The Vietnam saga

Vietnam reminded me so much of my native state, Kerala, "The God's own country". The paddy fields lined with coconut trees, jackfruit trees laden with fruits, the canals and boats, it was really nostalgic. We love travelling and roam far and wide, but this visit to Vietnam - THAT WAS ONE TRIP - the brightest spot in my life! Can I pinpoint one reason why it is so? No, no way. There were too many things that made us happy, sad, exhilarated and frustrated, experience peace and wonderment, that made us fall in love with Vietnam and its beautiful, kind people.

                                                           Just like in Kerala.......

My childhood memories

I was a school girl when the Vietnam war happened. The newspapers and magazines carried pictures of violence against Vietnamese people by American soldiers. One particular picture  never left me - two American soldiers taking out the liver of a live Vietnamese man. I recoiled in horror on seeing that picture, my heart bled for those suffering innocent people. While visiting the war museum in Ho Chi Minh, I saw the tunnel where three children hid. They were drawn out by American soldiers, the smallest child ( 6 years old) was disemboweled and the other two stabbed. Oh Humanity, where were thou?

Bye to the past

With all those memories, I was expecting a heavy atmosphere, laden with sadness and depression while landing in Vietnam. To my relief and surprise, the atmosphere was so light, I could sense the peace, joy and grounding of the population. The people were kind and helpful. They are very hard working, with a pleasant countenance always.

We got friendly with a  staff in the tour agency. Vietnam war veterans in America suffered for years, in spite of best medical facilities and psychiatric counselling.  Then how come the Vietnamese people left the trauma and tragedy behind and moved ahead, we asked her.

" Oh, we just leave our past behind and look towards the future and work hard to make dreams come true. We have opened our land and hearts to people from countries that had oppressed us. War is no solution for any problem. Nobody wins in a war. I hope nobody suffers in future like our country suffered." Now, that is real wisdom!

For them, work is worship. Majority of people wake up by 5 am and others by 6 am. In the Ho Chi Minh city of ten million population, there are seven million two wheelers. So you can imagine the sea of two wheelers on the road. But you don't see the impatience as we are used to in India. Patience is a real virtue of these people, I wish to imbibe some of it.

The bus journey

The speed limit for buses in the city is 50 km/hour and in the highways it is 70. We took an overnight sleeper bus ride from Hue to Hoi An. The seats were at the level of the bus floor, and almost totally fully reclinable. When we arrived Hoi An, there was no tiredness at all, which is always there during our overnight bus journeys in India. We concluded that sleeping position on the floor and the slow speed of the bus didn't cause any jerks and it was almost like sleeping on a bed at home.

View inside the bus

Hospitals are hard to see

In Belgaum (which is not a very large city) where we live, when one walks, every five minutes we see a 'Multispecialty' or a 'Super specialty' hospital and all of them are thronged with patients.

In Vietnam, I hardly got to see huge hospitals, when we have traveled almost the entire length of the country. This set me to thinking. Their life is slow paced, they have a proper family life, which is considered a great stress buster. There is no compartmentalization of family life and business. In majority of the cases, the business (whether it is  a shop, hotel, or tour agency) is done in the front portion of their houses.

Many street food vendors are  house wives, trying to generate some extra income. In the evening, you see their kids sitting near them, either helping them, playing or doing homework.

They can squat on the floor for extended periods of time, which is very good for the health of the hip and knee joints. Their food is large bowls of non-vegetarian soup, with a plate heaped with a variety of fresh leaves. We could hardly find obese people there.

Their chairs and stools are so low, so when they sit, it is very close to the ground. I think this definitely keeps the people grounded, apart from the second important factor, making bonsais.

Bonsai galore

In Vietnam, you see bonsas everywhere. It is such a feast to the eyes. Tending to these trees, bringing structure and grooming the growth, must definitely be influencing their mental attitude too.

Agriculture

One of our tour guides who was a war veteran, told us that after the war, Vietnam was subjected to sanctions and trade embargos by much of the western world. There was a severe famine, which took millions of lives.

"We were really hungry, and there was nothing to eat. One family got five kgs of rice a month. A family usually has at least six members and rice is our staple food. So we got down to farming. Now 90% of the population are farmers."

And they have taken long strides in the field of agriculture. Today it is one of the largest exporters of rice, cashew, fruits and many other things.

The bamboo theory

During the day tour by bus and boat in Hue, we had a nice tour guide who was very knowledgeable. He told that there are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is easy for foreign invaders to divide and rule. Remember what happened in India? Chenghis Khan, the 13th century warrior in central Asia who founded the Mongol empire, one of the largest empires in history, tried to overpower Vietnam four times, but he had to retreat. How did it happen?

