Ready Set Reiki®️
A podcast about Reiki and Energy work. From the curious beginning to the seasoned Master Teacher. Welcoming all those who work with energy.
Join Reiki Master Tracy Searight as she guides you on a journey through this landscape of energy work. Each guest offers an in-depth unique perspective sharing their journey which had 'a profound effect on their healing and development as a person. Come along on this journey and explore all the possibilities of working with energy.
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Tracy Searight is an Educator, Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master, Grandmaster, Sound Practitioner, Author and Podcaster.
Find her on Feather Sister with Wellness living
offering training in 10 different systems of Reiki
Training in Chair Yoga, Yin Yoga and Restorative
Ready Set Reiki®️
Episode #99 Faye Johnstone's Healing Journey: From Garden Shamanism to Reiki Mastery – Embracing Elemental Qigong, Plant Medicine, and Self-Acceptance
What if you could connect with nature on a deeper level than you ever imagined? This episode of Ready Set Reiki promises to open up a world of possibilities as we welcome Faye Johnstone, a seasoned Reiki practitioner with more than two decades of experience. Faye brings a fascinating blend of elemental qigong, plant medicine, and creative shamanism to her practice, all cultivated from her enchanting garden in Scotland. Together, we explore how Reiki found Faye and guided her to a life intertwined with the natural world, leading her to write three insightful books and offer transformative retreats and training.
Embark on a journey of self-discovery and healing as Faye shares how to build genuine, soulful connections with plants by feeling rather than thinking. She talks about the parallels between nurturing bonds with nature and practicing Reiki, each requiring patience and consistent effort. Personal stories of overcoming self-doubt and the fear of being seen offer a profound look at the power of self-acceptance and stepping into one's true potential. We also discuss the incredible role of technology in making distance healing and global connections more accessible, underlining the importance of creativity, discernment, and integrity in the evolving world of Reiki.
We're honored to highlight Faye's diverse services, including her one-on-one retreats in Scotland and her new Substack community, Soul Awakenings. Her holistic approach integrates Reiki, shamanic techniques, and plant spirits to promote wholeness and harmony. The conversation is rich with mystical experiences, touching on the magic of synchronicity and the importance of self-trust. Join us for an enriching episode that celebrates Faye's unique journey and offers invaluable insights for both seasoned practitioners and newcomers to the world of Reiki.
Fay Johnstone combines over twenty years of reiki practice with elemental qigong, plant medicine, and creative shamanism to connect us with the healing power of nature for our transformation. As well as studying Herbal Medicine, she ran an organic
flower and herb farm in Nova Scotia for some years before returning to the UK and settling in Scotland. The path of the drum and reiki has led Fay to connect even more deeply with nature and plants. The author of three books: Plant Spirit Reiki, Plants That Speak, Souls that Sing, and her latest book Shamanic Reiki Drumming. Fay offers training and retreats from her garden in Fife, Scotland and has an online community with monthly offerings.
Website: www.fayjohnstone.com
Fay's books are here https://fayjohnstone.com/books-by-fay-johnstone/
Substack community https://substack.com/@fayjohnstone
Instagram Profile:https://www.instagram.com/plantsthatspeak
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/fayjohnstone
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/fayjmeditation
Tracy's co-guide on this episode is Dina Fortune
Dina Ziskin-Fortune— a Dragon Reiki master, mystical artist, published author and intuitive channel. Her art has appeared in galleries and exhibitions across her home state of New York, graced the cover of magazines, and found homes in the hearts of art enthusiasts worldwide.
Check our more information on Tracy, Faye,
Ready Set Reiki is a journey
From the curious beginner to the Season Master Teacher
All Energy workers of all systems and all levels.
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 two are traveling, supporting each other and learning on this Reiki journey as well. And with that said, I'm your first guide, tracy.
Speaker 3:Seawright, and I'm your second guide, dinesh Vachon.
Speaker 2:And joining us on this journey today is Faye Johnstone. Now she combines over 20 years of Reiki practice with elemental qigong, plant medicine and creative shamanism to connect us with the healing power of nature for our own personal transformation. As well as studying herbal medicine, the qig she ran an organic flower and herb farm in Nova Scotia for some years before returning to the UK and settling in Scotland. The path of the drum in Reiki has led Faye to connect even more deeply with nature and plants. The author of three books, "'plant Reiki Spirit', "'plants that Speak, souls that Sing, and her latest book, schematic Reiki Drumming, she offers trainings and retreats from her garden in Scotland and has an online community with monthly offerings. Welcome, faye, to Ready Set Reiki Hi it's really great to be here.
Speaker 4:Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Well, let's begin our journey together, so tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 4:Sure. Well, I feel like you've given me quite a good intro there. So I have been in the sort of Reiki world, if you like, for over 20 years and just on, as you mentioned, you know it's a healing journey and so what my journey has led me to work with, you know I've been guided by the plants and also I've and the shamanic. My practice of creative shamanism has really been key in opening up my, my ability, if you like, to connect. So I now live in Scotland, as you said, and I have a beautiful garden here on just north of Edinburgh on the coast, and this is where I've kind of landed and this is where I work from and I run the really.
Speaker 4:I suppose where I'm at the moment with my work is I love to really go deep dive with people. I love to really go deep dive with people and so I'm offering I offer kind of one to one retreat here with a beautiful year in the garden space as well, and as well as offering trainings and events here and online as well. But that's where I'm at really with my, with my work. I always really listening and expanding into you know who I never thought I could be basically. So there's that format.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. So when did Reiki or energy work come into your life? Did you find it or did it find you?
