Episode #70 Peggy Gaines: Bridging Medical Knowledge and Holistic Healing – A Heartfelt Journey from Nursing to Reiki Mastery

What happens when a seasoned labor and delivery nurse stumbles upon the transformative world of Reiki? Join us as we welcome Peggy Gaines, RN, BSN, a revered Reiki master teacher and certified meditation instructor, who takes us on her profound journey from the hospital room to the realm of holistic healing. Peggy's transition to Reiki wasn’t just a career switch – it was a deeply personal and emotional evolution sparked by her son’s battle with a malignant brain tumor. Her story is a heartfelt testament to the power of combining medical knowledge with spiritual practices like meditation and Reiki, validating them through scientific acceptance and personal experience.

Navigating the harrowing journey of her son's illness, Peggy opens up about the emotional upheavals and spiritual awakenings that accompany the disease's progression. From the initial shock to the heartbreaking decline in her son's physical abilities, Peggy sheds light on how her family maintained hope and sought comfort through spiritual discussions and encounters with angelic presences. She recounts moments of profound peace and transcendence, such as visions during meditation and ethereal experiences, offering listeners a glimpse into the deeply poignant connections forged through spirituality in the face of terminal illness.

Peggy also tackles the common misconceptions surrounding meditation and Reiki, often dismissed as "woo-woo." By framing these practices as effective stress reduction techniques, she makes them accessible to a broader audience. During our conversation, Peggy shared her insights on the boundless potential of Reiki, the importance of maintaining a positive mindset, and the transformative power these practices can have in one's life. From her influential book recommendations to the classes and training she offers, Peggy’s journey is a remarkable example of trusting the guidance of the universe and the extraordinary gifts this trust can bring. Tune in to uncover the profound lessons and healing power that Peggy Gaines has to offer.

Peggy Gaines, RN, BSN
 
Peggy Gaines is a published author, professional speaker, and nurse educator. 
She is a Reiki Master Teacher and a certified Meditation instructor.
Peggy began her career teaching relaxation and breathing techniques as a labor
and delivery nurse in Kansas City.
In 1992, Peggy and her family moved to Florida where she learned to
meditate.  She has been meditating for over 30 years and began teaching meditation
for stress reduction after becoming certified as a Clinical Meditation Specialist.
Peggy became a Reiki Master in 2010 and is now a Licensed Reiki Master Teacher
through the International Center for Reiki Training. She gives Reiki sessions and
teaches Reiki classes in Miami and New York City.
She lives in Coconut Grove, FL with her husband, Michael Gaines.
www.MeditationandReiki.com
gainespeggy@gmail.com
(305)609-4433
Instagram: @peggygaines.miami
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meditationwithpeggygaines

Check out more at www.readysetreiki.com

This episode is sponsored by Feather Sister Wellness Yoga and Reiki 
offering a variety of Yoga, Yoga Training, Reiki, and Reiki training online or in person in El Paso, Texas 
www.thefeathersister.com 
check classes here 
https://www.wellnessliving.com/yoga/elpaso/feather_sister_llc/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:17

This is Ready Set Reiki a podcast about Reiki, the universal energy life force, from the curious beginner to the seasoned master teacher, welcoming all systems, all lineages and all levels. Reiki is a journey and not a destination, and on this Ready Set Reiki journey, we refer to ourselves as guides rather than hosts, as we too are traveling, supporting each other and learning on this Reiki journey as well. And with that said, I am your first guide, tracy Seawright.

Speaker 2: 0:48

And I am your second guide, Kim Cardiel-Earley.

Speaker 1: 0:52

And my wonderful listeners. I have a guest today named Peggy Gaines, rn, bsn. So let me tell you a little bit about Peggy here. She is a published author, professional speaker and a nurse educator. She is a Reiki master teacher, a certified meditation instructor. She began her career teaching relaxation and breathing techniques as a labor and delivery nurse in Kansas City. In 1992, peggy and her family moved to Florida where she learned to meditate. She has been meditating for over 30 years and began teaching meditation for stress reduction after becoming certified as a clinical meditation specialist. She became a Reiki master in 2010 and now is a licensed Reiki master teacher through the International Center of Reiki Training. She gives Reiki sessions and teaches Reiki classes in Miami and New York City. She currently lives in Coconut Grove, florida, with her husband, michael Gaines. Peggy, welcome to Ready Set Reiki. Thank you, it's so nice to be here.

Speaker 1: 2:03

Well, thank you for joining us, and I'm going to just dive into our first question. So tell us a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 3: 2:11

Well, I am a registered nurse. At this point I'm not practicing clinically, but I keep my keep my nursing license because I like people to feel that what I am teaching is there's a validity, a scientific acceptance and understanding of meditation and Reiki. I have been doing Reiki for quite a while and it was has been part of my spiritual journey.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Beautiful, beautiful. So when did Reiki come into your life? Did you find Reiki or did Reiki find you?

Speaker 3: 2:59

What's really interesting. I I'm, I'm married to my husband. He is a biology professor at the University of Miami and we have two kids. And you know, life was really good and everybody's growing up and healthy. And Reiki found me and it found me through my son.

