With all the shocking headlines, wild facebook posts, and intense twitter videos, I have felt the need to escape into the wilderness to breathe and find release. I am blessed with an amazing forest around both my home and my office so I am sure to give myself frequent break basking in the beauty of the outdoors. This has also made me wonder whatever happened to running wild. Do you remember running wild?
I remember running wild. I loved running with my friend and her dog in the woods. There was so much freedom and joy in just leaping over creeks, logs, and jumping down onto soft sandy land along side. We flew through the woods every time we played and that was the most free I felt. I was such a worrier as a kid. I worried what others thought of me for a long, long time. We moved around so much when I was little, but I felt at home with her as we ran the paths of the forest behind her home. Once I was old enough, I walked to her house to visit and explore the magic of the forest even though we were supposed to be too old for that kind of thing.
As I grew older I found myself feeling more and more out of place. Our friendship slowly dissolved over the years as we matured differently and her interests in boys separated us from adventure time. But the feeling of being wild I never forgot.
When I began to tour colleges, I knew I was home as we drove up to Young harris. The air began to smell different as we climbed the mountain in our car. Once I saw the water dripping down the mossy rocks of the cliff, I rolled down the windows to feel the wild chill in the air and the sweet smell of clean air filled my lungs and woke up a part of me. The wildness began to coarse through my veins and the longing began.
One of my classmates helped me to manage stress beyond sitting in the trees, watching the night sky, or hiking in the forest. She talked with me about meditation and Reiki. With breathwork I learned to clear my mind and connect with the sense of home no matter where I was.
My interest was peeked with her stories about her mothers friends who learned to heal with their hands. I knew I had to learn how to do this as it felt wild and natural. Healing with meditation and touch seemed magical and mystical and somewhat behind the veil of mystery,… it called to me but would be another 7 years before I answered the call.
I found myself at the crucial moment after graduation wondering how I could begin to train as a teacher of healing arts. I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor as pharmaceuticals were their course of study. At a music show I ran into a high school art friend. we began talking and the mysterious ways of the universe lead us around to reiki, and of coarse she was a teacher. I learned to channel the wild energy of love and feeling home.
And here we are years later and I am teaching my own Reiki classes. I love opening the door for people to explore their own healing energy body. With awareness and connection they all begin on their path to healing themselves. The amazing thing about learning energy work and specifically reiki, is that you never forget or lose the ability to channel healing energy. The key is to trust and release, and let it flow. Reach out if you are interested in learning Reiki or even acupressure or tuning fork therapy for energy balancing. There’s so much to learn about how to heal. Why wait? Reach out, my door is open, for group lessons, private lessons, apprenticeships, and sessions. Relearn how to run wild.