Speaker 4:It totally found me and I think I feel this is a theme for my whole what would be like spiritual path. I'm a really slow learner, like I'm not one of those people or I should say I used to be. I've got much better at that. I'm much better now really listening to the nudges when they first come, not like the hundredth nudge that you get from spirit, you know, and, um, it sort of fell into it. I fell into it. You know, a friend one weekend said, hey, do you want to learn this thing called Reiki? And explained to me what it was. And I was like, yeah, sure.
Speaker 4:And you know, from then on, even even my first shamanic experience came in a very similar way. It was a friend who I said hey, well, what are you doing tonight? And the friend responded saying, well, I'm going to see. I'm going to see my shaman, I'm going to a shamanic ceremony. And I was like, what door can I come to? So in a sense, I feel that my, my friends of mine, people I network with, you know, my friends and family are my teachers and they are the ones who kind of say, hey, uh, you know, dive into this. And so, yeah, I've been on that Reiki journey ever since 2000. And it just has led me, it's really opened me up to discover more and more about who I truly am, and this is what, and you know, and so that's why I've been led to connect with plants, led to connect with all the shamanic techniques that I use, and I'm constantly, if you like, in this expanding space of discovery and who I, who I am, and that has led me to write the books that you mentioned, as, to date, I've written three books and I write, I write every day, and I never thought in a million years I would write a book. And there you go, I've written three. So, um, I think it's really fascinating, and I'm sure everybody listening who's connected to Reiki it's so fascinating, isn't it, how, when we let Reiki flow through us, when we become Reiki, it really shapes our lives in ways that we could never have imagined.
Speaker 4:So that's that's my, that's my path with Reiki, and it's still evolving, you know, and I love to teach as well. You know, I I started, and this is the thing about my path. I'm like I say I'm a I'm not necessarily a slow learner, but I'm a slow burner. So I did my Reiki master teacher training in 2009. Um, so that was kind of nine years after I'd been attuned to Reiki one. You know, I just and I always say to my students look, there is no rush. If you feel called to do it, then get on and do it, but just Reiki One is absolutely enough. It's Reiki and so. But then you see, after kind of getting my master's training, it took me, it took me ages really to get myself together to start teaching.
Speaker 4:And when I moved, we lived in Canada, as you mentioned, in Nova Scotia, and when we moved back to Scotland, I thought to myself, oh, I'm not going to be teaching Reiki anymore, that's kind of done, I'll just be, I'll just be going on with the next project, whatever that is, and sure enough, I'm getting. We lived in a very small two bedroom flat, an apartment, as you'd say in the States, and you know we had weekends where we've got six people trying to fit into my living room space. You know some are sitting on one person's on the couch, someone's on the floor, someone's on a reclining chair. You know, and it was just it, just it was like Reiki showing me you don't have to have the fancy yoga studio or the massive, massive, gorgeous house with these beautiful sacred spaces, like if you're meant to be doing this, people are going to show up to you, and that was my experience. So I'm just kind of like and I laugh if ever I say, oh, I'm not doing this or I'm not going to do this, I don't plan on doing this. I feel like the universe or Reiki is going well. Actually, we've got another plan for you. So I, in a sense, I can't wait to see or experience what Reiki has in store for us all, because I feel and you probably sense it as well in your community Reiki is really changing.
Speaker 4:You know. You know, over 20 years I've been in this space and what I find. It's amazing. Sorry, I realize I'm going on, I'm going on and on, but I'm just on a roll. Um, what I find now is when I'm teaching, the students are really are just so open and so connected, like already, where, whereas it wasn't like that when I first started teaching and certainly when I started, you know when I would learn Reiki I feel like I wasn't as sensitive and connected and intuitively as some of my students are. Like now they're instantly, they get it. You know, they've got it, which is incredible, and I think that just shows how we're all evolving and our consciousness is just you know we're really. We're really attuning to know the powerful people or beings that we truly are.
Speaker 2:I love it, I love it all and thank you for putting out there that. You know it took you a few years. Many come here and they want it right away, they want it now. But you took your time and it's that divine timing. And then also, you know, mentioning, you don't need to rent that big space, you don't have to have that yoga studio, you don't if that's a blockage, that you don't know where to go, having it in your home. And they'll come, they want to do it, they're going to come.
Speaker 4:Yeah, cause I definitely had had that blockage previously. I really thought that I needed the fancy space and all the candles and all the stuff, and you know that's actually so. The beautiful thing about Reiki is its simplicity, and I think sometimes, when I'm and when I say, students, you know, if we're getting all in the way with that, we just need to, you know, pair it right back, get back to you know, almost like, get back, sit in gassho, get back to what's what and connect that's, you know, ground yourself. And in fact, for me I'm going to talk about sitting in gassho, because for me, this bringing the hands together in prayer position, you know, usually with my feet flat on the ground, or if I'm standing, you know, or even if I'm, you know, sat cross-legged, it's different, but just bringing the hands together in gassho has become one of those.
Speaker 4:It's almost like a um thematic movement for me. It's it's kind of like a signal to my body, my mind, my spirit. You know we're coming in, we're connecting, this is sacred space time. So I just, you know, it's just, yeah, that automatic um reaction that my body, mind and spirit go into when I bring my hands into gassho. So I, you know, it's just doing it now. It's like, oh you know, it really feels, it really brings me into center, which is obviously, you know, where I make the best decisions from, where I feel connected, where I can get myself intuitively in the space and guided. So yeah, just going on a tangent there with Gashu.
