“There might be glass in my hair,” was the first thing she said after accepting her Reiki treatment. I volunteer at the largest hospital in San Diego, where I offer Reiki sessions to patients every week. Every time I walk into a room, I don’t know who I’ll meet or why they’re there. Sometimes it’s obvious why they’re there, but unless they share their story, I only work with the energy I feel in the room. When I entered her room, I immediately sensed fatigue and bravery. I felt that her energy was tired and that her visitors were doing their best to keep her spirits up. There was a child wearing footed PJ’s ad two other family members. The child was playing a a game with buzzers, the TV was on, and one of her relatives was on a phone call. It was a scene of chaos trying its best to hold together.
After washing my hands, I introduced myself and explained Reiki, telling her that her only job was to relax and receive. She smiled and started shuffling her arms—both wrapped in slings—trying to get comfortable. Her bruised eyes looked up, and she began to tell me her story. Less than 24 hours earlier, she had been driving on a major freeway with the child and two other passengers. She had tried to brake when she saw a vehicle stopped ahead, but an 18-wheeler collided with them. She blacked out upon impact. When she came to she saw her passenger wasn’t moving (serious brain injury) and noticed her small child had the wherewithal to get out of the car on the freeway and ask passersby for help.
As she began to relax into stillness, I started the Reiki session. I placed my hands gently on her body and could feel the energy moving through her. I closed my eyes, watching the colors that often accompany these sessions—an energy signature I’m still learning to interpret. The colors seemed to swirl with intensity, and soon I felt a gentle tremor running through her body. I opened my eyes, half-expecting to see her physically shaking, but I saw only stillness. Then, a tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another, and another. She was releasing the fear she had held inside since the accident.
I glanced over at her family and noticed something remarkable. The child’s game had been turned off, their eyes closed as if in meditation. The entire room had shifted into a shared moment of quiet healing, their heads bowed, their energy soft. It was a profound experience. She was allowing herself to feel the fear she had been too brave to acknowledge for her family’s sake. Reiki gave her permission to release, to let go, and to begin the journey of healing not just her body, but her spirit as well. I may never see her again. But I’ll always carry the memory of the day she found the safety to release her fears and begin to heal, with her little guardian earth angel by her side.