Speaker 3: 3:24

We had just come back from a wonderful vacation. We'd gone on a vacation up to Glacier National Park, which is in Montana. It's a beautiful place, it definitely should be on your bucket list. And we had my kids and I had gone hiking. We'd gone hiking up to this amazing lake. It's called Iceberg Lake. It's at the top of the mountain and there's this ravine and it catches the snow and the rain that fall on the mountains and it comes down, it creates this lake and there's a great big boulder of snow in the lake, so that's how it looks, like an iceberg.

Speaker 3: 4:04

So we're sitting there and it's just the three of us and it was a pristine day. The sky was so blue and the air was crisp and clean, and I said, oh, this is where God lives, and it was just amazing. And I told my kids okay, and it was just amazing. And I told my kids okay, remember this place, you might need it when you're writing something at school and you have to describe a place, or maybe if you're sick and you're laying in bed and you's about three weeks before school starts and my son at that point is going to be a senior in high school, my daughter was four years younger than he and I'm cleaning a closet. I've got all stacks of stuff you know, stuff to give away, stuff to clean, stuff to throw out and my son comes in and he is a big guy, he's like 6'3" He'd work out. And my son comes in and he is a big guy, he's like six three, he'd work out. He was, you know, 17.

Speaker 3: 5:11

When boys are 17, everything is like ah, mom, you know, and so he's smart, he's funny, he's a really nice guy and he'd always had a girlfriend not the same girlfriend, but from the age of about 12, he liked having a girlfriend. So he comes in and he goes mom, mom and I go, what is the problem? And he goes look at me, look at my smile. And I look at his smile and his smile is crooked. And he said look at my driver's license. And he holds up his driver's license and the smile was perfectly symmetrical. And so, as a nurse, I'm trying to figure out, okay, what is the problem. And so I thought, okay, I don't think he had a stroke, maybe he has Bell's palsy, which is a virus that can affect your face. And in the back of my mind there was another thought that came in and it was like so bad I did not want to voice it.

Speaker 3: 6:14

Well, it was Friday afternoon, because, as a mom you know, kids only get sick on Friday afternoons when it's impossible to get to the doctor. So I call the doctor, we get in, we get the last appointment of the day, we go in and the doctor does an exam and he confirms what my worst fear was. He said I think he has a brain tumor. And he did. He found out he had a malignant brain tumor and the bottom just dropped out. You know all the things that I thought were important I couldn't care less about. And so we get to the you know the oncologist. We get to see the neurosurgeon. That was on Friday. On Saturday we have a CAT scan On Monday. We see the neurosurgeon by Wednesday. He has his surgery scheduled by Wednesday. He can't speak. It's putting that much pressure. So they remove that tumor. And his speech is back and his first words were I love life.

Speaker 3: 7:23

And so it was the beginning of this journey. It was, you know, an amazing journey. So a few years before this I had had trouble sleeping and so back then in the 90s, I got a cassette tape, which a lot of your audience will probably not know what that is, but there's an old fashioned device where you could listen. So I would listen to the cassette tape and I kind of taught myself how to meditate and pretty soon I'm meditating like 20 minutes a day and it takes care of the sleep issue issue. So as we started this journey, my son had the first surgery and then we ended up going to Duke Medical Center because they have a very good brain tumor clinic and we have another surgery there. So we would fly up and fly back about every six weeks and I taught my son how to meditate and we meditate in the plane, we meditate in the exam rooms and the waiting rooms, and it really helped.

Speaker 3: 8:32

And this one day we go into the oncologist office and if you think, okay, my life, it felt like the bottom dropped out For my son's life. I mean, it's completely upside down. He's supposed to be a senior in high school. He can't go to school because he's taking all this chemotherapy. His immune system is shot so he has to do his classes online so he can't hang out with his friends. He'd always worked out, so now he's just skin and bones. He has this big, fat, ugly scar all the way down the back of his head. He'd always, you know, he'd worked out, but now he is skin and bones and he walks with a limp and his girlfriends left him.

Speaker 3: 9:22

And we go into the oncologist's office and the oncologist says Nathan, how are you today? Is the glass half full or half empty? And without missing a beat, he said it's three quarters full. And I thought, oh my God, he's seeing this. This is his life and he can't do anything he used to do. And he's seeing it as three quarters full. And I thought, ok, I have to remember that. And I realized what he was looking at was not what he had lost, but what he had.

Speaker 3: 10:00

So we went through this journey and it went on for about three years and along the way someone said have you tried Reiki? And I said I've never even heard of Reiki. And so a Reiki master came over and gave me some Reiki and I could feel the energy, gave my son some Reiki and he could feel it too. It did not change the trajectory, but it was my introduction to Reiki and he could feel it too. It did not change the trajectory, but it was my introduction to Reiki.

Speaker 3: 10:28

Well, after about three years it looked like the brain tumor was gone, but he started having trouble walking, and he would not really admit that in the beginning, but he was holding onto the walls and holding onto me and I said you need to use a cane, and he no, no, I'm not using a cane. And after a week or two he said okay, I'll use a cane, but by then it had gotten so much worse he would need to use a walker. And that was, you know, I can't use a walker. And within a week and that was, you know, I can't use a walker. And within a week he said okay, I'll use a walker, but by then he needed a wheelchair, and so he was a paraplegic at that point.

