Energy Work

 

My first real job after college was as a work activities counselor in a sheltered workshop. It was interesting, but not really what I wanted to do. From there, I went to work as a psychiatric aide at a mental hospital. My bachelor’s degree was in Psychology, and I wanted to see the so-called other side of things, that is, how psychotropic medication was used in lieu of counseling. I also did my stint in the ECT unit. That was interesting. Energy forced through the patient’s head and body, drugs administered to keep the body from convulsing, a dam placed inside the mouth to keep the patient from biting his or her tongue. All in the name of sanity. Trouble was, some of the patients receiving treatments actually told me that they looked forward to them. It apparently was the only relief they got for their depression. Meds didn’t work, nothing apparently did other than ECT. I still find it astonishing.

One of the wards I worked on was called Ward A. It was the geriatric ward, although not all patients were of geriatric age. One of the patients was a classmate from high school. She was a few months older, and a head injury from a motorcycle accident put her there, her precious life irreparably altered by a boyfriend in anger. The patients on that ward loved me. I had the Ward A touch. The patients related to me. Maybe when your body doesn’t work anymore and all you have left is your essence, you relate to those of us who, as empaths, consiously live in our own. I could feel their frustration as it gave way to acceptance, no other choice possible.

The Unit Supervisor was a wonderful woman. She had a post graduate degree in gerontological nursing and had a relationship with the patients..her patients..based on trust, respect, and dare I say, love. She connected with these people, some with dementia so severe that they truly had no idea where they were. Some were lobotomy patients, some had strokes, all would be unable to ever again live on their own, few understanding anything they were experiencing.

Enter my supervisor. She introduced some of us to something called Therapeutic Touch which promised to calm agitation experienced by bedridden stroke patients. It was very similar to Reiki, another energy healing system I had become acquainted with. Typically I become aware of something and then suddenly I’m inundated with all sorts of information about it. I had been experiencing the energy of my patients and I knew learning how to balance their energy would also have the same effect on me, so I was thrilled to learn about this technique.

My life took a different turn when I got married, and I left that job before I could continue my exploration of Therapeutic Touch, but my interest in how energy moved continued. As a witch and empath, I already understood how to raise, focus and send energy. It happens naturally for me, mostly without even thinking about it. I had briefly studied Judo in college, but didn’t care for it. It was a beginning course and the guys in the class were full of themselves, and as a 16 year old college freshman who was also a witch, I didn’t appreciate being treated as a novelty. Witches don’t suffer fools gladly, and those boys were pretty foolish. A few years later I would train in karate, in my own dojo no less, with my instructor/husband, three years later earning my black belt in Kenpo.

Engaging chi or ki as you execute a technique, perform a kata, or while sparring is pure magick. Everything aligns and movement is effortless. You punch, strike or kick through your opponent, seeing the energy through to the other side of your opponent’s body. There’s power in such an alignment. Your chi flows and strength isn’t necessary, only the flow or movement of energy is needed to accomplish your task. The energy is electric in a dojo when everyone moves together performing kata, in syncronicity. Power in motion.

My hands have always channeled energy, so much so that if my health is compromised, I tend to shock others when I touch or even get near them. I recently became a Reiki Master. It seemed like a natural extension to everything else, therefore it’s been a natural fit. I love how energy feels when it moves through me, and to become a channel from whom others draw healing Reiki energy is such a blessing.

Here’s the thing about empaths, at least empaths like me. We live more in our energetic self than our physical self. It feels better there. It’s the inbetween, the area between physical and nonphysical form where our Higher Self resides. It’s the collective consciousness where only Source Energy exists. It sits outside the chaos of the physical realm, and it’s where we channel what we know. Healing resonance emanates freely, its light moving wherever needed.

An herbalist since childhood, I’m also taking Rosemary Gladstar’s course in herbalism for some additional formal study. Another natural extension for energetic healing, it’s also nice to see that I’m on a similar wavelength with other herbalists. I grow many of my own herbs as well as my property is home to lots of wonderful herbs to wildcraft. It’s been such a joy to gather herbs for tinctures, teas and oils. How often does one get to wander about, gathering herbs for a lovely cup of tea to enjoy out in the she-cave? In my case..daily, and it’s the best thing ever! Throw in watching the bees take off and land at their hive, life is pretty good.

An herbalist, whether witch or not, feels a sense of immanence with the Earth. Everything is an extension of Source Energy, therefore the energy work we do as witches and herbalists, not only holds the balance and resonance of Gaia, but also sustains that immanence, that oneness through the balanced extension of healing energy. Understanding an herb’s ability to heal, how it grows, the best time and manner for its harvest, to actually feel that synchronicity with plant energies as we blend them together, creating something wonderful and healing, is nothing short of magickal. And there’s nothing I’d rather be doing.

~Blessed Be