I’m about halfway through my summer break from grad school and definitely feel like I am making the most of it. Since during school time I have to focus on studies, I wanted to make the most out of this time. The Sagada Retreat (my first!) and Reikcon (my third), a gathering for Reiki practitioners around the country, both last month, were powerful and transformative, each in its own way.
Next week I am off to Cebu for another retreat, this time in Soul Sierra, where I have held countless retreats since they opened. It is one of my favorite places to hold space, with lots of lush greenery and also limestone, which, come to think of it, also reminds me of Sagada.
I also have two upcoming Reiki classes coming up, in Cebu and Manila. I found a lovely new venue in Makati, a studio called Pura Yoga, and am excited to bring Reiki instruction there.
Last year I spent my summer break in the US, and though I was happy to spend that time with my mother, I am also really pleased to be grounding here in the Philippines, especially in Baguio City, where I have returned and now call home.
Looking forward to connecting online, in Baguio, Manila or Cebu in the coming weeks!
I just finished my third year of graduate studies, working towards a PhD in Clinical Psychology. It was a challenging semester, because I took a heavier load than the previous semesters, but I am really happy with the outcome. As a matter of fact, it was my best semester yet.
This month is really special to me, as I am celebrating my ten years as a Reiki practitioner. It was in 2015 that I first heard about Reiki while on a trip with my daughter in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. They were offering it as a service in a spa, and until then I had no idea what it was. I started researching and found out that I could send energy to my mother who was on the other side of the globe. The following month, I was in Bangkok for a week on family business, and decided to look for a Reiki course. I signed up, and that was that! Two years later, in 2017, I opened the Gassho Center for Healing Arts in Cebu City, Philippines.
I am celebrating by offering fifty per cent off my services this month of June, and of course with Reikicon at the end of the month in Baguio City. Reiki has truly been a guiding light and lifestyle for me, and my purpose is to help spread it to as many as possible!
Something my prof said last night in class* really struck a chord for me.
For one thing she said, that in the same way we can be emotionally dysregulated (eg. having disproportionately excessive reactions to certain situations resulting in great distress), we can also be OVER- regulated, as in times where we don’t allow ourselves to experience valid negative emotions.
The case discussed in class was about feelings of hurt and betrayal as a result of the client being ghosted by a friend she considered close. Was it time to grieve or time to make demands? There is no right or wrong answer.
The second point was that society does not hand us ready made scripts about friendship and particularly ends of friendships. We talk of conscious uncoupling when romantic partnerships mutually and (supposedly mindfully) agree to part ways. But what of a sudden loss of friendship?
Have you ever been ghosted by a friend? How did you feel and what was your response?
*The Transdiagnostic Approaches to Clinical Assessment and Interventions class
