Musings from the Journey
Enhance your life and fortify a deeper connection with your True Self.
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I'm still here.  Fifteen years ago today, I started Embrace Your Essence LLC! The road twisted and turned in all sorts of directions, as I tried to figure out how to grow a practice in my early twenties. I gave sessions to friends and family out of my childhood bedroom, then rented a space I couldn't afford for a few months before I saw reason. Eventually, I got my footing at a wellness center, while I worked on my private practice on the side. During this time, I started working at our building on E. Olin Ave. Then moved into my current suite facing Wingra Creek eleven years ago. In 2018, I was able to shift to my practice supporting me full time.  Primary treatment room set up for the open house celebration earlier this month. This suite has become a sanctuary for many, and clients tell me about how good it feels walking in here. I think of all the Reiki and healing energy that these walls have absorbed over the years. The land in this little nook of central Madison is so special to me with the significant presence of the sister cottonwoods standing tall across the creek. Beavers have chewed on the now stumps out the window, muskrats swum by, and squirrels napped in the red pines just outside. Awkward green herons have hopped through said pines, and blue herons, geese, ducks, eagles and more have soared nearby. Almost six years ago, I saved a little baby duckling that had gotten trapped in the weeds of the creek while I was on a lunchtime walk. You can read the story here. I feel grateful to have such a sweet little space to connect with all of you.   Over the pandemic, many of you pivoted with me to Zoom and phone sessions and classes as we figured out what the heck was going on, and let the scientists do the good work. Many of you continue this connection from all over the globe, as we work with the beautiful and mysterious aspect of distant Reiki. Lots of you have met my sweet little floofer-muffins Orangie and JoJo as they photobomb our Zoom sessions. I swear they know each of you, and when their presence is needed for some extra support and witnessing. Combine the Reiki with their purrs and gatekeeper vibes for some purr magic and strength. (That last pun was a typo, and I'm keeping it!)
Then I think of all the healing, and vulnerability that has unfolded in our work together. The tears, the snores, the tough events of your life, your dreams, your sensitivities. All the beautiful, rich, and sometimes challenging aspects of being human during these times. All of you who have learned Reiki or other skills and are letting that goodness ripple out in your own communities. I FEEL SO GRATEFUL that I've been able to walk alongside each of you as you navigate your life. Your trust has meant so much to me. I wouldn't be here without each of you, and your willingness to share in this journey together. The Reiki energy, the presence of something larger than ourselves, and our guides have been so loving and steady amidst all the situations that have come forward during this time. In doing this work, I get to relate with The Mystery. I don't fully understand everything that happens, and I don't suspect I ever will know it all in a way that satisfies the logical mind. It is humbling. It is also one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring things, and I am privileged to get to be a steward. I can't really take credit for the healing that has unfolded during this time, that goes to these benevolent energies and yourself! But I will say, I will take ownership for showing up, and being willing to figure out how to keep doing so! When I really slow down to feel into what this anniversary means to me, I am moved to tears that I get to do work that means something to me. It's a modest living, and I get to provide for myself and my kitties doing something that fills my heart, and ripples goodness out into the world. The phrase, "I'm still here," keeps repeating in my mind. I've been through my own iterations of loss and challenge over the last several years, and with the help of these loving energies and people, I've been able to keep showing up for myself and for you amidst it all. These challenges have humbled me, cracked me open, and I've been learning how to fill in the fissures to be stronger, much like the art of kintsugi. Making medicine of the wound. It's helped me know how to better support some of you going through your own crisis. While there were times that I was not 100% while in the thick of it, the Reiki and these benevolent energies kept holding us as we did the work. Hopefully, you didn't feel those bumps too much! It makes this time of personal calm, settling, and celebration something I'm really savoring. "I'm still here," means I am still here practicing Reiki and healing work. It means, I'm still here at Olin Ave, and on the other side of that phone or Zoom call. It means, I am still alive, resilient and able to share in this beautiful and messy life with all of you. It also means that you are still here. Still willing to engage, to learn, to open up, to heal. Thanks for sharing in the journey. Thank you, also, to all of you who were able to make it out to the open house celebration on April 12th, participated in our raffle, or sent kind notes! I really appreciate all of you, and wish the best for you! Here's to many more years! I don't plan to go anywhere! :) Check out some stats from over the years below! Stats |
Sarah Barlow
Reiki Master Teacher and Owner of Embrace Your Essence Sign up for our E-Letters Here
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