Reiki students - Now is the Time to Refresh your Reiki Invites!

In 2014,  I started having conference calls to some of my students in selected communities to support them in reviews, particularly to less frequented communities. I have found this to be a wonderful way of being with students in between actual, person to person reviews in my schedule of teaching. I have had 1st and 2nd degree reviews for 24 years supporting Reiki students after their classes. It is a tremendous support system that brings fruit to their Reiki practice and to me as their teacher.

Yesterday, September 13, 2014 was a very important Reiki Conference Call to my students in the Denver and Pacific Northwest, as I will be coming to teach in those areas. See details on my schedule of teaching from September to the end of 2014. The call was to address looking at the age old question, How do I talk about Reiki to interested people wanting to know about Reiki?" We have spent time in looking at the history of invites to the classes, discovering that in the fast paced lifestyles of people, important parts of a Reiki invite to a class are being left out.

Let me share some samples of this talk.

Introduce Hira Barbara Reid   

Hira is the co sponsor to this call. Hira, is my Identical Twin, we have known each other for 71 years. She has been doing Reiki for 29 years and has been a tremendous support to many people throughout the world and to the support of the Pacific Northwest Reiki communities. She has been my sponsor to classes and reviews in the Washington area. We always love her insights and support. We thank you for being a part of this inspiring call.

This is a wonderful opportunity to look at our Reiki invitations and refresh this very important invite to gather a Reiki class. Dr. Usui had an unusual way of gathering his classes. We will share his way of gathering classes a little later.

In 24 yrs. of teaching Reiki this process has changed.

·      We have to remember when I began teaching there was no internet

·      Notices were sent out via regular mail at huge costs, I had groups folding, licking stamps and hand addressing mailers. People received their mail and actually responded and acted upon sharing the notice. They offered hands on Rx and further supported them by bringing them to Fri night class.

·      Today, we are all faced with the rapid paced lifestyles –notices are sent out via emails but they go unnoticed for the most part. Students may forward the notice via a click on the mouse and for the most part and that is all that is done. Potentials students don’t receive any further info.  Or they go onto the Internet and see what is there and don’t want to take Reiki. We are all amazed about what we read and of all the misinformation. To my amazement in 2014, I had to cancel 4 classes because of lack of enrollment. This has never happened before.

·      It has become necessary for me to look at Invitations to Gather Reiki Classes and to speak of this in reviews this year. This brings us to this call and to share all the recent discussions of Refreshing Our Invite.

In Looking at the invite I discovered missing pieces and pitfalls of the Invite

 What is missing—It was alarming to me when I saw what was revealed.

1.    Oral tradition is missing. The very most important Aspect and Element of our Lineage teaching. The incredible desire to share Reiki from our experiential place has fallen from the way side.. There is a palpable energy in telling our story and wanting to support others in their hardships. Sharing changes us and others.

2.    Inspiration – is lacking in most invites. We don’t  inspire them to come to the class. Dr. Usui gathered his classes by going into the town square carrying a lighted torch at noontime. "Why old man are you carrying a lighted torch. He responded by saying, if you want to learn of light come to my class tonight."  I have on all the flyers, Reiki is a gift of a lifetime. There aren’t many gifts we receive in our lives that last a lifetime! Did you ever want to be a part of something so special that you are literally making history, changing the world and at the same time you are changing your own life. This 12 hour class will change your life. Reiki is taught all over the world. These are examples to inspire. Use these or think of your own inspirational statement.

3.    Enthusiasm- be strong in your invite, there is an urgency to take this class, don’t wait for a better time, the time is now and it is the most important time. If I were you, I would definitely make it a priority and send in the registration now. Be committed to your health. If you need more info, call the sponsor of the class or refer them to my blog, Reikijeanferrisrm.blogspot.com. Just listen to their reasons why they can’t come and address each one. Remember if their response, no is so big and bigger than their why, people will never move forward. People for the most part are resistant to change.

 Pitfalls  - Making statements that are actually giving interested people reasons not to come:  we don’t do this intentionally but they are just made.