Speaker 3: 11:17

We go back to the hospital, we're doing all these different tests. They can't figure out what it is. So we go back to Duke and they doing all these different tests, they can't figure out what it is. So we go back to Duke and they do all these tests and within eight days they found what it was. It was a brain tumor that wasn't meant to be found. It was in the thalamus, it was an astrocytoma. It was sort of like fingers that are growing out into the brain, and within eight days he's now quadriplegic. And so they said, you know, he probably has 10 days.

Speaker 3: 11:53

So we came back, we came home and you know, up to this point I had been the cheerleader. I go, okay, we're going to do this, we're going to do this, we're at Duke, they're great, we're going to do this. And suddenly the game plans changed and so my biggest concern was that he not be afraid to die. So you know, when your kids have a difficult situation, you want to help them through it, and so this was something I said you know, we're talking about everything. So we did, and some of the questions were so innocent and some of them were funny and like the.

Speaker 3: 12:46

The innocent one was, you know, like how will I know where to go? And I said there's going to be a light, you're going to follow this light. And I said, and my dad, his granddad, had died not long before. And I said, you know granddad will be there, you'll feel him. Dad had died not long before and I said you know, granddad, I'll be there, you'll feel him. And I had lost a baby between he and his sister and that baby's name is Eric and he said I'll finally get to meet Eric. I said yes, eric's going to be there. And then the funny thing was he always liked having a girlfriend and girlfriend and he said you think there'll be any girls my age there? I said absolutely. I said you know, uh, there was, had been a girl that had been in his high school, had been killed by a drunk driver a couple years earlier. I said she'll be there, she'll introduce you to all her friends. So it was an amazing journey. It was an amazing journey and I would not trade it for anything.

Speaker 3: 13:54

There was one time it was towards. You know, he's on hospice, came home, he's on hospice and he lived much longer than 10 days. He lived about 83 days, and so we'd meditate and while we were meditating, I mean he looked like death. He was skinny, he was gaunt, he was absolutely white. He's in this hospital bed and I'm meditating right next to him, and I finished meditating, I look at him and his face is radiant and I said Nathan, did something happen while you're meditating. He said I saw the other side. And I said you did. I said what was it like? He said it was so beautiful. I can't put it into words, and so you know this went on and we were.

Speaker 3: 14:55

You know we would get him out of bed every day and put him in this wheelchair. You know we live in Miami and so we have a pool and so we take them out by the pool or we take them out the front door and go for a walk around the block and there's a big bump every time we go over the threshold. So I thought, okay, I'm going to call Angie's List. I don't know if you guys know of Angie's List, but I'm going to call Angie's List. Find somebody who can make a little ramp that I can move from this threshold to this other threshold. So I call this guy he doesn't know me from Adam and he comes to the door and I open the door and his eyes are like this and he goes there are angels all around your house and on top of your roof.

Speaker 3: 15:46

I said, well, my son's dying and it was just amazing. There was just little signs of, you know, of all the angel activity in our house, like the lights would go off and on and um, and so finally it got to the day that his lungs became paralyzed. So he couldn't, he could no longer speak, he was just panting. So it stayed for quite a while, and so I'm sitting at the end of the bed. It's about 4.30 in the afternoon and there's no light source in the ceiling. There's no light in the ceiling, there are no lights on in the room, there's just a window on one side and a sliding glass door on the other side of the room.

Speaker 3: 16:42

I'm sitting at the end of his bed. All of a a sudden, from the crown of his head, going up, there's a column of light. And I thought what, where's that light coming from? And I put my hand through it and I thought it's his spirit, it's coming from him. And it wasn't just a flash. It stayed for five minutes or more and then, all of a sudden, his breathing changed from that panting to what sounded like a normal breath, and I called my daughter and I said Heather, get in here, something's happening. And he took one more breath and then he was gone.

Speaker 3: 17:24

He was gone and, of course, when he died I was very sad, but I had never been angry and I wasn't depressed. I looked at it and I thought, oh my God, I am so grateful this young man was part of our family for 20 years. What would our family have been without his humor, his love, his insight? And I thought and I am so glad I got to be his mom he chose me and I thought I'm looking at things three quarters full. I'm looking at not what I've lost but what I've been given.

Speaker 3: 18:08

And I thought everybody needs to know how to meditate. Everybody has things they just cannot face. They just go. Oh my God, I just want to stay in bed and pull my sheets up over my head. I do not want to deal with this, but that's not where we live. We have to deal with things that we wish we didn't have to.

Speaker 3: 18:33

And so I learned how to teach what you know. I was going to say Reiki brought it to me, and probably was Reiki they. You know it brought me this class that I didn't even know about. But I learned how to teach from a perspective of mind, body, science, so you understood what was going on in your brain when you're meditating. And then I was going to a church and they said, after service there's someone talking about Reiki and I thought Reiki, that's what Nathan had. So I went and I listened to the person and I began this journey of Reiki. And it's so amazing. I mean I've just I've taken a gazillion classes, just like a lot of people have, and I finally found the International Center of Reiki Training and I really love it. It's a great foundation and one of the things that drew me to it was that it has this branch that looks at the science, branch that looks at the science. And that's really what drew me to it, because I believe that Reiki and other healing modalities are the future of medicine.

