Connections

This article was first posted here

When I was a little girl, there were so many things that held wonderment for me, and most of those things were found out in Nature. I would spend days alone in the woods building forts from pine boughs, talking to God, and communing with Mother Nature. Sometimes I can remember with such clarity what it was like back then, to be in the woods alone surrounded by Nature. And I remember that I’ve always been a nature lover.

The smells of the Earth, the crisp and pungent scent of pine and Earth, the sounds of dry leaves and small twigs crunching underfoot while exploring for hours on end, the sounds of twinkling brooks and birds gossiping fervently overhead in the trees. Being in the woods was a refuge for me in my young life. I always felt safer in the great outdoors, even safer than I did in my own bed. And strangely enough, I have always felt connected to the Divine, to God, since I can remember. My Soul must have understood that I chose my Life and the lessons required to learn and move forward on my Eternal Journey toward Oneness with the Universe, with the Divine. We are all on individual Journeys, and no matter which road we travel to reach the Great Path to Oneness, we know that all roads eventually lead to the same place ~ Wholeness, Connection to the Divine.

Over the last few years, my psyche, Soul, and heart have been cleared and opened to receive and to give unconditional love to those whom I come into contact with. I’m sure that there are many of you who feel this opening deep within, and can relate to what I am writing about at this moment. Clarity of thought, focus, and a keen sense of Self has come to pass for many of us over the past few years as we are hurled towards the Age of Aquarius with lightening speed. Reiki energy is one of the major tools I’ve utilized during the Ascension process. It calms me when I’m feeling discombobulated, out of touch, and anxious during high transitional periods. Reiki has helped to keep me centered and rooted in my Spirituality during some of the most emotionally chaotic periods.

At this most crucial time in the history of humanity, it is important for us as Reiki healers to strive to be our Authentic Selves. Know thyself: This was the wise counsel written above the doorway at the Temple of Delphi ~ Know Thyself. In remembering who we are, and in knowing ourselves, we can stand strong in our own counsel and inner wisdom. In that way we can help others meet their potential, find their own Inner Light, and bring the Christ-consciousness into their Being.

As Reiki practitioners, no matter what ‘level’ we are, we are consciously choosing to heal ourselves and Humanity. We are consciously choosing to bring the Light of Being into our Self and extend that Light to all those we come into contact with in our daily lives.

With gratitude to all the Reiki Angels, Reiki Grandmasters, Reiki Guides, and Reiki Beings …

Healing Professions and Integration ...

At times it's difficult to imagine me doing any other work than what it is I do, which is not only my 'job' but my Calling. I was thinking about this the other day on my drive to work, which currently is only approximately 20 minutes away (my last assignment was about an hour and a half drive each way). This assignment is another mental health R.N. assignment at a psychiatric facility in West Palm Beach. My last assignment was a telemetry/ICU one. I love variety. You could say I'm an eclectic nurse, in that regard. Anyway, I digress.

When I was a young child, perhaps no older than 4 years young,  I remember a deep and pervasive connection with Nature and all living beings. I said to any adult who took the time to ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up: "I want to be a nurse like my Aunt Nan." Aunt Nancy was my father's sister, and my Godmother. I always felt a special bond with her, and she encouraged me always to pursue my dream of being a nurse. I started young and during my senior year in high school, I took a vocational course for a few credits. When I graduated, I had a Certificate of Nursing and worked as a C.N.A. at the same small facility in my hometown that I'd procured my first job as a dietary aide.

Basically, I've always been attracted to and working in the medical field, even as a volunteer Candy Striper in my early teenage years. I knew what my calling was from a very young age, and I pursued it into adulthood. When I finally graduated from nursing school, my son wrote to me: "Congratulations on graduating nursing school, even though you've been a nurse all your Life" I paraphrased what he really wrote, but that was the gist of it. What he wrote touched my heart, but when I really thought about it, he was right.

Being a nurse, and being connected to my patients and their needs during each of my shifts is so important to me. Developing compassion for each of my patients, and getting to know each one as a person individually has always been one of my priorities as a nurse. On the days when I have time to spend with each patient getting to know them as a person, I feel most like the nurse I dreamt of being as a young child.

I simply wanted to post about some of the reasons I'm in this profession, or how I came to be in this calling. When I was a child, I was an animal healer. I was connected to horses, cats, dogs, birds, snakes, Nature, turtles ... any living thing. It seemed I'd find injured animals (mostly birds), take them in until they were able to fly away on their own again, and nurse them back to health. (Well, mother permitting, that is!)

When I was pregnant with my first child (my son), I worked as a C.N.A. (again at the very facility that I began my initial career in the medical field in my hometown!) and Aunt Nancy happened to be my Charge Nurse on the night shift. It was the early 1980's, and 'managed care' (what we in the nursing profession dubbed 'mangled care') was becoming the norm in the health care field. Corporations were taking over healthcare, and the field was changing (not necessarily for the better, mind you!). I remember my aunt saying to me one evening: "I didn't become a nurse to push a pencil" as she was endlessly charting at the desk in the nursing station. Mind you, that was pre-computers, so all the charting that was required was done by hand. I didn't understand completely what she meant by that, but as I matured ~ (and after I graduated from nursing school!) ~ I fully understood her lament! The first year I was working as an R.N.,  I wanted to turn the clock back and go back to being a C.N.A. again! I'd been a C.N.A. for more than 20 years, off and on, and becoming an R.N. was like culture shock, and extremely traumatic for me. (More about that another time).

Nursing is like second nature to me. It's innate, it's my Calling. It's my Profession. It is never, nor has it ever been, just a job. Being a nurse is certainly not about the money, nor is it about anything other than healing and health. Since I've been a nurse, I've become more conscious of my own health and well-being. I was a Reiki Master/Teacher and LMT (licensed massage therapist) before I was a nurse, but for some reason I wasn't as conscious of my health as I am now. Nursing has opened my Mind, my Heart, and my Soul (body-mind-spirit) to Life, to health, and to the flow of energy daily. I'm more conscious of the flow of energy between living beings, more adept at sensing things, more Intuitive now than I've ever been! It's as though my own being, the healer in me, was waiting for the exact moment when I became professionally licensed as a registered nurse. It's as though I was always meant to be a nurse. (I was!) It's as though I was always a nurse, I just needed that piece of paper to appropriately and professionally practice.

Integrating these professions: nursing, massage, and Reiki has become a focus for me. Someday, all three will be equally important in my Life and in my profession. I continually feel an urgent need to integrate the medical and the alternative or complementary medicine. I know it's coming. Perhaps, it's already here ...

Thanks for letting me ramble on, my friends :)

Blessings, Light, and Love ~

Reiki RN