The Ultimate Goddess

I am blessed.

Last night, I was able to share something with my mom that most mothers would eagerly avoid. My mom (a.k.a. Logan's Joanie) joined me for a Goddess session while visiting.

While driving the 30 minute ride to the studio, I prepared her for the night. It was everything that I explained. It was just like I first blogged in March. And yet, she had no idea as to what she was in for.

The night's class was larger than usual and included another mother daughter plus a soulmate mother/daughter duo. It was a mother/daughter overload. How special for us!

In a share-circle, we introduced ourselves and charged up the energy of the room with women-power. Moved on to nearly an hour of dancing and smiles.A bit of Reiki by Jessamina heating up mom's feet once again (see previous post) and ending with a guided meditation re-introducing ourselves to the Amazon Woman within us and the Lady-Lover hidden away under every day matters. My Goddess-Mother took it all in as the good sport she always is.

During the ride home, inspired by the evening, I was able to explain further what the sessions represent to me and the affect they have on me. I learned that previous posts missed their target with mom. NOW, after experiencing it and talking it through...mom really gets it.

I am a strong, interesting, unique woman, because my mom allows me to be me. She always has. I tear up to know that I could have lost the last years with her and had missed a chance to say to her "thank you for being you-my forever Goddess."

NOTE: Return to blog post of March 30, 2010. It deserves a second look through.

Shortest Post Yet...

I swallowed my dog's medicine this morning. I don't know what else I can add other than the cat is looking mighty yummy to me.

Reiki II

This weekend, I was very fortunate to have a private lesson with my Reiki Master who spent the day working with me on what I've learned, gave me further training, and gave me two more attunements bringing my level of Reiki up to about 90%. What a special experience it was!

At the end of the training, I did a Reiki session on him and was most rewarded with a smile and his astonishment as to how "hot" my hands were. He had planned to critique me after the session, but finally gave up letting himself go. The purpose of Reiki is simple but effective with the goal of relaxing and reducing stress. It was obvious from his hanging limbs that I accomplished that. He then did a session on me which was quite relaxing and a great lesson on his style.

That evening, I felt ready to tackle my mom. Always a supportive and non-judgmental person (always!!!), I was anxious for her to feel the energy and further understand my interest. We are a very practical family and for me to stray from mainstream activities could be a challenge or even concern. I’m happy to say that the results were better than I anticipated.

At the beginning of the session, I asked mom if anything was bothering her either physically or emotionally. Nothing came to mind as she said that all was fine by her. It was only when I finished that she reminded me that she suffered with ‘cold & numb’ feet which are a result form the chemo eight years prior. Let me tell you, when she said that, my face broke out into a big grin. That explained why my hands were drawn to her ankles. Normally, the joints seem to direct the Reiki. So when I felt the sensations over the ankles that prompt me to stay there, it became clear - her feet were drawing in the energy. Later that evening, I did what I call "patch work" on her feet. I simply sat on the couch with her feet in my lap and did, as Logan says, my Whomp Whomp BPow.It seems that mom snuck a peak and was ver surprised as what she thought was my hands we pushing on the soles of her feet, my hands were nowhere near them. They were above the tops of her feet and not touching any part of them. NOW, she is beginning to understand the energy of Reiki.

Now that I am a Reiki II practitioner, I will be included with a group of volunteers at a well known hospital that is embracing the healing power of Reiki. Life just seems to get better and better for me.

Reiki

After giving my aching fingers a rest from typing, I am ready to fill you in on where I stopped off along the way down my spiritual path. The first thing that comes to mind is that I finally understand that my mid life awakening is turning into self-discoveries that I am loving.

It began with self-acceptance in late 2010. That brought physical activities into my life with the discovery of finding something I fully enjoy - the Goddess Sessions with women bonding, dancing, mini Reiki touch and meditating.

My latest V8 moment happened after beginning training in Reiki - energy healing. I took the first all-day session with another woman who was an already certified practitioner looking to refresh her skills. The Reiki Master spent the day teaching us all about the history, the concepts, the ethics, and hands-on training. Out of respect of this code of ethics, I am leaving out the major part which include "attunements" and a few other key facts to becoming a Reiki practitioner.

Since then, I have been practicing on anybody and everybody including myself and even the dog.

The easiest way to define my role with Reiki is that I am a channel/guide to your life energy. I do not heal; I help you to relax and help you use your energy to heal yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually through a Reiki treatment. Picture lying on a table, eyes closed, relaxing music, and sensations of hot, cold, or tingling throughout areas of your body...and with no physical contact being made by me.