Speaker 2:Very good. So 20 years of Reiki experience, plant medicine, creative shamanism, herbal medicine, as you are out working, sharing this gift of Reiki. What has been a common misconception about your work?
Speaker 4:Well, actually I'll speak to a few things. So certainly when you work in shamanic, with shamanic work and actually even Reiki to some extent, we're getting, we receive, receive, we can receive a lot of information because we're channeled for the energy. And I find a common misconception this is, you know, actually for people learning, not necessarily people receiving, but actually even for people receiving. Many people say, well, I'm not a visual person, I don't see things, I'm not going to get this or I can't, you know, I can't intuitively receive information, I'm not going to get it, I'm not going to get the most from it. So that, I think, is a huge misconception amongst people who want to maybe get into shamanism. Or, you know, you develop their intuition and their um and and start sort of channeling and being guided. We have so many more senses than just this inner vision and that is something that, as a Reiki practitioner or as a Shamanic practitioner, it's something that you develop over time and so we don't have to be a visual person. As it happens, I am a really visual person. Sometimes when I'm in my Reiki state state, it's like a movie is happening. But also I receive information through my body. You know, I hear things in my inner ear, I have sensations in my body, you know, like we all might feel things or our ears might pop and things like that. So there are so many different ways that we can experience and we can receive information as channels and healers and that. So that's been a huge misconception and I think and I'll just speak to connecting with plants uh, so again there's this.
Speaker 4:I think one of the things I want to say about connecting with plants is that what we have to do is we have to feel our way rather than think so. So a lot of people will say, well, I don't know anything about plants. I couldn't tell you what, what that tree is over there, or I don't, you know, I only know roses and sunflowers, you know, and actually I was kind of the same. I didn't realize that I was into plants until the kind of plants really were, were leading me and through. It was really through how I was feeling and I just allowed myself to be led by the plants and it's I always say we have to feel our way and not think our way. So it's always really good, obviously, to look up the information in books and see what other experts are saying about plants and, you know, get into the science of things. But actually, when we allow ourselves to be guided and just open to create these connections that we have with the natural world, that's kind of where we are when we're magically led, and that's kind of really when, in that liminal space, the magic starts to happen for us, um. So that's definitely, um, a misconception, like, you don't need to know anything about plants, you just need to be able to open your heart and to feel your way and also, I think as well, some people.
Speaker 4:I think that the problem is these days people do want to kind of learn things in a weekend, they want to do things really quickly, and sometimes it can happen that we kind of do get these huge downloads of information and suddenly we do receive information in a really rapid way. But other times, especially with the plants and also, to a certain degree, when we work with spirit guides in the shamanic practices, you know, it's about developing relationships and if you've only met something once over the weekend or connected, you know, if I've only sat with my oak tree twice in the last month, then I haven't really got a great connection than if it was, you know, like a friend I speak to every day or have known for the last 10 years. We kind of that, our sort of 21st century yeah I need it now, kind of mentality. It doesn't really work, you know, because I think, certainly you know, there's a lot to be said for time and experience and developing relationships. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 2:And there's many systems out there that you can, within a weekend, you know, or two days, or three days, and go out and immediately teach. So you make a good point of that of cultivating that relationship with the energy.
Speaker 4:Well, I think, you know, even with Reiki, we can learn Reiki in a weekend, we can get attuned. You know, in an hour, Boom, we're attuned and we can get Reiki will, will, flow. But it's through over time, isn't it, that we develop our own special kind of relationship with reiki. We understand how it feels for us. We, you know, we can read books that will tell us, oh, it's going to be like this and it's useful for this ailment, and you know, this is how we can do this, it this way. But it's only through our personal practice and uh, that we start to develop our. It's also our own unique style of reiki as well and like, certainly for me that's come through with plants and the drum and things like that.
Speaker 4:But you know, so, for many of my clients especially, and um, I don't know if you find this, you know, when you're, uh, teaching, uh, and you sort of say, oh, there's some case studies for people to do, you know to experiment with, and there's always a big groan in there that we have to do case studies, and I just think they're the most magical opportunities for people to it's like it's, you know, it's like well, if you do a case studies, you get so much experience, you develop your confidence and you get to know all different types of energy and situations and you get to know stuff about yourself and how energy feels.
Speaker 4:It's just so, it's really amazing. So it's like, um, it's like when I did I'm trained in reflexology as well and I remember as part of my training, we had to do 100 pairs of feet and I tell you, after 100 pairs of feet, I was like, wow, okay, I get it, I get, I'm in the groove now. And it's kind of like that with Reiki, isn't it? Even though we can learn it in a weekend, we actually develop ourselves as a channel, as a Reiki practitioner. You know, over time, you know we're still growing, aren't we? We're still learning. Reiki is still showing us what it truly means, you know still showing us what it truly means.
Speaker 2:you know, right, it's that journey. So you have had students, clients, you have written books and you have been a part of so many people's own healing journey. What has been the biggest challenge, or rather struggle, you faced in your own healing journey?
