Reiki simplifies daily life in many practical ways. It’s vastly more than a tool for physical well-being and health (for which it is better known). A great example which I greatly enjoy today and that happened not long ago, was finding apartment in Malmö (Sweden).

I moved to Sweden from Spain in June 2013. I had an agreement to work as a consultant to a translation agency, as a translation project manager. However I still had no Swedish “papers” – no ID number nor Swedish bank account.

Only somebody who has lived in Sweden can understand the frustration of finding housing here. In other countries it’s pretty easy: you just choose among all the available options. You buy a paper or magazine with ads and with a bit of luck you can find something you like that same day (if not, you simply haven’t found what you were looking for). In Sweden, on the other hand, the traditional way is signing up to stand “in line” and waiting several years until it is your turn to be able to rent. So I started by sending Reiki to the situation, a tool we learn in Second Degree (which I practice diligently on a daily basis since I learned it in July 1991). I sent light so the optimum home would appear for me, in a place where I could feel happy, safe, close to work, and at a good price.

Naturally, I was hoping to get my own apartment, a 1-room studio of sorts, but it turned out that such an option was actually not the best one for me. What I found pretty quickly was room in a shared apartment, but only for 3 months because they were all moving out. Thus I didn’t need to pay a deposit, they accepted me in spite of not having a Swedish bank or ID number, and I was able to use all their kitchen utensils. Freshly arrived to the country, with only a couple of suitcases of belongings, that was perfect. Besides it was a turn-of-the-century apartment, beautiful with high ceilings, where I had a 23-sqm room with my own balcony. It was at the street Amiralsgatan, barely 600 m from my office. Perfect! I was grateful.

Next phase happened in the fall of 2013. I sent Reiki again, a few days in a row. And relatively quickly, this apartment appeared too. A 2-bedroom place in Föreningsgatan street, also close to work, with a common inner patio with garden. It felt like a house in the middle of town. I soon found a girl I could rent out the other bedroom too, and we moved in. A second hand apartment (that means, the contract was for a limited time only) but again, this meant I could use borrowed furniture while my own economy was improving.

By Summer 2014 I had to move again, and this time I really wanted a first-hand contract, where I could stay indefinitely. Now my economy was also more stable so I could afford to purchase furniture (second hand, but my own). However I was in a bit of a hurry so I felt a little stressed. I kept looking in the ad website Blocket several times a day and sent Reiki to find the perfect place for me (not daily, but I did do it a few times). And suddenly I had four visits booked! And when I walked into my current apartment, I felt something akin to magnetic attraction: this is it! It’s the right one! This is my home. And so it was, the doors opened up, I got so much help!

It is a fascinating apartment with a very uncommon design, located just where the canal bends: I have 17 windows and views to the water from the long side and the rounded point (living room). It seems like a lighthouse from which I can see the city (funny, since the symbol we chose for Shamay is a lighthouse too!). It is downtown, as I wanted, and since it has two bedrooms there is space here for our consultation and also the Reikicourses, now that I work from home. Everybody started asking me, “How have you managed to get an apartment, and such a pretty one, after having lived in Sweden only a year?!”. No, it wasn’t “luck.” It was a true blessing. And I feel so grateful that Reiki makes it simpler and quicker for us to experience such blessings in our lives.

I would hereby like to establish the purpose of my blogging, both here at Shamay and in other places.

I have always loved writing and being creative in different ways. Playing with words fascinates me, perhaps ever since I watched “Much Ado About Nothing” as a film version in 1993, when I was 13.

In 1999 I started the college degree of “Dramaturgia”, consistent of writing and adapting texts (for the stage), critique and research. All within theater – something I had not so fully clear when I first signed up (I thought it could be appliccable to any field, and in a way it actually it, just not presented as such).

During these studies at RESAD in Madrid (Spain) we were asked to write scenes, sometimes one scene per week. This pressure nearly killed my creativity. But the first thing I reacted on was the strict requirement by the teachers: scenes need to have a conflict! Nobody will sit at the theater watching a play in which “nothing happens”, they stated. There must always be a conflict of some sort!

And inside me I rebelled – why should we have that kind of conflicts between people, fights, arguments, hidden things unsaid, dark motives…? The world in itself is full of challenges, and all of us are in a personal challenge of trying to be the best of ourselves on a daily basis (some do it consciously, other’s not quite so much). Isn’t that a “conflict” in an of itself? And can we not strive for higher standards of communication, such as those I am so fortunate of experiencing within my family?

