|
From the first time I experienced Reiki during a session, which was about 2006, I knew in my heart that I had to learn it. At the time, I was having occasional acupuncture sessions with a very skilled and talented acupuncturist. One day as she and I were chatting during my appointment, she mentioned that she thought I’d like Reiki, as she knew of my interest in crystals and spirituality. “What’s Reiki?” I asked. I was not familiar with it. As she briefly told me about it, it sounded wonderful and I was curious. I asked her where I could have a session. She mentioned that she was a Reiki practitioner and could give me a session. With that, I was ready to book a session and experience it! I recall that my initial Reiki sessions were very relaxing and took me deep into inner stillness. The radiant Reiki energy felt so blissful and nurturing. I remember having some inner visions during some sessions as well. I left my Reiki sessions feeling uplifted, peaceful, lighter, and clearer. I simply loved the energy and asked her to tell me more about Reiki. I was surprised when she told me that one could learn Reiki in a weekend workshop. I was excited and because I had a great rapport with her, I was hoping she would offer a Reiki class so that I could learn from her. However, she explained that although she had the certification to practice Reiki, she hadn’t done the next level of Reiki training to be able to teach it. The strong interest I had to get certified in Reiki continued. I thought to myself, how could I not learn it? I would be able to give myself Reiki and it would be a wonderful and empowering way to enhance my personal well-being. I feel Reiki is a beautiful gift to humanity. Anyone can learn Reiki, and its loving, nurturing, and transformative power can bless and guide all aspects of one’s life. So, I began to research more about Reiki and Reiki certification. At that time, Reiki was not as well-known or mainstream here in Edmonton, Alberta, as it has become today. I wanted to find a Reiki teacher and class that felt right for me, that would provide professional, high-quality, and thorough training. In my research about Reiki, I learned about the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT). With the extensive Reiki research that William Lee Rand, the founder and president of the ICRT had done, and the advanced training and experience of the Reiki teachers at the center, I felt like training through the ICRT would be the right fit for me. I felt it would provide me with what I was looking for and a solid foundation in Reiki. So, in September 2007, I travelled to Sedona, Arizona, to take the Usui/Tibetan Reiki Level I/II class with Laurelle Shanti Gaia, a Senior Reiki Master Teacher with the ICRT. It was a beautiful experience and class. And it would also slowly continue to set my path in a new direction. My husband accompanied me on the trip, and we spent some extra days there, enjoying the beauty of Sedona, which is known for its red rock formations and spiritual vortex sites. He didn’t take the class with me, but he did later become my first Reiki student! 
As a side note … For some time before doing my Reiki I/II class, I had become interested in studying the non-dualistic teachings of A Course in Miracles (ACIM). I hadn’t yet purchased the book though, to get started with the curriculum.
During one of the days that I was in my Reiki class, my husband was out and about walking around in Sedona, and found a little bookstore where he found and purchased a copy of the ACIM book for me. It was a nice surprise and gift. I mention ACIM here, simply because it has been such an important part in shaping my personal path of self-realization and also my approach to healing and vibrational alignment. One that recognizes and honors our inherent nature (our formless essence) which is already whole, complete, awake, and One with all of creation. The essence of what we truly are is perfect peace, love, innocence, pure awareness, and presence. My intention for taking the Reiki I/II class was to use it for myself. After the class, it became my practice to give myself Reiki regularly. I appreciated that I didn’t need to direct anything, but instead I could allow the conscious intelligence of Reiki to take the lead. I could simply be carried by the sacred energy, which knows exactly what to do and what is needed. I found this liberating to be able to simply rest and relax into, its calming energy. I also began to give Reiki treatments to friends and family. After