Speaker 3: 19:55

But in order for this to be, there's got to be. It can't be woo-woo, we've got to have some science behind it. Even though we know that it's a spiritual energy, we need insurance to reimburse people for it. I mean, that's what it comes down to. And you know they're starting to do that with acupuncture, and so we need it with Reiki puncture, and so we need it with Reiki.

Speaker 3: 20:28

So my husband's a biology professor, so you know he's very, you know, left brained, and so when I was teaching meditation, he's all for it. But when I was going Reiki because I didn't know, okay, okay, this seems a little weird. And I said, well, let me just give you a little bit. So I put my hands in his aura, which in science is the biosphere. So I did not put my hands on him. And when they were in the biosphere, he goes. Well, you have really hot hands. I said my hands aren't that hot. What you're feeling is the energy of Reiki. And then I put one hand above his head and one hand above his heart and he goes well, I can feel your love. And then I put one hand above his head and one hand above his heart and he goes well, I can feel your love. And I said, yes, I love you, but what you're feeling is the energy of Reiki, it feels like love. And he said I have to start a class on this.

Speaker 3: 21:19

He is the advisor for the pre-med students. He said all of these kids going into medicine need to know there are more ways to heal than just pharmacology and surgery. So he started a class and he teaches. You know, I go in twice I talk once about meditation, once about Reiki, and I bring some of the kids across the street to my office, give them Reiki, and then they have to go back and tell the class about it. My office give them Reiki and then they have to go back and tell the class about it. And he has, you know, acupuncture, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, sound therapy, a bunch of different things, herbalist, you know, and some holistic doctors. So you know, it's my hope that Reiki just continues to flourish and go into. You know, I think you Suey said every family should have a healer and that's what we want. So once you give me the microphone, tracy, I just don't quit talking. So I hope that's okay.

Speaker 1: 22:21

Wonderful and thank you so much for being so authentic and sharing your journey, and I'm so sorry for your loss, thank you. So thank you so much for sharing. That's really going to help someone who's out there listening to keep that perspective. I mean, because that's something that you know we will either face in our life or have already in our journey. Thank you, all right, our next question is you've been doing Reiki for some time and meditation. What is a common misperception about your profession?

Speaker 3: 22:56

Well, they, everyone thinks it's woo, woo, everyone. You know. The interesting thing is, I think so.

Speaker 3: 23:07

When I first started I thought when I opened my office I thought, okay, I'm going to go join a chamber of commerce that meets 7 am in the morning every week and try to connect with these people. So I went and I said, oh, I teach meditation and Reiki, and so all these real estate and lawyers they're all standing around in suits and they go oh, there's somebody who does yoga over there. And I thought, okay, this is wrong. So I decided I have to change how I'm presenting this. So, instead of when people would say, what do you do, I said I help people decrease stress. And they go oh my gosh, stress, we've all got stress. Everybody here needs that. What do you do? So when I connected with them from where they were coming from and then, instead of telling them something that they thought was just weird, they could, they could react differently and be more open.

Speaker 3: 24:12

So you know, I think the way that you talk about it, I, you know. I just say it's a stress reduction technique and I one of my clients is a neurosurgeon. He comes and you know, and I'm I brag about the fact that I have a neurosurgeon. He comes and you know, and I brag about the fact that I have a neurosurgeon who comes to me for Reiki and he loves it. So you know, sometimes I just think people they just don't. It kind of depends where they are. I mean, I've had people be afraid of meditation. They think it's mind control. So I think you there's some people you know you're. I don't try to change anybody's mind, I just say it's stress reduction and you know. You know, maybe you want to give it a try, but I think there are a lot of misconceptions.

Speaker 1: 25:16

Very good. So what has been the biggest challenge you have faced in your profession?

Speaker 3: 25:23

Oh you know, I guess actually I've been really fortunate. Things have just seemed to flow for me and I think a lot. You know, even when I was starting to go into the program of the licensed Reiki master teacher. To go into the program of the licensed Reiki master teacher, one of the requirements is you have to do 100 in-person or you have to do 100 Reiki sessions. I started right when COVID began. Right after I started, covid happened. We went into shutdown.

Speaker 3: 26:04

I thought how am I ever going to get 100? And it just the universe. If you're putting honestly, our thoughts are more powerful than you can imagine. And so if you just put out, everything always works out. For me, if that is the motto, it always does. And I mean I can say that even when my son has died. That was his journey and I'm so grateful I got to help him on this journey and I would not be doing what I'm doing now, which I love, if I hadn't gone on that journey.

Speaker 3: 26:41

If I had not been a part of that, I never would have had this self-confidence. I think I could teach somebody how to meditate or you know, I'm not Buddhist. How could I do that? And that led me to Reiki. So I really have found that just by having the right mindset makes all the difference, and I found that you know, there's even a higher vibration that you can put out, because the universe is lit. They are giving you not what you want, but what you are.

Speaker 3: 27:15

And so if you put out a vibration of absolutely nothing could make me happier than I am right now, absolutely nothing could make me happier than I am right now. Absolutely nothing could make me. And you could say, well, maybe this could be better, but nope, if you put out absolutely nothing could make me happier than I am right now, that's a high vibration. The universe has to match that. So it's going to bring you back.

