And considering something radical.

These are the last shelling peas of the season. Calculating how far I could stretch this sweet green joy of summer, I asked the farmer how long they would keep in the pods. She suggested I shell them and pop them in the freezer.

I demurred. “I don’t freeze food,” I said. And truly, the freezer is the emptiest space in my home.

“Neither do I,” said the farmer, “But I freeze peas.”

I bought an extra bagful, and now I’m contemplating the unthinkable.

Freezing food has never appealed to me. Living on Manhattan island, fresh food in abundance, it’s hardly a necessity.

But the farmer got me thinking, and not just about freezing. Now I’m analyzing what led me to reconsider a long held position, one that was simply not open for debate.

Many times each year, I face the end of a cherished vegetable’s season, but never before have I considered freezing them to buy some time. What’s different now?

This is the first time this particular farmer suggested it. I’ve been buying strawberries, veggies and an occasional fresh brook trout from her since my grown kids were little kids, one in the snuggly, one by the hand.

She’s not certified organic; she’s heart-and-soul organic. She eats what she sells.

I don’t trust the legal organic label, with its month-long sell-by date on milk. (How fresh is month-old milk?)

I trust the farmer. I share her values. She’s an expert, knowledgeable about her food, generous with her knowledge, and with samples.

I trust her, and I’m grateful I can buy from her.

Which is why these peas may be headed for the freezer. If I don’t eat them first.

What’s ripe for change in your life?

Then it occurred to me–why not ask the experts themselves–you!

Who knows better than you do what your specific questions are, and precisely where you need a fresh perspective? You know exactly where your tongue gets tied–or so loose that you send people scurrying down the block.

Do you have specific questions about the most effective ways to approach physicians and hospital administrators? Or do you need tips on collaboration, how to be a team player, carrying your authority as the Reiki specialist without being overbearing?

Some of you have been waiting for this for a long time. Please help me make it the most powerful support for you that it can be by leaving your question, or a description of when you feel frustrated, or anything else you want me to know. Click here to comment.

The Introduction to Medical Reiki webinar is still available. Click here to register.

“I know you know this, but I just have to remind you that every year, the Reiki practitioners touch so many lives.

“I asked both groups (120 women) how many had never had Reiki and the majority of hands went up. You are truly doing a HUGE service to these women by introducing them to this amazing healing. I can’t believe that even after all this time and exposure, Reiki is still relatively unknown to these women challenged by cancer.”

These quotes are from the organizer of the annual JCC Spa Day for Women with Breast and Ovarian Cancer in New York City. This is an upliftingly ambitious event that offers 120 women a half-day of pampering; a delicious, healthful meal; a vision of wellness; and the experience that their quality of life matters.

2010 was our fourth year offering Reiki as one of the six wellness treats given to the Spa Day guests. Every year, the day flows even more smoothly. Every year, the experience is more profound. And every year, the women give their Reiki experience rave reviews.

Public Reiki events create community and build public awareness of Reiki, especially if they are well organized. Here are three tips from my 20+ years organizing events:

• Schedule far enough in advance to allow time for outreach and promotion so the community knows about the event
• Plan how you will support both the public and the Reiki practitioners during the event
• Follow-up with the organization that hosts the event, the practitioners, and the public.

If you have given public Reiki events, please leave a comment and tell us about it. If you are thinking about organizing an event, and have a question, click here to ask it. And if you’d like detailed coaching that takes you from choosing and contacting a host partner to the follow-up, click here.

Who in your community could benefit from an experience of Reiki? How are you going to connect with them?

Related posts: Smiles Said It All, 7 Steps to A Successful Public Reiki Event

Try listening to yourself.

Go to a blank screen and write your usual Reiki spiel, whatever you say when someone asks, “What is Reiki?” Speak it aloud and jot down notes–this is not a writing assignment (yet). Don’t try to make it perfect, just get a snapshot of what you usually say. (Three minute pause.)

Now pick up the closest magazine or newspaper, turn to your favorite blog or online news source, or turn the TV on to a talk show or the news.

How does your language compare to the language used in mainstream media? How many words or phrases are you using (universal life force energy, perhaps?) that are only found in obscure (by mainstream standards) Reiki documents and websites?

Words and phrases that are only used among people brought together by their shared interest in a particular topic are collectively called jargon.

Jargon is a shorthand that everyone in the club can decipher. Insiders know the meaning of these words and phrases (or do they?–do you really know what universal life force energy means? But that’s another conversation.)

But the very same jargon that is comfortable among people with a shared passion makes other people feel like outsiders. It’s a classic turnoff that makes listeners literally change channels.

Think about how your doctor talks to you. What part communicates and what part doesn’t? And remember that you are very motivated to understand what your doctor is saying, because you are impressed by her credentials and you believe she has information that is important for you to know.

When people ask you about Reiki, you probably don’t have the credibility of a physician, and if you’re not mindful of your listener, your word choice can quickly dissolve any credibility you do have.

