¶ Exploring Reiki
This is ReadySet Reiki , a podcast about Reiki , the universal energy life force , from the curious beginner to the seasoned master teacher , welcoming all systems , all lineages and all levels .
Reiki is a journey , not a destination , and on this ReadySet Reiki journey , we refer to ourselves as guides rather than hosts , as we too are traveling , supporting and learning on this Reiki journey as well . And with that said , I am your first guide , tracy C Wright .
And I'm your second guide , Millie Pampina .
And today it is such a wonderful honor to have Caroline Smith as our guest . Caroline is a Reiki master teacher . She's a meditation guide and Kyle Gray certified Crystal Energy Guide . Along her healing journey she had so many beautiful , kind people guide , support and share their knowledge with her .
Her passion is to extend her love by passing on the knowledge to help people on their healing journey as well . Crystals and Reiki have honestly changed her life and she would have never even imagined so . Welcome Caroline , Welcome to ReadySet Reiki .
Well , thank you so much . Thank you for having me . I really , really appreciate this .
It's an honor , thank you Wonderful and we told our listeners a little bit about yourself . So you tell us in your own words . Tell us about yourself .
Yep , so my name is Caroline . I'm a Reiki master teacher . My job that I do to pay my rent and bills is I work in television , I work in transmission , so I make sure people at home get to watch television . But my love and passion is what I do outside of work , which is crystals , reiki , helping people , sharing my knowledge .
It's just my absolute passion and honestly I love it so much .
So tell me when you began this journey . When did Reiki come into your life ?
Reiki came into my life about three and a half years ago . I absolutely knew nothing about it , didn't know what Reiki was . It just came to me . There was a post saying would anyone like to be trained in Reiki ? I went along .
I didn't know why I was going to it , I didn't know what it was , I just knew that I needed to go and , honestly , it absolutely changed my life . If you would have told me three years ago that down the line I would now be teaching people Reiki and helping people with Reiki like I just honestly would not , I just wouldn't believe that .
I just honestly I just recommend it to everyone , even if not to be a written practitioner , but just for yourself . Just for yourself , just to do self-heal and feel self . I honestly recommend it .
Wonderful , wonderful . So you have been a practitioner , you are a teacher , correct ? Yes , so , as you were on this journey , what is a common misperception about your work ?
Oh , okay , so there's actually a couple One . So I prefer the word practitioner now rather than healer , because at the beginning I use the word healer . Because I feel like when you use the word healer , people also massively think oh , she can heal me . Oh , if I go to you , then will you heal me .
And it's not that we are just a vessel , we are just a tool . We channel the energy through us to the person . It's actually the person's own body that does the healing , it's not me . They do the healing themselves . So it's how that person actually receives the energy . That's one massive misconception .
And then there's another one as well , where there are still teachers that you know everything is energy and this is energy healing . But there are still some teachers that believe that you have to do rake achievements in person , and it's like if you can do a distance healing , then of course you can do a rake achievement distance as well .
So those are the two misconceptions that I find .
Right , and it's quite interesting , as we've evolved into this age of Zoom , that it is available and with that it's just that intent and that belief in the focus , so it can be just as powerful as being in person .
We go down , there's different systems and there is holy fire , and with holy fire they actually believe that system that the teacher doesn't even touch you during the placement , it just comes from the source , and that the teacher's energy somehow gets mixed up with a physical attunement in the body . So that's quite interesting .
Yeah , yeah , so just be , open to it . Yeah , so what is the biggest challenge you see in this industry today ? The biggest challenge ?
I feel the biggest one again is distance , that people not understand People not understanding what rake is . The start is that they can't understand that everything is energy and this is energy work , and no matter whether I am next year or whether I am in another country that you can receive this , that you can actually receive this energy .
And that's a massive challenge because then it stops people , because if they can't actually go in person , then they don't actually believe that you can actually receive it . And then that's where that is a massive challenge that we are . That I find in this industry as well .
Another one I find is that there are a lot of practitioners and then it's like how do people choose ? Which practitioner do I go to ? Because there is so much different scale of pricing . And then people think , well , is the most expensive one , are they gonna be the best ? And it's like , no , we're all the same .
That person is the same as that rake practitioner and the same as that rake practitioner , no matter how much that person is charging .
Right , and that seems like there's no consistency with it . I wish everyone had just that same price , because even though someone may be a more qualified teacher , there might be someone else who offers it several hundred dollars less that experience .
When I came here , teacher was offering it way lower than what the norm was , and so she gets a very large amount of students and they're gonna go who res .