Vietnam had a clever leader in Minh Mang. He did two things:

1. He told the people that all Vietnamese people originated from same parents. There is the temple of mother of all Vietnamese people, 'Hon Chen' temple, commonly known as Goddess of Vietnam temple, located on the banks of the Perfume river. People from all over Vietnam come here to worship the mother.

2. All school children are taught the 'bamboo theory'. They are given chopsticks and asked to break as many as they can, with their hands, in a given period of time. Whoever breaks maximum number of chopsticks is then given a bundle of chopsticks, tied together. As the child finds it impossible to break the chopsticks bound together, the lesson " United we stand, Divided we fall" is driven deep into their psyche.
The base color of their national flag is red, to remind them that 'We got freedom by shedding our blood. Don't do anything that can take away our freedom."

Street foods

Street food is available everywhere. We had an equivalent of 'pazham pori' ( a Kerala preparation made by deep frying banana sliced covered in batter). The steamed rice cakes with slices of plantain in the center and served with sabudana kheer was awesome.

The street foods are costly as compared to the pricing in good hotels, we just couldn't figure out why.

Coconut candies were delicious. Spring rolls made by wrapping in rice paper and either frying or steaming were worth the try.

Food problem

For vegetarians, Vietnam may turn out a nightmare. Getting a fully vegetarian meal is like walking on thorns, like we suffered every day. But one can manage by doing some homework. Everybody cannot speak English.You got to learn some Vietnamese words and be on your guard when they are cooking.

Beef and pork are widely eaten. In a hotel where we entered for lunch, when we saw huge frogs and snakes in glass boxes (customers can point to whichever they want to eat and it will be cooked and served), we just turned around and fled. They even had rat dishes on their menu.

No milk and milk products

We saw lots of cows and buffaloes during our journey. While talking to our taxi driver/ tour guide, he told they are not milked. Beef they eat and buffaloes are for ploughing the fields. When we told that we drink buffalo milk in India, he was amused and started laughing. Condensed milk tins are available, which they gave us to add to the black coffee.

Marble mountain

The highlight of our journey was the visit to marble mountain . Marble Mountains is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngu Hanh Son ward, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam.These mountains are dotted with caves, several of which have Buddhist pagodas.Marble mountains are of spiritual significance to the Vietnamese, and they were a base for the Viet Cong fighters during the Vietnam war. As you walk through the narrow spaces in the mountain, suddenly you come upon a huge space, with very large statues of Buddha and you are so humbled!

Memorable home stay

Home stay was arranged for us for a day at the Ba Hung Homestay in Binh Hoa Phuoc - Lonh Ho in Vin Long Province. They prepared awesome vegetarian dinner for us and gave cycles to go around the village.

The cabin where we slept

                                          Spent some time at night relaxing on these hammocks

There were many fish in this pond, they will come to the surface and flip when we stand nearby. Got to see mudskippers here for the first time

Musings on China

In the recent times, China is a popular destination for foreign tourists. It is fascinating to watch the different culture, way of life, ancient cities and fast modernization.

Guangzhou is a tourism city and a famous culture city with a history of more than 2,200 years. We got an opportunity to visit Guangzhou in the pretext of attending the Dental South China International Expo 2015.

                             
 Canton Tower                                                               Majestic statue of Buddha

Five Rams statue

Across the Pearl river

It is almost impossible to communicate in China.  Nobody knows even common words  like "What", "Where", "Coffee" e.t.c.,  The surprising thing is they can't even understand sign language. Basically they are very helpful people  and generally don't cheat.  They  are very noisy people. There  is so much cacophony in the  restaurants.

In Guangzhou, the whole city was stinking - different areas have different offensive smells. Is it because they are staunch non vegetarians and eat almost any living thing? It is  not easy to get  normal coffee or tea (with milk  and sugar).

Living beings waiting to be eaten:

    All the ladies here are trim. They  wear very short skirts - but no cleavage exposure. It was a stark difference to India that men don't stare or give  side way glances, or try to establish body contact with women even in the crowded metro.

We saw "Swastika" in many places,  but in opposite direction. On a small statue of Buddha, over the chest there was Swastika in anticlockwise direction.

Soda versus green tea:

While walking around  in Guangzhou, the striking factor was that all Chinese people were in good body shape.When I watched people having meals in restaurants, I realized that they eat well. But it is healthy food. Lots of vegetables, meat and soups, but rice is taken in small bowls. I thought this must be one of the factors helping them to maintain body shape.