1.    I know it is a long class, 12hrs and the entire weekend. It will be an effort for you..

2.    I know you will be tired on Friday night and may not want to come out in the traffic

3.    I know it’s a lot of $, so maybe you can make the next class

4.    I know if you take the class you would have to find childcare.

5.    Don’t apologize for the event, or contacting the person. Ex: I know this might not be for you.

Steps to create a fruitful invite and follow up:

Let's Get Going:

·      Speak to them to engage Oral Tradition into the invitation.

·      Begin your Reiki invite to inspire people with this question:

Did you ever want to be a part of something so special that you’re literally making History, changing the world, and at the same time you’re changing your own life? or Reiki is a Gift of a Lifetime!

·      Let me share with you how Reiki has impacted my life..........., 

·      Give them the information about the class,

·      Follow up on the registration process of payment deadlines to the sponsors.

·      Offering a “hands on treatment” to them prior to the class. Hira can you share what your recent experience you had the other day?

Insert Story of friend: I have known this lady for 32 years. For 29 years off and on I have been telling her about Reiki and she has been telling me that she is too skeptical to ever take the class. Earlier in the month I made my annual offer that Jean is coming to teach Reiki and she had already replied, “not me I’m too skeptical.” Over the years is has become an annual song and dance routine. While Jean and I were discussing our own invites, I said, “it has been a long time since I offered her a Reiki Rx.”Rather than tell her about Reiki, I should give her a treatment and let Reiki do the talking. I hung up and called her. I offered to treat her with Reiki, and let the universal love sooth her heart, mind and spirit. She accepted my offer to give her a treatment without hesitation. “Her pain and grief had gotten more than she could bear,” she said. She was ready now to receive and she hinted she would take the Reiki Class, next month. She thanked me for never giving up on her.

·       Offer to take them to Friday night of the class. This is so supportive to people. They don’t have to go alone or find the location. People have lots of anxiety around anything new coming into their lives. Be there for them to take this new step.

Hira

         What is she up to now! Hira can you share how you are using Facebook to invite prospects for the class. Go to her actual facebook page: Hira Barbara Reid and copy her invite and a wonderful poem, The Infinite Circle of Light.

1

Hira Presentation 13 Sept conference call-  topic- Facebook Invites

Recently a Reiki Student from Seattle posted a wonderful Reiki Invite on her FB page. She wrote: Are you interested in Reiki? I know lots of my friends have expressed interest. . My amazing Reiki master will be making her annual visit to Seattle to do training in October. Reiki in Seattle (Burien), Wa. It went on to explain about Reiki and the class.
I thought this was such a wonderful way to reach people, so being inspired myself by her posting I decided to make one of my own. I added my own experience. Summarizing 29 years of Reiki is hard to do, but this was my effort:

Jean refers to Reiki as a, “Gift of a Lifetime”. Reiki has now been in my life for 29 years and creates a solid foundation from which I can address all of my activities. Reiki has been a pillar of universal energetic support for me. It has brought balance and clarity when I have been distraught, it has erased blockages from my being without my knowing it, creativity flows like a river from the stillness of my mind, it allows me to experience compassionate love and connects me to the universal heart of mankind. I continue to shed unwanted characteristics and gain conscious freedom. As my friends and family navigate their personal challenges I can support them from afar using second degree Reiki. It truly is the Gift of a Lifetime and the Gift that keeps on giving. I could not, nor would I want to live my life, without it.

You might want to give your experience, and ways you use Reiki in your life.
Let your friends share your posting with their friends.
If people ”like” or comment on your post then
Follow up with Reiki Class flyers and brochure by email and talk to them by phone or in person.
See my FB page to copy and paste it to a document for reference. Also have a copy of my Poem, Circle of Light.
       

Place your hands on your abdomen and begin your Reiki treatment. I want us to remember and contemplate for a short period of time:

How did you find out about Reiki and what words brought you to reiki?

I encourage everyone to share why they came to reiki or how they discovered Reiki. 

Hira, how did you find out about Reiki? listen to detail on recorded talk.  Jean also found about Reiki thru a newspaper article and a friend spoke to her about the article.              

Articles- Hawayo Takata and Dr. Hayashi used the Japanese radio and Japanese newspaper articles to create large gatherings in Hawaii when they brought Reiki to the west.

