"I'm going on an adventure!" - Bilbo Baggins
This week, I began a year-long Shamanic Reiki Master Teacher apprenticeship. I feel like I'm stepping into a slightly unfamiliar yet evolving space. Like Bilbo leaving the Shire, there is curiosity and anticipation, and a sense of movement into what is unfolding rather than into something entirely unknown. I feel as if I'm setting out full to the brim and in need of nothing; historically, the opposite would have been the case.
So as I begin to make sense of this new journey, it helps to pause and define the territory a bit...
Shamanism is an ancient practice that connects us with realms beyond ordinary perception and with the intelligence of nature.
Reiki is a gentle energy healing method that channels universal life force to support balance and well-being. Shamanic Reiki combines these two paths. It allows energy to flow while connecting with the wisdom of spirit and nature.
I come to this program without prior Reiki experience. I have many years of being a student, though, and that identity program is quite strong. In the past, being a student meant mastering knowledge, achieving goals, and accumulating skills. That highly trained version of me is super ready to organize, plan, and structure. She wants timelines, syllabi, and clear expectations, and she wants them NOW!
But becoming a Shamanic Reiki practioner is not a linear or strictly didactic path. It unfolds organically and individually. And so, Student Angie sometimes feels uncomfortable. She worries she is going to fall behind or is not doing enough. She wants control and clarity, but this path asks for something different.
This path demands presence. And in that presence, I notice when my mind is trying to steer. I take what is useful from it, and let the rest fall away (as best I can). I sink beneath the surface of my thinking. I listen, open, and allow life to move through me. Ego and intellect are useful at times, but they cannot be in charge. This path is for grounded intuition and the setting aside of any identity in order to become a "hollow reed." The conduit through which life force energy can be channeled.
Already, in just the first few steps, I am seeing the balance between planning and surrender, action and presence. Between the structured student and the intuitive practitioner. They seem opposed, yet, of course, they are one. Both are needed, both are part of me. Both are here and welcome.
I am in awe of how life moves through me. Of how little my mind actually needs to know. The best thing I can do is return to the present moment time and time again with open curiosity and willingness to be a bridge between this world and the world beyond. My life has never felt fuller or richer. And I can’t wait to see what comes next.