Reiki

I just wanted to share what seems to be a success in the world of infertility. I once read that 75% of infertility is due to stress and stress related disorders. With this in mind my business partner and I did a couple of our "Signature Massages" that combine Reiki and massage at the same time on one of our clients battling infertility. She has been trying for many years and is being threatened by the ticking clock. We were ecstatic to find out that her last round of IVF was successful. I am hoping that the positive thoughts of others will help bring her baby into this world, so please keep them in your thoughts.

I realize that this is one case, but the effects of Reiki are so profound and far reaching that if you haven't ever had Reiki, go get some. It calms your sympathetic nervous system and takes you from"fight-or-flight" to "rest-and-digest". Your mind can't function and neither can your body when you are constantly stressed and trying to survive. Our society is built around stress and how much or how quickly we can accomplish things. We worry constantly. We are almost constantly releasing cortisol that perpetuates the stressed state. I liken Reiki to Prozac without the sexual side effects. You enter the session with a "full plate of life". You leave with that same full plate, but with an ability to rearrange it and prioritize it. You feel centered, grounded and relaxed, able to deal with almost anything.

Reiki's effects in childbirth are even more phenomenal. Fear or anger brings the body into fight-or-flight which stops the laboring woman from having her baby. It is a protective mechanism that ensures the survival of the species. The body can't discriminate between fear of birth and fear of being killed by a predator. Birth requires safety (real or imagined) and the ability to go into the parasympathetic side of the nervous system. Reiki does that.

An OB/Gyn named Jeri Mills wrote a book called "Tapestry of Healing" on her use of Reiki in labor. www.tapestryofhealing.com/reiki.htm If you skip to the second half of the book, it details how Reiki helps with pain control during labor. Some women are able to sleep through most of their labor while receiving Reiki. It's amazing stuff. Just know that if the description sounds woo-woo, there is a better explanation. If you have bad results or no results from a treatment, find another practitioner. If they can't explain to some extent how or why it works, then they just haven't looked. There is plenty of research. Although more really good research is always needed.

Just something to think about, maybe another tool in the toolbag.

Angry Naked guy at Burnt Man

There are no pictures of anyone other than those from our camp because there is a rule "What happens at Burning Man stays at Burning Man." For this reason it is against the rules to take pictures of anyone without first asking their permission. Although there were pictures taken of me at one point without permission, and I am waiting for them to turn up.

Day one:

Before we even arrive we see news reports that some idiot set off fireworks and burnt the man. It was 85% damaged and had to be rebuilt in 5 days basically from scratch. His mug shot is hilarious. He seems very proud of himself. $26,000 worth of bail later, he was back at Burning Man.

(Photo: Pershing County Sheriffs office)

We search for our campsite and the friends we are meeting. Almost everyone at Burning Man rides a bike because of the vast expanse that this event covers. At last count there were 45,000 people there. As we are walking the roads in prickling heat (the kind that stings your skin it is so intense) we are still new to the nakedness. The boys put on their sunglasses-so as not to be rude as they stare at all the bare breasts. It is easier for me because boobs don't phase me (thanks to all the breast exams at school) and penises are low enough that I can just look straight ahead. But the one thing I can't seem to get over is male naked bike riding. It does not look comfortable in the least.

We eventually find our camp and settle in to our comfy trailer.

If you look on the top of the trailer in the distance, you can barely make out the figures of five extremely hot guys, one in underwear. This was the view from our trailer- now that's what I'm talking about. The only down side is that there were never any women at their camp. Hmmmm.....

I couldn't help but try to blow it up.

We go out to explore the playa, look at the art cars and visit center tent. After a very interesting afternoon of watching breast painting, strangely erotic dancing, and really cool costumed people on stilts, we headed back to camp. On the way we met angry naked guy. Another first for me.

He charged out of center tent muttering something about someone being a bitch and being too good for him. It appeared to be a joke, because there are no angry people at Burning Man. Everyone is nice, complimentary, and giving (in so many ways). But as I laugh at him he becomes very agitated and focuses on my friend. He tells her she is a bitch and should "go back to bitchola" which is apparently a place where bitches live. I couldn't help but laugh really loud. Bad idea. One of the boys cut him off as he charged my friend. He stopped short and just put his face right up to the side of our boy's face and said "I'm gonna look at you." The really ironic thing is that, little did he know, his nakedness saved him. He was obviously very chemically altered and our boy is not one to allow strange men to charge his friends. Our boy later said "I just couldn't bring myself to throw down with a naked guy." I have to agree.

My 1st Musing from The Man

So, it's the recap everyone has been waiting for. I wasn't quite sure how to approach this entry because it's a little schizophrenic. It had some amazingly fun elements, profoundly life changing moments, and some eerily strange happenings. It is such an all encompassing experience, where to begin, where to begin? I think I will share the experience in pieces and add pictures as they become available.

It started the minute we drove up. I thought I could ease in to the experience given my modest leanings, but NO. I arrived on "Naked Greeter Day"! As we drove up it began to dawn on me that the nice man handing out maps and searching your car for stow aways was entirely nude except for his hiking boots and sunglasses. I'm not sure if any of you have had a friendly nonchalant conversation with a completely nude stranger, but surreal doesn't quite cover it. Surreal covers one of my classmates publicly removing a cervical cap we had just fitted her with as we all yelled our best tips for removal. Strangers are another story.

So I am trying to figure out a way to get out of the line I'm in to get to one with a clothed greeter, and my friend (who is amused beyond belief at this point) says "Sweetie, they're all naked." I manage to quell my panic attack by thinking "For God's sake it's only a penis. You have seen one before." I pull up and our very personable greeter hands us our map and activity book, gives us some good advice about survival and then asks if this is our first time to Burning Man. This is an important question. It is important because if someone rats you out as a first-timer you will be made fun of publicly. I was ratted out, so I ratted out the friends in the car behind us.Public humiliation is best done with friends. I was forced to get out of the car with the friendly naked man and my two friends, all the while looking strategically from naked man's neck up. The boys were forced to roll around in the dirt (I declined this portion) and then we had to yell at the top of our lungs "I'm not a Fucking virgin anymore!" and then ring a bell by hitting it with a bat. Don't try to do it quietly because you will be forced to do it over and over until you scream it.

Let the games begin.