In a way, I'd been doing Reiki* work for a year and a half before I even had my training. A lot of the work I'd done with energy tied in the notion of a universal energy source which I could harness and directly through my body and direct either into myself or into the universe. My work also involved a lot of visualization, which also seems key to Reiki, or at least key to the particular type of Reiki in which Storm initiated me. Thus the training I received was not so much out of the blue but more like a formalized training system to achieve specific goals using the same sorts of energies I'd been manipulating on my own, untrained.

I didn't come to Stafford armed only with my own experience, however. I had made some preparations by doing readings on Reiki both from Storm's own Reiki web site and other resources and manuals online. One of the things I read most thoroughly was a free e-book called Reiki Plain and Simple by Vincent Amador. I remember reading it on my PalmPilot on the days before leaving as well as during the actual trip. From that book I got a grasp of the overall history, uses, system and potential of Reiki. I also learned that Reiki is not any one thing but can be many things, depending on your teacher, what other systems you are using it with, and your own personal approach to it.

As it turned out, despite all the different variations of Reiki, the kind of Reiki I encountered with Storm was exactly what I was looking for — which really didn't surprise me since she and I seem like-minded on quite a lot of matters. With Storm I didn't need to abandon my past experience and say "forget all that, Reiki has all the answers." Also, I didn't have to maintain any level or purity or take anything as dogma. She trusted me as an intelligent, intuitive person to be able to take what I needed from what I was being taught and build my own experience, just like I was being handed supplies and tools.

My training took place over the course of basically only two days. I understand that some Reiki initiations can take days or weeks, but Storm was confident two days would be enough. Her own Reiki training had also been a crash course and she had gotten through it and later became a Reiki Master, so there's nothing inherently wrong in it. Reiki is a lifelong gift and it is practice and further study that will strengthen the understanding; not all of this must be done in the actual training. I was quite happy with the two days, even if the second day was a bit quashed by other things. Any more than two days and I would have been squirming because it was my vacation and I'm far too fond of the English countryside and would have been pining for narrow roads, tea gardens, and National Trust estates.

Reiki I

My first day of training, encompassing Reiki I, was by far the more vigorous and lengthy. All the groundwork was laid that day and the rest, so I gathered, built on that foundation and to some degree, was icing on the cake (enough mixed metaphors in that sentence, huh?).

We started around noon, moving into Storm's amazing multi-purpose front room, which serves as not only the living & entertainment room but as a treatment room, training facility and ritual space. I hadn't noticed it before, since I'd only arrived the day before, but the room is set up in a way so it can be transformed quickly and easily to whatever purpose it's being used for. For Reiki, Storm drew the blinds (we began around noon), pulled the coffee table to the side, shut off the electric lights, lit candles and incense, and kicked out all the cats (she has nine). Voila, we now had our Reiki room!

The very first thing we did was a healing session. Storm had a big futon along one wall, right next to the radiator and it was a nice warm space when she had me lay down on the carpet with my head on the futon. Sitting behind me, she carried out a thirty-minute Reiki treatment on me and told me to simply relax and let the Reiki begin to do its work on me. It was a wonderful feeling, as Storm placed her hands mostly on my head in various Reiki positions. Her hands were hot and it was easy to imagine the heat, as it spread, was the energy and from there feel it seeping around my body. I kept my eyes closed and had wonderful visions, mainly of pulsing colors and lights. All the while Storm had great meditative music playing, something that was a part of all the work we did. Afterward I felt very relaxed, very good.

Next I had my first attunement. I really enjoyed all the attunements I had on both days. The first one was quite overwhelming because I hadn't really known what to expect. I knew Storm was going to do something to me that only a Reiki Master knows how to do, but since it's something higher level, I didn't really know what it would be.

Anyway, for the attunement Storm had me sit on a nice comfortable stool, which she placed near the center of the room. Sitting relaxed with my eyes closed, I let Storm go to work. The attunement was a combination of words and gestures. Storm stood in front but also circled around me. Several times she surprised me by suddenly blowing really hard in the direction of my head, almost like she was blowing out a birthday candle on top of my head. (I'm still not sure what that was about.) She also called on the power of Reiki to come and invest me so I could progress in my training and have Reiki as my partner.