Speaker 4:Oh, that's a big question, isn't it? I think, actually, for me, it comes down to confidence. I was, and that's why I said I was really like a slow burner with Reiki, because I just didn't feel confident in myself. And I actually remember, you know, when I first started out, I remember, you know, almost not being able to look people in the eye when they came through the door to have a treatment with me because I was so shy, and so I really would have. You know, at that time, with hindsight, I think, god, I really would have benefited from a coach or you know someone, a really strong mentor, holding my hand, saying, yeah, you can do it. But you know Reiki, you know Reiki showed me the way.
Speaker 4:You know, I kept going and I think, yeah, a fear of being seen as well is one of the things I've had. But you know, publishing my books was like, wow, you're really out there now, and it was almost. I found it quite amusing because I was like there you go, you've got a little bit of a fear of being seen, which I think a lot of people have. You know, it's not, that's not like, um, uh, that unusual. But and then I was laughing because I think not only have you published a book that says, hey, this is me, I'm out there, but you've published a book about something that's quite unusual. You know, you published a book about talking to plants and you know that's actually it's much more mainstream than it was. This was in 2018 when this was published, so it's still a little bit, you know. So I'm like, wow, I felt like I was coming out of the closet to my parents. You know this is what I do. You know they obviously know I do shamanic work and healing, but I don't think they really knew the extent of my, my plant spirit connections and to make a whole book of it, you know that was. That was really interesting. And then, you know having you know the classic situations where you're at, you know, like your parents house just visiting, and then they would, you know, have some friends over, family friends, you know, who've known me since I was five years old, and they're all delighted to see me, asking me how I am, what am I doing these days? And there's me, you know, sharing. Oh yeah, I've written this book about plants that speak. You know it's stuff like that and that was so.
Speaker 4:Again, all of this is part of my journey and it's part of just learning and also it's really fundamentally about self-acceptance, isn't it? And you know? And stepping into my power. So that's where I've been kind of rocking and rolling on my journey and always that. But it's what I love about Reiki, is it's? So I find it very nurturing and you know, I mean I Reiki, you know I'm Reiki every day. That, I think, feel like that's the nicest thing about going to bed, isn't it? The night, that's when I do my Reiki is that I'm lying in bed at night I sort of think, oh, I'll read a bit and then I'm just going to do some Reiki, and so I feel that, you know, that's that has kept me or helped me with my challenges definitely.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. So combining over these 20 years of all these wonderful modalities that you do, and as you stand here on your journey, looking back, what do you wish your younger self knew about your current profession?
Speaker 4:I was thinking about this question and it made me laugh, because I think, you know, my younger self had no idea that this profession even existed, and that's what I find, so it's so fascinating. You know, you know the idea of being a Reiki practitioner or, you know, a healer or someone who's teaching about energy or shamanism, like that, was not something that was on the career register at school. I remember actually there was something about. You know, I remember reading something about homeopathy and herbal medicine, so that did exist. And then all the fact that you know, we're able to talk over Zoom I you know, I have an online school where people can, you know, do video lessons and then we can have online conversations like this. I just think, you know, that wasn't even in the, that I wasn't able to imagine it, and this is what actually is so fascinating. So what I would say to my younger self is dream big, you know, actually expand this limited version of yourself or, and you know, work on those limited beliefs. You know, basically start to really step into a power and be who you are, Because I think for such a long time I was kind of, you know, living under a bit of a shadow and a little bit shy in the corners, and I didn't have that confidence.
Speaker 4:So I kind of wasn't creatively dreaming and visioning and I feel that that's what I'm living. I'm living some sort of amazing creative vision. The fact that I'm able to connect with people on the other side of the world through this computer and you can see me. You know, it's just fascinating, isn't it? And the fact that we can send healing to each other, it's just amazing. We could have never dreamt this up.
Speaker 4:You know, even when I learned Reiki 20 years ago, we weren't doing this. It wasn't an option. You know, and this is why I find it. I find it interesting, you know, when I'm teaching people, we're teaching Reiki too and we're learning about, you know, how to send distance Reiki. I kind of say well, back in the day, when I was taught, you know, we had, we were, whereas these days it's like well, let's, let's discuss the options you've got. You could work over Zoom, you could work, there's all you know. Whereas back in the day it was like, you know, you had had to get a photograph of somebody and beam reiki to it and write the symbols on or use the teddy bear, but you still needed. It was very, it's very different.
Speaker 4:So, uh, I would tell my younger self get, you know, get creative. You know. The blocks that are holding you back are actually just not true. They are not your divine self at all. Step into your power, get creative and start dreaming and visioning big, because such, such, so so many amazing things can happen that we can't even sort of dream of, um, because they're kind of out there and I actually feel that we can't even sort of dream of because they're kind of out there, and I actually feel that we're moving into this age, aren't we?
Speaker 4:Astrologically, we're really expanding our consciousness as a collective. We're kind of, you know, we talk about creating a new earth, and this is particularly as healers and lightworkers you know. We're at the forefront of this. So it's kind of, you know it's our job to to call on people, to gather people just say, yes, come on, let's just get rid of all the garbage that we've been carrying and start shining our light. So we shine our light together, we get to see things from a new perspective and we get to really create the earth that we dream of and kind of almost like unlock these, these talents that we've got inside that we never knew existed, and I feel that that's what Reiki has really helped me do. It's really helped me connect with the or get closer to that truth of who I am, and so it's almost like I'm still going, I'm still going, and that's that's where, um, it's, it's sort of guiding me in, you know, uh, definitely yeah, definitely taking you places you never imagined.
