big difference.
- 26:03And then the other thing that people tell me is that they definitely learn a lot about
- 26:09themselves in meditation.
- 26:12So it's bringing up that inner wisdom and that innate ability to become and to heal.
- 26:21To find healing.
- 26:24Yeah.
- 26:25I find that it's when, because you talked about the relaxation that comes from it.
- 26:32Just stopping.
- 26:34Just stop.
- 26:36Because like you said, that alignment of the mind, heart, body, spirit, universe, it's
- 26:42like that inner wisdom exists, but we can never hear it because there's so much noise.
- 26:49And I find some of my most creative moments, creative answers, new ideas happen during
- 26:58meditation.
- 26:59Like, I can't, if I'm like going, going and I've got a schedule, I can't even will myself
- 27:06to have a creative thought.
- 27:07Right.
- 27:08Do you know what I'm saying?
- 27:09Like, but in that moment where you just stop everything, the chatter, like stop the monkey
- 27:14mind, just stop.
- 27:16All of a sudden this, I don't know where things flow in.
- 27:21Truth.
- 27:22Even waking up in the middle of the night is a good example because you just came out
- 27:26of a relaxed state and now your mind is going a little bit, but you're still sort of relaxed
- 27:33and a lot of people have those creative like aha moments.
- 27:37Keep your head by the bed.
- 27:39Yeah.
- 27:40And I do want to say one of the things that people get confused about with meditation
- 27:45is they think that that means that they shouldn't be having any thoughts.
- 27:51Well, I'm glad you said that.
- 27:54Yeah.
- 27:55So, what is the brain?
- 27:56It is going to keep working.
- 27:58It works at night while we're sleeping.
- 28:00It works during the day when we're awake and what we want to do is we want to adjust it.
- 28:05We don't want it to be, you know, super active all the time.
- 28:10Sometimes we just need to chill out.
- 28:12So we sit down and watch TV.
- 28:13We're still active.
- 28:15Your brain is still working, but it's more chill.
- 28:17You read a book.
- 28:18Same thing.
- 28:19Take a meditation.
- 28:20Same thing.
- 28:22That is one of the benefits of guided meditation.
- 28:27So for people who have a hard time just slowing down on their own and feeling like their mind
- 28:34is slowing down, going to a guided meditation, you're still active in it because you're listening
- 28:42and you're participating, but you are surrendering.
- 28:46You are relaxing.
- 28:47You are releasing at the same time.
- 28:49And that is why I happen to prefer guided meditation, but any kind of meditation is or mindfulness
- 28:58or slowing down is works.
- 29:01Yeah.
- 29:02Now, I'm glad that you talked about, you know, because I can totally relate to that.
- 29:09I have to shut it off.
- 29:10I have to shut it off.
- 29:11And you create more stress.
- 29:12Right.
- 29:13You're actually turning it on.
- 29:14Yeah, you're turning it on.
- 29:15You're actually dialing it up when you're stressed out that you can't dial it down.
- 29:19Yeah, exactly.
- 29:20Yeah.
- 29:21Yeah.
- 29:22Yeah.
- 29:23No, that's great.
- 29:24I'm glad that you said that.
- 29:28So I saw on your Facebook page that you started teaching Pilates at a farm and that you may
- 29:37also hold guided meditations and that you may include horses, which I thought that is so
- 29:44cool.
- 29:45Because I know some horse people that love, love, love, love their horses.
- 29:50I am a pet owner of many animals, but it is always very peaceful to just spend time with
- 29:56my animals.
- 29:59So maybe you could talk a little bit about sort of how you found your way to a farm to
- 30:03do Pilates and then how would you be incorporating animals into the meditation?
- 30:09So that's a collaborative and have to say thanks to social media.
- 30:16Carrie, who is the owner of the farm, it's Mango Bay and also in Bedford, she was put
- 30:24a post out on Facebook looking for Pilates instructor.
- 30:27She wanted to have Pilates on the farm.
- 30:29And a few people knew me.
- 30:32I wasn't part of that.
- 30:33It was a neighborhood group or whatever.
- 30:35So I wasn't part of it.
- 30:36But a few people mentioned me and then a friend of mine sent me a text and said, are you interested?
- 30:44Within a week, I met with Carrie.
- 30:47I went to her farm.
- 30:48I said, let's start by me going there.
- 30:53And it just fell into place.
- 30:54And again, it was one of those moments that I met her.
- 30:58I liked her.
- 31:00It's so close to my, it's close to here.
- 31:02It's close to home.
- 31:04I wanted Pilates back.
- 31:06I wanted a live class.
- 31:08I wanted a small community.
- 31:11And everything, the time that I was available was perfect for her.
