Hope Motivates Action podcast interview with Lindsay Recknell

Have you ever wanted to know more about Reiki and how it can fit into your well-being plan? 

Have a seat and listen to the Hope Motivates Action podcast interview with me (Geneva!) and Lindsay Recknell, a Calgary-based speaker, facilitator and mental health advocate.

We chat about how I got my start in Reiki and why I fell in love with this magical energy healing method. We delve into how Reiki can support you in your healing journey as a beautiful complement to your total well-being.

Reiki is just energy – it’s the energy that underlies everything, you know, when you go down below the subatomic level, there’s a field of energy that connects us all.  

Reiki is a discipline that comes from Japan. And you learn, basically, through meditation and practice, how to channel that energy and direct it to a positive purpose. And, as it turns out, provides a huge boost of hope to people we work with.

 Hope is this forward movement towards something better

Reiki creates an environment where other people can change their lives in this really magical yet very down-to-earth way. It’s got a lot of roots in meditation, so all of the benefits of mediation come with Reiki as well. 

It was a delight to chat with Lindsay about hope and how it can change everything. Check out her programs here: https://www.expertinhope.com/programs/

We have a new podcast episode every month! Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

You can send us your question in the comments below or record your question here: https://www.lunaholistic.com/podcast/

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We are also very happy to share the gift of Reiki through our Giving Back Program! Every month we give away free Reiki sessions to exceptional people. 

Learn more here: https://www.lunaholistic.com/giving-back-program/

Transcript:

LINDSAY RECKNELL: Hello! Welcome to another episode of the Hope Motivates Action podcast. I am your host, Lindsay Recknell, and it is my pleasure to have Geneva Robins here with us today. Hello, Geneva!

GENEVA ROBINS: Hello! Hello, Lindsay.

LR: I am very excited to have this conversation with you. I think your work is very interesting, and I feel like you probably bring hope to a lot of people.

GR: I – I like to – I hope so! I like to think I do … I do. I do!

LR: Right? I will read your official bio so that people can know a little bit about you from a professional point of view. And then, I will pass it over to you to tell us a little bit more about your story.

GR: Great.

LR: Geneva Robins is a Reiki Master, author, and founder of LunaHolistic: Calgary’s Reiki Centre. Reiki is an energy therapy that helps people feel centred and peaceful. Geneva is a teacher of meditation and Reiki with over 28 years of spiritual study. She’s also the author of The Secret Art of Happiness: How to Change Your Life with the Reiki Ideals, as well as journals, planners, and oracle card decks. She loves her work because she gets to help people connect to their purpose and re-energize their lives.

Ooh, I love it!

GR: Yeah!

LR: So, tell us more about the work that you do and how you got into it and how you bring hope to others.

GR: Yeah, yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me, first – it’s an honour to be here. 

And yeah, I got into Reiki through just being super curious about how everything works. I started my career as a scientist; I’ve got a master’s degree in ecology, and I just was a voracious question-asker. I wanted to know how everything worked, and I hit this wall that science couldn’t answer some of the “big” questions.

And so, I pursued spirituality in all forms – Buddhism and Taoism and Hinduism and yoga, and just anything I could get my hands on that could stand up to my vigorous question-asking. And I found Reiki, and I fell in love with it because it blended my spiritual understanding and knowing with my science background and knowing. 

And Reiki is just energy – it’s the energy that underlies everything, you know, when you go down below the subatomic level, there’s a field of energy that connects us all. And Reiki is a discipline that comes from Japan. And you learn, basically, through meditation and practice, how to channel that energy and direct it to a positive purpose. 

And what I love about it is that people get this sort of “quantum leap” experience in their well-being. So, you basically are, in some ways, assisting people with their meditation. So, we, as practitioners, are in a meditative state. And we guide people into a deep, restful frequency where they can relax and feel calm, and all of their energies balance. And in the end, people feel more grounded, more centred within themselves. 

Reiki – I love it because it fills that sort of spiritual wedge in our well-being. You know, we kind of need all of these different branches of well-being to make us feel well and healthy and whole – you know, we need to get outside and spend time with family and drink good water and have nourishing foods. And we also need that connection to something more than just us. 