The second reason, according to me, is the fact that they use chop sticks to eat. Food quantity that can be taken to the mouth at a time is much less as compared to what one can take, when using a spoon, fork, or eating with hands.

Then, they drink a lot of green tee, even during meals. This must be having a definite role in keeping the body fat down. I remembered that in American streets, people walk around with large glasses of soda (aerated drinks) and there is so much obesity there. Chinese people always carry flasks of green tea.

Another interesting fact I noticed was that they prefer steps to lifts. In the railway platform, everyone was using the stairs, even long ones, and the lifts were lying idle.

I have to mention that we managed to get some awesome vegetarian food here.

Awesome banana fry

Reiki group healing

Reiki group healing used to happen regularly at ARTH (Academy for Reiki Training and Healing), Belgam. When three close associates moved away, some or how it was not happening. I really used to crave for a group healing because it always gave me amazing experiences.

When multiple Reiki channels are transmitting energy to you, it is very powerful. It feels like you are being lifted up. That feeling of floating in the air, with powerful vibrations all around you, is incomparable. Then that high energy status would stay with me at least a month.

A point came when I thought I could no longer wait for the experience. I called up some of the Reiki channels and fixed a group healing on 31^st August 2015. It was a Monday, as Mondays are my Reiki days. Being a working day, some of them couldn’t come. Then some of them were out of station.

But I was determined, I had to make a start. So five of us came together and did group healing. Only two of us had experienced group healing before, for the other three it was a wonderful healing. They thanked me profusely and told that this should happen every month now.

My experience this time was a unique one. After I started Reiki healing almost two decades back,  my breathing rate has come down to a great extent (this happens with every serious Reiki practitioner). During the group healing, it came down further; it was as if I was not breathing at all. I could feel energy (prana) entering my body through every pore of my body and my inner self was whispering, ‘There is no need to breathe, you are soaked in prana’!!

Why the society is in a mess

When I was a man,

I performed man's duties,

To the best of my ability `

I came home after a hard day's labour,

To the loving embrace of my wife, 

Who prepared warm water for my bath,

And fed me what she had cooked,

With the ingredient of Love.

Seasons changed, roles changed.

I was born a girl, when it was time,

To marry the man I loved,

I was thinking of all the things

That I would do to make his life 

Comfortable and peaceful.

And he in turn, was planning things

To accomplish, to make me feel loved,

and cared for.

For centuries, man was happy,

Doing his duties,

He could appreciate things,

That his feminine counterpart

Did for him.

Then came a time,

Man started mistreating his better half,

Suppressing her, taking advantage of her.

For eons women suffered - 

Then came a day, they thought,

'Enough is enough, we're not weaklings,

We are equal to men',

They cut short their hair,

They wore men's clothes.

Took upon themselves men's occupations.

But alas! feminine duties also fell, 

Entirely on their tender shoulders, 

As men were not ready to lend a helping hand.

This imbalance couldn't last long,

And man got ready to help,

his better half.

Little does the mankind know

That every job is not for both. 

Man is endowed with physical strength, 

He can do physical work much faster

and easier than women.

Women are endowed with mental

And emotional strength.

They can be the pillar of the family,

Nourisher for babies,

Anchor for kids, much better than men.

Simply because that is how

Nature meant it to be.

Women are like the Earth,

The nourisher, the multiplier,

They need not prove they are

Equal to men.

Men are like the sky,

The protector, they are

not endowed with the role

of Nourisher by Nature.

Go deeper and understand,

Man and woman, they are

just roles taken by us.

To experience the joys and sorrows,

To go beyond,

To the ultimate realization,

that we are all just souls!

-----------

Oslo- the Saudi of Europe

Norway, with its population of 4.6 million on the northern flank of Europe, is today one of the most wealthy nations in the world, both measured as GDP per capita and in capital stock. On the United Nation Human Development Index, Norway has been among the three top countries for several years, and in some years the very top nation.

It is a very beautiful city which breathtaking natural sceneries, and the rose gardens are awesome:

In 1969 Philips Petroleum discovered petroleum resources at the Ekofisk field, which was defined as part of the Norwegian continental shelf. This enabled Norway to run a countercyclical financial policy during the stagflation period in the 1970s. Thus, economic growth was higher and unemployment lower than for most other western countries.