A story I'd like to share, involves my 100 lb dog Shadow with two bad hind legs. After healing over the past three years from torn ACLs in both legs, Shadow still forgets he's a bit broken. So on Saturday, this 10 year old pup ran after a squirrel. Standing by the door and watching him sprint, I heard his sharp yelps. He immediately sat down. Knowing his adrenaline was high & pain hadn't set, I encouraged him to hobble into house while he still could. Within three feet from kitchen door, he plopped down. I immediately did Reiki on his leg. He allowed me to do so. In this case, I also put my hands on him for a deeper concentrated affect. Within 5 minutes, the intense heat we both felt around his hind leg subsided. He limped (no hobbling!) to his water dish. Throughout the day, I repeated these actions. Once or twice he pulled away, and I understood he had enough. By the next day, he was walking fine.

I will complete the basic training in a few weeks. If I am already feeling the wonders and enlightenment of these first lessons I can't imagine what is in store for me. My future just gets brighter and brighter.

Happy Anniversary to Me

Can you believe that it has been three years since my metamorphosis into my Goddess state began? Yes, it was April 14, 2008 when I had my lapband put in.

Results to date -97 lbs.
Yesterday, actual anniversary, was -96. C'mon Lucky -100!

The greatest victory since then is that my confidence in this "tool" never wavered and no regret to bring me down. How could it? Maintaining alone is a victory. And add the fact that it has only been in the last few months that I finally kicked up my activity level. My latest victory is that I am turning towards healthier nutritional intake, as well as, soul resuscitation of meditation. You could call it a body, spirit, and mind overhaul.

It seems that Shrek had it right. Life is like an onion. Sometimes it stinks, sometimes it can make you cry, but as you peel away each layer, you eventually get to the sweet center.

My layers are many - controlling over indulging, listening to my body's messages as to what is good and not (bread-like foods...definitely no-nos), starting to really move, and still some very personal thin layers that were and still are almost invisible to me.

Now, I sit here on the train, and enjoy my victories. I never thought my butterfly experience, or maybe my caterpillar time, would result in my becoming a Goddess of epic proportions.

I end this post grateful for what I have learned from my non-ideal body, happy to enjoy this ever-changing shape, and looking forward to a more beautiful me. NOT because of the weight loss, but because of all the lessons that come along with my butterfly living.

~Goddess Karena
[poetic license and added an 'a' for my middle name...sounds more exotic, don't you think?]

Modern Day Renaissance Woman

Picture Bob the Builder and I Dream of Jeannie's love child and you might just see my face. I know, what did she do now?!?

I went from an evening of being a divine woman which included sensual movement, soul touching meditation, and celebrating me to the next night filled with sawdust, splinters, and maybe the onset of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. All this to better understand me, who I am, and where I'm going.

Last night, I attended a clinic at Lowe's Hardware out East in preparation for my role as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity's "Women's Build." We learned about worksite safety (very, very dangerous so it seems) and how to do framework.

When it was time for somebody to give the hammer a whirl, I was the first one up. My dad always taught me that it's better to get it over with then to sit with nervous anticipation. After banging a nail from all different angles, I got it in after 25 taps. Hmmm! Maybe Water Girl might be a better role for me. Nahhh!

As the night concluded a local news cameraman asked to interview me ]nd two other ladies. That was neat, but I only know one friend (hi Lisa) who has Verizon FIOS to tell me what was shown.

In the end, as I stated on camera, I was very excited to join this group of volunteers as the idea of women building a home and being a role model to my 13 year old son...what can be more empowering?

So get ready to open up your wallets friends, I'm looking for sponsors. We'll be talking soon.

NEXT WEEK on The New Adventures of Karen will be a clinic recap on roofing & siding. Stay tuned.

A.D.D. & Me

I grew up in a world where kids were either "full of energy" or "not motivated", Clean Freaks or Slops, kids who had "ants in their pants" or were "slow as molasses. Nowadays, those same children would be labeled with ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, SID, etc, etc, etc.

As a mother of an active boy, I kept one eye on him and the other on lots of parenting books and articles. In the end, it was ME! who in recent years was diagnosed with ADD.

The good news is over the years, unbeknownst to me, I created the ideal job that required juggling & multitasking where ADD is a great fits. It almost mimics the way I view a hyper-can't-sit-still kid or a never-looks-up-from-a-book kids. The first would make an awesome Emergency Room doctor; the second would be a great heart surgeon that requires hours of concentration.

Each and everyone of us has something that could be tweaked. Most important is to turn what some may label as a weakness into a strength. So the next time you see a somebody with a different way about them, try to see the flip side and celebrate the differences between all of us.

Post Script: for more insight of Me & ADD, check out the March 19 post when I was adjusting my prescription. Happy to say, my mild meds can eliminate the runaway train that sometimes exists and replace with a soothing choo choo train.

Toot-Toot! All aboard! Karen is here and perfect just the way she is.