The new pope will be ... a man!

A few years ago I attended an award ceremony at work. My team was nominated for redefining the way Pepsi did business in Mexico. The event was held at a fancy location and a famous comedian hosted the evening. When the time came to hand out the last award, the company's six vice presidents - all men - joined the CEO on stage. The comedian could not resist the chance to crack a joke, saying it was good to see gender equality alive and well at Pepsico. Ouch!

I could practically feel the CEO cringing. Those of us who worked there knew he championed diversity and went out of his way to push for a work-life balance  that would make it easier for women to juggle family and careers (especially in my native Mexico, where gender roles are still very traditional). When I joined the company in 2005, the male-female ratio was roughly 50/50

This was true for most of the levels in the organization. Even our marketing directors were split between both genders, we had one man and two women at the helm. The global chairman is also a woman; the brilliant Indra Nooyi. PepsiCo is by no means a male dominated company, but as luck would have it, both of the company's female VP's had left a few months earlier. Still, the comment stung. 

This memory resurfaced today as I watched a stream of cardinals enter the conclave at the Vatican. Whatever happens, this new pope will not be a woman. It's not because the women dropped out of the race, making a perfectly valid decision to have children instead of pursuing a career (ahem, vocation) in the Church. This is an organization that makes a conscious decision to fail the diversity test.  If they were so inclined, I am sure the Church could find female candidates in their ranks. For example, my elementary school was run by a Catholic nun who would have jumped at the chance to become a priest-ess. Instead, Sister Kathleen ruled our school with an iron fist. 

For various reasons, the Church finds itself in a situation where it needs to adapt or watch its numbers dwindle. Though some may argue that Church policy is not a democracy, its members do have the option of finding a different spiritual path. As a lapsed Catholic, I sincerely hope the man elected will have what it takes to get with the times.

On a positive note, the Church hasn't fallen too far behind in the overall scheme of things. Women have only been able to vote in America for the past 100 years. We have only been considered equals in the work force for a few decades. The Church has been around for 2K years and is typically slow to adjust, especially to new cultural trends. I think it is now safe to say that gender equality is not a fad. 

Personally, if this is too much of a stretch for the Catholic Church, I would at least advocate for priests who are able to marry and have children. They would be more in touch with the pressures of family life and better able to give practical advice. A few years ago I met a priest who only became a priest after his wife passed away, and he had three grown kids and plenty of grandchildren. It was a lot easier for him to relate to his parishioners for the same reason, he'd been there. Also, the Church would be less likely to cover up child abuse if its officials were actually parents. In terms of subconscious affiliations, though you’d think that wouldn’t matter. It probably does. 

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Reiki hugs, Regina

 

Healing Ancestral Lines with Mediumship and Reiki

A couple weeks ago I was feeling fearful about my future. The thing with fear is it is completely irrational. Some risks are meant to give us the jitters but if it's calculated risk, I think you make the decision and go for it. Don't look back. That is what I did when I decided to go part-time in September and then to leave my job at the end of January. 

I also had a specific plan and it is on track:

• Publish my book on Self-Healing and Cancer. The writing, revising and editing are done! The cover design and pictures are in process. Next week I'll start on the layout design and then I am sending it off to Amazon to Kindle publish. =)

• I am going home to Mexico for 2 months in the summer to start writing book #2 and to promote this first one, which should help because I won't have to pay rent for a couple months. 

• In the meantime I have one-off Reiki Sessions, Angel Readings and my savings to pay the bills. In August I might take a part-time job or a healing job and I feel good about that. 

My mind tells me everything is going well and I kept trying to visualize success and go for it. Why was I feeling this irrational fear? I made a resolution to meditate on it and heal any traces of fear and worry from my system (and my solar plexus). The question was: where is that fear coming from? My dad kept popping into my mind but I could not figure out what that meant. I thought it might have something to do with wanting to live up to his expectations but that was not it. I was puzzled. 

As luck would have it I went for a jog in the park and found myself outside a bookstore. On a whim I went in and found a lovely deck of cards: Doreen Virtue's Angel Therapy Deck. It was exactly what I needed. I sat in the park and pulled two angel cards: 

• Vacuum Away Your Fears: Essentially this card suggested that I ask Archangel Michael to vacuum any fears from my solar plexus and take them away so that I wouldn't feel anxious. Archangel Michael could then step in to heal the solar plexus, make it strong again and help me feel confident. I also like to give myself Reiki when I ask for healing. Gives it a boost! 