Speaker 3: 27:45

It's going to bring you stuff. It's going to bring you stuff that you didn't even know you wanted. It is going to bring you like the most amazing gift. You know, if you open up a gift and you think I didn't even know they made those things, it's perfect. That's what it's going to bring to you. It's going to bring you opportunities. It's going to bring you clients. It's going to bring you solutions. If you have those, if those are your vibrations, and it's not, how am I going to? I don't have enough clients. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? That's fear, that's lack. Nope, you, absolutely nothing can make me happier than I am right now. It flows, it just flows. It's magic, it is flows, it's magic, it is, it's magic, and when you combine that with reiki, it's like dynamite.

Speaker 1: 28:34

It really is wonderful. Love that, love that perspective of it and it just shows our listeners positive attitude, right, absolutely?

Speaker 3: 28:44

trust.

Speaker 1: 28:44

Absolutely Trust the process Trust the universe, Divine timing right, absolutely. And those synchronicities, yeah, yeah, so what?

Speaker 3: 28:58

is something you wish your younger self knew about your current profession, oh well, I feel like I've been on this journey for a long, long time. I, you know like I was in labor and delivery, which is not that far. I was teaching Lamaze classes and during that time I there would be, occasionally there'd be a baby that died, and so that was my training for getting me ready for other things that were going to happen in my life and learning how to deal with helping people say goodbye to this little infant. You know helping them say goodbye and that you have to say hello before you can say goodbye. So bringing this little baby in.

Speaker 3: 29:49

And then I lost a baby at like seven months gestation, and that was a way. It happened in December, and so someone gave me this little ornament that was an angel, and so every year we called that Eric's ornament, and every year I talk with my kids about Eric. How old would Eric be? You know, you already know somebody in heaven, and so it was a nice way to talk about death and that death wasn't something to be afraid of, but you already knew somebody there, and so that was getting me ready for this, and when my son was dying.

Speaker 3: 30:42

I realized it's the same process as helping someone come into the world. You're helping someone leave the world, that in both, from the infant coming down that birth canal and somebody leaving, you're both going towards the light, and it's a little scary on both ends, and but those are, there's new life from both perspectives. So and you know, I think, just letting myself I had made one detour, that I thought I wasn't doing enough with nursing, and so I went to law school for a year and a half and I thought, wow, this is the wrong place for me. And I got out. So my younger self would have said, well, you just relax, that is not for you, just go with the flow, you're on the right track. But I had to figure that out. So I would just tell myself trust the process, it's all unfolding just the right way, just the way it should.

Speaker 1: 31:51

Wonderful. So, when it is time for you to get your energetic tune up, or when you go and you seek out classes or trainings from a Reiki master teacher, what are some qualities that you look for in a Reiki practitioner, healer or Reiki master teacher?

Speaker 3: 32:12

You know I like to hear them talk before I take a class from them, if they have a podcast or if they're, you know, doing something. You know maybe they're speaking someplace, because I can kind of feel their energy. And then you know, I always want someone that's a few steps ahead of me, that I'm looking for new perspectives, new insights, because I, I'm, you know, we're all on this journey and I, you know, I want to grow, I want to expand, but I am also a teacher. I've always loved teaching and so anything that I learn I want to share it with people that you know who I come in contact with, whether it's through a Reiki class or a meditation class. So I'm always looking and reading new things and listening to people.

Speaker 3: 33:11

I just think that's the exciting thing. There's so much out there. You have to kind of you don't want to. In my opinion, it's like okay, got to stay focused, don't be a jack of all trades and master of none. I mean, there are certain things I know that you know I'm not going to become an expert in, so I'll let somebody else be an expert in it, but it's nice to have experts around that I can turn to and refer people to.

Speaker 1: 33:41

I don't have to know all the answers. Wonderful. So, as a teacher in this beautiful ICRT program, what advice would you give someone who is just entering this profession?

Speaker 3: 33:57

Oh, it is the future. It is the future and this is the energy of the world, is. Everybody can feel it. It's elevating, it's changing and when you are entering Reiki, whether you're just starting your Reiki one and two class, or if you decided I want to go into the LRMT program, you're on this wave and you are bringing this light into the world. And even if you don't want to be a teacher, even if you don't want to be a teacher, every cell of your body vibrates with this light. It goes into your aura. You are a beacon of light and so you're changing. You're bringing more light and lifting the collective consciousness. Just by taking a Reiki class, you're changing.

Speaker 3: 35:06

You know, I think you're changing the DNA in you. I really do. You know. They're shown with meditation that it changes the amygdala and I think with Reiki we're changing much more than they even have been able to understand and recognize. So I think it's exciting. I think it's so exciting I'm always so happy when new people are signing up, because you can use it in every aspect of your life. The only thing that limits Reiki is your imagination.

Speaker 1: 35:40

Absolutely. You just need to take that first step, and it doesn't mean you have to stay there in Reiki. It can elevate you to something else.

Speaker 3: 35:48

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 35:49

To interview people who they started their journey with Reiki and it has brought them to being a tarot reader or a shaman. So it can really take you anywhere, because it begins that healing within, to give you that confidence, right To open that third eye.

Speaker 3: 36:02

Yeah, yeah. And it's just like this step you know just one step and then you're going through this doorway and who knows where it's going to lead you. It's, it's very exciting. I think it's all very exciting.

