Every week there is a new horrifying or gobsmacking event happening in the US. I try to write in ways that are relevant to current events and how to navigate them while tending to our inner world and the collective, but I don't have the capacity to respond to them every time. Now that my cued e-letters for Reiki training are up (we've postponed the start until we have more registrants, so let me know if you are interested!), I'm confronted again with what to write. 

I'm going to speak plainly today. 

If you haven't been paying attention, you need to now. 

If you listen to Fox News, it's time to find another source. They've been lying to you. 

It's time to find non-violent ways to respond, and repeat, ad nauseam. This is the necessity of these times. 

Minnesotans are brave. Resilient. Scared. Doing the thing anyway. In frigid, unsafe temperatures. I love them. I wish they didn't have to do this.

I know many of you have Minnesotans in your life. Check on them. Send them care packages. Protest in solidarity with them (there are many ICE Out protests going on around the country.) Let them know they aren't doing this alone.

Us Midwesterners are hearty folk. We've lived through the bitter cold and snow year after year. We care about our community, and that is showing in the unwillingness to submit to bullies who just want us to lay down and take it. Fuck that.

The macrocosm is the microcosm. Imagine (or remember) an abusive family system. The emotionally and physically abusive parent hurts one of the children. The other is the golden child (immune to the physical harm, but also steeped in the emotional harm in different ways). The child who is being hit says something, speaks out about the abuse. "How dare that child say anything?" thinks the abusive parent or enabler. They should just sit there and take it. The abusers thinks the child is making them hit them, because the child upset them. It would all just be better if they were quiet.

Well, that's the narrative for the US right now coming from those in positions of power.

Historians and political scientists have a world for it when it's a government: Totalitarianism.

From Britannica.com:
Totalitarianism is a form of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens. It is characterized by strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression. It does not permit individual freedom. Traditional social institutions and organizations are discouraged and suppressed, making people more willing to be merged into a single unified movement. Totalitarian states typically pursue a special goal to the exclusion of all others, with all resources directed toward its attainment, regardless of the cost.

My work is all about healing and releasing trauma. This administration is generating so much trauma it brings me to tears. Sometimes I collapse on my floor, head in my hands, before I rally myself. 

Alex. Renee. A baby that stopped breathing from being teargassed. An autistic woman carried away as she was on the way to the doctor. A peaceful protestor blinded. Oglala Sioux Tribal members detained (they are the only ones who never immigrated! wtf?!?!). People of color (citizens and those here legally) profiled, harassed, detained because of how they look, how they speak, how they dress. I could go on and on.

All of these people, they need us. We need us. 

The Republican members of Congress have the power to stop this. There is still time to pressure them to rein in ICE. Congress: 202-224-3121. You don't have to have the perfect thing to say. You just need to call. Honestly, I find it rather cathartic hounding Ron Johnson. ;)

What I do believe in is the power of the people. You and me. There are more of us than there are of them. We are fed up, and this doesn't have to continue. We just have to be willing to do something about it. Stand in your power. Don't give it away to them in complacency or fear. We are stronger together. 

Voces de la Frontera has resources to support immigrants, and rally to protect them in Wisconsin. Donate, volunteer, get involved. We need to be ready.

Monarcha is the rapid response line in Minnesota. They need our support. 

Keep an eye on the 287g program, and speak up! This gives municipalities federal money for local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE. Because they've been deputized in this way, essentially any police officers in participating counties are also effectively ICE agents. They often also have beds reserved in their jails for detainees. There are numerous counties in Wisconsin that are currently participating at the time of this writing: Brown, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marquette, Outagamie, Sauk, Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha, Waushara, Winnebago, and Wood Counties Sheriffs' Offices, and the Palmyra Police Department. This is also reversible! So if you live in one of those counties, speak up and say you do not want your police department participating!

Know that I'm doing what I can to stand with you in this. I've been standing up to bullies since 1987. Standing up to these bullies has become my new hobby.

If you need help regulating your nervous system, or finding moments to recharge to keep doing the thing, I'm here. 

I'm also wanting to offer Reiki to immigrants and those being harmed by this administration. If you would like to donate funds to help sponsor folks, or donate your own Reiki skills to help, let me know. Hopefully, our little bits of effort will lessen some of the long lasting impacts of this harm. 

Keep showing up.

Love ya'll and stay safe out there,

Sarah

Thinking of learning Reiki, but unsure if this is the program for you?

Here are some reasons you'd decide to jump in with us. 

This is one of the most supportive Reiki trainings out there. 
Most Reiki programs are one day long. You get an attunement, a manual, *maybe* some practice, and you are sent on your way. 

I've had a lot of students come to me who've studied elsewhere at one of these trainings, but felt like they didn't get what they wanted out of it. They don't feel connected to the Reiki, they don't use it, or they don't know if they are doing it right. 

In our program, each level is three to four months long. We have ample class time. Time for instruction, questions, and practice. You get a number of times to receive support during the month, either in a group or one-on-one. The space between trainings also gives time for the Reiki energy to integrate into your system for you to heal, while you are learning. It also gives time for the questions to bubble up, so then you can get support during class. Reiki is an abstract and subtle modality, a lot questions can come up when you start to practice, that you might not otherwise think of. 

Most students who've taken my programs end up feeling really grounded, and connected to the Reiki. They feel confident using it, and understand how to practice in a safe, and ethical way. 