 

Group invites to specialty groups   Example  Rosemary and Alan Goto gave a Reiki presentation and demonstration with other Reiki students in 2013, which included a newspaper article. This brought 50 new students to classes in Hawaii

Reiki circles  -  San Diego invites new people to experience Reiki prior to my coming to teaching.

Club or interest groups newsletters – Metta, the Buddhist Study Center

Newsletter – Someone in Hawaii saw that I was coming to Hawaii and called me to immediately sign up.

Go out and share what Reiki is about to outside groups. Patient Support Groups

In closing:

We are the light bearers of the Usui System, we are the keepers of the flame and we go out and share Reiki in oral tradition and in giving treatments.

Hira will you share your inspirational poem about the Circle of Light.

It is more important to have Reiki in our lives today then ever before. People’s lives are in catastrophic conditions. I hope this call has inspired you to do your daily practice, to share of this Gift of a lifetime to others and Refresh your invitation. Ask, How I can change my invite if it is not bringing people to the class? Why have I stopped sharing Reiki to others? How can I be enthusiastic in my sharing.

Print out your cell phone list, if they are important to be in your contact list, then they are important to know about Reiki. Don’t make a list who is open to Reiki and who isn’t. Just call and share from your heart.

This call has been recorded. Call  (712) 432 1202 access code 424996#, you will be promoted to enter reference number 4 # for the specific recording.

Thank you for creating the time to join us,

See you soon. Jean and Hira

More Achievements for the Reiki Moms in Anapra, Mexico

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2013

The Sisters of Charity who orchestrate the Proyecto Santo Nino continue to provide and support so many helpful projects for the mothers and their challenged children in the dusty streets of Anapra, Mexico. Now, the mothers have fresh, potable water in the clinic but also at their homes.  www.waterwithblessings.org

The other latest accomplishment is the mothers have started their own business of sewing a variety of flags which can be purchased at this link. Jean C. Ferris, Reiki Master has recently visited the clinic for her annual Reiki Review and the mother's have presented her with a set of  flags.

 www.ragstobritches.org

Please take a look at these links which are transforming the lives of these special and dedicated Mothers. Many thanks  for the  dedicated service of  Sister Carol, Janet and Peggy and the many volunteers who travel each week to Mexico to make certain these mothers and their children thrive.

I hope that you can find time to financially support them. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Love,

Hira and Jean

Reiki and Unconscious Forgetting

Hira Reid shares a blog post from her blog reikireid.blogspot.com

Thank you Hira for your wisdom of Reiki and your dedication of being a Reiki practitioner for 27 years.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Lately as I walk down the Reiki path I marvel from time to time how Reiki students seem to slip into a state of unconscious forgetting. Forgetting to utilize the gifts they have received in their various Reiki trainings from 1st degree to Mastery. A friend was fretting about not being able to be with her sister during her surgery. I said send her a distant treatment. Her response was,  "Oh, I forgot how to do that." Then her mind took off in another direction and I said, "well, then treat yourself" and her reply was that she hasn't done that either. A Reiki master forgets, to treat her pills that are causing some nausea and after treating the pills the nausea is gone. Another has been bothered for years with ear problems, but hasn't committed to treating herself during this whole time. Then states there has been immediate changes with just a few sessions. Surprise, Surprise.

So what is this unbalanced state that everyone falls into.. The State of Unconscious Forgetting is a place people go when they are not present, not conscious, not in tune with their patterns, their beliefs, their sacred support systems of meditation and Reiki. A place of non action which results from not being in touch with the most conscious system they have ever learned. The simple Reiki, balanced in the pure form and essence. Available at any given moment and just a hand placement away.

"Reiki On",  Mrs Takata said, "Just Do It".  Come on, all you forget-tors, wake up and become Conscious Remember-ers. Keep Reiki flowing in your lives. Its the best gift you have ever received. If everyone who has been trained in Reiki kept forgetting to use it, then in one generation, Reiki would be gone from the face of this planet. We have to keep Reiki alive within ourselves and alive for future generations. It is our duty. We are the keepers of the flame.

