Divinely Guided to the 2011 Reiki Retreat

by Aimee Joy Taylor, Licensed Massage Therapist LMBT NC 7632

This September, Reiki Education and Research Institute, a Charlotte and Gastonia based non-profit organization that provides Reiki training and Reiki treatment clinics for the greater Charlotte/Gastonia community, hosted a 4 day Reiki retreat in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Reiki Education and Research Institute founders, Bill Coryer and Mei Yin Hung, who also maintain a Charlotte Reiki meetup group, teach Charlotte Reiki classes and Gastonia Reiki classes and run a Reiki treatment program for cancer patients planned four amazing days of outdoor activities, group interaction, Reiki sharing and inspiration for the Reiki retreat.

I was a Reiki level 2 student with Reiki Education and Research Institute when I first heard about the second annual Reiki retreat. I got a subtle jolt of intuition that said YES, when my teachers also the founders of Reiki Education and Research Institute, started planning the second annual Reiki retreat. Six months before the retreat actually took place, Mei Yin asked me if I wanted to attend, I signed up immediately. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for it, but I knew the Universe would make a way.

In the past, I never attended out-of-town retreats. I was uncomfortable with of large groups of ‘strangers’, and often became nervous about participating in new experiences. However, I experienced absolutely no anxiety or apprehension when I decided to attend the Reiki retreat offered by Reiki Education and Research Institute .

In fact, from the very beginning, I simply knew that I needed to attend. And, six months after I signed up for the retreat, as I packed my favorite suitcase with flashlights, snacks, journals and a drum for the retreat campfire circle, I was grinning from ear to ear. I had a stunningly peaceful knowing that the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina was exactly where I needed to go for the next few days. I also knew that the retreat participants were exactly who I needed to spend time with.

I knew that some of the other participants would be students from Reiki Education and Research Institute. The organization offers Charlotte Reiki classes and Gastonia Reiki classes. As a Reiki student myself, I knew I would have much in common with the other retreat participants. The old anxiety I had felt in the past about heading out-of-town alone, meeting new people and interacting with ‘strangers’ simply never surfaced. The first day of the retreat, ready to hit the road from Charlotte to Black Mountain, I discovered that my GPS device would not map directions to the retreat center. When I typed retreat center’s address, the GPS simply reported that it did not recognize the site. Strangely, I wasn’t worried.

I decided that mapping a route to Asheville, North Carolina would get me close enough to Black
Mountain. I would simply drive, watching for miracles and Black Mountain interstate signage. So, with no solid directions and an unshakeable inner knowing, I headed west. Thinking about the retreat as I drove, I marveled at how calm I was feeling about spending four days with a roommate I had never met.

As I thought about the other retreat participants that I would soon be meeting, I had a hunch that each
person was going to bring something essential, and special, to the gathering. And, for the first time in a long time, I felt I was going to add something to the group experience too. As I pondered these thoughts, a long semi-truck slowed down next to me, and I read the side of the trailer while it crept along. It said, “You Are Needed”.

Love, Unity and Community: A Personal Experience
I arrived at the retreat center right on time. A miraculous hush seemed to have fallen over the forest and I traveled slowly down the winding driveway, watching sunlight trickle through the trees. The air was sweet, and the woods were bursting forth in a million different shades of green. When I reached the group lodge, I sat in my car for a few minutes to fully savor the beginning of the retreat weekend. I knew I was never going to forget it.

Our retreat group was a perfect hologram of humanity. My fellow participants were both young and older, from diverse backgrounds and amazing experiences. I was the only student from the organization’s Charlotte Reiki classes, but there were other participants from the Gastonia Reiki classes. Right away, my roommate and I discovered many amazing synchronicities. She works as a substance abuse counselor, which is the field I am preparing to train in. We have undertaken very similar healing journeys, and felt instantly comfortable with each other. We were sharing our snacks and telling stories in no time.

The group also included a sweet grandmother who passionately loves wearing the color lavender, a wise cracking motorcycle enthusiast, new friends who traveled to the retreat from Kuwait and Hawaii, and Reiki practitioners from all over North and South Carolina. Our theme for the retreat was Love, Unity and Community, and we bonded through many meaningful experiences at the retreat center and in the gorgeous mountains.

I especially loved our early morning Qi Gong sessions, the group hike to the top of Mount Mitchell,an
afternoon spent meditating together inside The Light Center, our spiritual cinema movie night, eating brownies with my roommate and Bill after everyone else had gone to bed, and the powerful and spiritual group Reiki healing sessions in which each participant received a Reiki treatment from the entire group.  Over the course of the retreat weekend, illusions of separateness seemed to melt away. There was a palpable energy of unity and unconditional love within our group. It was fun to look around and see so many outer differences among us, knowing that the truth of Love, Unity and Community was so much more real and powerful. On the last night of the retreat, we gathered at a lake on the retreat grounds for a campfire.

There was a family energy, something I had not felt in a very long, within the group. I realized that I was truly experiencing Love, Unity and Community, as we danced, drummed, watched the fire and laid on a blanket to star gaze together. Holding hands with someone who seemed like a stranger days before, laughing and being my true self in the company of others and feeling unconditional acceptance among my fellow retreat participants was an unforgettable experience. I was reading and studying about love and unity for years. But, the retreat provided a “lab class”where I could learn what it really feels like.

Sharing My Retreat Experience
I returned home to Charlotte with new eyes and a lighter heart. I simply couldn’t look at things the same way anymore. The memory of merging with a group of other people and truly loving them unconditionally was so powerful. And, feeling unconditionally loved by others gave me an idea of what kind of world is actually possible.
I learned that accepting myself leads to accepting others. Accepting others leads to unconditional love. And, unconditional love leads to unity and community. I have been inspired to carry those principles, and the retreat experience, home with me. Everyday, I try to recreate those feelings of Love, Unity and Community in my home, workplace and among my circle of friends.
Gazing at the stars, sitting next to a blazing campfire and breathing in the energy and beauty of the forest will always bring me back to Reiki Education and Research Institute’s 2011 Reiki Retreat in Black Mountain, North Carolina. And, I will never forget the group of people who took this journey with me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to take part.

Looking Toward the Future
Following the retreat, I embarked on an additional course of study, and became a Reiki 3 student with Reiki Education and Research Institute. I have gained so much from the work of this organization that I have also decided to become a volunteer and I plan to attend next year’s Reiki Retreat.

Reiki Education and Research Institute plans to host their 3^rd annual Reiki Retreat in 2012. Contact Reiki Education and Research Institute founders Bill Coryer and Mei Yin Hung at info@reikieducation.org for more information. Additionally, Reiki Education and Research Institute offers ongoing Charlotte Reiki classes, Gastonia Reiki classes, Reiki meetups and Reiki treatment clinics and in the greater Charlotte/Gastonia community. Visit www.reikieducation.org for more information. To contact Aimee Taylor, please email info@reikieducation.org