New Classes Added

Finally, there have been new classes added to the schedule. We have back to back Reiki 1 and Reiki 2 in August. These were put there to attract massage therapists looking for last minute continuing education. But, these classes are open to anyone that wants to learn Reiki.

A Reiki 1 has been added in September, to be followed by a Reiki 2 in October, and a Reiki 3 in November. Reiki 4 will have to be scheduled early next year as I do not want to try to teach a class in December. Also it is hard to get a conference room at that time. All classes may be signed up for on the website.

Any of these classes can be scheduled for a minimum of two people and taught at my home pretty much at any time. If you are interested in doing this, please let me know.  

New Website

Caring Palms has updated its website to something that works on all platforms from desktop to mobile. The website has moved from strict HTML code to WrodPress. And while the old way had a little more flexibility in doing things, it was a dinosaur which could not change based on device type. In doing this process, some things have been streamlined to make things easier to find. While some things have been left behind like the ethereal journal (all 1,000+ pages of it) some new things have been added like Direct Dictation and Poetry from Spirit. This is a collection that has only appeared in various newsletters. 

Creating this new website was necessary as my old hosting provider was getting harder to work with and kept dropping off functionality like mobile support (one of the reasons business took a nose dive last year). We’re hoping that the new provider works with less problems as it has for the International Foundation for Spiritual Knowledge website (which was created by Brian under this new provider). The domain name still exists with the old provider, but that will be moved over (it takes a week or two once the process is started). 

When this happens, the website could be down for a day or so, as was the case when we switched providers. We hope you like the new format.

Website Navigation Information

With the new menu that comes from the theme used for the website (something WordPress employs) there are certain navigational tricks. 

·      On the desktop, if you hover over any heading word that has a dropdown symbol (v) beside it, you will see a list of topics under that heading. Scroll down and select the one you want. If the heading word does not have a dropdown symbol, select the word to go to that page. If you click on a heading word itself (one with a dropdown next to it), you will be taken to a search page where you can type in any word you want and it will bring up a list of pages with that word in them.

·      On smaller, mobile devices, the menu will not immediately appear. Selecting the three horizontal lines in the upper right corner will open the menu. To see the choices on those menu items with the dropdown symbol (v), select the dropdown symbol. If the heading word does not have a dropdown symbol, select the word to go to that page. If you click on a heading word itself (with a dropdown next to it), you will be taken to a search page where you can type in any word you want and it will bring up a list of pages with that word in them.

·      One more thing that may be helpful is the ability to return to the top of the page with a click. If you are reading a page (desktop or mobile) and it is long (and some of them are) there will be an up arrow symbol (↑) in the bottom right-and corner. Selecting that will take you to the top of the page.

Ever-Changing

by Brian Dean

As I mentioned earlier, the website has changed, and continues to change. When it started, it was ReikiHolisticHealing.com as I was only doing Reiki. When I finished massage school, I created CaringPalms.com, which is what I still use today. 

Back then, though, someone going to the website would be given a choice of massage or Reiki, and would then be directed to the site desired (since Reiki was not known, I kept the sites separate as people fear what they do not know). Eventually, I combined them and got rid of the Reiki site. It has gone through much design change since. I expect it will continue to change as my business changes (however long I decide to continue with it).

But enough about the website. What about ourselves? We are ever-changing as well. We get bigger as we age.  We get wider, thinner, taller, smarter (hopefully). We find the niche we’re supposed to be in, at least for whatever period of time we’re supposed to be in it. Then we find the next one. 

Basically, we grow to meet the needs that we need to meet. One could say that we grow into them. Even if one thinks that they are static, that change has stopped, it has merely slowed down for a time. I remember as I was learning energies, there were points that I felt like I wasn’t moving forward. Then suddenly, a huge jump. 

Don’t feel stuck. You’re not. You are just preparing for some quantum leap. Embrace it.

Pushing Through the Pain

by Spirit with Brian Dean

We all have pains, and I’m not talking about those we might work with. I’m talking physical, emotional, mental. 

We think that physical pain would be the most debilitating, and in many cases it is. One might suffer from a stiff neck, back pain, joint pain. Now, medically speaking, pain is an indication that something is wrong in the body. It is there to let the person know that there is a problem and to not do any movements to make it worse. It basically says, “Hey, don’t do that”. Now, some pains can be treated with various types of massage, some can not (and I’ve never been one of these “No pain, no gain” people). As one who suffers from back pain (mostly from being a pack mule all too many years), I know this all too well. This is one of the reasons I stopped doing regular massage a few years back.

But I can not just sit there. I have things to do, people to take care of. So I push past it. I temper what I do with common sense (yes, I do have some), and try to work within limits that will not make my problem worse.

But other types of pain can be just as bad. Emotional pain is the first that comes up, especially when there is loss. Losing a loved one puts a big hole in one’s life. It makes one not want to move on, and moving on is not easy. You can’t just ignore the emptiness, or walk away from it. You need to work through and away from it a little bit at a time. But that is something that you must do. I know it sounds crass, but life goes on. You need to as well.

Being a spiritualist in nature, I remember when my Dad passed. i knew he was ok. Being a medium, I could still connect with him, but it was not the same thing as picking up the phone and having a chat. Eventually, I was okay with that.

Now mental pain is a whole other item. What does it come from? Fear? That is usually the main reason. Fear of interacting, fear of not being accepted, fear of failure, even fear of success. Yes, fear makes us do a lot of things, like hide when we should be out and about. We’ve all been through times when we wanted to be ‘socially accepted’, and the fear of not being so. Or fear of being alone, not having any friends. 

As one who has been the social outcast most of my life (never one of the ‘cool kids’), I became accustomed to depending on myself. And finally, the people I was meant to be around, found me. This will happen, and one needs to let it happen and quit chasing something we really know is not for us. 

But there is the mental pain that comes from thinking poorly about ourselves. The “I’m not good enough” or “I’m not worthy” syndrome. The only way out of this is to convince yourself otherwise. Meditation helps, reading the Six Words, doing Affirmations (both under Articles on the website). 

I remember being in a class and receiving some type of attunement. I saw all this energy coming down, so much that it even surprised the instructor. I was like “Wow, I’m not worthy”. And in that second, it stopped. Yes, spirit knows. I immediately countered with, “Yes I am!”, and the flow started again.

You are worthy too. You just need to see it, believe it, and keep moving.