attending the event, and they offered the reiki community
several of those spots. It was such an honor to be a part of
this massive collaboration and witness hundreds of veterans
being introduced to energy healing work throughout the day.
LESSONS LEARNED
As reiki volunteers continue to reach out to decision makers
to gain acceptance for this modality, I hope they benefi t
from some of the lessons we've learned along the way.
Perseverance
It is within our power to overcome obstacles and elevate
understanding and receptivity to our services through
education—particularly by offering experiential
opportunities. Energy healing modalities may not
immediately resonate with those fi rmly rooted in the
Western medical paradigm, but the more times they hear
the same message coming from a wide variety of sources,
the more readily they will come to understand what is
being offered. Try not to become discouraged. Instead,
delight in being part of this remarkable process.
Patience
Change may not happen overnight, but it will happen.
Our collective efforts are shifting the way the
public perceives complementary healing modalities
and facilitating their integration into mainstream
systems of physical and mental health care.
Going forward, I will personally continue to work to
make reiki available to all veterans, soldiers, fi rst responders
of all kinds, and anyone holding trauma in their energy
fi elds. I would love to see reiki available in prisons and all
manner of rehabilitative environments. Wouldn't it be
wonderful to have all Peace Corps volunteers trained in reiki
before they head out to their assignments, and have reiki
practitioners dispatched in conjunction with the Red Cross
and Doctors Without Borders? The value of the work is
illustrated in this one simple quote from a grateful veteran
who was basking in the calm that followed his 10-minute
reiki session: "If we would have had this type of technology
before we went to war, nobody would want to fi ght."
Now that's a goal we can all get behind.
Notes
1. US Department of Veterans Affairs, "Report on VA Facility Specifi c
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF),
and Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans Coded with Potential PTSD,"
accessed September 2014, available at http://s3.documentcloud.
org/documents/551718/va-ptsd-report-september-2012.txt.
2. Ernesto Londoño, "Military Suicides Rise to a Record 349, Topping
Number of Troops Killed in Combat," accessed September 2014,
available at www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/military-
suicides-rise-to-a-record-349-topping-number-of-troops-killed-in-
combat/2013/01/14/e604e6b4-5e8c-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_story.html.
3. Jaeah Lee, "Charts: Suicide, PTSD and the Psychological Toll on America's
Vets," accessed September 2014, available at www.motherjones.com/
politics/2013/01/charts-us-veterans-ptsd-war-iraq-afghanistan.
4. Kathie Lipinski, "Reiki and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,"
accessed September 2014, available at www.reikiwebstore.
com/ProductPage.cfm?ProductID=668&CategoryID=39.
As a Reiki Master teacher, Heather McCutcheon is helping
usher in the Age of Aquarius one class, one client, one session
at a time. She can be reached at herestherub@gate.net.
REIKI AND PTSD
If you are interested in offering
reiki to veterans, get involved
with your local VA Stand Down.
Here's where you'll fi nd the
current schedule:
www.va.gov/homeless/
events.asp. Once you have
secured an invitation to an
event where veterans will be
gathered, these tips will help
your event go smoothly:
• Recruit volunteers well in
advance from within your
local reiki community.
• Distribute information about
PTSD to all volunteers in
advance so they know what
to expect (see Reiki for Vets
with PTSD on page 68).
• Send out event reminders,
including a map, recommended
dress code, what to bring,
and your contact information.
• At the event, use a sign or
banner to attract attention
and educate the crowd.
(One veteran suggested
our banner would be more
effective if it simply read,
"Got PTSD? Try this!")
• Create a waiver/media
release for all recipients to
sign prior to their session.
• Provide handouts with
information about reiki.
• Distribute stickers that say
something like, "Ask me about
my FREE reiki session."
Get Involved