All residents with residence permit in Norway are usually members of the National Insurance Scheme. This allows for social security for all people, giving them the benefit of pensions, benefits for unemployment, pregnancy and birth, single parental care, sickness and injury, disability, old age and death.

But while roaming around Oslo, the city didn't reek of the richness that we expected. The railway platforms were dirty, there were many beggars on the street.

 We were extremely lucky to get sunny days to explore the city. We thought we had arranged for beds in Anker hostel, but on arrival, realized that the beds were in the Anker apartment. Usually the stay in hostels are enjoyable, the common kitchen is  a meeting place for people of different nationalities. And they provide breakfast too.

In the Anker apartment, there was no breakfast. Though there was a refrigerator and hotplates in the room, there were no utensils at all! One has to take the kitchen box that  contained some pans, plates, cups, ladle by giving a deposit of 100 kroners, and return it within three hours, everything cleaned and dried, and get back the deposit. This was too much of a hassle.

On arrival we wanted to have some coffee, and got just 30 ml of espresso coffee in a minuscule cup for 15 kroners! On the first day we went walking to the botanical garden and really enjoyed the scenic areas with beautiful flowers and water bodies. One can really relax and enjoy the botanical variety and diversity. Most of the area is designed as an Arboretum, with about 1800 different plants. There is a large and varied collection of trees and shrubs planted in a systematic fashion after plant family.

Views of the botanical garden:

To explore the city it is economical to take a three day Oslo pass, which gives unlimited usage of buses, trains, boats, trams, free entry to the museums (and there are many museums with stiff entry fee), and a 20% discount in some selected restaurants.

The Munch Museum's collection was left to the city of Oslo by Edward Munch, who has a unique position among Nordic painters, and is considered a pioneer in expressionism. The museum has a collection of paintings, graphical prints and drawings.

The Nobel Peace Center is about the Nobel Peace Prize. This center opened in the heart of Oslo on 11th June 2005. One can learn about the various Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and their activities as well as the remarkable history of Alfred Nobel. It was a moment of pride too, to watch big pictures of Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian who  delivered his Nobel lecture on December 11, 2014 at the Oslo City Hall, Norway.

One morning we took a boat ride to the island Nesoddtangen. On the way we saw a castle and the opera house. When we reached the island, bus was waiting which took us around the island for an hour. The island was so beautiful and  full of greenery. An interesting finding there was that post boxes with names of the local residents were hung on the wall in the bus stops. Many of them were not even locked!

An afternoon was spent in visiting three museums - Mairtime  museum, Kon Tiki museum and the Reptile museum. The first one is for ship building, fishing and marine archaeology, boat models and marine paintings. Norway's oldest boat, Stokkebaten, is also exhibited here. The Kon Tiki museum has on display the original boats and exhibits from Thor Heyerdahl's world famous expeditions. The Oslo Reptile park contains more than 100 species of reptiles. It has a wide range of exotic and colorful animals like snakes, frogs, spiders and crocodiles. On Tuesdays there is a feeding show and we wee lucky to be there on a Tuesday. It was interesting to watch a small snake swallow a whole rat, slowly and steadily.

It is important to keep in mind that a flat fee is charged every time you exchange money in Oslo. Despite being a touristic city, there are very few places to change currency, like airport, railway station and big public places.

Leaving The Hair Open….

Hair style has an important role in the appearance of an individual. While dealing with many individuals suffering from constant tiredness, weakness and unexplained diseases, I have seen that the way we care for our hair and our hairstyle affects us at a spiritual level.

Hair and nails are relatively more Raja-Tama predominant than the rest of our body. As a result of this, ghosts (demons, negative energies) who are also Raja-Tama predominant find it easier to attack us through our hair. Negative energies attach themselves onto the hair creating subtle black energy centers, and from here, they affect a person.

This means that the way we manage and care for our hair can either aid in negative energies affecting us or it can minimize the risk of them attacking us from the spiritual dimension.

Nowadays it is common for women worldwide to leave their hair open and this is especially so when they step out for the evening wanting to look their best.

Why are women affected more?

Generally women are more Raja predominant than men from a spiritual level, and so they are more emotional by nature.

By leaving her hair open, the Raja component within her hair increases even further. An increase in the Raja subtle-component makes a person’s mind more fickle and also increases the tendency to be frivolous. This fickleness of the mind can be taken advantage of by negative energies to affect a woman and make her do and say things she normally wouldn’t.

When the hair is left open, women become more conscious of their five senses and their body. Very quickly the Raja component can be converted into the Tama component by negative energies. This leads to an increase in feelings such as depression, worry, and increased sexual thoughts leading to promiscuity.

