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A Complete Guide to Healing Yourself, Healing Others, and Healing the Earth
Crossing Press 1996, 2006 ISBN #1-58091-173-0 I am very pleased whenever a book is taken seriously enough that it warrants an update. And I am enamored of numbers enough that I think an update after ten years is a special one. I the first edition of this book never came into my life, although Diane Stein's "Essential Reiki"did, and had such an impact on me that it is the one reason that I started studying Reiki - at a time when there was a lot of noise about "lineage", and when studying for Reiki Master/Teacher could be a costly ($10,000) proposition. I am now a Reiki Master/Teacher, work professionally in the field of Tarot, and have studied many of the modalities that Stein talks about in this work. One of her basic tenets is that each practitioner needs to blend whatever works for them into their healing practice, to which I heartily concur. I don't believe that I know one Tarot counselor, or energy healer, that uses only one mode of healing. Stein goes on to point out that energy healing can easily be used in conjunction with Western medicine. "Essential Psychic Healing" has been structured so that everyone, from the most beginning student to the most advanced student, will find something here for them. Stein begins by talking about the changes in the earth herself, and shares a Wiccan self-blessing that she recommends using nightly. (You do not have to be Wiccan to use this blessing - I feel that it would work for all religions. She recommends doing it skyclad (nude), but for those of us that do not feel comfortable doing this, it can be done with cloths on.) From here Stein moves into the world of meditation, and presents several different methods for meditating that anyone can use. She also recommends that this be done for between 20-30 minutes every day. From blanking your mind to using candles, phrases, or mantras - this is an interesting journey. Meditation is often combined with visualization, so that is the next subject that Stein addresses. Visualization (in the meditative state) is seen as a way to influence the body's energy field, which in turn influences physical health. Stein presents several ways in which the visualizations can be done. As the states reached here are deeper than those reached through meditation, the common sense recommendation is made to be sure that when you come out of the visualization (which is a very real world), to move your arms and legs, and make sure that you are centered back in this world. Biofeedback and hypnosis are two modules that are also discussed, along with the use of affirmations. The chapter on chakras and the aura I felt was very well done, beginning with the four energy bodies closest to our physical level: (1) the physical/etheric double, (2) the emotional/astral/Hara, (3) the mental, and (4) the spiritual. There is a diagram that I found of interest, showing the oversoul, the light body, and the essence of self, which shows our many incarnations. There are graphics showing the seven major chakras worked with in healing, and the Twelve Strand DNA (The Twelve Chakra's of Barbara Marciniak). Stein discusses energy blockages, and different ways to clear them. Stein also discusses energy as its own entity, as this is what we work with as healers. She calls energy the "master glue" of all matter and body, as well as molecules, non-physical bodies and the planet. It is a violation to willingly misuse energy (think turning to the dark side here). One of the issues discussed here is that of determining that your client really does want to heal. My first Reiki teacher told of a client that was brought to her, kicking and screaming. She could treat him if she wanted to, but he did not want her to touch his Aids! He willingly wanted to retain the disease, because it gave him a hold over others. How to detect energy, the building of chakra shields, and the use of color is discussed here. One of my greatest joys is working with spirit guides - my own, and those of my clients. I was very happy to see a chapter devoted to this work. Stein discusses the purpose of our guides, that we may have more than one guide in any given lifetime, and that sometimes they are not with us for an entire lifetime. She shows us how to recognize them, and how to work with them. Hands On Healing has a chapter of its own also. Stein presents hands on healing as starting with the body, then reaching from and through it to the nonphysical levels, emotions, mind and spirit. The healer acts as a channel to bring energy from Universe through their hands to their client. The healing is not "of" the healer, it is "through" the healer. In this section Stein presents the module of Reiki, and the different hand positions used for healing self, as well as for healing others. (Note: This type of healing can be used on anyone and anything - humans, plants, animals, and inanimate objects. When enough energy has been presented, the client, whoever or whatever the client is, will no longer accept it. No harm can ever be done with energy healing.) One of the most difficult aspects of the process of healing is that of healing the emotions. According to Stein, our emotions are the bridge between our physical body and the power of our mind. The traumas that we experience in life cloud the mind, so that we are not thinking clearly. By releasing these emotions, we can become whole once again. Deep seated emotions become healing issues in the present lifetime, and karmic issues in our next lifetime. Healing the emotional damage from the present lifetime is the focus of this chapter. The power of forgiveness is one of the cornerstones here. Crystal healing is something that I have been working with for many years. When reading the Tarot in person, I allow my clients to choose rose quartz crystals to hold in their hands during the reading, as this will help calm them, and will allow them to "take the reading home with them", as crystals hold information for us. Gemstones can be worn, left in specific places around the house, used in jewelry, carried in pockets, and placed directly on a client during a healing session. Each crystal carries a specific purpose and intent, and will work alone, as well as with other crystals. To this end, Stein shows how to clear and program crystals for specific use. Some people find it hard to accept that healing can be done at a distance. It certainly can! A very common type of distance healing comes to mind, and that is church (or other) prayer groups. The distance may be long or short, but the intent is there, and the healing does take place. Asking permission to send the healing is one very important step here. (Note: The permission is asked of the person's guide, not necessarily of the person themselves, although this also can be done.) Stein also addresses the subject of Karma. the first thing pointed out is that our spiritual growth is a result of the accumulation of several lifetimes of experience. Past lives become important for this life healing. My personal thought with this work is that the past lives that we will access most easily in this lifetime are those that are most closely connected to the lessons of this lifetime. Stein presents Soul Retrieval as part of a psychic healing, even though it is normally considered within the realm of the shamanic. She states that her healing technique here draws from all traditions. What is accomplished here is repair of core soul damage, of repairing the energy holes within us that make us feel "not whole". Spirit attachments come under discussion as negative attachments, and something that all healers need to be aware of. This can be random energy that attaches itself to us, or energy that was created in someone's mind and sent to us. Either way, it is there, and need to be released. Stein views this as a "cleaning out" of the astral plane, of helping souls move on that may not even know they are here. How do we detect these entities? Stein mentions things like not feeling alone in a room where you are clearly alone, or having things "happen", as in pictures falling off of the wall on their own, or of noting that an animal around you seems to be aware of something that you are not. Last, but not least, we are presented with the process that is death. Stein presents death as a "visit home" between our births. this "going home" is joyful, loving and healing. Stein discusses the stages of the death process, and the silver cord. One of the issues that healers face is the recognition that others are holding on to someone that is ready to pass over, keeping them from doing so. In these cases, the person holding on needs to allow the person ready to pass over to pass over, and the healer is then in a position to help the one who needs to pass over do so. One of the finest sections of this book addressed imagery and healing. We have been taught, in the case of various cancers, to visualize our white cells as warriors, vanquishing the "bad" cancer cells. I never felt comfortable with this manner of healing. Recently I attended a teleconference on healing cancer, with some of the audience there to be healed, and some of the audience to lend energy to the healing. The teleconference was led by healer Nicki Scully, and was quite impressive. Love was sent from the center of our hearts to the cancerous cells. They were assured that they were loved and honored, and were given the option to go to a planet where they would feel at home. That is very much what Stein presented in this book - using positive visualization to return cells to their precancerous state, to their state of wholeness and health. This is not a work to simply be read and set aside - it is a book to be worked with, a book that will lead prospective healers to a totally new lifestyle, to a new way of thinking and acting. It has its place as a reference work, and as a template for healers.
Bonnie Cehovet
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