Answering the Call

Today, William Rand called me on my cell phone.

Who's that, the uninitiated might ask? Well, as founder of the International Center for Reiki Training, Rand is probably the closest thing to a Reiki "rock star" in this country. Granted, it's not like Stevie Nicks phoned me up, but it was still really cool.

I use Rand's textbooks in my classes, and I've watched him on video and listened to his guided meditations. So when I answered the phone this afternoon and heard, "Hello, this is William Rand with the International Center for Reiki Training," I was fully expecting some sort of prerecorded message to continue.

After a pregnant pause, I answered, "Yes, can I help you?"

Rand went on to ask me if I operated a Reiki center in a commercial space with a staff of Reiki practitioners. Apparently, his Center's quarterly Reiki News magazine is planning to include a feature story with tips for starting such an establishment.

Unfortunately, I couldn't steer him in the right direction in the metro Atlanta area. The other Master Teachers I know in town either run home-based studios like myself or are part of wellness centers that offer a wide variety of modalities, not just Reiki.

After I got off the phone with "Bill" (I'm feeling overly familiar), I wondered how he picked me out to personally survey, especially since he’s not even writing the magazine article himself. While I’m a registered Karuna Master Teacher with his Center, there are a bunch of those.

Then it occurred to me that I recently (playfully) added a page to my site titled "Meet the Staff":

http://www.wellspringreiki.com/wellspringstaff.htm

If you Google "Reiki +staff", this page comes up almost on top. Maybe Rand just skimmed over my site without actually clicking on that link.

If he had, he'd have been greeted with the visages of three darling kitties. That page is dedicated to my cats (Kismet, Brodie, and Zack Rabbit) who, in their way, do their best to help me with my practice.

A recent addition to my roster of regular Reiki clients mentioned that when she saw that "Meet the Staff" link, she thought this must a "big operation." She now knows I just meant the kitties. I'm thankful that she keeps coming back.

Fortunately, she loves animals and, like many, has recognized Kismet’s knack for healing work. I really believe he’s my “familiar” (definition: a spirit often embodied in an animal and held to attend and serve or guard a person.)

My Master teacher Amy Weeks has a cat that she feels plays a special role in her healing work. Simply the presence of animals is know to work effectively as a force transmuting negative energies into healing ones.

My hope is that the “Meet the Staff’ page doesn’t scare away people allergic to cats. If I know in advance of their sensitivites, I can take steps to isolate the cats and cleanse the air (through Hepa filters and other means) that make it possible for even the severely allergic to feel comfortable for all the hours of a Reiki class.

I love it, though, when students/clients are open and receptive to the healing power of Kismet and company. I have a suspicion that in a past life, Kismet was the healer and I was the cat.