Speaker 2:right, yeah, and trusting the process the whole way.
Speaker 4:Totally.
Speaker 2:So, when it's time for you to get an energetic tune up, what are some qualities that you look for in a Reiki practitioner or energy worker?
Speaker 4:Oh, wow, like integrity actually. Yeah, I'm much more. I'm much more cautious now about connecting with people, for I love to get a recommendation from somebody. I like to go.
Speaker 4:Word of mouth, the kind of big sales pages and the big, all the words and all the bells and whistles, don't really attract me. It has to be a feeling I have to kind of really feel, and sometimes I'll tune in or pick an Oracle card just to sort of feel for does this feel like the right connection for me? But I feel like you know, qualifications, experience, that kind of thing. It's really important. If I see someone who's got like an amazing looking course or beautiful Instagram page and yet I go to their about page and they're not really telling me where they've been training and how I feel like still. But still I'm like and I say I say this because I know that a lot of information can come through. We can channel so much information.
Speaker 4:I know that doesn't have to come from specific training, but I feel like we really have to be very, um, cautious isn't the word?
Speaker 4:Just just really kind of centered when we, when I met. So I have to be really centered when I make decisions to work with people, um, but often I mean over the years, you see, I'm really fortunate. I, you know, I've got lots of students who I trust because they're brilliant and very talented and and people who I've trained with myself in shamanic trainings and and things. So I sort of feel like I've got a a really lovely network of people who IQ, who I can call on to help me when I need it, and that this is the um. This is the thing that I suppose for a while it took me a bit of time to learn is that it's so beautiful, as a Reiki practitioner, to get um to receive, isn't it? We don't, you know, even though we give ourselves Reiki and we can be very aware of the things that we need healing with, actually getting out of your own way and receiving is part of the process, it is part of the journey and it's part of that community which we're all creating. Beautiful.
Speaker 2:So a teacher that offers trainings, you offer retreats, you have give sessions, you're of service to so many people. What advice would you give someone who is just entering this path of service, who is just entering this profession?
Speaker 4:Oh, I would well, as I said, be discerning, you know, but also be like the noise of online healing work, shall we say, or just the whole online world, whether it's social media, whether it's, you know, creating a fancy website, whether it's this, that and the other, and in a sense, that throws you off. So it's almost like really be true to yourself. Don't try and follow someone else's brand of Reiki or healing. Really tune in and listen. Listen to your soul, listen to what is you are being guided to do, because we're all unique. We all. So it's great, we're all attuned to Reiki, but we all have a unique way of offering Reiki. We all have a unique vibration. So different clients are going to be attracted to us, and I think for a long time, I was getting myself, allowing myself to be lost in the kind of oh well, I'll do it this way because this is the way everyone else seems to be doing it, rather than really thinking to myself well, actually, what I want to be doing is this, you know. So I feel that it's really an importance, that, yeah, kind of we continually. So my advice would be just really work on yourself, look inwards. What is it that you truly want to do what, what, what, because you know what you know, what do you feel? Really, ask yourself what you're really feeling called to do and then find a way to make that happen. Cool, call it in, call in help, uh, and and start to trust that, because I feel like the decisions that I make through leading with my heart and doing them, because I feel guided to do this, those are the ones that work for me. But the times I've said, oh well, I suppose I ought to run a workshop on this because blah, blah, blah, then that you know, I know now, well, it's probably not going to work so well, um, so, and really, we have to really trust in the past. And yeah, we have to trust and we also have to.
Speaker 4:The other advice I'd say is to surround yourself with cheerleaders, people who are on your team and so you know it doesn't always have to be reiki practitioners or healers. It can be friends and family who just love you and are fascinated by you and see you doing this amazing thing that they don't really understand, but they see the way it lights you up and so they support you. Um, because actually I sometimes I know that in the healing world we can get so in our own ways and we can get competitive. You know we can go into shadow around kind of, oh, worrying, oh no, you're a Reiki practitioner too. Oh, you're going to steal my clients, you know, we can get into that.
Speaker 4:So actually, it's very um, it's very beneficial to have the cheerleaders who are, you know, the muggle sometimes then that I think you know what I mean by that who just love you for being you and all the beautiful, wonderful, wacky healing stuff that you do, the energy stuff, the spirit guides, the dragons, whatever it is, they just go.
Speaker 4:Yeah, whatever, come on, let's go and have a coffee together. I've got something to show you, you know, and it's they kind of bring you back down to, to, to the, to the other side of life, and that's really really important. And you know, and especially also, though just to speak to you know, when we're, when we've got these really precious ideas and got these really precious visions, just remember you, you know who you know be really mindful about who you share them with, because if you're sharing them to people who are quite conservative and they're not going to get it, then they're just gonna like not really be enthused by your vision. So be really careful about who you share your sort of deepest desires with and make sure that they are the people who you know will be excited for you and cheer you on, no matter what.
Speaker 2:Very good. I like how you said about you know making it your own as you, you know approach things. You know, when I was a very new yoga teacher, I found myself kind of mimicking almost my teachers and some of it resonated with me, some didn't, until I got into that rhythm and said you know what this isn't called to me anymore. I got to do my own thing, to have that courage to kind of make it your own with that and then having that support, those cheerleaders, as you said, around you to cheer you on in the path. So very, very good advice that are those who are just starting out. So our next question is what books do you recommend?
