It's been a while since last posting anything - what a slacker!? But while I've been slacking from blogging I've been busy behind the scenes with my Reiki work...
So, what's been happening?
I can now display the CNHC logo on my website and literature and am a verified member of the Reiki Association (which is why I have VMTRA after my name on the website - newly lettered and proud).
What does this all mean?
Well, it means I have been tested and observed as a professional public practitioner of Reiki and met with their standards. There is a process to go through involving meeting a range of criteria to show experience, knowledge, understanding and practical demonstration of professional ethics and conduct.
I'm pleased as punch to have passed because it now also means I am recognised by the NHS as a registered practitioner so I will be able to work in hospitals and hospices which is fantastic news for my plans to train as a Soul Midwife.
But what is a Soul Midwife?
When I was at school I would never have ever expected the Careers Advisor to say 'I think you should work in End of Life care...' and yet here I am, heading in that direction because life has pointed me there. A Soul Midwife is a person trained to step in to help the patient (or 'friend' as they prefer to call patients) through the final stages of their life once a terminal diagnosis has been given. The extent to which a Soul Midwife will help will depend on the needs of the friend and the comfort levels and training of the Soul Midwife but in general terms sitting vigil, helping to create living wills, treating holistically and supporting the family seem to be some of the main ways in which a Soul Midwife works.
Reiki is a fantastic gift to be able to share during any stage of life but the way I've seen it work during the final stages of life has led me to trust in it more completely and feel nothing but gratitude for having been able to offer it when it's been needed. I still plan to work with people as I do now: providing a well-being top up, relaxation, pain relief and as a restorative treatment but I have been drawn to using Reiki as part of End of Life care in a way that feels more like a calling than a career move.
That's a bold statement, for me, and one I'm not making lightly. I'm fully aware that working with the dying will be so so tough but my experiences have shown me what a privilege it can be to honour this most fragile stage of life. Death is often treated as a failure on the part of modern medicine and home care seems, admittedly mostly only from my own experience, to be ill-equipped and inconsistent - so death has been tucked away in hospitals and hospices and offered little other than a heavily medicated exit strategy. Sometimes, the drugs just don't work. Then what do we offer? I've seen how painful that can be and I've seen how Reiki can step in when the morphine falls short. I want to find out what else can be offered and see if in any way I can be of service to those looking for extra support.
I'll be training as a Soul Midwife in November and updating about those experiences and skills from there. It feels inappropriate to say I'm 'excited' about the training but I am very keen to learn and meet the founder of the Soul Midwives school Felicity Warner who assessed the pre-course work I did to enable me to attend the course. Every time I read her feedback, I cried with such a mix of emotions which was another reason why this feels like a calling to me. I'm completely aware this may be too tough a profession, I'm being realistic, but I want to follow it through as far as I'm able - to honour those who have led me to this path.
What else has been happening?
Over the summer, I applied for the post of Editorial Assistant for the Touch Reiki magazine and got it! This has been a very exciting and unexpected career turn as writing has always been more of a hobby than anything but with my English teaching background and passion for Reiki and good grammar it seems I've snuck in - I'm so pleased as it's a great opportunity to immerse myself further into the Reiki community as well as combine passions. Another local lady who I'll be sharing the role with is Leah Larwood, an experienced writer, poet and copy editor so I'm really looking forward to working with her too. We both attend the Norwich Reiki shares, organised by Diana Cooper, so it will be lovely to get the Norwich group more on the Reiki map.
Now that I have dropped down in teaching days to Mondays and Tuesdays I will be spending more time writing/blogging and building up my practice so if you would like a Reiki treatment, a homeopathic/Bach Flower Remedy consultation or would like to find out more about any of the work mentioned above contact me on the details below:
t: 07799 063754
e: debhardingnhp@gmail.com
w: go to the contact page and message me from there
or click on any of the linked topics above.
Thanks for reading!
Deb xx