I wish they could see that the prices are the same and then go with who resonates for you and just don't look at the price tag with it and not saying that this person's not a very talented and qualified teacher , but I'm sure the lower price tag really helps as well .
Yes , yes , exactly . And then what happens is is then people don't see it as this sacred gift , because to me , I respect it , highly respect it , and then sometimes , when it's cheaper , people may not . They might , yes , pay for it , but then not do all of the teachings and the learnings and getting the support that they're like . It's only that price .
Okay , I'll do level one or I'll do some of it and then tail off Right right .
Well , you look at Madam Takata and the history of it . She charged $10,000 to be a master's and that was in the 70s and through the Reiki Alliance , that price has not changed . So you think what was worth $10,000 in the 70s ? And she lived in Hawaii and she saw that that's the price of a house .
I want very committed people to be masters with that , and so there needs to be that commitment , because when it's free , you may not always have that person . You'll have the person who'll be extremely grateful , but they may not be as committed versus while I'm spending 200 or 495 or 1200 for this . They're gonna take it very seriously with that .
Yes yes .
So when it is time for you to get a Reiki tune up , what qualities do you look for in a Reiki practitioner ?
So for me , I am very , very careful with my energy and for me I need to trust the person . I need to know the person . That's when it's people that are around me , when people that I know , when I get them to do a Reiki session for me . But then there's another side as well .
I have found along this path that when I need something , when there's something that I need to learn or there's something , some sort of healing , that I need , someone appears in my life and someone comes into my life .
So it might not necessarily be someone that I know , but it's my intuition that I trust , because if that person has been presented to me that I do not know , then I know that I have to go with my intuition .
So I really really go with my intuition on a person and I also , if I don't feel right , that person is the right person , then I also listen to my intuition as well . I feel like that's really important , because sometimes you may see a Reiki practitioner and they may even offer it for free .
That doesn't mean it's the right person for you , and you really do have to listen to that inner voice , listen to how your body feels and see okay , is this the right person for me Also . I feel like how they speak to you as well , how they support you through that as well .
It's not just about having a Reiki session and just be like oh , that's it , that's your Reiki session . There you go , I look at how they are with you . That's really , really important to me .
Wonderful . I love that . Make sure who's coming laying hands on you , getting in your energy field . I had worked at a Christian school a number of years ago and our principal was a minister and he even said then , at a staff meeting , he was actually going to a chiropractor and he said be careful , who lays hands on you ?
It's the energy , because you never know . And that was someone who was of religion , right , a man of God , and he even said be careful , it's the energy , be very careful with that , be mindful with that . So , yes , and you made a good point of whether it's free . You're like oh , yes , it's free , but that might not be the best for you .
Yes , so as like .
It's like taking a deep breath in . So basically , just take a deep breath in pause and ask is this for my highest and greatest good to have a session ? Is this the right person for me to have a session , with Pause for that moment . See how you feel inside your body , see what that inner voice says in your head .
You will always get that voice in your head , a yes or a no . You'll always get that feeling within , inside your body as well , whether it feels off or if it feels yes , definitely gonna be with this person .
And also sorry , I wanna say as well , even when you feel like it's the right person and if you're in a racy session and you do not feel comfortable , you can stop that session and not continue Just because you're in that session and maybe you've paid for it , but then halfway through you're like no , I don't feel right , you don't have to go through to the
end of the session , right ? That's a good point .
Yes , that if it doesn't feel good , don't do it . Doesn't feel right , yeah , very , very important with that . So what advice would you give someone who was just entering this profession ? You as a teacher trainer . You as a teacher trainer .
Oh , my gosh advice that I'd give you First thing is believe in yourself . Okay , ray , he comes to you , and if you know nothing about it , that's absolutely okay , because it's come in your life for a reason . Who , what's really really important as well , do you mean when you find a teacher , when your first one is powerful ?
Do you mean when you're in this path and you're actually doing sessions for people ?
I just think that anybody who's curious , they're listening , they're like this is so fascinating
¶ Advice for Beginning a Healing Journey
. What advice would you give me as I'm beginning this journey ?
Yeah , definitely I would get a good teacher , someone that you feel that is a good fit for you . Don't just go with the first person that you see . Don't go with the person that's offering a free rapey one attunement or rapey two attunement , because there are people that offer it for free and like that .
Don't always think , oh , because someone's charging a lot of money , they are going to be the best person either . I would really advise you , like I said , when you are choosing a person for a session , sit down with yourself , have that person's name , take that deep breath in pause , ask is this person right for me ?