So, that’s kind of what I’ve been doing for the last few years, and I just love that it’s changed my life. That’s a big reason why I do it, and it creates an environment where other people can change theirs in this really magical yet very down-to-earth way. It’s got a lot of roots in meditation, so all of the benefits of mediation come with Reiki as well. 

And yeah, it provides me a lot of hope because I see the resilience and strength in people. When people really want to change, man, do they change! And so, this is sort of how I best serve people to create an environment where they can connect to that change, transform and sort of move into sort of a fuller aspect of their lives. So, yeah!

LR: You’ve blown my mind, actually! So, abstractly, I know what Reiki is, you know, it’s in the list of – in my mind, and this is going to be totally obnoxious, and I apologize, but – preconceived notion, say, that Reiki is up there with Chakras and aromatherapy, and the needles – what do you call that?

GR: Acupuncture.

LR: Acupuncture, thank you. And the cosmic woo-woo that goes along with all of those things.

GR: Yeah, all the things I love! (laughs)

LR: (laughs) Yes! But you have like – you’ve expanded my preconceived judgment because I never really thought about what it looked like or felt like to have a Reiki experience before. I don’t remember thinking about what that experience would be like, even. But hearing you speak about it, I kind of have a vision of what that might look like. 

So, could you take us through, kind of, what a person could expect when they come to see you? What does that look like?

GR: Yeah, for sure. Well, and when we do in-person sessions – which are just opening up, it’s so exciting! – what we do is we chat for the first little bit, which I think ties in nicely with the “hope” theme word because the first thing we do is we talk about where the person’s at – physically, mentally, emotionally – just getting kind of to know the person and what they’re dealing with – what they’re focused on or why they got drawn in for a session to begin with. 

And then we, together, the practitioner and the client, talk about what their intention is; which is, that’s where the “hope” piece comes. And so, because where we are, you know, in whatever state we’re in – and we can be in a lot of messy states in our lives – it carries a vibrational frequency. And you get trained as a Reiki practitioner to feel and tune in to that frequency, the energy, say.

And where we want to go, or that intention or that positive or hopeful statement of, you know, “if this problem was resolved, how would you feel?” That’s sort of the core sentence that we work with to get people to think about, not just where they are, stuck in their problem, but where they want to go because that carries another frequency. 

And what Reiki does is it helps create a bridge between those two, so you can, in some ways, in the Reiki session, we create this sort of bubble of energy or this environment where you can welcome in that feeling into your body, of when you’re in that fully-resolved, connected, happy, healthy, whole, whatever you want in that state – how will that feel? It’s got a feeling quality.

And so then, so we set that intention, and that’s a really important part of the session because that is the meditative focus for the practitioner. 

And so, then the person lies down on a massage table, fully clothed. And then we do the session, and it’s basically channelled energy. So, we focus, and the energy flows through our hands, and it’s a combination of light touch and, on or off the body. 

And we’re just, we are paying attention to Chakras. Chakras are actually a really big deal! And basically, aligning the person with that same frequency. So, we kind of get this sensitivity, you know, in our hands and in our intuition to feel the energy of the distress that the person’s in and holding that with a compassionate gaze. You know, it’s okay to be where you are! Anybody else in the same situation would be in the same place or worse. 

And then we focus, steadily, on that intention. We just hold that steady gaze in our mind’s eye on that person as being completely well. And we surrender everything else to the energy beyond all of what we understand and know, to the higher power, or whatever you want to – however you want to -connect with that, sort of, “All That Is.”

We just surrender the “how.” We don’t need to know how we’re going to get from point A to point B. We just have to trust that if we can visualize it, it is possible. And then follow the energy and really, it’s, a lot of it is just holding space, energetic space, and compassionate space, for people to relax into their well-being.

And at the very least, we’ve held people still for an hour. (laughs), so, which is a miracle in itself! And then we leave the last fifteen minutes or so to chat and share experiences. We share anything that we get with the person. We love to hear what the person experienced. More, mostly people, like, kind of across the board, what people experience is feeling connected, feeling centred, kind of feeling like more of themselves. Kind of like having a great nap and a great meditation, and like a bath for your insides! 