The coolest thing for me, though, was the bell she used. She had a bell which she struck and I don't think I had ever experienced the tone of a bell the way I did then. It was like the attunement had tuned in my senses so I could hear each individual vibration of the sound, not just the single tone. During subsequent attunements I was actually able to almost taste and see the sound, the sensation it caused was so much more than sound.

All during that first attunement, I had visions and bodily experiences. They were very much like the visions I'd discovered how to have on my own. For example, I felt like I was experiencing Reiki almost like a wave in the atmosphere or a radio beam. The sound of the bell emphasized this and to me it was like when Storm struck the bell it was like she was calling in the Reiki energy and it was bursting out, becoming visible. I let the Reiki and the bell sound sink into me; it was very visceral. Finally the attunement was complete and Storm let me gradually wake up into normal consciousness.

After this we had about an hour break, so Storm could take care of some business. (It's not specifically in my journal from that day but I'm sure we also had tea. It's totally inevitable.) Our second round was similar to the first except with a few new twists.

There was a meditation session, in which Storm led us in a visualization to be able to start Reiki flowing into our bodies down our spines and then through our bodies. Storm also did another healing session on me, during which I had very powerful visions and a feeling that I was being healed. My stomach had really been bothered me for weeks and during the healing I felt like there was all this force really attacking all the irritation. Even though I had believed Reiki would work beforehand, actually feeling it working was pretty amazing. At the end of this section of work, Storm did another attunement and again I had some very cool visions and visceral sensations. Once complete, I was given a packet of information on Reiki and different part of Reiki I, like hand positions for healing.

We had another break then because naturally we needed more tea. Feeling relaxed and confident, I next got to switch with Storm and do a healing session on her. She had already explained the basic hand positions for work on the head and also used them on me twice, so it was actually easy to know what to do. I sat down on the futon with Storm's head there lying in front of me. (And yes, I did think to myself, "I can't believe I'm in England about to do Reiki treatment on Storm! Who would have dreamed this?") Before doing anything with my hands, I used the visualization techniques she had taught me to "turn Reiki on," bringing it down into myself, down my spine. When I felt I had that well in hand, I began the treatment. I worked on Storm for about fifteen minutes and used four different hand positions. Throughout it all, I felt very confident in myself and in Reiki. The Reiki energy, so I sensed was very strong. When I was finally done, Storm told me she'd gotten quite a "blast" from me.

There was a break of a couple hours or so then. We were both hungry and so after some tea (see, inevitable!) Storm's husband Jim started up dinner. After dinner we went out to one of Storm and Jim's favorite places, Cannock Chase, which was absolutely lovely and full of magic, which Storm had told me. The most fascinating part of it was this grove of incredibly ancient, gnarled trees, each one as big around as several trees. It was like a witch's forest, so dark and full of dark twisted things. I was also shown a special hollow where a lot of people have carried out rituals and rites.

Back in Stafford, Storm finished me off in Reiki I, doing a final attunement. It was more elaborate than before since it was the final one for that level. I had visions of the Chase, especially of dark and twisted limbs and sunlight through the leaves. I was pronounced complete with Reiki I.

Reiki II

Several days elapsed before I was brought through Reiki II. During that time I was either at home in Stafford doing homebody things (movies, reading, Internet stuff, tea, crisps, etc.) or being trundled around Staffordshire and Shropshire in the back of Storm & Jim's infamous Landrover.

The funny thing about being in the back of the Landrover was that it was actually a pretty good place to practice some of my Reiki skills. The back where I was sitting had no windows except the one in back, so it was fairly dark. It was really loud in there, being uninsulated, and I couldn't talk with Storm or Jim because it was too loud. So I'd sit in the back for long stretches feeling very hot and sleepy, going into a kind of nap/trance while still sitting up. Often I'd get sick to my stomach, especially since I was having menstrual cramps, and to do deal with it I tried out Reiki. I found that it worked pretty well even if all it did was trigger my muscles into relaxing and the nerves making the pain signals to stop their nonsense. I really have the attitude that it doesn't matter how it works, long as it works.

Finally it was a Sunday and time for Reiki II. I'd stayed up very late that Saturday with Storm, Gabby and Lydia doing online Wraeththu chat, drinking and writing, then half that morning was a big work session for getting the Immanion Press edition of The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit ready for the printer. Oh, and there were oatcakes and tea and coffee and all the lovely English breakfast type things we indulged ourselves in. In short, I was quite sated and in fact hyped up when at last we began our session, in the early afternoon.