Because you know that you're on the right path . You know that you're leading into this very key path . So that's really important . Get in the right teacher , finding one that will actually support you as well , because I feel that's really important .
It's not just about getting the tunes Yep , you could go online and you get a tune for free it's about the support . Going through this path unravels layers and layers and layers , and if you do not have someone there to support you , it's pretty tough . And even when you do have someone there to support you , it's tough as well .
So it's just the number one as well . Is you looking after you , self-care for you , doing self-healing for you as well ?
I will always say this level one to me is the most important level because it's you , it's healing you and knowing about how it feels to do self-healing on yourself , because how can you go and do a session on someone else if you haven't done one on yourself and done this self-healing Right ?
So doing 21 days on level one is the most important , because some people have the attunement and they're like , ah , I'll do the self-healing maybe one day , maybe two days . It's really , really important . So that's my advice is do the self-healing every day , put yourself first , know how it is Always , always put your well-being first .
If you don't feel okay doing a session , that's okay , you can rearrange . I never do a session if I'm not feeling 100% . So that's my advice to people .
Yep , you have to have your cup filled up first before serving others . Very good yeah . So what are the other modalities you offer ? Tell us everything you offer , whether you do classes , meditation , events .
Oh my gosh . So , like , obviously I mixed . I was so lucky , oh my gosh , I was so lucky to do the top-grade crystal therapy training because it actually taught me about crystals and how to use crystals properly . Because before I did the course , yes , I loved crystals , absolutely loved crystals , but did I know how to use them properly ?
No , not since doing that course . So for me and it's really , really important that when you are mixing the two together , that you do actually know how to use the crystals properly . Like , for instance , if you want to replenish your chakras , then you're using the opposite color .
So you know when you're doing , you wouldn't be using the colors of the chakra , you would use the opposite and that's the crystal that you would use . And so I mixed the two . I mixed the rakey with the crystals .
Obviously , if the client would like that , obviously , if they are not into crystals and they only want the rakey , absolutely fine , then they can just have the rakey , the same as if they were just like a crystal feeling , then you know , I would just do that . Meditations as well . Leads in meditations .
I absolutely love it because it's like when I lead them , it's like I never know what's going to come out of my mouth . I literally all I do before I do the meditation , I call in my guys and I'm like , please just slice me into what people need today . And yeah , it just like channels out of me . It's just absolutely amazing Teaching as well .
I'm just starting at the beginning of my teaching because , for me , support is really , really important For me . When I take someone through , I will literally take them through for the whole 21 days so that they have that absolutely support , but also accountability . So every single day I will message them have you done yourself healing ?
Or I will ask them can you just message me when you've done yourself healing ? Because you know , if it's someone in America and I'm in Ireland , it's just that accountability and like , how are you feeling ? Are you okay ? If there's any questions , like if anything comes up , then at least I'm there , because I feel like that's very , very important .
The same is , you know , taking someone through a master . It's like how can you have that title of being a master unless you've actually mastered your healing yourself , whether you have done session after session , after session after session , and then you can call yourself a master ?
These are the different things that I do right now , as well as obviously different recon sessions as well .
Okay , so you offer in person and online as well ?
Yeah , I have mainly done online and my in person . I'm getting to that as in like I will go to people's houses but I haven't got like a room or anything like that . That's what I'm working towards , so mine has mainly been online .
Sure , it's a journey . You'll get there All in good time , all in good time . And thank you for following up with your students like that . It's often very rare in this profession to follow up with text messages , accountability through those 21 days . So kudos to you for that taking that extra care . And our last question is tell us where we can find you .
OK , so I have Facebook and I have Instagram and my name is Bluer Crystal Healen , which , like I said , I feel like I need to change that because I don't like this Healen , where people then think you know , I'm a healer and I'm going to heal you , but that's where you can find me on Instagram and Facebook . I haven't got a website yet , but that's OK .
So , yeah , that's where you can find me . Oh , sorry , I'm on TikTok as well . That's very new .
That's all right ,
¶ Expectations and Support in Reiki Sessions
right . One of our previous guests said some of the best Reiki master teachers are ones that don't advertise . So get it that way . Get it that way , all right . Well , this comes to the end of our journey together and I'm going to pass you over to my co-guide , millie Pampina , who's going to walk you on a wonderful journey through our social media questions .
So here's Millie .
Hi , thank you so much , Carolyn . I love some of your feedback with respect to what you look for in a Reiki practitioner , and it's OK to end a session if you don't feel that you're getting what you would like out of it . If the energy isn't right , it isn't right . So very , very nice .