And in some ways, we jump into this mystery, this unknown of – how can you go from feeling stressed out, fatigued, just wrecked by the stresses of life, which are many these days …

LR: (laughs) Yes!

GR: … and how can you go from that to feeling well in under an hour? We don’t know! And I don’t know. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’m still baffled and in awe of mystery. We hand it over, and it seems to work every single time. 

And yeah, it’s quite phenomenal. And I think the biggest thing is – and what we know from just the impacts of stress on the body – that stress and physical and mental illness are completely connected. And so, dropping into that restful state of well-being creates well-being in the body. And then when you can drop out of that fight-or-flight zone, then the body can heal itself, and that’s sort of the principle of how it works. 

And yeah, and it’s pretty phenomenal. There’s some really neat research that’s being done in – they’re starting to incorporate Reiki treatments in vet hospitals in the States. And people who have such severe PTSD that they say that their bodies forgot how to sleep – they fall asleep in five minutes with Reiki. 

And it kind of baffles and disturbs the medical doctors, but you know, if it’s effective and it works. And particularly, I find a lot of people get drawn to it when they’ve tried everything else. And they can’t find something that’s working. You know, people have these, sort of, strange, unexplained symptoms, and everything [the tests] comes back normal, or they, you know… sometimes it’s just supporting that spiritual wedge of our well-being, you know, is what we need.

And what I love, too, is that Reiki is very complementary. It’s not a replacement of any of the other pieces of our well-being; it works best as part of a whole picture. So, big problems need a big team. You know, and it works really, really well. I find that it kind of can get the wheels moving if people get stuck in their healing. 

You know, Reiki can kind of clear the mental, emotional, and energetic blocks, so then all of the physical world stuff works better. You know, the vitamins and the meds work better, and the therapy works better. It all really interconnects. So, we work quite a bit with naturopaths, with chiropractors, massage therapists, with psychologists… will refer us, you know, and some medical doctors too – they’re like, “why don’t you try Reiki?” You know?

And you know, sometimes it’s like, you know, if we don’t know how it works, is it really real? And I kind of think of it, I like to connect it with, you know, we don’t really know how our – most people – don’t really know how our computers work, but it, we use them all of the time, and we trust that it works. And it’s like, do you need to know? Do you need to take the thing apart to know how it works if it works, you know? (laughs) Only if it stops working for some reason!

LR: Yeah, that, then it’s a problem, yeah!

GR: Then it’s a problem. But yeah, so that is a very long answer to your very delightful question. (laughs)

LR: That is so amazing because, I mean, I can… I can understand why your clients would come to you for meditation and centring because just listening to you speak is delightful! I mean, you have just such a pleasant, calming, full-of-intonation voice, and so, I mean, I feel like you’re set up for this job, for one!

GR: Thank you, thank you!

LR: But it’s, also, it’s really neat to hear – I love what you said about the “spiritual wedge of wellness,” and as a whole part of our overall wellness, because it is definitely something that I also believe very, very strongly in, is that all the pieces have to fit together. And if we aren’t feeling well, it’s probably because one of the many things is out of alignment or out of balance. And it feels like Reiki is kind of a way to come back into that alignment and have, kind of, everything else sort of settle themselves down too.

GR: Yeah, yeah, and it, what I love about it too is that because I love all faiths, I love, I just love all spiritual backgrounds and belief systems, I’m so fascinated by all of it, and Reiki by its foundation is non-denominational. It pulls from the source of energy that connects us all, and so it’s non-discriminatory. It’s just like the sunshine – we all get a piece of it whether we think we deserve it or not. Everybody gets the same sun. 

LR: Yeah.

GR: And so, it works really well with any or no faith background. So, I have had a client who – we did the intro chat, he, you know, we talked about it and right before I started the session, he’s like, “do you have to believe in this stuff for it to work?” (laughs) I’m like, “No, no, you don’t. You don’t have to believe in it for it to work. You just have to be willing to receive your intention and willing to give it a try.” And he’s like, “Oh yeah, I’m willing.” 