Speaker 1: 36:14

All a part of the journey, yeah, yeah. So what books do you recommend?

Speaker 3: 36:30

Oh well, you know there are. There are a lot of books that I recommend at the moment. Let's see, you know, there's one by Michael Singer called the Untethered Soul. I think that's a very good book. The book by Eckhart Tolle is someone that I really I've taken classes from, and you know the new earth, in the new earth, he talks about that.

Speaker 3: 36:50

We have not stopped evolving that, but the next evolution is a spiritual evolution. Evolution is a spiritual evolution and he talks about the time when there were, only when the earth existed, and there were only green. There was only green, and then one day the environment was just right and the very first flower bloomed, and then there was another one, and another one, and another one, and another one, and all of a sudden there was a proliferation of flowers. And that's what happened with people who are enlightened. Over the course of time, there's been one person here and one person there and another person here, and now we're all waking up. This is what's happening with people. We're all on this journey. We don't have to be Buddha. We are waking up. We are that flower that's blooming and the whole world. This is what the new earth is. This is what the fifth dimension is is when we all wake up.

Speaker 1: 38:06

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing those recommendations. Reads for our curious beginner and even the seasoned master teacher.

Speaker 3: 38:15

I have one more book I'm going to recommend. That's this book Three Quarters Fall. This is a book that I wrote. It's about. It's very short, it's it's not sad. It is 10 things that I learned going with on this journey with my son, on this journey with my son, and the reason that I wrote it one time when he was on hospice, because I never thought of myself as a writer.

Speaker 3: 38:48

He's on hospice and he's completely paralyzed. He's at home in a hospital bed and so I slept in a bed in the same room in case he needed something in the middle of the night. So one night he wakes up about three o'clock and goes mom, mom, and I go, what what? He goes, take my picture and I think okay, you know, I mean it's three o'clock in the morning. Okay, whatever you want, I mean I'll try and do whatever things I can for you during this period of time.

Speaker 3: 39:17

So I get up, I take a couple pictures and I said Nathan, why did you want me to take your picture? And he said I don't want you to forget about me. And I was like, oh my gosh, are you kidding me? Of course I was never going to forget him, but what I didn't want. Forgotten were all the beautiful lessons that he taught me. You know the three quarters full. You know where that name comes from. That's what I learned from him and I learned. There are other lessons that I learned from him in here, and so I included him. So it's on sale on on Amazon, so I included him.

Speaker 1: 39:59

So it's on sale on Amazon. Yeah, thank you for sharing that Wonderful. So what other modalities do you offer? Do you offer classes, trainings?

Speaker 3: 40:09

Yes, I offer classes. I teach classes both on Zoom and in person in New York City and in Miami Florida person in New York City and in Miami Florida, and so there are classes in Reiki. I do all courses. I do Reiki one and two, the master and Karuna, and then I teach meditation. So I teach meditation one-on-one or in small groups or online. I do it also for corporations. I've taught a lot of meditation for corporations because people have stress and it's really important to you know we can't look to the outside world and find peace because you're not going to find it world and find peace because you're not going to find it. You just turn on the radio or the TV or anything. You've got to find peace within, and so the meditation that I teach helps you. You can find peace within and then it doesn't matter if the sky is falling, you can be calm in the center of a storm.

Speaker 1: 41:18

Beautiful, beautiful. Where can we find you to take a class meditation? Are you online or? Yeah. Can we get in touch with you, yes, so you can look at my website.

Speaker 3: 41:30

It's PeggyGainescom and it's Gaines with an E at the end. So G-A-I-N-E-S and I'm on Instagram and you know I've got my. I put that on that little link on the information that I sent you. So you know, if you have that, if you could add that in your notes or something, because I'm afraid I'm going to tell you it wrong the way, if I tried to remember.

Speaker 1: 41:57

Very good, it will be added also on reikiorg oh reikiorg.

Speaker 3: 42:02

That's where lots of that is. That is a great place. That's where a lot of people find me reikiorg.

Speaker 1: 42:09

Wonderful. All right, peggy, thank you so much. It's been an amazing journey with you. I really appreciate you being so honest and raw with us. It's just an amazing journey that you had. Thank you so much, and I'm going to pass you over to my co-guide, kim, who has three social media questions just for you.

Speaker 3: 42:29

Okay, great Well, thank you, Tracy, it was nice talking with you. Bye-bye.

Speaker 2: 42:34

Oh, peggy, I was not expecting to cry like that, my goodness, and you know what's so crazy is, when that intro was coming in, my guys were like ground yourself a little bit. I don't know if you saw me, my eyes were closed, my guys and Tracy knows I haven't done that and they were like ground yourself just a little bit extra before you go into this session. And I was like, okay, now I know why. I was like all right, um, and my condolences and just I think your story is so beautiful. Like you know, I read the Akashic records and that's why I think, when people can understand why and how we are tied to the people that come and go, out of our life makes it a beautiful thing.

Speaker 2: 43:11

Instead of yeah, we're programmed to cry and be sad and think of it as the lower vibration of a loss, when it wasn't. You know, love, love, love everything you have said, so thank you. First question is yeah, that I've like I don't know if you saw me, I was like this the whole time but so what inspired you to actually start your spiritual business?