Women with short hair are at a disadvantage as they generally keep their hair open. As a result, distressing energies from the environment are continuously attracted to the hair left open. Short hair on a woman is more likely to become charged with distressing vibrations.

When a woman sleeps with her hair open, the tips of the hair shaft are exposed. When sleeping we are more vulnerable to negative energy as they are more active at night due the increased Raja–Tama vibrations in the environment. This is especially so for women who do not do regular spiritual practice.

Why are men not affected by short hair?

At a spiritual level men generally have less of the Raja subtle-component than women; hence they are less emotional and are also less sensitive. They also have a higher ability to fight with negativity. As a result they are less prone to a subtle-attack because of their hair being cut. Men have a higher ability to imbibe the Sattva component with short and open hair.

In conclusion, as much as possible, women should not leave their hair down. It is better to put their hair up in a bun or tied in a plait or braid. Even while sleeping, it is better to tie one’s hair up.

Some interesting aspects:

Hair is an amazing gift of nature, and from a yogic perspective, it can actually help raise the Kundalini energy (creative life force), which increases vitality, intuition, and tranquility.

In olden days, people in many cultures didn’t cut their hair, because it was a part of who they were. Often, when people were conquered or enslaved, their hair was cut as a recognized sign of slavery. It was also understood that this would serve as punishment and decrease the power of those enslaved.

The bones in the forehead are porous and function to transmit light to the pineal gland, which affects brain activity, as well as thyroid and sexual hormones. Cutting bangs which cover the forehead impedes this process. When Genghis Khan conquered China, he considered the Chinese to be a very wise, intelligent people who would not allow themselves to be subjugated. He therefore required all women in the country to cut their hair and wear bangs, because he knew this would serve to keep them timid and more easily controlled.

As whole tribes or societies were conquered, cut hair became so prevalent that the importance of hair was lost after a few generations, and hairstyles and fashion grew to be the focus.

During the Vietnam War, undercover experts from the military searched American Indian Reserves for talented navigators, men with superior, if not supernatural, tracking abilities. After extensively documenting their skills for survival and tracking, they were enlisted. But once they were, whatever skills and talents they exhibited on the reserve seemed to vanish into thin air. Failures and fatalities led the government to conduct some expensive research on these recruits. When asked about their failure to perform well, the older recruits replied almost without exception, that when they received the mandatory military haircut, they could no longer ‘sense’ the enemy.

Hair is an extension of the nervous system, it can be correctly seen as exteriorized nerves, a type of highly evolved 'feelers' or 'antennae' that transmit vast amounts of important information to the brain stem, the limbic system, and the neocortex.

Cutting of hair is a contributing factor to unawareness of environmental distress in local ecosystems. It is also a contributing factor to insensitivity in relationships of all kinds. It contributes to sexual frustration.

Ref:

http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/hair-down

https://www.quantumbalancing.com/spiritualhair.htm
https://dailyoccupation.com/2017/07/26/spiritual-truth-american-indians-long-hair-tale-untold/

The world without me

It was in 2008 that my mother passed away, leaving a vacuum in my life. She was a working woman, with strong  moral principles and of bit of an  aggressive nature. I was on the  peaceful side, like my father. This was a reason for many heated  discussions between me and her. But  this did not reduce my love and  respect for her.

After her demise we have visited my maternal home many times. But my recent visit, in  June 2015 was a different one.  Usually we (my husband and I) would be busy visiting relatives and friends,  doing the shopping rounds, cooking  etc.., Now there wasn't much of  cooking to be done, visits were not  happening due to several reasons and  we were alone in the house a  major amount of time.

I got a lot of alone time which led to  some introspection. If I could relive the earlier years, would I like to behave differently? I think I was  a dutiful daughter, discussing all the major events in my life with my mother and taking her advice. After my marriage, I never let anything touch her self respect and pride (yes, she was lucky to have two great  sons-in-law, who were more of sons to her). But towards her last years I could have shown more patience, been more expressive in  my love and concern.

 At home when I was alone, I could feel her presence so  strongly. It was like two scenes running simultaneously in mind, one - of those days when she was  all over the house - multitasking. And the other - the home remaining without her, it is still existing….

Then something clicked inside me- I was experiencing the world without me. Now  that I have come back to my own house -  when I am doing things, I experience
two worlds simultaneously. One in which I see myself in the house, and another where I no longer exist, but the house is still existing. Nobody is indispensable in this world. We all have a small role to play, and then have to leave the stage.