You know, and that’s the biggest thing – and I think that’s the biggest thing with any therapy – you have to be willing to change. And you have to believe that what you’re going to do is going to have an effect. And they find that, you know, the power of our minds to make a change, you know, and I think that’s where that “hope” keyword ties in there, is that you have to believe in something to pull – it’s an engine that pulls you forward in life. And whatever you believe in – doesn’t matter to me – I will cheer you on in going the direction of your dreams, right?

LR: Yeah!

GR: And it’s, sometimes it’s just, it’s nice to have somebody in your corner, sort of seeing you in a state of success. And that is also a really powerful thing, you know – we train in meditation. And so we’ve been trained to hold this unwavering focus on your well-being for a whole hour and a bit. 

You know, and to have somebody see you in the best, most positive light for that time, that, just that alone – you know, you don’t even need to go into the, you know, what I believe to be the spiritual roots of Reiki and the Chakras and all of those things – it’s like, you can leave the inner workings of the computer to us! Like, we understand them! You can just, you know, have the experience. 

You know, just like a, you know, similar to yoga, where yoga is a spiritual system to help us connect to an energy source that’s greater than us. That’s what, that’s how it started. You know, it’s woven into a deeper, sort of way of bringing energy into the body and preparing us for meditation. And you don’t need to know that to receive the benefit of it. If you show up to a yoga class, you are receiving a spiritual benefit, you know. And, but sometimes if you know that you’re receiving a spiritual benefit, the benefits can be bigger, so! (laughs)

LR: Yeah, fair enough, fair enough! I love that you are, that you came to this from a place of science as well, which is very interesting. 

So, I believe that hope has a PR problem because, similar to what I imagine you must run into with Reiki is people just think it’s this cosmic, woo-woo thing that can’t possibly work. 

I feel like hope is… comes from a very same place, very similar place, until people hear this story. So, and hope is also science and evidence and research-based. Do you find, like, how do you combat against, kind of, the prejudice against your calling, having conversations with people? Is that, you know, how do you solve Reiki’s PR problem?

GR: In some ways, I just keep my head down and keep on working, you know? (laughs) I’m a big believer in… that if it’s right for people, it’s right for people, and I won’t have to strong-arm anybody into believing it. I just sort of offer this gentle invitation; if it’s not for you, that’s okay. If it is, then, you know, then come on in. 

And, but really, I think it’s, what’s interesting is that Reiki, much like hope, is doing its own PR on the sly. And I think it’s, you know, what’s interesting is, like, because it keeps on working. 

You know, it’s effective. And its effectiveness is what draws people in and keeps, you know, grows, spreads it. You know, if one person has a positive experience, then they come back, you know.

And so, but you know, to really answer your question, you know, when people are, do doubt, or they’re sort of skeptical of it, or they want to distance themselves from more of the touchy-feely parts of it, because they want something, like, rigorous that you can test, you know? …

LR: Concrete!

GR: Concrete! Nothing mushy and feelings-based. And to me, that in itself is like, well, how effective is that? Like, concrete, straight-ahead, don’t pay any attention to your feelings? How long does that last for? Well, until you kind of, you know, the wheels fall off, right? (laughs) 

And I think really, like, you know, this pandemic has really shown us how important all aspects of our well-being are, and we can’t ignore them. We can’t just, you know, brush the feelings aside and suppress them and distract ourselves from them or numb them with booze and alcohol, and you know, just all of the things, you know, Netflix and that. 

We can try for a while, but it’s not nourishing or sustaining in the long run, and it doesn’t provide us any real movement forward. And eventually, people will get tired of having their wheels spinning, and they’ll start looking for something else. 

And I think the core of hope for me is that question that people ask themselves, deep in their heart – “there’s gotta be something better than this.” 

You know, and so it’s not the thing that people always want to talk about, you know. People don’t really want to talk about, you know, their, you know, night terrors, and you know, the things that keep them up at night, and how we’re worried and afraid, and how we’ve been worried and afraid for so long. We can’t even remember what it’s not like to feel that way. 

You know, and so even if you don’t know where hope is coming from, even if you don’t know why Reiki works, it’s like, isn’t it just nice to just be in a different state for a while? You know, to be in that restful place. 

And I like, you know, the title of your podcast is so great ’cause it does – it’s like, that moment where you start asking that question of, like, “what if there was something better than this?” is the moment where the momentum starts. 

