Dark Chocolate
“And, oh,” our teacher said, “Don’t forget to bring dark chocolate with you next week. We’re all going to need it.”
We’d been training for our level one Reiki certification for 6 weeks, in a course far more intense and deep than most 1-day Reiki classes. The following week would be our attunement, our initiation into the world of energy work.
I was nervous. I’d never done anything quite like this before. Alexander Training was long and hard and had taken me over three years, but we were consistently reminded that it “wasn’t energy work” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.) I was pretty sure it was. I knew I had some serious heat emanating out of my hands when I put them on someone. I thought it would be a good idea to get some training and be able to turn that energy on and off when I needed to.
My friend Christin recommended Reiki training. She had just gone through the same intensive course and was assisting the instructors. It seemed like as good a time as any to make the leap.
Every week we worked on putting our hands on each other, encouraging the energy in our hands to flow. We worked on grounding ourselves by going barefoot in the grass outside and using sage to cleanse before beginning. We had a lot of tools in our toolkit.
What we didn’t know was what the attunement would be like. Would it work? Was I ready? Did I have to do anything?
I knew just 2 things – wear white and bring chocolate. Check and check.
I can’t say what happens in an attunement – you’ll have to experience that for yourself. (There are no drugs involved, only energy.) Afterward I remember feeling intensely high, a little shaky, and in no position to drive home for a while.
We walked out of the attunement space and were greeted with glasses of water and pieces of dark chocolate. “Here, eat this. It will ground you.” And oh, yes, it did. In 15 minutes or so we were all ready to leave for home.
This is no coincidence, as dark chocolate has been used in sacred ceremonies for centuries throughout the western world. Think of the Incan/Peruvian Cacao ceremony. Dark chocolate contains magnesium, the mineral that induces relaxation and sleep, making chocolate naturally calming. The small amount of caffeine allows someone to come back to themselves from a trance-like state.
Now, as a Reiki Master, I’m pretty good at turning that energy on and off. I appreciate the clarity that Reiki study brought to my hands. I do believe it has improved the quality of my Alexander work.
Ever since my Reiki training, honoring the three separate attunements, I eat a small piece of 85-90% pure dark chocolate every evening. Nothing sweeter, or I will crave the sugar instead of the calming effect. I eat it slowly, savoring the melting chocolate on my tongue.
It’s my evening ritual, my time to come back to myself.
We’d been training for our level one Reiki certification for 6 weeks, in a course far more intense and deep than most 1-day Reiki classes. The following week would be our attunement, our initiation into the world of energy work.
I was nervous. I’d never done anything quite like this before. Alexander Training was long and hard and had taken me over three years, but we were consistently reminded that it “wasn’t energy work” (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.) I was pretty sure it was. I knew I had some serious heat emanating out of my hands when I put them on someone. I thought it would be a good idea to get some training and be able to turn that energy on and off when I needed to.
My friend Christin recommended Reiki training. She had just gone through the same intensive course and was assisting the instructors. It seemed like as good a time as any to make the leap.
Every week we worked on putting our hands on each other, encouraging the energy in our hands to flow. We worked on grounding ourselves by going barefoot in the grass outside and using sage to cleanse before beginning. We had a lot of tools in our toolkit.
What we didn’t know was what the attunement would be like. Would it work? Was I ready? Did I have to do anything?
I knew just 2 things – wear white and bring chocolate. Check and check.
I can’t say what happens in an attunement – you’ll have to experience that for yourself. (There are no drugs involved, only energy.) Afterward I remember feeling intensely high, a little shaky, and in no position to drive home for a while.
We walked out of the attunement space and were greeted with glasses of water and pieces of dark chocolate. “Here, eat this. It will ground you.” And oh, yes, it did. In 15 minutes or so we were all ready to leave for home.
This is no coincidence, as dark chocolate has been used in sacred ceremonies for centuries throughout the western world. Think of the Incan/Peruvian Cacao ceremony. Dark chocolate contains magnesium, the mineral that induces relaxation and sleep, making chocolate naturally calming. The small amount of caffeine allows someone to come back to themselves from a trance-like state.
Now, as a Reiki Master, I’m pretty good at turning that energy on and off. I appreciate the clarity that Reiki study brought to my hands. I do believe it has improved the quality of my Alexander work.
Ever since my Reiki training, honoring the three separate attunements, I eat a small piece of 85-90% pure dark chocolate every evening. Nothing sweeter, or I will crave the sugar instead of the calming effect. I eat it slowly, savoring the melting chocolate on my tongue.
It’s my evening ritual, my time to come back to myself.
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