Speaker 3: 43:35

Well, you know, it was really after my son died. I you know it was so funny. I thought, okay, I want to do meditation first, because I thought that that I had been using that every single day. And I thought, well, I am not a Buddhist, how do I learn? How do I know how to teach meditation? So I, being a nurse, I was on this mailing list and it was.

Speaker 3: 43:58

I would get these magazines, a quarterly magazine that was filled mostly with advertisements and a few articles about nursing, and I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, I never, ever read it. It would arrive, I would put it in the recycling bin. Arrive, I put it in the recycling bin and after my son died, it arrived and for some reason, I took it and I opened it up the recycle bin. And after my son died, it arrived and for some reason, I took it and I opened it up to the middle and the page that I opened it to was an ad that said meditation certification classes for health care providers. The universe said here, this is what you're supposed to be doing.

Speaker 3: 44:37

So that's how I got started. And then I was just at that you know, service and someone said they're talking about Reiki and the universe just brought that. I just happened to be there that time and I thought that's what we had when Nathan was sick and I said, said I'm going to go and see what this is, and that was the beginning of this journey. So the universe has led me every single step of the way, every single step.

Speaker 2: 45:11

Yeah, I say when you believe, like you. I love what you said about the power of the mind too, because that's what I tell all my clients. I'm like you give about the power of the mind too, because that's what I tell all my clients. I'm like you give so much power away and you have no idea how powerful your own mind is you know. So I just love that. The next question is so how do you measure the impact of your work on your clients, or, like customers, life?

Speaker 3: 45:35

Well, you know, when they come in, I'll ask them them, you know, what do you want to work on? And then I'll ask them to give it a number, because I think that we're in society, we measure, and if someone has a reiki session and then they leave and somebody says, well, well, how was it? And they go yeah, it was good, but how much did it help? I don't know, maybe it helped a little bit. But if you say, okay, this stress that you're feeling at work, if you gave it a number, from zero to 10, what number would it be? And they'll say it's an 11. And you go okay. So then we go through and we do Reiki and then I'll say, okay, now think about the issue that you started with. It wasn't 11. What number would you give it now? And they'll say, you know, I do remember it did go from 11 to 4. And even if it went down one or two beats, that's a change.

Speaker 3: 46:47

The other, you know, and sometimes people just come back and tell me it, just like there was woman who came in and she, I know I always like to under, undersell and over deliver, like I never make any promises. You know, people come in because you're healing. If somebody comes in with a physical problem, reiki is going to the source. So it's healing not only in the physical, it's healing on the emotional and the spiritual level. So when they get done, like if they come in for a sore, you know their neck is sore, and then you get done and they go. You know you're feeling better and they go, yeah, I'm feeling better. But they think, well, but I still have this pain. But what happens? Reiki doesn't stop when the session stops, it's continuing, and so it is working on a level that they don't even realize that perhaps it's going to the source and the source is the way. Perhaps the source is the way that they're looking at their boss or their coworkers or the situation, and once they begin to shift the way that they're seeing something, their body relaxes. So Reiki is.

Speaker 3: 48:16

So then they find, you know, even after I left, I was feeling more relaxed and I just let things roll off my back. I had somebody just the other day say you know, after that session with you, I realized things that really bothered me. You know, they just rolled off my back and we hadn't even talked about that. But that was one session, you know, they just rolled off my back and we hadn't even talked about that. But that was one session, you know.

Speaker 3: 48:42

So you know, sometimes people will tell me, you know, they came for a bunch of. You know, when you have a physical issue it's going to take longer, usually because I tell people look if it's an emotional thing, I tell people, look if it's an emotional thing. It has not come solid in your body yet, it's still in your energy system and so it's easier to clear smoke than it is to push a boulder. So weight will help with the physical things, but it may take more time. So you know, I had somebody who came in.

Speaker 3: 49:15

She had trouble with her rotator cuff and thought she was going to have to have surgery, and she came, and she came, and she came and I never said it would help with it. I just said, you know, I don't know, we'll just see. And she came every week, every week, every week, every week, every week. And all of a sudden she didn't come. And about a year later she comes in and I said whatever happened to the rotator cuff? And she said, oh, I didn't have to have surgery, reiki took care of that. I said, well, thank you for letting me know. You know that I would never in a million years have said this is going to take care of that. But you know, because it's up to Reiki to decide how we're going to work on this. You know, maybe it's the physical, maybe it's emotional, maybe it's something way in your past that needs to heal and then the present will heal.

Speaker 2: 50:03

And you know, and we know as reiki practitioners, you could do reiki till you're blue in the face. But if that person doesn't do the shifts that they need mentally, physically, spiritually, whatever we do is just temporary, do you mean? All right, your daughter's gonna feel good for the next two, three hours you know it's up to you if you want it to feel good forever.