If you want to pique people’s interest in Reiki, try speaking their language instead of expecting them to learn yours. Most people won’t bother.

Related posts: Reiki Credibility Challenge, Choosing Your Reiki Words

But the ability to help isn’t enough, is it? We also need the power to help.

A physician does not have blanket power to help. Even after medical school and residency, she cannot waltz into any hospital and practice medicine. Physicians need to acquire the knowledge base of medicine, and also address the legal and business aspects of medical practice.

But how can a Reiki practitioner gain the power to help? The path has not been defined, and we are in the process of finding our way. A groundswell of public interest in Reiki practice, and the availability of credible professional Reiki practitioners would move us in the right direction. And did I say “credible?”

What do you think? How does a Reiki practitioner gain the power to help? And more important–how do you?

Addressing these questions will help you get started–

• Is there someone, or a population of people, that you would like to help?
• What are the obstacles between where you are now and being able to help that person/population?
• What is one step you can take to get closer to your goal?
• When will you take it?

Please share your thoughts in a comment, so that we can brainstorm this together.

Related posts: As Common as Aspirin, The Reiki Credibility Challenge

My not-in-the-least-bit secret goal is to stir things up, to get Reiki practitioners thinking about what we do, looking more deeply into what we’re taking for granted, and considering how we can communicate our practice more effectively, so that Reiki practice is seen as a viable option in health care and by the mainstream public, and the response has been nothing short of thrilling. Toward a More Plausible Model of Reiki has over 100 comments and they’re still coming in. What Is Reiki? What to Do? and Recipe for Reiki Credibility are still getting tweets.

I hope you will continue to make Reiki Central a community resource where thoughtful Reiki practitioners can respectfully discuss the hard questions, and pool our diverse perspectives, experience, and wisdom to move the field–each of us–forward.

Could I trouble you take a minute to do something for me? I want to know how better to serve you, and only you can tell me. Please click here to post a comment letting me know what topics or specific questions you would like to see addressed on Reiki Central in the coming year.

And please celebrate this milestone with me. This Saturday, May 1, at noon Eastern time, we’ll meet on your computer screen for a free question and discussion webinar. If you mention in your comment that you’re available, we’ll send you the connection details.

To our health and our great well-being, with many, many thanks to all!

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GIFT TO ALL: Click here to access the webinar recording, and come back to comment below.

Reiki practitioners frequently ask me this question. It is a curious question to me, because I find people to be very open and interested in Reiki.

And also because, honestly, I don’t see it as my job to open people up to Reiki.

My job is to reach the people who are already open to Reiki (even if they don’t yet know it), and to give them the information they need, information that brings them a step closer to connecting with a Reiki practitioner (maybe you!). And perhaps most important, to give them that information in language that is comfortable for them.

Because if the language I use to communicate Reiki isn’t comfortable for people, the information I’m really giving them is that Reiki is not something they want to know more about.

When Reiki practitioners complain that the people around them are closed to Reiki, I wonder if they are really closed to Reiki, or if they just can’t get past the language that’s being thrown at them.

If you have trouble interesting people in Reiki, what are you saying that might be throwing up a roadblock? Leave a comment telling me where people are stopped by your words, and maybe together we can find a better way.

WHAT THE REIKI COMMUNITY CAN LEARN FROM THE YANKEES

This week the Yankees received their 2009 World Series rings before the opening game at Yankee Stadium. Hideki Matsui was a member of last year’s championship team, and a hero of the World Series. But Matsui is now a member of the Los Angeles Angels, the opposing team for the Yankees’ home opener.

Matsui was called onto the field to receive his ring with his former teammates (now opponents), and the respect and affection of both players and fans brought tears to my eyes. (Now you know what a softie I really am.)

Do I hear you wondering, And just exactly how does this pertain to Reiki practice (other than that we all have to practice)?

Baseball has different teams, and the Reiki community has different lineages. Baseball players and fans are loyal to their teams, just as maintaining clarity of lineage is valuable.

But when you watch a ballgame, you see the opposing players (even Yankees and Red Sox, the most intense rivalry in baseball) chat it up while one is on the base the other one is minding, just looking for an opportunity to tag him out. Even as each hopes—and plans, and works—to best the other, theirs is a respectful, and often a personally friendly, relationship.

Now, professional ball players’ careers depend on winning, and they compete intensely with one another. But Reiki practitioners simply have different perspectives on the same (or at least similar) practice.

So this is where we diverge. Unlike baseball, Reiki professionals are not in a game in which every time one team wins, another team loses. There are more than enough prospective students and clients to support the number of Reiki professionals.

Relationships among Reiki practitioners are more like the phenomenon that stores and restaurants experience, that when they are clumped together, everyone gets more business. The more Reiki shingles out there, the more the public notices. All we have to do is represent our Reiki perspective accurately so that the public can choose practitioners who are qualified, and a good match for them.