Reading uplifting material such as the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series (of which I own many), or shorter stories of normal people who have experienced something special, fills me with joy. I want to spread more of that joy in the world. If you want to see problems, just turn on the news. Anyone who has read “The Secret,” “Think and Grow Rich,” or else just any other self-development book, sales books, even network marketing books, knows that in order to have success in life you MUST fill yourself with a positive attitude. And the only way to stay positive is to keep pouring in positive stuff in your inner “cup”, counteracting the bad stuff that inevitably comes to you: even if you never watch the news, people will be talking about them in the supermarket, you’ll stumble upon them on social media, or in the elevator with your neighbors. The world is bombarding us with negativity and by tuning in to sorrow, fear, and anger we will only produce more of the same. If you can do something constructive to solve a problem, do it, but focus on the positive of solving the issue, not on the stumbling rock itself. You must be the change you want to see in the world, Gandhi said.

I want to contribute to those positive feelings. Where I have true stories, I want to share them. One day I will also write fiction, but that will be clearly labeled as such – otherwise, it will be true. In any case, what I write will always be uplifting. Perhaps it will make you think, it might make you cry, but it will end up on a positive note. That is my promise.

We’ve always had dogs adopted as adults (not purchased as puppies): they are fantastic. We have our third at present. The first one was Oso and he came to our family in 1991.

Oso was collected by a German journalist on the highway by Calviá (Mallorca, Spain) at the age of 3, and being in very bad shape. He seemed to have grown up with a loving family, but later had been severely neglected and beaten, so at first he was fearful and defensive. But he soon grew fond of Reiki, and he used to lie under the massage table when I was giving a treatment. And he loved participating in the Reiki courses, where he would lay patiently waiting for someone to sit by him to treat him – or asking it quite openly if we didn’t pay him enough attention. Since he was a shepherd (probably Italian Wolf or Belgian Shepherd mixed with German Shepherd, 54 kg or almost 120 lb.), giving him a complete Reiki treatment took approximately a whole hour, just like an adult human of the same size.

Oso was my companion during the 11 years in which we shared our lives, and he used to travel with me as I went by car around Spain to teach in different regions.

I will likely write other articles talking about him, but at this time I want to share with you what happened during one trip to Galicia in North-western Spain. Together with the student who was arranging the course, we went for a walk in the hills of A Coruna. Oso went away and disappeared from sight. He normally wanted to keep us at eye contact, so I was distressed when noticing he wasn’t coming back, and I started calling him – but he couldn’t hear me. My friend/student said he might be lost for good: it was an area famous due to some magnetic anomaly, which caused that lost dogs would not be able to find the way back to their owners (come on, he could have told me before going on a walk right there!).

I told him not to worry: with one of the many uses of Second Degree of Reiki, I would be able to “guide him.” I sat on a rock, visualizing Oso between my hands, and indicating him where we were. Some 15 minutes later (which is the time it usually takes for Reiki to take effect), Oso showed up, panting happily, and stuck his huge head between my hands, while looking at me with great joy (same as I felt).

It is wonderful that Reiki has practical uses that enable us to communicate with other species.

And a final word, knowing the reality of shelters for abandoned animals: please don’t buy a puppy for Christmas if you’re not willing to take it with you when you travel, or leave it in a proper dog hotel. Animals are not toys, and the irresponsibility of the parents implies teaching the children that living beings are “disposable.”

I am an architect, and graduating from university implies both formation and deformation, so my mind gets happy when I can verify (personally or using a scientific device) that what my Reiki master told me is true.

About 23 or 24 years ago, I helped organize a First Degree course in Palma de Mallorca, inviting an English master from the Reiki Alliance to teach, since my master Anugama was busy for the following 6 months (and I wasn’t a master yet myself). Olivia is an English friend of ours who took the course at that time, and on Monday after the course she invited us to lunch at her home.

Around the garden table were us four women; the Reiki master, Olivia who was the owner of the home, her friend who had also just taken the First Degree course, and me, who had approximately 5 years of practice with Second Degree.

As we were waiting for our salad, Olivia noticed that she had forgotten to water one of her plants, which had all leaves rolled up and the branches were slouching. She watered it and put it in the center of the table where we sat. When a plant is so badly dehydrated, the usual is the plant will die anyway, or else that you notice a few days later that the plant has survived and recovered.

However, we started sending Reiki to the plant, and within less than 10 minutes, the leaves unfolded and recovered a healthy look, and the branches started moving up. In total they must have raised some 90 degrees, or if you were to compare it with a clock, the branches that were at “five past half” went all the way up to their proper position of “ten to the hour”.

This is the only time I have seen a plant move, outside of TV documentaries where plants are filmed for hours and days and then the recording is sped up and shown in seconds.

The fact that Reiki works so well with plants is something that both comforts and thrills me.

Years ago I started hearing about Tantra, an oriental system that teaches how to use sexuality for spiritual enlightenment. I loved the concept, because I felt that this great treasure of sexuality we had been given, as human beings, had to be much more than physical pleasure and procreation. I still have much to learn, but the information I’ve been gathering has been profoundly fascinating.