And to me, hope is this forward movement towards something better. And it puts in us this searching, you know, in that, and people will be very dedicated in their search for something better. And, you know, one of my colleagues here, she told me early on when I was like, “I don’t know if this is going to work! You know, people don’t know what Reiki is! Do they want to do this?” You know? (laughs) She’s like, “people just want to feel better – that’s why the bars are filled, you know?” (laughs)

LR: (laughs) Yeah.

GR: And now the bars can’t be filled, so what are people doing to feel better, right? 

And so, this, I think this is an inevitable thing that people are going to start looking for something better, something that’s going to be lasting, that will provide real solutions, real tools, things that they can test in the laboratory of their lives. 

You know, we’re all running a giant experiment – does this thing work? Does this thing work? Does it last? Does it work in all conditions? You know. 

And I think hope is such a big piece of that because until you have “that,” then you stay stuck. You know, and you need, we all need to be moving towards something because otherwise, you know, we cave in on ourselves, so yeah.

LR: You have given me so many great quotes to pull out of this episode, you know?

GR: (laughs) Good!

LR: So, as you know, I ask the exact same question of all my guests at the end of the show, and I feel like you might have answered this already, but: Geneva, what gives you hope?

GR: Well, you! You give me hope!

LR: Well, that’s nice, thank you!

GR: You and all of the people like you who are working to connect people with their well-being. It’s really amazing to connect with people who are like, “yeah! Let’s go, team!” You know, like, everybody needs this piece of their lives, you know? So, that is a huge thing that motivates me, of knowing that I’ve got fellow companions in helping the world, you know, move towards something more positive and hopeful. 

And also, what gives me hope is the courage that people bring to their own transformation and healing. It is incredibly inspiring to meet people who are, you know, in a state where sometimes you can’t even imagine the pain that the person has gone through and survived, and yet they bring such courage to their own well-being – that is incredible, and it’s inspiring. 

And when people are that willing to heal, the transformation that occurs is just astounding – astounding. And it’s given me a deep faith – that word, faith! – that I have a deep faith in people’s ability to heal from anything, no matter what. So, that’s it.

LR: I am feeling so enlightened from this conversation. I feel a sense of calm just listening to you speak. I could hear you speak forever! And quite, I’m very hopeful about just, the options, the other options, you know, it’s, Reiki is not something I’d ever considered for myself, not fully understanding what it was all about. 

I really liked, at the beginning, where you used the language of compassion because I fully believe that compassion has the power to change the world. And I had never connected the two things together before, so this conversation has been so wonderful for me from a learning perspective, and getting to know you a bit better, so thank you so much for spending your time with us. I know that – I’m sure – that lots of people got a lot out of it as well, so really appreciate you being here.

GR: Thank you so much, Lindsay. Thank you for having me. 

LR: Take care!

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LR: I hope you enjoyed this latest episode of the Hope Motivates Action podcast. These episodes are a labour of love. Inspiring conversations with hopeful people make my heart happy. 

If you also loved this episode, it would be amazing if you could go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review – five stars, if you’re into it! It’s these reviews that encourage Apple to promote this podcast to their network, and the more people that listen, the more hope we can spread into the world.

Don’t forget to check out the show notes [ https://www.expertinhope.com/s0608/ ] of this episode to find all the links to my guest’s books and other resources referenced in this episode. 

You’ll also find the link back to my website, where you will find additional support and resources for you, your team, and your community. 

I truly believe that the future will be better than today by taking action over the things we can control. And hearing from these guests on these episodes, I know that an even more hopeful future is totally possible. 

I’m always looking for inspirational guests, so if you or anyone you know would like to be a guest on the show, please reach out. You can find me on the contact form of my website, at expertinhope.com, or by email at lindsay@expertinhope.com.

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When I was a teenager, my sisters were leaving the house to go out for the night; I always made it a point to remind them to call me if they need me. It was my way to tell them that I cared and would always be there for them. I’d love you to know the same, so all of you listening out there, call me if you need me. 

Again, thank you for your love and support of this podcast, my work in hope, and your intentional focus on making your future better than today. After all, hope without action is just a wish.