• Parents:  Ahh, this card pointed back to my dad. The picture shows a man and woman sitting on a log, playing the guitar and singing. My eyes kept going to the "dad" in the picture and I felt like my dad (who passed away 10 yrs ago) was trying to send me a message. I asked my angels to tell me what this card meant and what I got was a visual of my dad being very fearful and anxious about taking financial risks. Hmmm, it rang a bell. 

I picked up the booklet and read the description for this card. One of the things it mentioned is how children can sometimes absorb their parents beliefs, feelings and attitudes. As a highly sensitive kid I learned to be anxious and risk-averse from my dad. He was not completely risk averse but I do think worrying about that things might go wrong undermined his willingness to take risks. I think he was coming to me now because he wanted to let me know that I was feeling his fears, not mine. Funny thing is I am not risk averse: I go for it, but I'm a nervous wreck LOL. But then it works out in the end.

It was time to let go of those fears. This made tons of sense to me. The few months I always pulled the same card in the Angel Tarot when I asked about this new adventure: The Knight of Fire. The card shows a Knight on horseback, the horse looks like it's taking a few steps back and the knight pushes it forward. I take the horse to be the nervousness we feel when we're taking risks. The knight is our resolution to persevere and win. It tells me it's time to tame my subconscious and lead with confidence. That was easier to do once I was able to pinpoint the source of my fears and heal them. 

Don't Stop Me Now, by Queen

***

Regina Chouza is an Energy Healer, Angel Medium and author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer, her passion is bringing the qualities of self-love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to heal yourself and unlock your intuition.

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> Español: @AngelMedium33

A Mirror in a Mirror - by Michael Kaufmann

I am very pleased to introduce a guest post by my Reiki teacher, Michael Kaufmann. Michael has a lighthearted approach to teaching which make his workshops thoroughly enjoyable; whether it is a Reiki Attunement or a weekend seminar on Japanese healing techniques and meditation. 

When I was a child I accidentally discovered a way to contemplate infinity using only two mirrors, one handheld and one on the wall.

I was wondering what would happen if I looked at a mirror reflected in another mirror.  I played around and then suddenly there was a moment when an endless tunnel of reflected mirrors opened up, a window into infinity.

In my excitement, I took my father's tripod and mounted the handheld mirror onto it, trying to make it as still as possible to make the tunnel as deep as possible.

As the chain of reflections fused into a dark vanishing point in the "distance", I felt that this dark point was a piece of the same infinity that I saw when I looked at sky at night.

I repeated this experiment often.  It became one of the visual meditations that I loved then and still love to this day, like staring into an open fire, star gazing, watching the sun set, waves rolling onto the shore, snow flakes floating to the ground.

Later, when I started to meditate, I found the same sense of infinity behind closed eyelids in an inner space that deepened and expanded with time.

Go and explore this inner space in yourself, have glimpses of your own infinity!  Unlike the virtual space between facing mirrors, your inner space is full of life, light and spirit.

Meditation is a life skill that's easy to learn. Learn more on Reiki-Meditation by following this link.

Michael Kaufmann is a Meditation Teacher, a Master & Teacher of Reiki Healing, a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Time Line TherapyTM and an Ericksonian Hypnotherapist with many years of clinical experience.  He has practices in the City of London and in Canterbury, Kent.  He can be reached via http://www.reiki-meditation.co.uk/

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Listening to Hyde Park

This week I reached a big milestone: my clairaudience is finally starting to kick in! I don't hear voices, which is probably good as that could land me in the psych ward. I have noticed an increased sensitivity to the vibrations around me. Yesterday it felt like I could hear all of the plants, flowers and trees buzzing in Hyde Park. My mind flooded with thoughts about Mother Nature. It was really lovely. This wasn't the first time but it was the most intense. A couple months ago one of my Angel Reading classmates told me I had the ability to see and hear trees, faeries and other elementals. I have traditionally been too spaced out to notice my surroundings - human, earthy or supernatural. Luckily this is easy enough to change. 

Two weeks ago I got the intuitive message to connect to the Earth. This can be done through the Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus Chakras. The Earth Star is also helpful: we all have an energy center below our feet that connects us to earth energy and grounds us. I have been doing walking meditations in the park where I bring my attention to the Earth Star as well as my Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus. When I really focused on the Root Chakra something funny happened. My consciousness plugged into my body and my mind stopped daydreaming. It was absolute presence. The only way I can describe it is to say that I was looking at the world through my eyes. This is, I expect, how normal people experience things. I'm usually half there, half floating in thoughts. It felt good but after a minute or two and then I became a little anxious. What if I couldn't snap out of it and would I still see and feel energy?