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"I have done other Reiki trainings, and while they were useful and fulfilling, Sarah's training was more detailed and supportive. Sarah is an intuitive and gifted teacher, and her warm and open nature allows for students to learn and develop in a very nurturing environment. I am excited to begin Level III."
~Anonymous
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I've been practicing Reiki for 16 years.
As I mentioned before, a lot of the tricky stuff that can come up in a Reiki practice is when the rubber meets the road. During these years, I've seen and experiences a lot. The kinds of mysterious happenings that present themselves with the Reiki. The kinds of conversations that are had with the public, and have evolved how to talk about Reiki. The ways to operate that help one practice in a safe, ethical way that honors the boundaries of their clients and themselves. 

While I'm not perfect, and I am still learning all the time. I have learned a lot from my previous experience and I weave that into the teachings, so hopefully students don't have to take as long to learn it as I did. 

I've always been a teacher. 
I got a degree in education before I began my Reiki practice, and I understand what helps people learn, and really integrate that knowing into their being. This is why my Reiki Training Program is structured the way it is. I originally taught one day workshops, and I ultimately felt this was a disservice to my students, and the Reiki energy. Since shifting to the current format several years ago, Reiki students have flourished in their relationship with the Reiki energy. 

You'll learn in a safe, nurturing, and fun environment. 
I take the energetic container of our class very seriously so we can do deep, powerful, and vulnerable work. Safety is the key to healing. That being said, I love being silly, and we have a lot of fun. Together, our classes create a space where everyone can be themselves and feel supported by each other. You'll marvel at how you transform, as well as the people around you during our months together. 

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"I completed all 3 Reiki courses in the past year with Sarah Barlow at Embrace Your Essence. Her knowledge and passion for Reiki, combined with her excitement for teaching others, made this an amazing and transformative journey. The small group classes created a perfect space for sharing experiences and practicing our skills. If you have been considering receiving Reiki treatments or taking a Reiki class, I highly recommend Sarah."
~Kathy W.
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If you are still unsure if this Reiki training is the right fit for you? I'm happy to have a conversation with you to help you get the clarity you need. Reach out and we'll talk. :)

Ready to jump in on Feb 7th? Register here. Deadline is Jan 24th. 

Warmly,
~Sarah

Reiki is special. It's adaptable. It's accessible. It can even be sneaky. 

Once you learn how to do it, it is always there for you. 

Trouble sleeping? Put your hands on yourself.
Injure your knee? Put a hand on your knee. 
Nervous before a work meeting? Place a hand on your heart.
Anxious during a first date? Keep a palm on your lap. 
Sister's getting surgery across the country? Distant Reiki from your couch.
Sweet kitty is having tummy trouble? Reiki while you pet them. 

There are multitudes of applications for Reiki for yourself, and your loved ones. All you need is your hands. Once you get to Reiki II and learn distant Reiki, you don't even need to be in the same place. 

Reiki is amazing. It's one of those modalities that practitioners can easily give to themselves. Whereas, for other healing modalities it can be harder to do self-healing work. 

The subtleness of the Reiki also makes it easy to give to yourself or others when you are in a crowd, or other public setting without it being obvious. 

Reiki is my favorite tool. It meets you where you are. 

Reiki helps to guide your life, and weather away the things that aren't working for you. It leads you to the things that are going to be supportive. 

Reiki is one of the best things that's ever happened to me.

It could be for you too, if you'll let it. 

What do you say? Want to join us for this year's Reiki training?

There's just under two weeks to sign up for Reiki I which begins on Sat Feb 7th.

You can get all the details here.

I hope you'll join us. :)

Much love,
Sarah

Mikao Usui was a seeker. Born in 1865 in Japan, Usui had a diverse array of experiences including oversees travel, and jobs as a civil servant, journalist, missionary, and counselor for prisoners. He studied history, medicine, Buddhism, Christianity, psychology, asceticism, prophesy, physiognomy (the ability to judge one’s character by their facial features), and more, in his quest to discover the meaning of life. He eventually received his answer: “attain a state of complete peace/stillness of mind.”

Usui took up Zen Buddhism for three years hoping to reach this state, to no avail. He asked his master for advice, to which he replied, “Maybe you should experience death.” In March 1922, Usui gave up on life, and retreated up to Mount Kurama for meditation and fasting in preparation for his death. At midnight during his third week of fasting, Usui felt a powerful shock at the center of his brain, and lost consciousness. When he awoke at dawn, he felt refreshed in a way he had never felt before. Reiki energy had penetrated his body and soul. As the cosmic energy and his personal energy resonated together, he realized, “The Universe is me, and I am the Universe.”

Overjoyed that he had attained enlightenment, Usui ran down the mountain. He tripped over a rock, and ripped off his toenail. He placed his hand on his toe, and the pain vanished and the bleeding stopped. He shared this experience with his master, who guided him to use this ability to heal others and lead them to enlightenment. This is where Usui developed Reiki as a healing method, which would be passed down directly from teacher to student.

And so, Reiki as a healing art began.

Many drawn to Reiki are also seekers. Seeking depth, meaning, healing, something they might not have words for. 

Are you a seeker?

Perhaps, the Reiki energy calls to you. 

If you follow the call, you might be surprised where it might lead. 

We have a training program that starts in about a month. I invite you to join us, see where the path goes. 

Read more about the training here. It's super supportive and nourishing. 

Class size is limited to 3-6 students, and deadline to register is Jan 24th. 

I hope you'll join us. 

Reach out with questions.

In the Highest Good,
Sarah