KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

May 30 through June 5, 2022

With a Gemini new Moon in the heavens on Monday, we can make a wish and start formulating a plan for the future. Mercury will turn direct on Friday (though allow a week or two after for glitches to clear), and on Saturday, Saturn will turn retrograde and remain that way until late October. When Saturn is retrograde, it gives us a few months to move without the regular restrictions and disciplines this planet is famous for, allowing us to explore new schedules and ways of being that might serve us better in the future. Monday and Tuesday's Gemini Moon will have us doing more chatting than working, as our quest for new and shared information prevails. A low energy will hang over us on Wednesday and Thursday as the Moon drifts through emotional Cancer, and we'll have to watch out for sensitivity or depression, which meditation and spiritual practices can help alleviate. Keep things simple, attend household obligations and avoid making any dyed-in-the-wool decisions. The Moon will move into Leo on Friday and provide us with a more confident outlook for the weekend, reminding us to practice self-love and to be generous with others in all our interactions.

Reiki: An Unconditional Love, by Raven Keyes

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

I'm blessed to have spent the whole of my career as a Reiki master in venues one might label "the establishment," such as operating rooms with renowned New York surgeons, and even standing next to Dr. Oz. My book, The Healing Power of Reiki, chronicles some of my personal stories about what it's been like to bring Reiki into the mainstream. In it I describe giving sessions in the locker room of the New York Giants and behind the barricades of Ground Zero after September 11th, but there's one important story that didn't make it into the book. It was still in the process of unfolding when my final manuscript reached its turn-in date, and though I couldn't have imagined it at the time, the tale even now continues to unfold. What you are about to read has taken place over the whole of this year, a journey of hope, courage, strength, and love. With my heart wide open, I share with you the amazing tale of My Reiki Valentine.

When Cassandra and I first met, we weren't thinking about the fact that Reiki is unconditional love. When she walked into my office, it was because she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and her surgeon, Dr. Sheldon Marc Feldman, Chief of Breast Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, had sent her to me. From the beginning, Cassandra faced up to her illness with surprising gratitude. You see, she had no symptoms and found out quite by accident that she had cancer. It had been discovered when she was hospitalized for something completely unrelated. The cancer showed up in her blood tests, and before she knew it, Dr. Feldman, whose work is legendary, was performing biopsies. It was discovered that her disease was quite advanced. When he told her about the Reiki option, she readily accepted and we began a journey together that was quite "rich" as she has recently described it; rich in many ways, all of them extraordinary.

Because of the kind of breast cancer she had and the amount of disease present, it was decided by her doctors that she would undergo several rounds of chemotherapy before having surgery; this meant that she would be having eight chemo sessions, each three weeks apart. For all those months, Cassandra came to me on the Wednesday mornings before her Thursday chemotherapy session. She called it, "her one happy appointment."

To say Cassandra and I became friends is an understatement. We were warrior women together! Our conversations before and after sessions during her chemotherapy odyssey were extraordinary—it's incredible to get to know another woman's heart under these circumstances. It was during these talks that I was able to tell her that Reiki is unconditional love from the universe, the power that heals. She connected her own love to this truth. The Reiki sessions we had together were powerful—she saw colors, she felt sensations, she flew, she slept! Her side effects from the chemo were kept at a minimum. But what was truly remarkable from my point of view was that her spirits were always high and she was never distressed.

That is, except for when we got to the weekend before her surgery. With her chemotherapy rounds completed, her surgery was scheduled for Tuesday, February 14th—Valentine’s Day. All the plans were quickly put in place—her brother would fly in from the Midwest to care for her after the surgery and the flight he was able to get so last minute would have him arriving while she was still in the operating room. Her niece was coming to take charge of our personal belongings while we went into the mastectomy with Dr. Feldman, which would be followed immediately by re-constructive surgery performed by Cassandra's plastic surgeon.

On the Friday before the scheduled procedures, Cassandra was called and told that her pre-surgery blood test showed that her blood was too weak from all the chemotherapy and that the surgery might need to be postponed. She called me, very distressed to say the least. I promised her that I would do distance Reiki over the weekend with the intention of building up her blood. The distance healing session I conducted was very powerful for the both of us, and it worked like a charm. When Cassandra went in early on that Monday morning for a final blood test, her blood levels were improved enough for the surgery to go forward. So we had our date with destiny on the day of love.

I remember clearly the moments as the surgery got under way. I was sending Reiki into Cassandra with my hands placed across the top of her head while sitting on a stool next to the anesthesiologist; I was behind the sterile field clipped high above her head so I wouldn't have to see what was going on. I could hear Dr. Feldman quietly pointing out to another surgeon on his team that the size of the tumor was still quite large, in spite of the rounds of chemotherapy. He mentioned how important her next phase—radiation—was going to be. For the rest of the surgery, which was long because of all the plastic surgery that was required following the mastectomy, things went along as usual. It wasn't until the surgery was completely over that I got the scare of my life.

Waking up the patient is the responsibility of the anesthesiologist. Once Cassandra's surgery was over, everyone prepared to transfer her to post-op, but she wasn't waking up. Long minutes were passing without her coming around. The operating room cleared out of all personnel, except for the anesthesiologist, who called for another doctor to assist—and me. The doctors were shaking Cassandra with force, over and over, calling her name, and still she wasn't waking up. Their conversation was terrifying to me: "I didn’t give her very much narcotic; I don't understand this," said the one who had overseen the operation. "Maybe she had a stroke on the table. I think I'll give her a shot of…"

"No, not yet," said the other doctor.

