I WALKED INTO MY ASTROLOGY READING thinking that it would be bringing me insights into the life I was living as an artist, but this time was different. My astrologer suggested that I seek out becoming a Reiki practitioner because I had healing hands. This came as a shock because I loved being an artist. She gave me a business card of a friend of hers who was a Reiki Master and teacher. I went to see her for a couple of Reiki sessions, and I was amazed at how I felt—like I had received a massage from the inside out. I felt calm and relaxed with a feeling of real happiness within my heart that I had never felt before. I asked her to sign me up for the next Reiki class she was teaching, and my career as a Reiki practitioner began.

For the next year, I practiced on all my friends and went through all the levels to become a Reiki Master Teacher. My life changed in so many ways. I let go of my particular lifestyle as an artist and began living my life in a more spiritual, healthy way. As one door closes another one opens. I began to become much more conscious of what I put into my body and how I took care of my- self. No more late nights out partying and having hangovers the next day! My diet improved. I realized that I needed to be grounded and present for the people I was giving Reiki to and that I also needed to be present to love myself and my body.

One way Reiki changed my life was by practicing Reiki on my- self every evening just before I went to sleep. This deep, self-loving practice helped me to honor myself and create a new feeling of self- esteem that I had never had before. I was putting special time aside for myself every night for fifteen to thirty minutes to appreciate and have gratitude for me. I noticed that if I had been in a bad mood and I did Reiki on myself, I could shift my mind to a calmer and more loving place. If I had had a disagreement with someone that day, doing Reiki on myself would help me to have compassion for myself and the other person and calm my emotions. If I had a place in my body that hurt, I would Reiki my belly until it eased and re- leased. I realized how in awe I was of Reiki to heal me and to change me into a more loving, calm and compassionate person.

I decided to find an office space and start my Reiki practice in San Francisco. I had doubts come up, but I remembered that this is Reiki. This is Universal Life Force Energy. This is good. I can do this. I let Reiki guide me forward one step at a time. I found that people sought me out for this loving, healing modality that sup- ports all people where they are and helps them to gently grow. I learned to trust myself in relationship to how Reiki supports me and to honor those who came to receive the healing energies of Reiki. My business began to grow, and I was supporting myself financially as a Reiki practitioner and by teaching Reiki classes to pass on this beautiful healing tradition.

As I grew in my Reiki practice, I had these moments in sessions where I felt that I wanted to sing or create healing sounds with the Reiki energies. This felt very scary and crazy at first, but I would gently hum sometimes. I decided to take a sound healing and singing class with Amber Field, a local sound healer. Her class helped me overcome my fears. We learned the spiritual songs that she taught, and I would have tears of joy running down my cheeks as I sang with twenty women and men in four-part harmonies. I practiced singing the songs in the shower, walking on the streets, while I cooked dinner—and soon I felt as if they were a part of me. I began singing to others in some of my Reiki sessions, with Reiki coming through my voice. I found that many people opened up and shed tears of sadness that needed to release or tears of happiness as they opened up more fully than ever before. Some people told me that the songs I sang helped them to feel calm and safe. I felt gratitude for all those who created these spiritual songs that I can now sing with Reiki coming through my voice and my hands together at the same time.

My curiosity about sound healing grew as I used it more and more. I discovered that sound healing uses the power of sound waves and vibrations to restore one’s mind, body and spirit to a sense of balance and harmony through the use of instruments and the human voice. The sound waves shift our brainwave frequencies from a beta state of normal awareness to an alpha state of re- laxation and meditation. The sound vibrations also bring balance to the subtle energies of the physical body. Sound healing has been in existence for centuries in many cultures, such as the Asian In- dian and Native American ones, with chants, singing, drumming and the sounds of other musical instruments.

I decided to try a modern sound healing tool and bought a chakra set of tuning forks. I learned that each tuning fork is a note of the scale that goes with each chakra to help all the chakras come into alignment. The notes that go with each chakra are: B – crown chakra, A – third eye chakra, G – throat chakra, F – heart chakra, E – solar plexus chakra, D – sacral chakra, C – root chakra.