Grounding is something that I need to work on. I also think that being present will make me stronger somehow: more connected and less sensitive to energies around me. I spent the next hour or so walking in the park and trying to get comfortable with this grounded awareness. I also sat on a bench for a little while and just felt nature's vibes. Even though the trees are bare, you can still feel them vibrating with life. There was a bird sitting on a branch nearby and I remember thinking that it must be so cool to just be. I am assuming birds do not think (though I could be wrong!) and for them quiet is just quiet. We humans can be in a lovely place and have the noise pollution of our thoughts. At least that is the case with me. My mind is always buzzing. 

When you start to become aware of your thoughts its easier to switch them off. It is also easier to hear what is going on around you at an energetic level. Today my mind flooded with intuitive thoughts about nature and the planet. We need to look after the Earth because it really is a living and a breathing thing. I used to think pigeons were a pest that had spread globally, leaving white droppings just about anywhere. Now I am starting to think humanity is the "pest" with the biggest and most bothersome footprint. We bring noise pollution, smog, satellites, flashing lights and piles and piles of trash to the earth. We also burn through natural resources and ecosystems. Unspoilt nature is beautiful but I don't see much of that around me. I've been living in big cities for so long now - London and Mexico City - that I forgot what it is like to be in nature. I miss the beach and the outdoorsy lifestyle I had growing up in Southern California.   

The vibes in the park were beautiful and sad at the same time. Underneath it all I kept hearing: look after me, I'm alive, don't take me for granted and don't spoil me. It was mesmerizing. The vibes and the thoughts both vanished when I left the park. I am curious now to see if I notice anything when I go for a walk this weekend. 

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An Experience of PMS and Reiki

One of the things I love about the holidays is having plenty of time to read. This Christmas I finally read A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle. It was like going back to the basics with my personal development. The past two years I have kept myself busy learning energy healing and connecting with guides and angels. 

Don't get me wrong, I love it, but my self-care fell by the wayside. Until recently I hadn't even made self-healing a daily habit. I've been giving myself daily Reiki sessions for two months now and I am really feeling the benefits. For one, a lot of my hormonal problems have cleared, including PMS. To be transparent, I had a medical issue in my 20's and my doctors advise against most treatments for PMS. Energy Healing & Reiki are complementary to medical care, not alternative. 

Moving onto A New Earth ... 

One of the things Tolle mentions in his book is a buried imprint of emotional pain. Our psyche keeps it hidden out of sight until a trigger brings it up again. He calls it the pain-body.  The more you identify with it and wallow in it, the harder it is to shake. For some it is to shake it. For some the pain-body manifests as depression, anxiety, chronic pain. A classic example is premenstrual syndrome; to some extent women get cramps because they expect to. I was finally able to kick PMS when I realised I don't need it, want it or have to live with it. I also stopped resisting and dreading the cramps to being with. Accepting the process with all of its aches and pains made it easier because a lot of energy is wasted on complaining and moaning. It may sound weird, but welcoming it actually made the pain and discomfort lower. 

When I've given healing sessions to female clients who get bad cramps; I usually notice the following on the energetic level:

- At best apathy + a feeling of "shit it's that time of the month again, why God why?" And at worst a real dread and rejection of the female cycle and more importantly womanhood.

- As a result, the feminine aspects is unappreciated and this somehow dials up the experience of PMS. This is often notable in a healing session. Tuning in can give clues about imbalances in the body and what we can do on an emotional and mental level to help.

- Resistance to the whole process.

During these healing sessions I will usually send energy to the sacral chakra. I also send healing to the uterus and I thank the whole reproductive system for doing a good job, for staying healthy and I send feelings of appreciation and joy it's way. Sometimes I feel the presence of female healing guides, especially Isis. I have felt Isis’s presence with clients who have health issues that are predominantly feminine in nature: breast cancer and PMS. She is there to support and bring out the feminine side in all of us.

So back to Tolle. I was quick to spot the voice of my ego (mental chatter) but I couldn't spot my pain-body. That must mean I am so completely identified with it that it's hard to separate it (can't see the Forrest for the trees!). Then wham! I get Moctezuma's Revenge while on holiday in Mexico, followed by my period. 

Talk about a bad 48 hours. I felt really sick and drained for two days and kept dragging myself down in this "cramps-tummy-ache" pity party. The first day I stayed home after getting sick five times in the space of one night. On day two I ventured out and did my best to separate myself from this wave of tiredness that kept taking over me. I found that if I indulged in feeling exhausted or feeling like crap, it just piled up. If I separated my thoughts and pulled my consciousness away, telling myself "I am not exhausted, there is just a feeling of exhaustion in me" it wasn't so hard to carry on. I had a brief glimpse of that pain-body (let's call it an 'I feel Sick pity party'), and I was able to separate myself from it.

