FOR THE SPIRIT

Reiki Master Marcela Cruz Uses Energy to Heal

By Candice Russell

     Healing by the use of her hands is only part of what Reiki master Marcela Cruz does from her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for people who come to her with their problems. Whether she meets a client in person or communicates with him or her long-distance via computer or telephone, she seems to work miracles in alleviating what ails them, whether the cause is physical, psychological or spiritual, helping people achieve improvements in health and their lives in general.

Reiki is a system of enlightenment and a hands-on healing art developed in the early 1900s by Mikao Usui in Japan. Representing the universal life energy, Reiki allows a practitioner to channel a patient's spiritual energy, healing the spirit which in turn heals the physical body. The intention of the practitioner ignites the energy, allowing it to flow. Blockages are released and stress is overcome. Practitioners channel energy in a particular pattern involving vital organs, glands and joints to heal and harmonize, restoring energy in an unbalanced body.

     Cruz supplies the historical underpinning for the technique: "Dr. Usui heard about an ancient form of energy healing and he dedicated his life to it after doing many years of meditation, research and martial arts to discover it. Around 1922 he set himself a serious task to climb Mount Koriyama. At the top of the mountain, he went on a twenty-one-day fast and meditated. On the twenty-first day of intense spiritual practice, he was rewarded with the knowledge of Reiki."

In Usui's heightened state, deprived of nutrition, he received the information about Reiki as if God were speaking to him. "He spent the rest of his life devoted to Reiki," explains Cruz. "He set up a school in Japan and took in a few students, putting them through years of discipline and study. They traveled to different parts of the world, disseminating their knowledge."

     Current-day practitioners of Reiki are the recipients of this valuable inherited knowledge. Cruz's impeccable credentials in this field stem from study with Lama Khiymsar Rinpoche, a Tibetan lineage lama, who has centers in California and Florida. He practices YungDrung Bon, a spiritual tradition from Tibet that pre-dates Buddhism and goes back 18,000 years, originating in a legendary kingdom called Shambhalla located between China and Tibet. "Lama Khiymsar Rinpoche gave me additional history and knowledge because I'm a Reiki master teacher," says Cruz, who is a member of the International Association of Reiki Professionals..

"Reiki is a life force that is intelligent and loving. We are surrounded by it. Just like any radio is surrounded by frequencies, we are surrounded by energy. But you need to be attuned to pull in the energy. Each level of attunement brings the student into alignment with an increasingly powerful level of Reiki. The important distinction between Reiki and other healing is its intelligence. The practitioner doesn't need to know the source of the problem."

She is just as comfortable working face-to-face as long-distance. "I can talk to someone by telephone or by the internet," says Cruz. "If someone is comfortable with hearing my voice from the telephone, they book a session, which is $75 for a half hour up to forty-five minutes. But we don't have to be on the phone during the session. I advise people for the first time to set some quite time aside for themselves during the time of the session, so the person is going to bed or meditating. It's more for their sake than mine. Some people feel Reiki being sent to them, while others are completely out of touch with their bodies."

What happens after a Reiki session is often unknown by Cruz. "I don't need feedback," she says. "It's a luxury to get it. I had someone who bought the gift of Reiki from me for a friend. All I had was a name to do the session. I didn't know where the person was or her circumstances. A couple of days later I got a call from the purchaser, who was a Catholic priest in Los Angeles. I didn't know him personally but I knew his parish. He had bought the Reiki session for his sister in Ireland who was dying of cancer. He wanted to fly to Ireland to see her, but was told by the doctor that it was too late.

"The reason he called me was that after the Reiki session, his sister woke up from her death coma and was sufficiently improved to allow the doctor to call the priest. The doctor told him 'It looks like you have enough time to make it to say goodbye.' This was lovely feedback. I was able to buy this man the time he needed with his sister."

     Cruz says people often have their understanding of the world shaped by limiting beliefs. "We aren't physical beings having spiritual experiences," she explains. "We are spiritual beings having physical experiences.. We are enlightened, powerful beings. Planet earth is a very magical place...This is a free will zone. It's important to live a conscious life. Reiki is a gift that supports such a conscious life, lived with power and grace. "

Discovering Reiki was a process for Cruz, whose experiences of psychic connection and healing date back to childhood. "I grew up with seven siblings and I was infamous in the neighborhood for people bringing me their injured animals to be healed," she says. "My sister Monica recently reminded me of an incident with this pet rooster, which I was very fond of. A dog got hold of the rooster and mauled it badly. I picked him up and held him in my arms, conveying to him how much I loved him and wanted him to live. The rooster stayed still while I sewed him up. He survived."

A chance meeting with a kindred spirit at a rock concert led Cruz to the path of Reiki seven years ago. "My higher self has been so good to me by sending me what I need," she says. "I took to Reiki like a duck to water. I am blessed and thankful to share my experiences with others."

Receiving Reiki sessions has been a joyful part of Cruz's experience. Her friend Sheryl Hamada gave her a Reiki session and gasped during the course of it. "She saw an angel handing me a white light," says Cruz. "I felt amazing, though I didn't see the angel."

What can a newcomer expect from a first session of Reiki? "The reaction could range anywhere from a sense of wonderful relaxation to an actual physical or emotional experience," says Cruz. "One of the first people I saw had chronic shoulder pain for months that medicine and physical therapy hadn't done anything to relieve. In those two minutes I spent with her, she says an electrical charge ran down her shoulder and out her fingers, resulting in no pain. While some people get a dramatic physical reaction like this, other people become very relaxed through a Reiki session. They sleep deeply that night and get information they need from their dreams. The intelligence of Reiki allows what is given to be what is needed."

Her web site which stands for "Long Life Empowered Reiki," is a valuable resource for people who want to learn more about Reiki, Cruz and the effects of her healing on others. The fascinating testimonial section includes positive comments from fellow healers about the intensity of Cruz's sessions and her alleviation of chronic conditions such as migraine headaches. One patient named Nora Perricone writes: "Although it is hard to explain the sessions in words, I can say that during and after each session with Marcela I felt a deep sense of calm, peace and truth…Because of Marcela's abilities, I remembered my truth and became strong in pursuit of my dreams."

     Another glowing review came from fitness trainer and yoga teacher Quentin Vaughan: "I was going through a very challenging period in my life when I was introduced to Marcela. I was experiencing major anxiety along with many physical symptoms including back pain, trouble sleeping, heart palpitations, etc. Chiropractors and massage didn't help. I went to Marcela, laid on her table and watched the magic begin. Her mastery of Reiki and energy work is amazing! I was totally pain-free and slept like a baby that night."

The six Reiki principles adhered to by each practitioner who says them daily are used to fuel the process behind a Reiki session by generating the proper consciousness in the practitioner. For Cruz, they are: "Just for today, I will not worry. Just for today, I will not be angry. Just for today, I will live honestly. Just for today, I will respect the oneness of all life. Just for today, I will be kind to everyone I meet. Just for today, I will give thanks for my blessings."

Though Reiki is very much a spiritual practice, Cruz likes to quote one of the world's most famous scientists, Albert Einstein, who also had a profound understanding of the unscientific realm. He wrote, "The intuitive mind is a sacred mind and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

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