Reiki II initiation isn't nearly so involved as Reiki I. The main purpose of it seemed to be two-fold: 1) introduction to the three symbols of Reiki and 2) introduction to distance healing.

For the symbols Storm showed me each of them and explained their meaning and how to draw them. I remember my mind was like a sponge that day and I found it very easy to remember them even though they were in Japanese. I was made to sit at the dining room table and draw them out many times from memory.

For the distance healing portion, Storm led me through a meditation and each of us did distance healing using the symbols. I did my practice on Bridgette Parker, co-writer of the upcoming Breeding Discontent book, as I knew she was having some problems health- and spirit-wise. I'd also already asked her for her consent. I basically was asking Reiki to find Bridgette, who lives in Texas, and enable her to overcome some of her difficulties. Storm gave me another packet that showed all the symbols and gave more detailed information on parts of Reiki II.

We didn't finish all of Reiki II that day, however, because there were other things to do, like have dinner, do the Chamber of Gateways ritual, watch TV, have scones and cream, and stay up very late on the computers.

The next day was my last full day in England and Storm and I did all sort of things until finally mid-afternoon Jim went off for his shift and we said, "OK, time to close up!" She did the final attunement on me, in the multi-functional front room, and with that I was complete Reiki II.

Storm filled out two certificates, which to me was almost weird because it's hard to put a measure on something like spiritual training. On the other hand, it was very cool because I felt like I'd just gone through Wraeththu caste training. (In fact, Storm told me what my "caste level" kind of was but I can't remember it at the moment.)

Since Then

Since returning from England I have kept up with the Reiki, although in the past month not to the extent I would like. A lot of May and June was filled with various Reiki experiments, however.

One of the nicest things I found was how I could Reiki to both relax and energize myself during stressful periods or times when I felt crappy. A number of times I turned my own living room into a ritual chamber and carried out self-treatment. Another time I went over to a nearby park and sat under a tree and did it. I felt a bit self-conscious about writing symbols in the air and putting my hands on my tummy out where anyone could see me, but I did it anyway. I also carried out Reiki in bed at night, which Storm had told me was a good time to do it, just resting hands on your stomach and tuning in to Reiki just before you drift off.

In addition to self-treatment I've done two hands-on treatments, both of them on my friend Caleb. Both times he came to me very stressed, feeling anxious and having sore feet. Often in the past I've given him massages but this time he asked if I wanted a chance to do the Reiki. I was very eager to try out my skills. I had Caleb lie on living room floor, on the plush Oriental carpet, head propped up on some velvet cushions, while darkening the room to only candlelight and turned on appropriate music. I sat on my own cushions and carried out treatment by touching his feet as well as his head.

The first time I did it, I felt the energy channeling through me was overpoweringly strong, like it has just been waiting and now was streaming through me like I'd been primed. Gripping Caleb's feet, I felt the energy was coming out of me and running into his feet and from there up his legs and through his whole body. At times I found I couldn't even feel my hands or his feet but that both had disappeared, lost physically and become pure energy! Caleb told me that each time I'd alter the position of my hands on his feet and even after I'd moved my hands completely away and over to his face, he could feel "after images" of where my hands had been and the energy had fused us together.

As I mentioned early, this past month had been bad for Reiki, as I have been letting myself get too busy and have been neglecting things which "take time," even though they could make my life a lot better. At least this week I did something to rectify this and get myself in the frame of mind of brushing up and refocusing: Got a Reiki book that's small enough I can carry it around easily and remind myself of the basic principles and elements. It looks like a very nice book, without a lot of rigid structure, more of a free interpretation or open framework. Hopefully it will help tune me in and get me doing Reiki again, for myself and others.

In conclusion, I want to thank Storm for all she taught me and what she has gifted me with or what she has allowed me to recognize as a gift. I think Reiki is here for everybody and it's really just a matter of learning how to connect with it.

* Although this article should be somewhat self-explanatory, if starting this article you are asking yourself "But what the hell is Reiki?????" you might read the very short summary on the first page of Vincent Amador's book Reiki Plain and Simple.