When I use these sound healing tools, I let the Reiki flow through my hands and then I use each tuning fork over each chakra, allow- ing the vibrations to flow into the chakra areas. I let the emanations of each note flow with Reiki so that people can find a very deep re- laxation with this combination of Reiki and tuning forks. I don’t use them in every session, but they really help when I feel called to use them to help open up stuck energy in a chakra with Reiki.
Client responses have been very positive. One client told me that when I used the tuning forks with Reiki over each chakra, she felt a peppermint-like cooling sensation. She said that she loved the combination because it seemed to replenish her energy and bring about a lightness of being. Another client that was very sensitive to the energy work liked the feeling of freedom that she experienced from the vibrations above her body, telling me that she felt uplifted by the use of the tuning forks and Reiki.

I was curious to learn even more, and so I attended an event at the Globe Institute for Sound Healing, also located in San Francisco. My mind was blown open when the facilitator, Institute owner David Gibson, asked us to make the sounds of LOVE. We couldn’t use words, but only sounds! How do I make the sounds of LOVE, I asked myself? When it came to my turn, I freaked out. Then, I closed my eyes, breathed and asked Reiki to move through my heart and my voice—and it did. I sang “AhhhhAmmm- mOooooooo” three times softly. I felt elated and opened my eyes. I could still feel the vibrations of the sounds inside my chest. “I did it!” I said to the group, and everyone smiled back at me.

David then brought out many white crystal bowls, some 12 inches to 24 inches and some even bigger in diameter. He used a suede stick to roll around the edges of the crystal bowls. Beautiful and profound sounds emanated from them. I felt the vibrations moving through my body, gently creating an inner hum. I felt a sense of warmth growing inside. I was hooked! I said to myself, “I gotta get some of these yummy bowls!”

I bought a twenty-one inch “F” heart chakra bowl and started playing it at home, exploring all the sounds that the crystal bowl created. I was amazed and would play the bowl for friends who came over to visit. One friend laid down on pillows next to me and the crystal bowl. I started to create the sounds, rolling the suede stick around the rim of the bowl and, to my surprise, I started singing sounds from my heart! They weren’t words, but sounds that organically arose from my heart chakra and came out as my sounds and song. I felt such joy as I authentically sang the notes from my core self that moved me. At the same time, I could feel tears falling down my cheeks. My friend enjoyed what was happening as I birthed my heart song. Afterwards he thanked me for a beautiful experience during which he had felt energy shifting to help him become more in touch with his deeper self.

I realized this was such a joyful and exuberant moment for both of us and that I wanted to do more! I decided to have a sound healing event and invited twenty people to come. I rented a yoga studio so that we would all have enough room. We sat in a circle on pillows and blankets. I had my crystal bowl before me, hugging it before we began as I felt gratitude for it and all the lovely souls who had come to the gathering. I invited everyone to explore and enjoy their own authentic voices by singing from their hearts. I started rolling the suede stick around the bowl and the room filled with the sound waves and vibrations. I raised my open left hand to everyone and asked the Reiki to flow through the room with the emanations of the crystal bowl.

I sang from my heart sounds that moved through me with Reiki. At one point during the evening, all of our voices created a harmonic song as one song. We weaved in and out of each other’s voices, interconnected to each other through sound vibrations and Reiki. Many people had releases and cried as they let pain go, some laughed in an ecstatic flow of energy and some found complete calmness within and had serene smiles on their faces.

I continue to have sound healing events with the Reiki flowing through my voice and hands and the crystal bowl, and many come to enjoy the opportunity to be in community in a healing environment with sisters and brothers on a healing path. I have learned how Reiki heals in infinite ways through my hands, my voice, the tuning forks and the crystal bowls. My personal Reiki practice continually grows. I am in awe of the powers of Reiki, and I am constantly coming to new understandings of its possibilities.

I am so grateful for this incredible healing modality.