2019-06-16 | Angela La Scala, RMT
Today, I would like to honor a man, that played a significant role on my journey to Reiki, My Dad. In many ways he was my very first teacher that taught me about healing, but this is the story of how he guided me to the path of Reiki.
Several years ago, my Dad was suffering terribly from shoulder pain. We were separated by the miles, as he was retired in Florida and I was in New York, raising two young boys. I did not know what I could do for him, so I would send him gift certificates for massages to help ease his pain. For the most part, the massages did bring him some relief. However, not long after that, and just prior to his scheduled shoulder surgery, we were given the grim news that his shoulder pain was in fact, lung cancer. The shoulder pain he suffered from was a common symptom for this particular type of lung cancer due to its position on the lung.
As my Dad began a course of vigorous radiation treatment, the massage therapy was no longer an option of relief for him. His shoulders, neck, head, back, and every part of his body, and skin ached from the treatments, and became very tender, and sensitive to the touch of massage. I felt helpless and did not know what else to offer him for comfort other than love and prayers. I would check in with him several times a day, and it broke my heart that pain medication was his only option, which resulted in other undesirable symptoms and discomfort.
One day, my Dad called me, to share his news. His voice was filled with excitement and bewilderment as he explained to me, that the treatment center at his hospital offered him what he called, “no touch massage”. He could not remember the actual name of the treatment, but he said it was a funny foreign word. I was fascinated and asked him to describe this treatment. He explained that the therapist hovered her hands above his body and gently placed her hands-on other areas that were not as sore from the radiation. He was very impressed of the effectiveness it had on him physically, mentally and emotionally. He said he felt heat radiating from her hands that was so intense that his entire body fell into a state of deep relaxation and calm. His aches diminished and his body relaxed. He felt a sense of calm and peace that he had not felt in a very long time. My Dad experienced relief from this strange therapy. How can this possibly be?
I made him repeat the process of the administered therapy several times, because I just could not fathom what this simple treatment could be, that had a tremendous effect on him!
I figured, it had to be legit, because it was offered at the hospital's cancer center, but I was baffled that something like this could work.
That was the very beginning of my Reiki journey, and I had to experience it for myself.
Being the skeptic and the curious investigator that I am, I immediately hit the internet in search of “no hands massage” and scoured for a strange name connected to it. It took quite a while , but as soon as I fell upon the word Reiki, and read its description, I instantly knew that this was the therapy my Dad was receiving that day at the Cancer Center. When I called him and asked, if the treatment was named Reiki, he confirmed that was the name of it!
And so, my Reiki journey begins, and it seemed as if this foreign word I have never heard of began to appear everywhere!
Many people often ask me, how I found Reiki and how I got into it. My answer is simple: Reiki found me and everyday I thank the man, my first teacher, and my guiding light... my Dad, for introducing me to this wonderful holistic practice. When my Dad shared the news that day, I never thought it would lead me to this little gem of a Japanese practice called Reiki, that has forever changed my life, and filled it with compassion in ways that I never dreamt of.
My Dad ended up losing his battle when the cancer had spread to his brain. I then began going for Reiki sessions to help myself, and I found that it brought me tremendous peace, and relief from my very stressful life. It helped me heal on all levels; spiritually, physically, and emotionally from the loss of my Dad.
Since then, my Reiki path has unfolded, as I went from being the skeptic, to the curious investigator, to a client, then the student, and now the teacher in two Reiki lineages.
Thank you Dad, for planting the Reiki seed on my path and being my guiding light, that led me to this loving, self-healing practice that inspires me every day to educate others.
COPYRIGHT © 2019 |ANGELA LA SCALA |ALL RIGHTS RESERVED|REIKI VIBRATIONS
To Learn more about Reiki, and how it can work along with Cancer Treatments, please contact me through email at angela.reiki.vibrations@gmail.com or visit my Page, Reiki Vibrations on Facebook!