Speaker 2: 50:20

So yeah yeah, because it's all tied. Yeah, so that's true, like and and it's funny because, uh, with ego too, and I just love how you are so open, like when your son did get sick and somebody suggested Reiki, because I know so many people um, you know, I have an acquaintance who lost her husband, who was struggling with depression, and she refused Reiki. She was like, well, you know, I read the Bible, we don't believe in that and I was like yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 50:45

And you know, the ego is like. I couldn't even call myself a healer. I call myself a Reiki practitioner as I got through because I couldn't even say healer or anything, but I'm not you know, I know what you're saying. Yeah, yeah, yeah so, oh. So, going a perfect lead into the last question, right? So, speaking of the bible and all that, how do your personal spiritual beliefs influence your business practices? Because you haven't really talked about, like you know, did you come from church or how were you raised and you know?

Speaker 3: 51:18

my husband. I mean, okay, so I was raised Catholic. I am not a practicing Catholic. My husband is Jewish and not really a. You know, he's more of a cultural Jew. You know a Delhi Jew as well, you know so.

Speaker 3: 51:35

But you know so, with my kids I said, look, there definitely is God and we want to connect with them. And it's kind of a journey that we each take on our own and we had the energy of God in our house and I always had felt close to God. And but you know, when the you know it's interesting that I started having trouble sleeping several years before this happened with my son and there wasn't a lot of meditation around at that time in the in this part in Florida, and I heard somebody was talking about meditation. I thought, okay, I'll try that I'm supposed to help with with Florida. And I heard somebody was talking about meditation. I thought, okay, I'll try that I'm supposed to help with with sleeping. And it was all part of the plan because I I had that. That wasn't. That was divine timing. I was given that sleep problem so I would find meditation. I had meditation to help me through this. It was like God said, look, you're going to go through a tough time, you need something to help you with this, and so I learned meditation.

Speaker 3: 52:47

And when I was going through that with my son, I never felt closer to God. And yet, when we had his, we had a memorial service for him and it was in the park and we had, you know, we had, we all just talked. It was a celebration. It was a celebration and it was very spiritual, but it was our celebration. It was a celebration of, you know, of joy for the experience of having our son. So, and yet it was, we're very spiritual, we're very spiritual as a family in it and it's been. And let me tell you, it's really nice having some having connections on the other side.

Speaker 2: 53:39

Yes, I will give an amen and a hallelujah to that Peggy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I, you know, we could be on here for two hours with every time I'm even like helping, or even when I was on as guests, like let's just keep going, but is there anything? Yeah Right, I feel like let's just keep going, but is there anything? Yeah right, Is there anything that you feel that you know? Maybe we forgot to ask you or you feel that's important for the listeners to know?

Speaker 3: 54:07

No, I think you know you've asked wonderful questions and and I've talked, I talk too much and but I, you know, I just think this is, I think life is, we are just so. I mean, we are these spiritual beings that have chosen to come into this human body, have this human experience. So I think, with anything that happens, I will tell you that we all have, as we all know, we all have really terrible, what, let's say, challenging things in life happen and I think it's important to like when my son died, I thought, okay, a lot of parents have their children die, but that's not the norm. And so I thought I've been given an opportunity and I don't want to blow it. I don't know why this happened, but I do not want to be like a delinquent teenager sitting in the back of the high school auditorium saying this is a stupid class, I can't learn anything from this. I want to sit in the front row and I, like I, never was a math, I can't understand math, and you know I want to sit in the front row and it feels like it's an upper level physics class. That's way over my head. But I want to learn as much as I can from this situation, from this opportunity, I go. Okay, I get that concept and I understand this concept. I want to learn as much as I can because I was given this opportunity and I don't want to squander it.

Speaker 3: 55:50

I met somebody along the way who said I had cancer brain cancer and they told me I only had a 5% chance of living and I made it. And let me tell you there's nothing good about cancer. It stinks. I didn't learn anything from it and I thought that is a tragedy. You went through that and you didn't learn anything. What a waste. What a waste.

Speaker 2: 56:17

Yeah yeah, I know a couple of those souls and I'm like, oh, I guess you're gonna deal with that in your next lifetime, okay exactly exactly oh my god, I mean let's go to the next, let's go.

Speaker 3: 56:29

I don't want to be stuck in third grade again. Let's get, let's go higher, you know yeah I do.

Speaker 2: 56:35

The only time I've ever enjoyed learning was it's all this stuff. Why am I here? What am I doing? How can I help the consciousness?

Speaker 4: 56:41

yeah, yeah, I totally agree, yeah, yeah oh well, peggy, thank you so much.

Speaker 2: 56:46

This is gonna conclude my part of the journey with you and I'm gonna pass the mic back to tracy. It was so nice meeting you, thank you it was great to meet you too.

Speaker 3: 56:55

Thank you, kim.

Speaker 1: 56:56

Thank you and thank you again. Kim and Peggy, thank you so much for joining us on this journey. I really appreciate it so much, taking time out of your busy schedule.

Speaker 3: 57:07

My pleasure. It's always fun talking about this kind of stuff, right, about spiritual stuff. It's fun. So thank you all very much and I'll see you on the journey, okay.

Speaker 1: 57:20

Okay, all right, our wonderful listeners, if you are interested in having your question featured on Ready Set Reiki, reach out at wwwreadysetreikicom. Find us also on Feather Sister Wellness, where there's a variety of yoga classes, reiki and Reiki trainings as well. So I'm going to leave you with may your glass always be three-fourths full. So thank you so much for coming on this journey with us. This is Ready Set Reiki, and I'm Tracy Seawright. Thank you you.