“Really?” asked Edwin, “You found that many people who do that sort of thing?”
“Actually,” I responded, “there were others interested too. Some had emailed to say that while they could not attend this year they hoped to come in the following year. Some were too far away and simply wished us well for the day.”
That sort of thing, as Edwin called it, is the Reiki Practice a spiritual healing practice from Japan. I had spent the day with over one hundred Reiki practitioners at the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Conference for Reiki Practitioners. But when Edwin asked me his question, I was at a completely different event that evening. It was a casual dinner and I was feeling way overdressed in my pantsuit. I was explaining the conference I had helped to organize and what Reiki was all about.
A conference for Reiki practitioners may not be of much use to the chronic pain patient but the three lessons that can be taken from the conference are universal.
For the attendees at the conference it was about getting a taste of Reiki from several different lineages and other perspectives from people within their own lineage. I would liken it to visiting Napa Valley in California and tasting the wine from a number of vineyards. In addition, you get to try the different varieties offered by the same vineyard at each stop - all this in an effort to find what suits your palate. When managing your own chronic pain meeting other people in the same boat can sometimes be helpful. Is there anything you have not tried that may benefit you? What little tricks are those people using to help them through the day? How can you use the experiences being shared to your advantage?
The conference also brought new information such as updating practitioners on what was happening from a legal perspective. The information may not have had a direct impact on a particular practitioner that day. Now, however, they have an idea of what new developments may be coming. It also opens the way for them to be proactive in choices they make moving forward. Understanding how the changing world of medicine, for example, impacts the care of chronic pain patients may help you when speaking to your doctor. New information means that you can choose the best form of treatment for your situation.
The day of the conference also offered an opportunity to network. It was a day of connecting with like-minded people hoping to share and learn from each other. And that, I think, is huge! In this age of the Internet, Facebook and texting, sometimes we really need to get out and meet each other face to face. To do so means having a human connection and feeling the energy that can only come from that uplifting interaction.
Getting out of the house when you suffer with chronic pain is not always easy but I think it is so important. It need not be a long journey, or even all day. When you can get together with people who want to share and help each other it lifts everyone present. It can be the catalyst for change or simply a much-needed diversion from the same old stuff.
Is it time for you to see a new perspective on an old issue? Or maybe just time to change your routine for a day, an afternoon, or an hour? Where are you today, where do you wish to be? Leave a comment on Facebook.