More than the materialistic things that we accumulate or positions that we achieve, it is what we mean to somebody else, how much time we can give for a loved one, that matters. This awareness of a world without me, is giving me a great spiritual experience. It seems that a part of the colored glass in front of eyes is gone, changing my perception a little. Let me keep working at it… and wait for the Grace to descend!

Deception- a compulsory subject

Earth is a school where we have come to graduate. There is no limitation of time; we can take our own sweet time to learn each lesson. Unless we learn it thoroughly, it will keep on repeating. We decide the lessons we have to complete in one life time before we take birth, and we may complete them. We can take multiple life times to complete too.

Just like our worldly studies, here also there are some compulsory subjects and optional subjects. Observing the lives of people around me, and analyzing the lives of hundreds of people who came to me for healing, I have reached the conclusion that deception is a compulsory subject in this earth university.

Some of us encounter deception in childhood itself; it may visit during adulthood, or at the fag end of life. Whatever the age we are in when it arrives, it really takes us to the abyss of depression. And it is not an easy task to come out of it. But we have to come out, or how will we be ready for the next lesson?

There are some things that can help us overcome this depression. The main aspect that prevents healing is the thought, “Why me?”

When we realize that this is an experience affecting every one, the mind calms down and we are open to the means of healing.

Many will lose the interest in living, which brings on a series of physical ailments and they may become bed ridden. My approach in this situation is, suicide is not a solution at all. Being a past life regression therapist, I know the pitiful condition of souls of people who have committed suicide. We don’t know how long we are going to live, let’s take a minimum of one year. That means 365 days. Is it ok to live those many days bed ridden?  If not, one has to shirk the veil of depression and start living for one self.

The moment we tag our happiness to another person’s behavior towards us, we are making ourselves vulnerable to sadness. We need to learn to be happy by ourselves. Happiness is just an internal decision. Every day morning, make a resolution, “Today I am determined to remain happy, regardless of what happens externally.”

Once you have experienced a deception, it is important to forgive the person who deceived you. Believe me, it is not an easy task, and it is going to take time. But forgive we have to, not for the other person, more for ourselves. To release us from the shackles that is holding back the happiness from us. And remember, happiness is our birthright!

In the name of Reiki….

Vasanta (name changed) had contacted me one year back to discuss about Reiki. Her busy schedule didn’t allow her to come to the Reiki Academy before May 2015. And when I met her, she was in real bad shape.

She had physical problems, social and financial problems. She told she had learned Reiki three years back with another teacher, up to IIIB. Basically she learned Reiki to help her mother improve her health, but she was still not well.

“How should I be using the symbols?” she asked me.

“You are a Reiki IIIB channel i.e., you are a Reiki teacher. So are you teaching Reiki?” I asked.

She was taken aback by that question, “I can teach Reiki? How?”

I took a detailed history of her journey with Reiki. Her teacher taught her Reiki I and told to do full body Reiki healing for 21 days. On 22^nd day she was attuned to Reiki II. Her teacher did not stress the importance of daily self healing. From then on, she used to give Reiki healing to her own photograph for a few seconds and Reiki to her mother’s photograph (she was staying with her mother in the same house) to improve her physical condition.

After a few months, she got Reiki IIIA and IIIB attunements. Karuna Reiki was taught, and also so many other symbols (she showed me her note book). She had not observed any change in her life after Reiki.

“I can’t feel the presence of Energy in my palms while doing Reiki.” She told me.

“Feeling energy is related to one’s sensitivity. It is actually a sixth sense and it varies from person to person. A Reiki teacher has no role to play in that. Some are sensitive to the energy flow right from the start. Some develop it slowly with continuous Reiki healing, and I know some people who are not sensitive at all. Whether one can feel the energy flow or not, Reiki will definitely show results with healing. You are not getting any results, and that means something is wrong,” was my response.

Then I checked her palms for the presence of energy by dowsing with pendulum. As I expected, there was no energy flow.

“Let me attune you to Reiki I today. Do self healing for three months and then we will think about further course”, my suggestion was acceptable to her.

I gave her Reiki I attunement, she could feel the energy and she had an ear to ear smile to testify that. A dowsing revealed the presence of energy flow in her palms. Then we did self healing together.

“Now I can feel the energy flow and I feel so much at peace and happy after the healing.”

‘You are lucky that you are sensitive to the energy flow. Do self healing every day and your life is going to turn around, there’s no doubt about that,” I told her.

“Yes, I believe you,” she replied. The sparkle in her eyes told me that it was coming straight from her heart.