Thank you for bringing that forward , because a lot of people they either say I didn't feel anything , I had a bad experience , and the truth was energy wasn't a fit , so they go away and say never again and they don't have the opportunity .
I know when I first started receiving Reiki , like you , I went to multiple practitioners to get the vibe , see what I liked , pick out the best parts of it , and then , when I had an opportunity to start training , I never stopped . So it was just such a good journey so far and one that I hope that never ends . But thank you so much .
In Ireland , what a special , special spiritual place . But I do have three questions from our social media audience , and the first one is what should I expect from a Reiki session with you ?
Thank you so much for that question . Ok , so I'm a bit different , because where I have gone along now I've changed things completely as I have gone along . So with me I want the person to feel absolutely comfortable . But at the starters I find out a bit about them because , as in like , if they're a medium , it's slightly different .
So for me , if they're a medium , when I start that session I have to set up boundaries so that person can actually enjoy the session . Because when you get a medium they have a lot of people coming in . So at the start of the session I would set up boundaries and say guys , let's just say Caroline , this is Caroline's healing sessions .
She's here for a healing . Can you please just step out of her space and move completely out of her space and completely out of her room so that she can enjoy this healing session ? And for this time she is enjoying her healing session . So that's what I do with mediums , because I have discovered where I had worked with mediums .
I needed to do that because there were some people that weren't feeling comfortable when I could feel that and I was like , ok , what's going on ?
And then they would say there's loads of spirits coming in and I'd be like right , ok , right , let's stop the session and then actually just put that boundary up , let's ask them to leave , and so that you can enjoy this session .
I also make the client aware that this isn't a silent session , because sometimes when you go to a healing session , you feel like you have to lay there and you have to be silent and you cannot say anything . So I make it very , very clear at the beginning that this is not a silent session , that if you need to move , you move .
If you do not feel comfortable , you move . If there's something that's not feeling quite right in the session , I would like you to vocalise . And also same as if something comes up in the session , you're OK to talk , you don't need to sit there in silence .
Because I found that's really helpful , because then people are like , oh , ok , I don't have to sit here in silent and I don't have to keep it in and then try and not enjoy the session and try and remember it for the end , because it's like , oh , I need to say that at the end because I didn't know what that meant .
So that's the boundaries that I set when I first had the session and then I go through what I'm going to do . So this is what I'm going to do with me . Where I mix the crystals , I have a set of questions because I want to empower the people who are having the session , the client .
So it's not about me using my intuition and saying , ok , you have this wrong with you , this was wrong with you , this shackle was like locked in . I put the power back into the person so that they feel like they know what's going on with themselves .
So it's like your body will let you know what's going on with you and your body will let you know what it needs . So when I ask these questions , I get them to take a deep breath in and ask can you let me know ? They ask their body how am I feeling and what do I need ?
So I then asked , like if they were a color , you know , if their energy was a color , what color would it be ? And is this that energy , good , bad , indifferent ?
There's all questions like that that I asked at the beginning of the session , which then tells them and I explained to them okay , well , you said this and this , which means this and those are the crystals that we're going to use in the session and it's they , their body tells them what crystal , what color crystal , they need for their body .
So it's like empowering them . So they're like , oh , okay , I know what's going on with myself and that's how the session starts and that I make them aware as well .
There are some people that can feel they might feel heat , they might feel coolness , they might feel tingling or they might feel nothing , and all of that is okay and that you know they may have some things come up and just go through all of the emotions that could possibly come up for and afterwards .
I then explained that I'm going to ground them at the beginning and ground them at the end . I ground them with grounding crystals . I then use the crystals that are right for them .
I then channel the rake energy through me , through to them , and tell them that I'm just the vessel that is actually their body that is receiving the energy and however it is right for them , that's how they receive it and then it will just flow through them and work through them .
And then I end the session with grounding and then obviously , I check in with them as well and sorry , I skipped a bit as well At the beginning . Obviously I ask them if they have anything that they would like to say , if there's anything going on with them .
Normally at the beginning there's at least 10 minutes of that client talking to me and me telling sorry , them telling me what's going on with them , and it's like a mini counseling session . So that's my session .
I think it's beautiful and I love the interaction you know with the client , because so frequently you know they don't have that interaction and they don't feel the warmth and the love and the you know the , what I call the rakey embrace or the virtual hug that you get from having a connection with your practitioner .
And really super how you go about with the crystals . And I love Kyle Gray . I have not attended that particular class but I think I'm going to have to sign up for it now .