So let’s remember that we are all playing on the same ball field, that even though the details vary, we all love our Reiki practice, and we have so much more in common than the details that separate us. The more each of us shares our Reiki perspective (thoughtfully) with the public, the more everyone benefits.

Perhaps this is a competition in which those who give the most, win—and there are no losers.

If you need help getting your Reiki word around, that’s what Saturday’s webinar is all about.

Reiki-as-common-as-aspirin means Reiki available mainstream, maybe not at your local pharmacy, but available where the mainstream public hangs out.

You could help make that desire a reality. Are you with me?

Then it’s time to get vocal, time to speak up on social media. Do you hang out on Facebook, connect on LinkedIn, tweet, or read other blogs? And not just Reiki blogs, but health and wellness blogs, lifestyle blogs, hobby blogs, what-do-I-do-when-I-hammer-the-wrong-nail blogs–all kinds of blogs.

Why not weave Reiki into the conversation?

Look for opportunities to mention how Reiki helps you, your family, your clients, your pets. Have you lost weight since practicing Reiki? Stopped smoking? Improved your game? Maybe you’re less anxious, or sleeping better. You could mention that you practice in bed, as you’re falling asleep. Just the fact that a regular person like you is talking about Reiki gives it a mainstream persona.

And when you talk about Reiki, stay with your usual mainstream language. Talk about balance and relaxation, what you get from Reiki rather than what Reiki is. It’s challenging to speak about what Reiki is without making it look like a club Joe Q. Public wouldn’t want to be a member of.

If you want Reiki mainstream-available, credible is critical. Most people don’t believe in magic, or they’re at least convinced it won’t happen in their lives. Most people are not even secretly woowoo. But if you give them rational information about something they want–wellness and happiness–they’re all ears and eyes.

Let’s start a grassroots thoughtful Reiki movement. Start watching for chances to showcase a mainstream, credible approach to Reiki on social media, and share this post with some Reiki buddies so they join in too. If each Reiki practitioner reading this post participates, the public will get the message that normal people use Reiki, and they’ll see plenty of credible Reiki opportunities to join in.

I’m so committed to helping you find your way on social media that I’ve created a webinar for those who need help getting started, or who have their toes wet but could use some guidance about what to avoid, and a few simple strategies to have the most impact, and get the most out of it. If that is of interest, click here for more information about the webinar.

And you can kick off the campaign by leaving a thoughtful comment here.

Let me save you some time: there are no such studies.

Nor is it necessary to prove Reiki in order to communicate the value of Reiki treatment in health care.

When speaking about Reiki treatment to a physician, it’s enough to (calmly) let her know that Reiki treatment is safe, and widely used in clinical settings (i.e. places where patients are given treatment, such as hospitals and cancer care centers).

More time-saving news: you don’t have to start from scratch if you want to communicate to physicians that Reiki treatment is safe, and how Reiki treatment can support their patients.

Use the medical papers I wrote, available to download here. (Do I hear you knocking yourself upside the head?)

The first three papers are all that you need. The Reiki review article overviews the science, practice, history and theory. “Reiki Support for Cancer Patients” updates the research and tells specifically how Reiki can help anyone who is addressing cancer. The paper focuses on the human experience rather than disease pathology (Reiki does not address disease directly). That means the information and perspective this paper offers can be easily customized to fit any disease population (i.e. people addressing any medical diagnosis). Just do a little internet research to learn the particular challenges faced by people addressing the disease of interest. There will be much overlap here–for example, anxiety is common among people with any serious medical diagnosis–but you want to find out what in particular concerns this group of people.

The “Reiki Vibrational Healing” interview speaks to physicians, in language comfortable to them, about the clinical advantages Reiki treatment offers, without making claims.

No groundbreaking Reiki research has been published since those articles, so using them alone is sufficient. No one in medicine expects you to be a physician or a scientist. They just want you to be level-headed, avoid making claims, and point them in the direction of the science.

Unless you are research-savvy, if you reach beyond the safety zone of those three papers, you risk putting your credibility in question. When I write a Reiki research review, I carefully assess the merit of each study I include. Vetting studies is my job as an expert. It is not my job to publicize every study that’s been published on Reiki, no matter how poorly designed it is. Not all authors and editors are as discerning in their choice of research, and some truly shoddy studies have been published in the less rigorous journals. Using poorly designed Reiki studies to buoy the credibility of Reiki treatment to scientists is a strategy bound to backfire.

In the mood for more background? Click here to read a succinct overview of Reiki research from the informed perspective of a medical social worker. While I don’t agree with all that she says (such as channeling Reiki energy), and her definition of double blinding is inaccurate (it’s the data gatherer, not the Reiki practitioner, who must be blinded to which participants are receiving Reiki), and I actually did a study in which all the practitioners were blinded, these are details compared to the overall value of the writer’s intelligent, balanced perspective. Her unraveling of the myth of direct Japanese to English translations is priceless, and validated by years of living in Japan and speaking the language.

Ghost vapor, anyone?

Related reading: Reiki Is Not a Word and The Science of Biofields.