receiving the Reiki I/II attunements, one thing I noticed was that my intuition opened up and Reiki was helping me to learn to trust it. Many experience an enhancement of their intuition with attunement to Reiki, along with a heightened awareness of energy. So, Reiki was helping me to become increasingly more aware of, and in tune with, the innate intelligence and wisdom that we all hold within. Eventually, I felt the inner nudge to take the next level of Reiki training through the ICRT which was the Usui/Tibetan Advanced Reiki Training (ART) and Reiki Master class. I took this Reiki training in 2008, in Oregon, with another Senior Reiki Master Teacher, Colleen Benelli. Reiki was assisting me to gain more confidence, build resilience, and giving me the courage to follow the path that brings me the most joy. After the Reiki Master training, I also noticed an expansion in creativity. Slowly, Reiki was guiding me to trust more in the divine order of the Universe and the flow of life. At that point, I had witnessed the personal transformation I was receiving from Reiki. I was incorporating Reiki into all areas of my daily life. With the benefits of Reiki that I was experiencing, I felt inspired and enthusiastic to share Reiki with others professionally too. So, I began renting a therapy room in a wellness center and began offering Reiki sessions in Edmonton, a couple of evenings per week. As I continued my path with Reiki, in 2011 I travelled to Seattle to take the Karuna Reiki® training with William Rand who developed this advanced form of Reiki in the 1990’s. (The meaning of the word karuna is compassionate action in Sanskrit). During those years when I began my Reiki journey, I was working at the University of Alberta as an International Admissions Advisor. With my educational background in the fields of Biology and Education, I had developed a strong interest in the area of holistic health. Shortly after the Karuna Reiki® training, I decided to leave my work at the University of Alberta to focus on this interest. In 2020, I did the Usui/Holy Fire® III Reiki® Master training online, with William Rand. Holy Fire® Reiki was first introduced through the ICRT in 2014. Holy Fire® III Reiki is a combination of traditional Usui Reiki and a modern evolution of Reiki which has a higher vibration. Holy Fire® III Reiki is both powerful and gentle and its energy is noticeably more refined and comes from a higher level of consciousness. This has been my personal experience with Holy Fire® Reiki as well. Just to note, the word "holy" as used in the name Holy Fire® Reiki refers to wholeness and completeness. In 2024, I took the Usui/Holy Fire® III Reiki World Peace Reiki Master Upgrade webinar which was presented by William Rand and Colleen Benelli. It was a gift to myself for my birthday. In 2025, I took William Rand’s Reiki Booster Ignition online and have definitely felt a boost in the Reiki energy afterwards. Reiki has been such a wonderful support on my personal path over the years, nurturing me holistically (physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually). It has helped me to feel a stronger sense of purpose in life. Reiki has also assisted me with moving through resistance, change, and challenging experiences and situations. And it has offered guidance and direction towards solutions and opportunities. Reiki has been one way for me to deeply connect with inner stillness and the present moment. I have also worked with other lovely and transformative vibrational modalities over the years, and had focused on some of those for a while at times, but I keep coming back to Reiki. Reiki is like a caring and supportive friend that has always been there for me since it entered my life. I feel blessed that I have been able to share Reiki with others, not only in-person as I had initially begun, but also largely remotely by distance and online. This year will be 19 years since I took my first Reiki class. I can’t imagine my life since then without Reiki, as it has been such an amazing ally and light on my path. It has enriched my life in so many ways. I am comforted, knowing that as I move forward, Reiki will continue to guide me. In Oneness and Peace, Maya Bringas ✽PS. Do you have a Reiki experience or story? Feel free to share it in the comment box below. I always love to read your comments. Also, if you feel the inner calling to explore Reiki, you are welcome to learn about Reiki training and sessions with me. It would be my joy to support you on your unique path.