- 31:15And this, I believe in the environment as being an important part of a healing program,
- 31:26you know, a healing set.
- 31:27It's a healing setting.
- 31:28The environment has to be right.
- 31:32So what better than a horse farm?
- 31:36Horses are so intuitive and therapeutic.
- 31:38Obviously, we all know that.
- 31:41And so Carrie explained to me, these are her words, that horses mirror the energy that's
- 31:47around them.
- 31:49So to have humans come in and participate in meditation in a way that horses can just
- 31:56come in and out and be part of it is people helping horses, horses helping people.
- 32:06And a shared lifting of energy and a shared healing exchange.
- 32:14So she's already done a little bit.
- 32:17She's done something called coffee with horses.
- 32:21So she would press a, you know, play an audio meditation.
- 32:28And the horses could come in if they wanted to.
- 32:31And they do.
- 32:32And they, you know, she said they do.
- 32:34But she's thrilled about having us working something out where it's a live meditation,
- 32:41you know, with a person instead of a recording.
- 32:44So that's what it would look like.
- 32:47And I'm just, again, blessed to be, you know, I guess in the right place at the right time.
- 32:53Yeah.
- 32:54Yeah.
- 32:55So.
- 32:56No, that sounds wonderful.
- 32:58I didn't know a lot about horses until I had a family member that is a horse person.
- 33:03And then I learned, like, how much personality they have and how they are very playful.
- 33:12And I was like, wow, I mean, I think when you're a small person looking up at a large
- 33:16animal, you don't know that there's a lot going on there and there is so much when it
- 33:20comes to horses.
- 33:21Yeah, absolutely.
- 33:22Yeah.
- 33:23And if yoga can have goats, meditation can have horses.
- 33:31Those are my husband's words.
- 33:32Yeah, but you think about it, like, do you imagine, like, being in a guided meditation
- 33:36and you open your eyes and there's this beautiful animal, like, nearby?
- 33:39Like their head on your lap?
- 33:41Or on your shoulder?
- 33:42How amazing.
- 33:43Yeah.
- 33:44Absolutely.
- 33:45Yeah, I can't wait.
- 33:46That's going to be exciting.
- 33:50So we touched on Reiki a little bit.
- 33:56But I had a Reiki treatment once, so I know that it's sort of the energy from hands very
- 34:05nearby your body and kind of releasing all of the stress.
- 34:09And at least that's how I felt after.
- 34:14Who benefits most from those types of sessions?
- 34:18And can you talk a little bit more about specifically what they might experience?
- 34:24So getting back to Reiki, the word Reiki, Re literally means in Japanese universal love,
- 34:36the divine, the same thing we talked about, or I talked about in my story and we keep
- 34:41talking about.
- 34:42And ki is the Japanese word that we equate to soul or spirit.
- 34:49Same as chi, you know, tai chi.
- 34:52That is the Chinese word for spirit.
- 34:57So Reiki is literally a healing session in which the practitioner is channeling universal
- 35:04love and healing, the wisdom and healing of the universe, and through hands, through laying
- 35:11of hands, bringing it to another person or an animal, by the way, this can be done on
- 35:19animals, plants, anything.
- 35:22And the premise is to remove any congested areas in the body, in the chakras, in the
- 35:29energy field, and to promote balance and to promote self-healing.
- 35:39So self-healing?
- 35:41Self-healing.
- 35:44Simply by relaxing and intending, having an intention for healing.
- 35:51So most people sign up for Reiki session for a specific reason.
- 35:57Maybe they're just having a hard time coping with migraines or insomnia.
- 36:05I currently work with cancer patients at Lowell General Hospital, so people who are dealing
- 36:11with chronic health conditions and they are looking for assistance in their own healing
- 36:21process.
- 36:22They just want to feel better.
- 36:24Exactly.
- 36:26And so, again, it's an opportunity to be in a space where you're being held, and you're
- 36:37not actively participating in the moment of Reiki, but you're actively surrendering to
- 36:44the wisdom in healing that is all around you and that is being brought to you, facilitated
- 36:53by a practitioner.
- 36:56So it's hard to explain.
- 37:00I'm glad you had a session and you experienced that sense of relaxation.
- 37:06But just the act of relaxing and surrendering and being open is the beginning of healing.
- 37:15And it doesn't mean it cures disease, but it does mean that it facilitates peace and
- 37:25relaxation, which in and of itself helps people to heal, physically, spiritually, emotionally.
- 37:33Mind-body connection.
- 37:35Yeah.
- 37:36Yeah.
- 37:37Because surrender is a decision.
- 37:39It is.
- 37:41It also can make people feel vulnerable.
- 37:43Yes.
- 37:44Yes.
- 37:45And so the right environment is important and being ready for it is important.
