Surgery and the Healing Power of Reiki

Dear Friends,

I am writing this today as I recover from a hysterectomy. This was my first ever major surgery, and I really wanted to share with you all the incredible experiences I had with Reiki before, during and after surgery that have helped me heal and recover swiftly.

I was blessed to receive Reiki - which means universally guided life-force energy - throughout the whole process.

Having shared Reiki myself for many grateful clients pre-and-post surgery, because I intuitively knew it would be of great benefit, I have now been able to experience this first-hand, and am excited to share the results.

First of all, the emotional roller-coaster of being told you need a hysterectomy, even if you are at menopausal age (I was) or haven't ever given birth to your own kids (I hadn't), is potentially very intense. This is definitely not like having your appendix removed (hmm.... what does your appendix actually DO??!!). This is part of a woman's sacred anatomy that has the capacity to bring life into the world. As women, we have been cycling with the moon and our womb for (potentially) decades, since puberty, and it is an intrinsic part of who we are. Whether we loved our monthly cycle or not (and that is a topic for a whole other blog) it has been an innate part of us, and losing it to surgery seems way more than just radical, it feels like a small death of something inside of us, on all levels of being. Some women I know even felt as if they had lost their femininity somehow as a result, at least for a time.

So there were alot of tears and some regrets to process, as well as some anger and resentment for the (apparent) reasons why I had not been blessed with the gift of bearing a child this lifetime. And importantly, this had absolutely no bearing upon the love I feel or great relationship I have with my step-son, who has brought so many blessings, gifts of the heart and joy into my life. This was a very visceral body/psyche loss of something precious, coupled with the awareness that I was not going to ease gently into post-menopause, it was going to happen very suddenly, and overnight.

So to Reiki.....I channelled the energy a great deal for myself in the month leading up to this. I received treatments from others and called in the Karuna Reiki symbols and Holy Fire Reiki to help me process this whole overwhelming and emotionally challenging experience. I asked my Reiki Guides to hold me when I wept, when I raged, and when I felt exhausted with the whole thing looming in the background as I went about my daily life, which included holding Reiki space for others. It soothed my heartache and poured balm on my anger, and helped me process all this complexity of emotion without suppressing it.

The weekend before the surgery, some extremely ancient wounding had surfaced during the (extreme and painful) menstrual cramps of what would be my last cycle. The next day I had pre-arranged a circle of women friends, who all channelled Reiki, to come over, as one of them was going to perform a ceremony for me to mark the upcoming transition into post-menopause - known also as the 'Wise Woman' or 'Crone' years.

I was a wreck that morning, having had little sleep, emotionally wrung out and not sure if I wanted to be 'seen' by anyone. I let the celebrant friend know ahead of time, and she instructed all the women to gently let themselves into my home, sit quietly beside me where I lay (weary and weepy) on the sofa and simply channel Reiki on and around me. It was like being held by a sweet group of angels. There were no expectations, I didn't have to host anyone, they simply flowed Reiki around me and the space, and created what can only be described as an energetic 'nest' for me to rest in. Tears flowed, as they gently moved me to a comfy set-up in the middle of a sacred circle, continuing to flow Reiki as each of them shared from the heart about their own relationship to the Maiden, Mother & Crone aspects of themselves in their lives.

Then they prayed, channelled Reiki, sang sacred chants and blessed my journey going forward. I felt strong enough to share a little more about my journey, and felt heard and received, seen and blessed by each of these beautiful wise women. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life. I will write more about the power of ceremony another time, since it has such intrinsic value and importance, and seems to be somewhat missing in our modern-day culture for many important life transitions.

Reiki continued to flow for me that week. I had a session from a Reiki friend two days before surgery, and felt stronger, more ready to move forward with it, knowing that ultimately it would be the best thing for me (due to a pre-cancerous cell diagnosis in my uterus).

On the day of surgery I knew that many friends were flowing Reiki and praying for a successful surgery outcome. I felt ease and grace all around me; I joked a bit with the nurses and felt profound peace and a sense of surrender. It just felt right.

Even in the following couple of weeks, which were at times extremely uncomfortable, I spent time every day laying my Reiki hands on my belly, and received Reiki remotely, and later in person from friends who came to visit. I felt mostly very peaceful and content (even after the strong drugs had worn off!) with the odd time of extreme discomfort as my body tried to deal with all that had happened to it. I slept a lot, rested, dreamed, went on gentle mini-walks and kept laying healing hands on my body several times a day. I cried a few times but soon soothed myself back into a quiet space with Reiki. Grieving is a normal part of any loss, but I felt like I had done quite a lot of it ahead of the surgery, which had paid dividends.

I was also blessed at this time by an ongoing flow of love coming from friends and family who delivered meals, helped with house chores, walked Skye my dog, and, of course, shared Reiki with me as I rested in bed. My husband Bill (who was out at work each day) and I have never been so grateful, or understood the value and gift of this incredible community so deeply. Such a blessing.

As time went on I began to realise that another incredible miracle had occurred as part of this surgery. I no longer had lower back pain when I lay flat on my back. I had experienced this for years now, and had thought it was 'just how it was' - nothing had helped it. Reiki had only eased it temporarily, yoga didn't help, nor did visits to chiropractor etc. Now I could lie down flat and get up from this position without any discomfort. It was a miracle!

During the surgery the doctor had removed severe and very old endometrial scar tissue that had caused the uterus and bowel to fuse together. This had been causing a restriction that was now free! I remembered having asked the Reiki to help me heal my lower back in ceremony before the surgery - and now here I was all healed from back pain!! I felt such gratitude and joy about this incredible gift that I hadn't even expected as part of this process.

Next year, I will have been attuned to Reiki for twenty years. As time goes on, I get to experience first-hand all the amazing benefits of channelling this incredible healing energy on a regular basis. I get to see how it not only helps to reduce pain and inflammation, but also how it supports emotional healing and creates positive mental states so I can go through life with more optimism and positivity. Reiki has its own wisdom, and I can reflect back on numerous times when it has helped to answer prayers for help, or supported me through emotionally troubling times.

Finally, the true blessing of Reiki is that absolutely anyone can be attuned to it, so that they can channel this healing frequency for themselves. You don't have to be in any particular meditative state for it to work, and you don't have to have a calling to be a healer. And although I have attuned a lot of healers, I have also attuned engineers, people who work in tech. or advertising, in banks, and music and film producers to name a few! I even attuned my dad for his 90th birthday who had worked in the pharmaceutical industry, and who didn't believe in any of that 'weird stuff' - I later learned that he would lay his hands on my mum's sore back when she asked him to, even though he didn't believe in it, and it helped ease her pain!

It has been a rich and rewarding path, and having now experienced the power of it through an intense surgical process, I am even more of a believer, and so very grateful for having Reiki as part of my life.

If any of this sounds like something you may be interested in (including the power of shared sacred ceremony) do explore more about it on this website. I look forward to sharing Reiki with you sometime in a class or on my Reiki table, so you can experience this magical healing energy for yourself.

Blessings,

Stella xxx