0 Comments
Have you ever had the experience of feeling a deep sense of connection, calm, and peace during a meditation or energy work session, but then notice those feelings gradually fade after a while? And what you really would like is to be able to experience more of that deep sense of connection with inner stillness, calm, peace, ease, and clarity outside of your meditation practice as well, as you move through your daily experiences. Or maybe you feel that you don’t have enough time to connect with inner stillness, even though you want to. If so, you’re not alone. This is something I often hear. Without some effective ways to support a conscious connection to the ever-present stillness and peace within, as one moves through their day, it can be easy to get pulled into, and perhaps even lost at times, in the thinking mind. When this happens, there is a disconnection from the present moment, which is the only time there is — the only time we are ever in. The connection with inner stillness, peace, ease, and clarity that may arise during meditation or with energy work, then seems to fade away into the background, while the noise of the mind comes back to the forefront. ✽ A solution is bringing a simple mini-meditation into everyday life situations, that can be done anywhere, including when you are on the go. I personally love to use this throughout the day. Especially if any sense of unease arises — from self-doubt or annoyance for example — then that's a sign that I need to pause a moment to come back to inner stillness. In this inner stillness is peace and the remembrance of what we truly are — wholeness. I share the suggestions for this heart-centered mini-meditation with others as well. The comments I hear back is that it's easy, quick, relaxing, and effective. The specific examples provided below, show how it can be easy for anyone to bring more inner stillness into daily living, no matter one’s schedule. This mini-meditation can be just a few minutes, or longer if you so choose. First I’ll outline when/where it can be done and then follow with the 5 simple steps. These are just a few possible suggestions to get started, and inspire you to find other times that fit into your lifestyle … Heart-Centered Mini-Meditation This Mini-Meditation to Connect with Inner Stillness Can Be Done:
5-Step Mini-Meditation to Connect with Inner Stillness: ✽ All 5 steps are done with eyes open. So, at the times when you are bringing your mind’s attention into the body, you are still aware of your surroundings. Step 1
➡ Note: if you are attuned to Reiki, you can also activate Reiki after Step 1 and the beautiful Reiki energy will enhance this mini-meditation. Depending on the place and situation you are in when doing it, you can place your hands comfortably on your body (tops of the thighs for example, if seated), or simply allow the Reiki energy to flow through you. Follow your inner guidance. ➡ Slow and deep breathing, and Reiki, activate the vagus nerve, engaging the parasympathetic nervous system and its relaxation response (rest and digest mode). Bringing focus to the heart as well, enhances the relaxation response, strengthening the heart-brain connection. Relaxation helps us access inner stillness. Step 2
Step 3
I began practicing body scanning a few years ago during a time period when I was experiencing symptoms that were often aggravated during or for a short while after bumpy train rides. It was a great support in helping me ground, be in the present moment where the point of our power is, and more deeply connect with inner stillness. ✽ Note: no length of time engaging in this heart-centered mini-meditation is too short. Even 10 seconds is beneficial. They are holy instants — moments to remember, feel into, and align more deeply with the wholeness and magnificence of your true essence. ➡ Doing the above mini-meditation steps can have a profound effect on their own. The following 2 optional steps can be added after the above 3 steps. They will enhance this heart-centered practice. Optional Add-On Steps for a Deepened Connection with Inner Stillness Step 4
I enjoy doing this and what this does, is it helps to sense the deeper, true essence — the consciousness — of what it is that you are looking at, beyond the form. It also brings a deep heart-felt sense of awe, connection, unity and Oneness with all of life. It’s a beautiful practice that deepens inner stillness, presence, and also promotes compassion. ➡ The activation of heart qualities like awe, peace, unity, and compassion also stimulate the vagus nerve and build heart coherence — a physiological state when the systems of the body, heart and brain rhythms, breathing, and hormonal response are in sync. Step 5
✽ Steps 4 and 5 can help with staying more rooted to your inner being, as you interact and engage with the outer world. As you practice this heart-centered mini-meditation, no one will even know. Whether you are at home, or while you are standing in line at the grocery store, or while sitting quietly with other passengers on the train etc.! However, your connection to inner stillness always sends ripples of stillness, peace, and coherent energy to everything and everyone around you. It blesses you and the world. Also, after practicing this gentle meditation a few times, the 5 steps may become more fluid, flowing from one step to the next. Each step merging together as one. ✽ It seems nowadays that many people are habitually pulled to their cell phones to surf the internet or social media during the times mentioned above, in which this nurturing mini-meditation can possibly be done. Such times also offer an alternative opportunity — moments to deepen connection to inner stillness, replenish your energy, and support nervous system regulation, balance and inner harmony. ➡ The more we take these short moments to rest in stillness, the more the brain and body become familiar with this state of being. So, it supports the embodiment of stillness and peace which are qualities of our true essence. This mini-meditation helps to build a strong inner foundation, so that if challenges arise, we can move through them with more ease from the perspective of our true essence. May you enjoy bringing this empowering, heart-centered mini-meditation into your everyday living. In Oneness and Peace, Maya Bringas Feel free to share in the comments below, any of your experiences with bringing this mini-meditation into your routine or any questions you may have about it. I always love reading your comments. Also, feel free to share this post with others who may be interested in the content. ✽ PS. If you are interested in going deeper into inner stillness and presence with the gentle power of Reiki, I invite you to explore my current Reiki session packages. The Holy Reset 3-Session Reiki Package and the Holy Alignment 5-Session Reiki Package. Experience the beautiful energy of Holy Fire® to support you on your unique path of alignment with your true essence and magnificence. Learn more here. 
|