I also noticed that PMS cramps have become much less of a hassle. I believe that my daily Reiki sessions, combined with a shift in consciousness, have helped me get to that point. I have to confess that I have a habit of preemptive pill popping at that time of the month, and I had gotten used to taking one before I got the cramps. I am even grateful I got Moctezuma's revenge the day before I started getting cramps; it was the only reason I didn't take anything for PMS - couldn't risk an upset stomach again.

One more thing...  I'm not sure a monthly visit to a Reiki Practitioner would have done the job. The fact that I gave myself daily self-Reiki helped. If this is a problem for you, I would suggest looking up a Reiki Master and asking for a Reiki attunement yourself. Then you can give yourself Reiki anytime  =)

Also, I am fully prepared to take painkillers when needed. Reiki is complementary to medical care, and personally, I would rather get the best of both worlds. 

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Reiki hugs, Regina 

Reading List

These are some of my favorite books on Healing, Intuition and Personal Development. Love to hear your thoughts on them, each of these has been helpful to me 💞💞💞 Reiki hugs, Regina

Energy & Self-Healing Books: 

• The Essence of Self Healing, by Petrene Soames. This one talks about the psychology of disease, how our thoughts and beliefs make us susceptible to illness, a little bit of visualization to clear energy and also hands on healing. My copy is full of notes and highlights. Its great for anyone, but especially if healing is new for you. No need to be clairvoyant or to channel healing energy. A great self-healing book. 

• The Power of Healing Prayer, by Richard McAlear. The book focuses on Jesus Christ's healings and how we can replicate them by calling on his Spirit of Unconditional Love. What I like about it is the focus on Love, Compassion and Absolute Certainty as the drivers for healing. With more than three decades of experience as a minister of healing, the author also covers many psychological, emotional and spiritual considerations. This is a lovely book, though it does have a religious spin. Though I have to say that as a non-practicing Catholic, this book makes me want to be Christian more than anything I've heard the past 33 years. =) 

• Anatomy of the Spirit, by Caroline Myss. This is a fantastic book. I have heard it referred to as a bible by more healers than I can count. Among other things, it covers the seven chakras and how they each relate to life experiences, diseases and symptoms and relationships. Caroline Myss also explores the connections between the Catholic Sacraments, the Chakras and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Her description paints a picture of life stages and spiritual milestones that we go through from childhood to adulthood. This is a great self-healing book. 

• You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay. What can I say about this book that hasn't been said? Louise Hay explores the mental and emotional patterns (beliefs) behind illnesses, self-destructive patterns and bad luck in life. She also tells us how we can use affirmations and new beliefs to heal our life. The Law of Attractions meets Healing. Love it! 

• Hands of Light, by Barbara Brennan - This is a classic for professional energy healers. Her later books are also fantastic, especially Light Emerging (and possibly easier to read). 

Spirituality & Personal Growth:

• Sacred Contracts, by Caroline Myss. What I love about this book is that it gives you the tools to look at your life and challenges symbolically. Her idea is that we each have 12 archetypes in our personality and they surface in certain situations. For example, everyone has shades of The Victim in their personality though some people are more likely to play the Victim when it comes to finances, or love, etc. Cool stuff. 

• The Power of Now / A New Earth by Eckart Tolle. Two fantastic books which are great for just about anyone in the west. Essentially Tolle tells you to watch your thoughts, separate from them and find peace in the spaces between. We are not your thoughts, the movie in our mind is a worrisome distraction that takes us away from this wonderful gift of Life. To be transparent, I read the first few chapters of The Power of Now and skipped the exercises, but it still had a profound effect. My New Year's Resolutions for 2013 are based on A New Earth. Both are great, but I loved loved loved A New Earth. 

Intuition & Psychic Development:

• Psychic Development Simplified, by Nathaniel - This book has everything you need to start opening up and developing your psychic skills. It covers energy management, various visualisation techniques. It is based on the author's experience with psychic development. Nathaniel has been blogging about the topic for years and this book consolidates his experience. To find out more have a look at this book review. 

• Angel Therapy Oracle Cards, by Doreen Virtue.  These focus on small things that we can do to heal our daily lives 💕💕💕

2022 Update: I've since published my own books on energy healing, intuition and magick. Check them out in the Bookstore.

Reiki hugs, 

Regina 

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Image: Canva.com (Updated June 2022)