Hira Reid
refer to Hira Reid's blog: http://reikireid.blogspot.com

Just for Today do not worry!

Just for today do not worry - a Reiki 2nd degree self treatment and resultant reflection from a elderly student in San Diego. 

For much of my 75 years I have worried or been anxious that nothing will turn out right, that I will not do it right-- that I'll lose it, or get lost. It is time to stop- I haven't gotten lost, and I've done it right. I can give love. I can receive love. Nobody, nothing is perfect--so what! I've been given much joy and happiness. I've found Reiki. Most of what I've worried about never happened. What has happened is not what I've worried about.

Ady shared her wisdom and humor up to the end of her life. We miss her in our 2nd degree reviews.

Honoring the Usui System teaches us to honor the people in our lives.

Today is a very reflective day in my life. I have been treating myself mostly mentally and emotionally for my arrival home to El Paso. This day marks the beginning of a entirely different approach to living in El Paso. This is a time frame that changes my life and my relationship with my home. I am in relationship with my house. We usually don't think about it in those terms, but the fact of the matter, it is so!

In April, my twin, Hira Reid came for our birthday. She was gifting me her help in painting the living and dining rooms. In deciding which color to paint the outer walls, I had several colors strips painted but still couldn't decide. Then I realized the house needed to say what it wanted. I, then sent a distant treatment to the rooms.  I opened my eyes and gazed at one strip. That is the color now and it is so beautiful. Thank you Hira for your painting and detail skills.

I come and go on a very frequent basis as I have done for the past 15 years, since living here after my moving from Hawaii. I am gone teaching Reiki to all the many locations and the providing continued support to the Reiki communities that I have created. I am gone more than I am here.  The reason I have been able to do so much traveling, is because I have had Lupe in my life. I inherited Lupe from my Mother. She has been our house keeper for 30 years. On my Mother's deathbed, she made me promise that I would always take care of Lupe and that she would be employed. She has been so loyal all these years.  She has cared for the plants, the patio, the water fall, and all the many beautiful things that are in my home. As I come home and walk into the patio, everything is beautifully cared for. It is such a wonderful feeling of support and welcoming.

Today ends her coming! Lupe is 75 years old. Traveling the difficult crossing of the bridge no longer allows her to come.  It is a reflective day of honoring all the time that has passed. In her own way of doing things there was always a mystery of why each item in the house had its' own special place that couldn't be changed. I would watch her as she cleaned the sacred objects in the house, lovingly caring for them and always singing some song. When she leaves each time, she passes my Saint Frances of Assisi statue on the patio by the gate. I have observed her kneeling down and touching his head, talking to Poncho, as she and my Mother called him. I asked one time what she said to him, and she answered, "she was praying to him for my safe travels and my safe return home."

I have taught Reiki in my Mothers home since 1990 when I first became a Reiki Master. This is truly a Reiki house. I remember I told Lupe how I wanted the house set up for the first class. I never had to to tell her again, the chairs were in place, the photos of the Lineage were placed on the Japanese chest and the tables were brought out of the closet. She has done the arrangements automatically ever since that first class. Hundreds have come to receive their training and begin their journey with Reiki and hundreds more come for treatments.  Everyone talks to Lupe as she is usually ironing in the kitchen. She welcomes everyone and knows them by name. She has watched the miracles of Reiki. She usually responds to me when people leave: they look more rested, or they aren't limping, or she can tell they are stronger than last month. Nothing goes without being noticed. When Phyllis Furumoto came to the house the first time, Lupe immediately acknowledged, as I was introducing her, "oh si, ella es la Grande Maestra de Reiki."

Today ends my sacred contract I made with my Mother and Lupe. I awoke this morning and sent my Mother a distant treatment and shared with her that my agreement ended today as Lupe is unable to come any more. I held that agreement for 15 years. I walked out and touched Pancho's head and prayed for her safe travels and that she is cared for now by her family in her aging years. My life will change. I hope the house makes it's transition from Lupe to me.  I will have to go out and buy a mop as I know I am not doing the floors on my hands and knees as Lupe chose to do. We bless and honor this passage of Lupe. Her simplicity of her life reminds me of the simplicity of Reiki and we are always touched by its' true nature. Thank you Reiki for supporting me through this time and helping me make the transition of never seeing Lupe again. I know she will receive all the benefits of Grace for being the loving housekeeper of this Reiki home.