- 37:53So there's a lot of moving parts, and I kind of like that term moving parts because that's
- 38:00what Reiki is, it's about moving the energy, getting it back in flow and back in balance.
- 38:06Yeah.
- 38:07That's awesome.
- 38:09And you've been doing that how long now?
- 38:11So since 2017, yeah.
- 38:16I was a level three at that point and I started, before that I was working on family and friends
- 38:22and that's what you do when you're practicing.
- 38:25And obviously other people along with my master teacher, but on my own since 2017.
- 38:35Wow.
- 38:36So you talked about the Reiki.
- 38:42I see that there's some new workshops too that you're starting that may allow people
- 38:47to be able to share their stories.
- 38:50And I noticed that you're now doing or starting a women's circle for healing and sharing support,
- 38:58which we talked about sort of community building, right?
- 39:02An intuition building workshop, which I thought was fascinating.
- 39:05And a dream interpretation and exploration workshop.
- 39:09Now obviously there's clearly a need for this, especially folks who really are craving, finding
- 39:15that mindfulness.
- 39:16But can you talk a little bit about sort of your vision for like how you came to come
- 39:21up with these as a need and how coming to these types of workshops is how they're going
- 39:29to make a difference for someone?
- 39:31So guided meditation isn't for everybody.
- 39:37And I love to learn new ways of achieving mindfulness and sharing that with others.
- 39:46I had read about, obviously women's circles is not a new idea.
- 39:52People have been doing it for ever.
- 39:56Women gathering in circles, women gathering in tents.
- 40:02But so each offering is just a slightly different version of a means to an end, a means to mindfulness.
- 40:11And different offerings appeal to different people.
- 40:15So the women's circles, for instance, is a brief meditation followed by, you know, with
- 40:22a theme.
- 40:24And I call that sort of like book club for women.
- 40:28Because there's a theme, then there's a brief meditation.
- 40:31And then everybody shares their story and everybody shares.
- 40:35And what's beautiful about women's circles, circles in general, is that people who come
- 40:41to them are coming for themselves, but they're, and especially women, they're going to give.
- 40:49They're going to be looking around the room and they're going to be wanting to help the
- 40:52person who just told their story.
- 40:55And so there's this collective support and wisdom and opportunity for healing.
- 41:10And the dream interpretation is, I haven't done that yet, but I've always been interested
- 41:16in it.
- 41:18And dreams are, you know, our body's way of, our mind's way of processing information,
- 41:26fears, desires, and, you know, things have symbols.
- 41:31So a house represents the soul, for example, colors, represents certain chakras which are
- 41:37associated with certain parts of the body or certain attributes of being human, if you
- 41:43will.
- 41:44So they can be interpreted.
- 41:47And so if we gather and we share, you know, briefly our dreams or our visions, we can help
- 41:57each other work them out.
- 42:00So these are just examples of different ways that people can come together and achieve
- 42:07a sense of mindfulness and connection.
- 42:12I could just sit here all day doing this, because this is just...
- 42:16It is, isn't it?
- 42:17Fun stuff.
- 42:18Just amazing.
- 42:19It really is.
- 42:20Really great stuff.
- 42:21It's energy.
- 42:23It's being aware of our energy and being aware of the energy around us.
- 42:29And however you can do that, however you can tap into your own energy and shift it if it
- 42:36needs to be shifted.
- 42:39And recognize if the environment that you're in isn't supporting your energy and isn't
- 42:46nurturing your energy, then shifting that too.
- 42:53And it all starts with mindfulness and just slowing down and paying attention.
- 43:03And sometimes mindfulness comes organically.
- 43:05We don't even have to...
- 43:07It just comes.
- 43:09But being open to it...
- 43:12And intentional.
- 43:13Yes.
- 43:14It's fantastic.
- 43:17And then when it doesn't come organically, you need to figure out how to bring it to
- 43:22you.
- 43:23Yeah.
- 43:24Yeah.
- 43:25Linda, thank you so much.
- 43:26You're welcome.
- 43:27This was great.
- 43:30Just loved all of it.
- 43:32Just talking about all of it.
- 43:33It just...
- 43:34Thanks for having me.
- 43:35And how about this space?
- 43:36This energy, this wonderful...
- 43:37Yeah.
- 43:38Yeah.
- 43:39Just a great space.
- 43:40Yeah.
- 43:41Historic space.
- 43:42Yeah.
- 43:43And to our listeners, whether you hear us locally from the BTV studios in Bedford, Massachusetts
- 43:47or across the globe on such podcast channels as Spotify, Apple Podcast or Amazon Prime,
- 43:53thanks for listening.
- 43:55We hope you enjoyed this episode and we'll see you next time.
- 43:59함께 storytelling.
- 44:08You