Speaker 4:Oh, wow, wonderful. Well, actually I was going to say that your listeners are probably very used to Reiki books, so I was going to recommend or I'd recommend, mine, obviously. But for for shamanic work, there's a teacher called Sandra Ingerman. She's written so many, she's amazing and she's a great place to start if people are interested in getting into shamanism. And she's written so many.
Speaker 4:In fact, one of my favorites of hers is called Walking in Light and it's really simple practices about connecting with the natural world actually and sort of feeling that that the energy, you know, that vibrancy that connects us. So that's a really lovely book. And also for the herbal books, so for the plant books, the amazing herbalist, rosemary Gladstar she's a bit of a kind of legend, if you like, rosemary gladstar, she's a bit of a kind of legend, uh, if you like, and she has some beautiful books on actual, you know, herbal medicines and things. And also I love very much pam pam montgomery. She was a lady who really inspired me when I was had my flower farm and she is. She wrote a book called plant spirit healing, which it which shares, really about how we can connect with plants, just as my book, plants that Speak, souls that Sing does. So those are some directions for people to go in.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. So what other services do you offer? Do you offer any classes, events, trainings?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so well. My big thing every year is the transfer at summer school, which happens in June in my beautiful garden space, but also throughout the year I do run or there are there'll be other trainings here in Scotland, and also the thing that I love is like sort of working, if you like, quite deeply with people. So to come for a one-to-one retreat here with me in Scotland, stay in the be in the garden space you know this is the healing garden space, but that is a kind of individual thing to do and I also well, I suppose really at the moment I have on I have an online school, so there's an online, some online courses for plant spirit Reiki and for the shamanic Reiki drumming, and actually if anyone has purchased any of my books, there is a discount for people to have the book to do the course. You just get in touch with me and I'll give you a discount code. So that's quite handy if you if you want to introduce plants or if you want to introduce the drum into your practice.
Speaker 4:But the thing that I run now is I have a community on a platform called Substack and actually what that is is there's a small membership fee that people can pay and every month we have an online zoom together, which is the sacred circle, which can be a seasonal ceremony, or it might be a healing, it might be a meditation or a shamanic journey. So that is something that happens monthly, um, which is? You know, it's like a new thing really. I've only just started this year, but that's kind of where I'm focusing my attention at the moment, because that's what I just feel guided to yeah, teach and share through a more sort of expansive way. So. But I'm sure I'll be developing more courses soon, but for now, that's where it's at.
Speaker 2:All right, beautiful. So where can someone find you? What's the best way to get in touch with you if they're interested in a session or if they want to look into about your retreat? Where can we find you?
Speaker 4:So my website is fayjohnstonecom, which I'm sure you'll post up so that people can read it F-A-Y-J-O-H-N-S-E-O-N-Ecom, and also you can find me on, like I said, substack. If anyone here uses the Substack platform you can find me on there. I'm under Faye Johnston and my Substack is called Soul Awakenings and it's my journey with Awakenings and I post. I post kind of several times a month about my connections in the garden and, like I said, we have this once a month healing sacred circle community there as well. So those are the places that you can contact me and I might share some photos of the garden. A lot on Instagram and I'm plants that speak on Instagram is how you can find me there.
Speaker 2:All right, wonderful Well Faith. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me. This ends our part together and I'm going to pass you over to my co guide, dina, who has three social media questions for you. So I narrow it down from our listeners and some Reiki students.
Speaker 3:So, dina, Hi, thank you so much. I have been so enjoying everything that you've been saying. It so resonates. I'm really excited to ask these questions. So the first one is as a creative shaman, can you tell me a little bit about your work?
Speaker 4:Certainly so that really means. I suppose what it means is I've kind of put all the tools that I've learned over the last 20 years kind of into into one bundle and so when somebody works with me we can connect with Reiki and energy healing. We are it's a process of really being connected to the web of all things and really deeply listening to what's kind of there when we're kind of in that field. So, and it's also about wholeness. So we might have to retrieve soul, pieces of soul. We might have to work with power restoration, bringing power back. So there's all sorts of different shamanic techniques that might happen within that and like and I work with the spirits of the plants to bring healing.
Speaker 4:Uh, and I work with the drum. The drum is like my primary tool, the drum and the raffle, and I work with bells and my voice as well. So it's all kind of part of like of the package, but the plants do play a really large part in that. Yeah, bringing it all together Because, yeah, it's about wholeness, it's about bringing back the harmony for everybody.
Speaker 3:That's amazing. I really would love to hear more about that and witness it, experience it myself. So you are the author of three books. Can you tell me what inspired you to write plant spirit reiki?
Speaker 4:sure. Well, actually, you know, I I wrote it because I was doing it and I thought I'm just gonna write all this down, because this, this just is like a manual that will help people do it themselves and even though it's got sort of called plant spirit reiki and it mentions reiki and it it talks to reiki practitioners. It also talks to I wanted it to be a kind of a starting point for practitioners of you know, counselors or, um, massage therapists, who weren't necessarily connecting with Reiki but they were seeing clients and it's this idea of how can we connect our client with the natural world, like without having to be a qualified herbalist, without prescribing herbal medicines. Because I felt that I was doing it and it inspired what I was inspired by. When I was running the flower farm in Nova Scotia, I set up a treatment space in my living room and it was just amazing how people coming to the space or you know, you know the part where you're preparing and you're kind of sitting in gashow or you I would have a little walk around, perhaps get some fresh air, and I'd always find certain plants seem to be speaking to me and sort of sort of going hello, can I come into the treatment space.