This was the moment in which I found I had overcome my aversion to seeing blood. I marched right through the blood on the floor, took Cassandra's hand, sent Reiki through her palm, and called to her. "Cassandra, come back. The operation is over," I implored. I held my breath. "Raven," she croaked as her eyes started to slowly open. I cried. Cassandra has a memory of this. She remembers that she heard people calling her, but she didn't want to come back, because she felt she still had things to do in that other place where she was. It was my voice, and the love we have for each other, that brought her back. And, of course, the power of the unconditional love that Reiki is. I can't imagine I'll ever have a more heartfelt Valentine's gift—the gift of Cassandra's life continuing on as part of mine!

There were complications involving the radiation treatments, but eventually they were done and Cassandra recently received a clean bill of health from all of her doctors.

Cassandra told me that she was "taken" with Reiki and that she wanted to study it, so we began her Reiki training together; she just recently took the final step in her Reiki studies. This past weekend, she completed her training with me and is now a Reiki master herself. I have no words with which to express what this means to my heart. And I can't begin to imagine how many people Cassandra will help, as a survivor of breast cancer, filled with the healing power of the unconditional love that is Reiki.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012. All rights reserved.

I have been suffering from severe depression for a long time. I am starting to contact my spirit guides. Can they help me to heal from depression? My communication is very rudimentary so far, but I do believe they are really there.

S.

Susyn:

Spirit guides can be a wonderful source of healing, guidance and direction. Having direct contact with our guides can indeed help us to move out of circumstances like depression, for they have the ability to free and empower us on a metaphysical level.

One of the greatest blessings of being consciously connected to our spirit guides is being able to perceive and understand the messages they send us in all sorts of ways. While meditating and conversing with them can bring great insights, they can also alert us to important information through others and put us into into contact with people with the power to help us.

Depression is a malady that seems to haunt us all at one time or another. It is common to feel depressed when our worlds are out of balance or when we are not receiving the things we most long for in life. The first thing we can do to break free of this paralyzing state is to improve our spiritual connections. Your decision to address this problem with your spirit guides is wise and powerful; it may prove the key to you finding a new lease on life.

Most people don't realize that spiritual healing is essential in overcoming depression. Since depression is of such a low and heavy vibration, being depressed can make it impossible to feel Spirit's presence in our lives. By continuing to work to establish a strong connection with your guides, you are taking a powerful step towards freeing yourself from the grip of depression.

As you strive to make daily contact with your guides, your awareness of them will grow stronger. Your intuition and psychic abilities will begin to function with greater ease, and the sadness that hangs over you will lift.

I'm not a medical doctor, but I have found a natural product that works wonders for the physical aspects of depression. There are many natural supplements available that can help you break free of feelings of depression and align with a higher state of being. St. John's Wort is very popular as a mood elevator, but there are many others.

One that I take and highly recommend is called KAL Beyond L-5-HTP. Because it does not have to build up in your system like prescription anti-depressants, this product starts working right away. Once you have moved beyond the depression, you do not have to keep taking it. If you awaken one morning feeling the depression returning, you can take it and feel better within a few hours. If you are taking any medications or have other serious health problems, please be sure to consult your doctor before trying this supplement.

*****

Oceania:

Asking spirit guides to cure depression reminds me of the joke about a man whose house is flooding, which I'll condense: As the water rises, a rescue boat motors by and offers to carry the man to safety. He says, No thanks, God will save me. As the water rises further, he's forced onto the rooftop, where a rescue helicopter hovers overhead. Again the man shouts, No thanks, God will save me! He subsequently drowns and complains to God about not being saved. God replies, I sent a boat and a helicopter - what were you waiting for??

There are many tools available to combat depression, so what are you waiting for?

If you've been struggling with depression for a long time, your brain chemistry may be out of whack. Depression has a genetic component; do you have family members who have suffered from mood disorders like bipolar or depression, or from alcoholism and addiction, which are often attempts to self-medicate? Genetic depression is best treated by a psychiatrist using anti-depressant medication. Brief electrical stimulation of the brain (ECT) is also a modern, safe and effective treatment for long-term depression.

Being in a group with others who are depressed in which you give and receive support is also therapeutic. Bill W. and Dr. Bob founded Alcoholics Anonymous on this very principle; they were able to remain sober as long as they supported others in doing the same.

If your depression stems from negative thought patterns, you may benefit from reading Feeling Good by David Burns, which teaches you how to modify your thoughts whenever you start thinking in unrealistic extremes. For example, if you find yourself thinking, Everything goes wrong, you would change that to, Some things don't turn out as expected, but there are still many good things in my life. The unexpected happens to everyone - not just me - and often leads to unexpected gifts, lessons and possibilities!

For those whose depression was triggered by a specific loss or crisis, grief counseling or psychotherapy may be the most helpful approach. In order to maximize your well-being, it is important to get restful sleep and regular exercise, eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water, and reduce stress through yoga, massage, mindfulness or the enjoyment of a hobby.

While your Spirit Guides cannot cure your depression on their own, you can surely ask them to inspire, motivate, guide and comfort you as you proactively reach for the many resources that are there for the taking.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.