Reiki At Santo Nino Project, Anapra, Mexico

6 November 2010
Another year has passed of traveling the most dangerous border crossing of our country. The escalation of corruption, death and extortion caused by the drug cartels is staggering. It is reported there have been 50,000 “narc-children” left orphaned in Mexico, of which 10,000 children live in the small community of Anapra, Mexico. Innocent children are being stalked down and murdered. Shootings are now taking place at the El Paso-Juarez border crossing killing innocent people and gun fire has crossed our border hitting our UTEP campus office buildings.

While all this goes on and surrounds the Santo Nino Project in Anapra, the Sisters of Charity and their band of volunteers continue to make this crossing several times a week. The mothers bring their disabled children to this safe haven for treatments of assorted therapies and Reiki. The group of mothers that have received their Reiki training support each other and the children coming to the clinic. It is this time of year that Sister Carol and I plan my Reiki year-end review at the clinic. It is a time of gathering to celebrate our journey of Reiki, we all treat one another and share their Reiki experiences. We make a practice of writing an experience of Reiki, wrapping it up and sharing this gift with another person. This simple practice of Reiki has brought comfort and safety to the children and Mothers. We end the time together with a wonderful meal. I end my year of teaching with these mothers, who walk daily in the dangers of death, embracing their Reiki practice, the Spiritual Precepts and giving service to a clinic that holds a place of safety in their war-ravaged lives. “Just For Today, Do Not Worry” takes on a depth of meaning that most people will never know.
Remember us on December 17, 2010.

This clinic runs on donations only... Please consider and send donations to:

Sisters of Charity

260 Sombra Verde

Anthony, NM 88021

Specify Santo Niño Project

Also, you may view their beautiful website: http://www.proyectosantonino.org/.

Revisiting the Kalapana vent after 20 years

The 6th in a series of my 20th Anniversary: Fire and the Goddess Pele.


I had been initiated 20 years ago when the Kalapana vent had opened up and the lava was over taking the housing areas and eventually the town of Kalapana. I remember going to the edge of the flow each night and watching the lava flow destroy everything in sight; trees, housing and the road. Helen, Johanna, Joyce and I would return in the morning and where we had stood the night before was gone and no longer accessible. The night before my Initiation, we visited the flow. The Hawaiians were chanting and dancing. There was so  much energy in the air. I stood mesmerized as I gazed into the fire. I, then saw a shimmering in the fire, a scintillating energy appearing as a form of a woman. She spoke, and said, "are you ready to walk into the fire with me." I saw my bodies leave my physical form and walk into the fire of purification. I knew I would never be the same. My outward initiation came the next morning with Helen. My life was never the same.


In April 2010, as I was preparing for the events, I was surprised to hear that the Kalapana vent had opened again for the first time in 20 years. The energy of fire was going to be again flowing on my revisit. By the time we had arrived in Hawaii, the flow had again crossed the road, was overtaking houses and was marching towards the ocean. We had limited access to close proximity, but you could walk about a mile out onto the old lava fields and get to the see the fire at night. There were hundreds of people from all over the world viewing this spectacular sighting. It is such an experience to feel the energy of life's creative forces, in its destructive, sustaining and creative nature. I felt the fire of purification burning through my legs as I walked. I felt Reiki meeting me in my experience and merging into this ancient primal energy. 

I have been so blessed in my life on this path of Reiki Mastery, filling me and calling me to explore this System of Natural Healing. It has embraced me with all of its Aspects and Elements. I thank all of my students and the students of Helen Haberly, who have been in my life since their initiation. They have brought forth a united remembrance of our desire to be whole and a dedication of embracing this simple practice. Their presence has gifted me community and the sharing of our practice.

 


Since my return home, from being with my sponsors and celebrating, I have settled into a very quiet and nurtured space. I feel as though I am in a cocoon, suspended and waiting for the next segment of my journey to reveal itself. Join me along the way!