Speaker 4:That is how the practice started sort of happening. And then it went from there and I, just I, so the book was really just like well, I'm just going to write all this down and see if it does anything. And in a sense, so writing those three books that I've written has come quite easily because it's it's it's stuff that I do, it's stuff that I teach, so it's not I'm, I'm not, it's not fictitious, I'm just like. I'm just like writing down what I do in in the practice. Um, so it's kind of, it's kind of they've all come about quite organically in my books, which is amazing. I feel really really blessed love it, love it.
Speaker 3:That's awesome, okay. So the third question is I mean, by the way I could see, I could visualize all of that you have recently published a book, shamanic Reiki drumming. Can you explain shamanic Reiki drumming and how it can be used in a session? This is my favorite question for you, um, to hear about yeah, well, it's interesting, isn't it?
Speaker 4:I think a lot of people actually quite excited about the idea of shamanism and working with the drum, and you know, it's something which seems to appeal to us and I really feel it's because it's just connecting us to this original heartbeat, to this kind of kind of frequency that we carry inside. So in the book I talk about the drum, I talk about the practice of shamanism, and the drum happens to be just one of the many, many tools and techniques that shamanic practice can make use of. So I'm talking specifically about the drum can make use of. So I'm talking specifically about the drum, because and I and it's so what's great is that when we work with the drum, so we have this access to the shamanic world through, uh, the repetitive beat of the drum and this expanded state of consciousness that the drum brings about. But also we've got sound healing, we've got reiki, we've got all these other sort of things happening when we bring it into the treatment and I always, always so.
Speaker 4:In the book I talk about various different ways that we can bring it in, and it's really wonderful to just to bring it. You know, you can even bring the drum in simply as a way to relax somebody before a treatment. You know just that repetitive beat of the drum over this, over a client's body, will just can really shift, helps shift the brainwaves and it helps, you know, bring harmony into the body, because we're an elaborate orchestra, our bodies, you know. We know this, we're energy practitioners. We know that there are different vibrations and frequencies carried in the body and the way I look at it is, I look at it this way we are. You know, something can happen like we can carry trauma, or so we can have an accident and then all of a sudden, or we can carry a pain that was suppressed and we don't want to think about that. That's too painful, I'm suppressing it and it can kind of lodge itself in the body. And it can lodge itself, you know, let's say it lodged itself in my knee and that then might manifest as pain. Or you know something more serious, and the drum will help bring back the original frequency. It kind of helps us remember the original frequency, which is actually then also on a metaphysical level, helps us like remember that original frequency of who we are, like who we were before we got, before society said no, no, no, you can't do that, you have to be a really good girl and you have to do life like this, you know. So I find the drum really really powerful to bring into a session.
Speaker 4:But normally the simplest way you know a very simple way, like I said is to work with clients in meditation. And actually that is how I started to work with the drum originally, because I was teaching meditation and I could see everybody struggling and I thought, oh god, I'm just going to bring my drum because I just, I just knew that if I started with the drum it was really going to shift the brainwaves, you know, to help them get into that state, um, that uh, of deeper connection, um, and. And then you know so. But another way to bring it into the treatment, for example, is to start with Reiki. You can use the drum to scan over the body to feel for different resonance, different changes in the drumbeat. I can ask the client how does that feel? Do you notice it in any part of your body resonating? It's quite interesting.
Speaker 4:I find when we work with the drum with the client, it's a little bit more interactive than kind of somebody's jumping on the couch and go right, I'm just going to receive Reiki. Now, this is my intention. Bye, I'll go for a snooze, you know, for 45 minutes. The drum is sometimes a little bit more interactive because we're sort of asking them for feedback and we're, um, you know, we're getting them to be involved in their healing. Um, but, and so often, yeah, I will kind of I call it like a bit of a reiki sandwich. We can start with reiki to relax the client and then we can bring the drum in to just, you know, go over the body, basically drumming around the body. But if people are going to practice this, I would suggest well, I suggest read my book. It's got much more in-depth tips in.
Speaker 4:But also be really, really careful. Drumming over the heart and the head, you don't you want to be about 50 centimeters away and get closer on other parts of the body, but always be mindful, because the drum is really really powerful. I think this is the thing I want people to remember. Sound is a sound wave. Okay, like reiki, the wave isn't it, it's a. So sound isn't like reiki. The sound isn't going to stop at my body, it goes all the way through. So we have to remember that it's. So it's a vibration that is going into the body, so it's going into the energy body and it's going deeply into the, into the body and so it has this ability to kind of shift.
Speaker 4:And so, if I would say, as another sort of word of caution and also excitement, is that if you're going to start working with the drum, expect transformation, because you know, we know that sound, you know the particles are going to get all excited, they're going to get shaken and then in the quiet time, things have started to settle a little bit differently.
Speaker 4:They're going to get all excited, they're going to get shaken and then in the quiet time, things have started to settle a little bit differently and it's an amazing way to sort of get up. You know, you know, you know what it's like if you play, play your favorite record and start dancing. You know things get shaken up, you're going to move stagnation, you're going to shift energy. So it's a wonderful way of shifting energy and actually we can use the drum as a way to, you know, clear stagnant energy in a room or even set, you know, sacred space. There are so many different ways that we can bring the drum into our practice and you know, we can bring it into reiki shares and, you know, have lovely reiki ceremonies and stuff. It's really fascinating what we can do as another tool, you know, in the, as another tool in our, in our healing box. Really.