And now I am married to a man who is also a Christian and also has a strong desire to get closer to The Divine, which is a wonderful “coincidence” (no, I don’t believe in coincidences, rather in synchronicities).  So when we heard about this “introduction to tantra massage course,” we jumped at the idea of attending. It ended up being something quite larger than that, though.

This whole-day event (from 10 am to 6 pm) was held at Natha Yoga Center in Malmö, by Adinatha and Ananda who are the leaders of the Tantra Temple in Copenhagen. In their premises they teach yoga, tantra yoga, and offer tantra massage. As it turns out, their concept of “tantra massage” is a very holistic and healing experience, not just for comfort, but something that heals body, emotions, mind and soul. The teachers have also been a couple since 8+ years ago, and they spread a beautiful energy of love, sweetness, and glittering bliss – especially Ananda, who has a delicious and charming laughter.

We were a rather large group: 12 men and 13 women, plus the teachers. We first started with an overview of what it implies to be fully present in the moment (of course Eckhart Tolle had to be mentioned), and how marvelous and unfortunately unusual it is for us to be really here and now. For the most part, if we have a void moment in our lives, such as sitting waiting for a bus, we desperately try to fill it with something – like the omnipresent Facebook in our ever-present smartphones. Would it really be so catastrophic if we dared spend those minutes in silence, gathering our thoughts?

In the next section, women and men went to separate rooms. Tantra wisdom teaches how men and women should strive to boost their male and female energy, respectively, in order to keep a proper polarization. This polarity is what enables a couple to still feel a strong attraction to each other in spite of having been together for many years.

With the other “Shakti” ladies, we started with another introduction. We introduced ourselves, and found out that our teacher (who uses her yoga name Ananda) had cured herself of a life-long asthma by doing yoga. How very interesting, I need to look into that. After some theory, we had the chance to play with our female energies. The warm-up, 10 minutes long, made me realize that I rarely move my hips freely. The energy quickly started flowing and the whole group of women suddenly seemed so much more vigorized and alive. Playing around as cats (we were told the cat movement is a very seductive way to approach our lover) we then did a “catwalk” – ie, taking turns to walk across the room between the two rows of women, in a rather cat-like manner. How very fun! Here I noticed how the women who previously had seemed shy and low-key now were smiling, glowing, truly radiating their female energy. Here we also got some practical tips as to which essential oils were best for a massage and how to decorate the room and take care of all the senses – aromas, sounds, music, colors. No wonder they are having such success in their massages in Copenhagen – I have been to massages all my life and I’ve never encountered a massage therapist that had such a complete approach to well-being, harmony and beauty.

We had a lunch break, with a fantastic mingle with our very interesting seminary mates. Most had decided to purchase the vegetarian lunch organized by the Natha center, which was varied and colorful, as usual.

After lunch we went deeper into the concept of a triple awareness: in yourself, in the person receiving the massage, and upon the connection itself. By being intensely present in the moment, we can be aware of what feels good to me as a giver, how the other person is receiving it, and the effect it actually is having deep inside. I was moved when hearing how this kind of massage has dissolved life-long psychological issues, depressions, and other difficult things.

We had some fun and pleasurable polarity games, where the men had to stand rooted as strong trees, and then the woman would play to be flowers. Now I could feel the point of having been able to let loose our energy in the Shiva and Shakti groups, respectively. We had more fun and could play more openly that we would have if we had done this exercise first thing in the morning.

And finally came what we had been long expecting: the practical class of massage for couples. It was magical to learn how to approach my husband in this new way, with complete respect, striving to be fully present in body, mind and soul, feeling myself and feeling him. First we had the chance to connect, sitting in front of each other holding hands and just feeling the energy, then opening our eyes and gazing deeply into our souls. Then I received some wonderful 40 minutes of spontaneous caresses from my husband, and then I offered him another 40 minutes of sheer bliss.

Ananda went by, giving a little touch and an occassional suggestion to all couples. When she came to us and started caressing me softly, I was amazed at her tangible level of presence. Well-acquainted with massage as I am, I have rarely felt a therapist (who was not a friend) passing on affection as well as doing a massage move. And the amount of complete presence, “being here and now, feeling you, aware of me” that I could feel was totally amazing. Well worth traveling to Denmark to get one, indeed.

I have had many massages over the years but I had never had the experience of sitting in a room with 12 other couples giving massage to each other. The feeling in the room was amazing: so relaxed, so peaceful. With loads of affection and equally much respect, each approached their partner from the center of their heart. There was nothing uncomfortable, lascive or sexual about it, but rather full of love.

When the teachers proclaimed the session over, it took us all a fair amount of time to actually want to leave that blissful state of relaxation and profound peace. Eventually we had some group sharing of the experience we had had – each was different, but each had felt deeply touched, moved, and uplifted.

As we parted ways that night, the hugs we gave each other showed clearly that this group of strangers had almost magically become friends.

Thank you so much for sharing, Adinatha and Ananda! We look much forward to learning more from you.