Just listening to you made me . Honestly , it's unbelievable the amount that you learn about crystals and how to use them , and it's just unbelievable . It's just honestly , and you only get an opportunity once a year . You only open once a year for you to get onto it .
So I'm on his waiting list for a couple of things . So I'm so excited . I hope that I get picked or I get to the top at some point , so , but thank you so much .
That's beautiful and you know that speaks volumes and as to your love and your participation in the rakey , and you know , providing your clients and your participants a session that'll make them want to come back for more . Because we always say it's an iterative process , you have to repeat it , repeat it .
And it's cumulative because it builds and it builds and it builds because they , you know we only deliver . We deliver you the tools . It's up to you to take them and with them and work with them , practice , practice , practice . So thank you .
So and I heard you say some of this during the interview with Tracy so do you offer any follow up support after a treatment ?
Yes , of course I do , because you can't just leave someone , because you know when someone has a session , it then starts to bring emotions to the surface and it will start healing back to the layers and then it's like for that person then just to go off and then be like , okay , well , this is coming up . Who do I talk to ?
So for me , I always I let them have the next day just to like because the energies are still working through them , still flowing through them , and I also make them aware . You know many emotions can come up . You can try , you can laugh , you can have more energy . You know less energy . But the most important thing is for me to check in with them .
For me to check in with them , see if they're okay , do they have any questions ? Is there anything I can do to help them ? And that's how I give support afterwards and it's not just like a couple of days after .
Then , maybe a week after , I would check on them again and if they need me , I'm always say if you need me , I'm always here , no matter what , even if it's a client from a year ago , like if you , if you need to just ask a question , absolutely contact me .
And the third question I have thank you so much was I was gifted a Reiki treatment and during my session I felt my pain disappear . Is that common during a session ?
Yes , luckily it is . I've had people say like they've had a headache at the beginning of the session and it's funny because I will feel that headache as well . They don't even need to say anything during the session , I can feel that headache .
And then by the end of it they're like oh my gosh , my headache gone , or someone has had back pain or any kind of pain , and by the end of the session they're like I don't have that pain anymore . Now , obviously , if someone is in severe pain , it's you know , it can go down to a dull sensation or it can like lower by half .
It just depends on the person . But maybe that day , but then , because the energy is still flowing through them , the next day or the day after , then it can disappear , or definitely , you know , low down , but yeah , definitely .
Wonderful . Well , thank you , and I appreciate the honesty and the genuineness of your answers and your approach to Reiki . Your clients must be very thrilled to have connected with you and I appreciate all the feedback and information because that's one of the reasons why we went with our wwwReadySetReikicom because we wanted to be able to .
We had questions and we wanted to be able to offer to others the ability to you know you don't know , what you don't know what you don't know . So you don't ask questions if you don't have any ideas at the bottom .
So to bring all of you to the table for our audience and allow them to reach out to you and to others to make good networking and good training and good practice decisions . So thank you so much for joining us today , carolyn . Is there anything else you might like to add to our conversation ?
The only thing that I would say that I have learned along the way is do not compare yourself to anyone else and do not put anyone on a pedestal . I did that at the beginning . I was like , oh my gosh , I wish I was like that person . I wish I was like that person .
And then also , I put teachers on a pedestal and my bit of advice is you are unique , you are a gift , everyone is a gift , and no one is the same . No , I can guarantee there is no two Raky practitioners that do a Raky session the same . So do not compare yourself , because you are amazing in your own self and never put a teacher on a pedestal .
So guess what ? We're all equal , we're all the same , we're all gifted and we're all amazings . So that's my bit of advice .
Beautiful . Thank you so much . What an uplifting statement and approach .
¶ Thanking Carolyn for Being a Guest
Well , at this time we wanna thank you again , carolyn . It's been beautiful and a great experience . And thank you for joining us all the way from your homeland of Ireland and just to show others that it's worldwide and we so enjoy when we have guests from other countries .
And with that I'll give you , I'll leave everybody with my tagline to see beauty in all things is a choice . Please choose wisely . Thank you again . I'm your co-guide , Millie Pampina , and I'm gonna turn it back over to our other co-guide .
All right , thank you friends . Thank you , Carolyn , for being our guest today . We really appreciate it and just shows you how this is just a wonderful universal energy life force that connects all of us . So keep on raking everyone .
So if you have a question for one of our guests , you can reach out to us at wwwreadysetrakicom or you can find us on social media . Make sure to check out our Feather Sister Wellness Platform , where we have meditation classes , events , yoga , all the good things . So check it out .
And I have been your co-guide , Tracy C Wright , and this has been Ready Set Raking . A you .