Speaker 3:That's amazing. There's I. I work with a drum as well. So I really, really I have a couple of something about trusting the guidance trusting, you know, going with the flow. And something happened right before and I want to see what you hear, what you think about this.
Speaker 3:So right before I got onto the Zoom, I went in the restroom to put on some makeup. And then I came, I turned on the computer and then I went in the restroom to put on makeup and then I came back in here and I found my selenite wand just sitting here on my table. I do not have any recollection of me moving it, grabbing it and moving it. I'm like, how did this arrive here? And I told Tracy and she was like, just wait, trust the process. And then you mentioned trust the process, so I'm just wondering. And then I wound up stacking all of these little skulls on it while I was listening to you. But anyway, I was wondering if you ever have any wild things like that happen, where things just wind up moving on their own and anything else you want to share.
Speaker 4:Oh, I love that, my goodness. Yeah, gosh, you know you think gosh. Yeah, where do I start there? Lots of wacky things. Actually, there's a really cute thing that happened, uh, to me. I was, um, this is a silly thing. I it was when I was having a walk and I was thinking about nature, spirits, and I was thinking about, um, kind of you, kind of connecting with them, and maybe I should sit down and do meditation, all those things, and it was really funny. Something hit me on the head. An acorn, it was like an acorn was thrown at me and hit me on the head and you know I looked around. I'm like what, you know, like it was really so it's really, and I sort of didn't do anything about it. I think I might have, I can't, I can't remember sort of what I did, but I know I did a bit of drumming and you know I buy another tree and then I remember, on the way back where the acorn had hit me, I was sort of looking around again because I was thinking, oh, it was here, it was here that it happened. And I looked down and on a very flat rock there was these leaves laid out, as if somebody had placed leaves, but they weren't on the tree, there were leaves that were placed on this rock, like oak leaves just placed. It was fascinating. And you know, you think, hang on, I didn't do that. And then you go. Well, did I do? I do that. I just can't remember doing that. So it's funny, these things, and actually so the thing to do.
Speaker 4:And because my one of my shamanic teachers she always used to be very frustrating because you'd, you'd, you'd take things that to her, or you'd say I've had this dream or I've had a journey and I've done a meditation, and this happened. And you sort of say she'd say to her what do you, what do you think, what do you think it means? And she'd always say this is what I say to my students. She'd say, well, what do you think it means? You've got to go and you've got to sit with that and you've got to. You know the message for you. And it's so true, isn't it? You know, we, we so often want to give our power away by asking somebody what do you think? Do you think that's a good sign or do you think it means this? And so she'd always say what do you think? She'd say well, why don't you ask your guides about that? Why don't you sit with that and meditate on that? Ask Reiki, you know, and that's what we have to do.
Speaker 4:But when we have to kind of train ourselves I think we're all in training really to remind ourselves, to trust ourselves, to trust this beautiful intelligence that we are. But we so often give our power away and you know, unfortunately our society does condition us to do that. You know, and I think actually that's part of our roles as teachers and lightworkers is to be like no, you know, we're helping people access their own power. You, we're helping people access their own power. We're not saying, oh, yeah, you need to do it my way. We're saying, yeah, you know, let me help you access those, that beautiful light within you, so that you can work out what you're going to do with it, you know, and where it's supposed to shine and where, where, where it's going to light up the world I love that.
Speaker 3:is there anything else you want to share?
Speaker 4:before we turn it back to Tracy, that was amazing, oh well, you know I share this, because I pulled an Oracle card before I came on, just for fun, because I was like, oh, these are on my desk, I'll put it as a card and they are from the Rebecca Campbell deck called Work your Light, I don't know. Oh good, so exciting. You know we have to email after this, aren't we? So the the card that I pulled actually said break the chain, and it's all about ancestral patterns, healing and rewriting the future, and that's just so empowering, isn't it? I love that bit rewriting the future, and that's just so empowering, isn't it? I love that bit.
Speaker 4:Rewriting the future and I feel that that's the energy of this year is really saying to us you know, you know what? You don't have to carry that rubbish with you anymore. You don't have to carry that baggage. You can say, no, that's not my stuff, but thank you very much, uh, and I'm, I'm. This is, this is, this is the way I envision, and this is kind of like our message for for the earth now, isn't it? So yeah, break the chain, everyone. Break the chain and rewrite the future. That's really cool, isn't it? I don't think you can really see it.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, that's so perfect, so synchron, so what I was just talking about. So I have no idea. But, yeah, I'm so grateful that all of this happened and, thank you, I'm so grateful that I got to be the co-guide and, yes, let's connect please. I really have been thinking this whole time oh my gosh, I want to have a chat with you. So we have a lot. We have a lot, we have a lot in common and all that. So, yeah, thank you.
Speaker 4:Lovely to meet you both, thank you.
Speaker 2:All right. Thank you, Faye, so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us on this journey. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 4:I've had great fun. Thank you so much, Thanks everyone.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, our wonderful listeners, if you would like your question featured on our show, reach out at wwwreadysetreikicom and maybe your question can be featured on the show, and also check out Feather Sister Wellness that offers a variety of yoga classes, yoga trainings, Reiki and Reiki trainings. So my co-guide is Dino Fortune and I'm Tracy Seawright, and this has been Ready Set. Reiki © transcript Emily Beynon.