I got to talk about Reiki tonight to a group of Pagans (not related to the motorcycle gang). Now, you may be wondering the same thing my coworker did when I told her. She commented that it seemed that this was a contradiction in ideas. Well, that is not true.
If you are unfamiliar, I'll take a quick moment and do a little educating.
The term Pagan does not specify any particular religion, instead it encompasses many religions and beliefs. Pagan is a name created by early Christians to denote any other beliefs than their own, basically anyone that does not believe in the same god. They then made changes to the names of those other religions to make fun of them and depict them as evil. The most noted is the religion of Wicca whose followers worship a goddess and a god. The term Wicca craft then became witchcraft, and all Wicca followers (witches) were said to be evil. (Religions always tend to put down other beliefs as evil so that people will follow theirs.)
Basically, this denunciation was made to dissuade people from the old earth religions, Wicca and Druidism (the people that used to dance around Stonehenge in England) being the most noted. These were all labeled Pagan. Even Richard the Lionhearted fought many crusades against the moors because of their religious beliefs. To him, they were Pagans as well because they believed in Allah. To many, even Buddhism is a Pagan religion.
So, Pagans are simply those that follow other beliefs than Christians. They are not evil. They do not sacrifice small children or animals. These people work in the light just as much as anyone else. They're rituals and activities are to promote good. The group I was speaking before was looking at joining CUUPS, a national organization.
CUUPS is the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. Some of the things they do are...
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Promote the practice of earth-centered spirituality.
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Promote interfaith dialogue.
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Encourage greater use of music, dance, art, poetry, and story in earth-centered spirituality.
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Foster healing relationships with the earth and all of earth's children.
(I know this was not supposed to be an education on Pagans, but this seemed prudent. I felt I needed to let you know the environment I was talking in.)
I set up my massage table in the center of a circle of chairs, and started talking. I seemed to hold their interests while I was talking. I kept walking around the table so I could look at each person, and make eye contact with them. After a while, I realized what I was doing, stopped, and reversed direction.
After a bit of talking, I asked for a victim, and one of the audience volunteered. I scanned her, and told her where I was drawn to. She told me that the first place I was drawn (her left hip and thigh) was not a problem. I let it go, and put her on the table.
I talked as I did Reiki, explaining things and answering questions. Of course doing Reiki is not an active, exciting thing. At one point, I looked around and saw that everyone looked a little on the bored side. I told them "this is as exciting as it gets from here on out."
I finished the 20 minute session, and talked for a bit more. One thing I made sure I covered was pricing. I told them what the prices were that I saw most people charging. I told them how the cost can be anywhere from $100 to $10,000. Then I gave them my prices. I told them "Reiki 1, $100. Reiki 2, $100. Reiki 3, $100." It was interesting to see all the open mouths and wide eyes.
Afterwards, my victim told me that she was feeling this problem in her left hip and thigh. As she explained, she swims for exercise. If she doesn't get enough exercise, that area bothers her. She had not had the opportunity to swim in about a week. Hmm. Sometimes I'm wrong, and then there are actually times that I am right. Imagine that.
I spent a good deal of time after the meeting talking with people and answering questions. I may actually get some students and/or clients from this. Cool. I can only hope.
It was a good session. I am now scheduled to give a talk to another group on the 17th of next month. Also, there is another group that was represented there that wants me to talk about holistic healing at some time in the near future.
Word of mouth advertising can be Great. Here's looking at a good start.