Last night, my friend Deb and I went to Hopewell, NJ to take part in a Reiki Share; a group of Reiki practitioners get together to give each other treatments and to answer any questions guests who are curious may have.

Deb is going to take a Level one class when time permits, but she was hankering for a Reiki treatment herself.  This seemed like a great introduction to what she has been longing for most of her adult life.  She is the original flower child; when I was interested in finding about crystals, herbs, and other paraphernalia of alternative modalities, I had only to go to her house and look through her book stash.

The drive to Hopewell was a little scary in the dark. There is a stretch of 206 that my old eyes had trouble navigating.  My gps is also in need of updating, so we relied on mapquest, too.  I was happy my friend was able to come with me.

The Reiki Share is held in the refurbished Hopewell Train Station.  It is a Victorian monstrosity with tons of gingerbread.  The tall ceiling and uncovered windows didn’t seem appropriate for what is supposed to be a relaxing, meditative experience.  But I was so wrong about that.

The leader, Mary, is an outgoing, warm woman, who in addition to being a Reiki Master is also a massage therapist.  She made everyone feel welcome, no matter what their level of training or if they were there to receive Reiki or simply to observe.

Four people brought massage tables.  Thirteen women and one man showed up.  The man didn’t stay, but he was so interesting, I”ll save that for another post.  We divided into groups and each group chose a person to get the first treatment.  One of the participants whose name I forget, I am so sorry, started playing a cd of appropriate music.  She is an aromatherapist, and each person was annointed with a wonderfully smelling essential oil blend she called Abundance.  We could smell cloves.

I was the first to get a treatment in my group.  I felt so lucky to have Katie and a gal I will call Regina. (I feel awful that I forgot her name, too.)  Katie is a chiropractor and craniosacral therapist.  She was at my head, Regina at my feet.  What happened next was not the usual Reiki treatment.  The tables were made with two sheets so the treater could slip her hands between the two sheets to treat your back at the same time as the front.  It was amazing.  I think I’ll give treatments like that from now on.

Whatever Katie did to my neck and head was so wonderful, it sort of felt like she was pulling my head from left to right, but when I saw her working on someone else, she barely moved the head.  The movements were very subtle.

Time flew by and before we knew it, ten o’clock had arrived; we were supposed to be done by nine.  The evening was beneficial in so many ways; I was able to practice Reiki on people other than my friends and family.  I received a great treatment.  I met some lovely women.  Hopefully, I will be able to make the time to go next month.

One of my many shortcomings reared its ugly head last night.  Although there was a ‘gong’ clock;  a clock made especially for body work practitioners that you can set like a timer but instead of a buzzer, a lovely tibetan chime rings when it is time to move your hands, people lingered longer than I thought was necessary at each position.  The old OR nurse in me popped up; get ’em in and get ’em out.  So I have to learn to relax, meditate, not be so worried about the clock.

During the day, I went to Medford to my tapestry class. I have never been interested in weaving tapestry, but something interesting is happening to me; I am really loving this.  I can see myself actually planning and weaving a tapestry.  Its more communal than loom weaving because it can be portable.  Right now I am learning the techniques.  The yarn used is also different than anything I have….I’m trying to make due with what I have.  Chenille will pop up somewhere in one of my tapestries.

Today I went to my friend Jen’s house to help her play with her new woolen mill.  All I can say is WOW!!!!!  They have two carders, a huge picker, a thing that takes the roving and pin drafts it so the spindles can utilize it, and two giant skein winders.  We figured out how to get the roving attachment to work, and now I think I will be able to get mine running when the weather gets warmer.  Jen’s is in her basement, so they can run it all year.  She’ll have her own yarn soon.

After that we went to Woolbearers to pick up some shelving, and I bought yet another skein of wool boucle in colorway Pretty.  Its for the never ending rib warmer.  The store looks lovely!  I saw Sabra and Myra and then Donna and Brenda came in.

Cate called last night and said she would be interested in doing a breast cancer walk, and Brenda and Donna do the three day walk several times a year.  I spoke to Donna about forming a team from our Bungs group to do a walk, so maybe that will pan out.

Have to figure out what to do with yet another pound of ground turkey tonight. …..