Ray What?

My day got off to a bad start.  On the way to work, I pinched a nerve in my neck.  It was excruciating.  I couldn’t turn my head or lift my arm.  In the office, I made my to-do list for the day and tried to figure out how and where I could cram a doctor’s appointment into my schedule if the pain got worse.  Next, I stopped by my supervisor’s office to chat with her for a moment.  I didn’t mention my aching neck, as I was clinging to the hope that it would get better and I wouldn’t need any kind of major intervention throughout the day.

From behind me, someone asked, “Is your neck okay?”

I turned around to find a woman that I didn’t recognize standing behind me.  She had come to our office for a continuing education workshop that day, and had ventured down our hallway of offices to ask a question of one of my colleagues.

“How did you know?” I asked her.  I hadn’t said it outloud to anyone in the office, and no one else seemed to have noticed my ailment.

She just smiled.  “I’d be happy to do some reiki,” she said.

“Ray-what?” I asked.

“Reiki.  It’s energy healing.” 

I was in enough pain that I was willing to try anything. 

She led me to a chair and stood behind me.  “Take several deep breaths,” she said.  “Deep, deep breaths, all the way to your toes.  Let yourself relax while you breathe deeply.”

I did as she told me.  Then I felt her gently place her hands on the top of my head.  They stayed there for a moment, then moved down to the sides of my face.  Then she touched my neck and lingered there for a few seconds.  Then her hands rested on my shoulders.

“Okay,” she said.  She walked in front of me, smiling knowingly.  “How do you feel?”

I cautiously rolled my head to the left, expecting to find the familiar pinch of pain. But it was gone.  Then I got brave and raised my arm.  No pain.  I shrugged my shoulders and the pinched nerve zinged once again, but it was slight, almost like a warning.  If you don’t want to hurt, my body seemed to be telling me, then quit doing that.     So I relaxed my shoulders and the excruciating pain was gone.

“That’s amazing.  What did you do?” I asked.

“There’s energy all around you.  I just opened it up.”

“Wow,” was all that I could say.  “By the way, I’m Amy.”

“Josie.”  We shook hands.

“Thank you, Josie.  It really and truly feels better.”

She nodded.  “Stay relaxed,” she advised.  “Keep breathing deeply.”

I went back to my office and was pleasantly surprised to find that my pain was kept at bay throughout the rest of the day. 

Meeting Josie made me think of something that a nurse friend, Christine, once told me.  “Medicine cures or treats illness.  But people do the healing.  Sometimes they heal themselves, and sometimes they heal each other.  Human beings have tremendous power where that is concerned.  They just don’t always realize it.”

Do you agree?  Have you ever experienced healing, or witnessed someone else’s healing, that surprised you?