The Reiki Retreat

Amatierra is a new-age haven: we offer yoga, massage, aromatherapy, Chi Nei Tsang (what's that?), organic food, nutritional counseling in both Western and Chinese herbalism, and, or course, mani-pedis by the pool. Oh, and we're in the tropics.

This past week, the entire resort (10 double rooms) has been rented out by a reiki group from Chicago. We at Amatierra were all very exited to have so many people interested in such a beautiful and healing practice come and share what is really not only our workplace, but also our home. I often spend more than 12 hours a day on the property, taking breaks between work tasks to walk down to the creek, eat, read Howard Zinn, and do yoga in the open-air studio, where the fog comes in over the distant mountains and the hawks are always soaring. But I digress. We were exited to have them come.

And what did we learn, so that we might grow and be wiser of the world? This, though it is nothing new: the new-age community contains some of the most neurotic, difficult, egotistic people I have known. Sometimes this is a product of the most miserable people being the only ones who have to "wake up" and make a change. God knows I found my spiritual path because I had no other choice but to have faith or be torn apart by fear. Sometimes the quest for self-improvement entails an intolerance for imperfection, whether it be yours, others', or the way things turn out. Or sometimes it is the fact that many of the people with the time and luxury for new-age treatments have a lot of money, and with money can come a sense of entitlement and inflexibility. Or the fact that the ego is tenacious, and spiritual bypass and premature enlightenment is common. These terms mean that we use our spiritual practices as an escape, or as blinders, from real, tangible problems. If I get in a fight, and storm off and sit in my room saying"om om, I'm so at peace", when in reality I am furious, I am hurting myself. We all have a responsibility to show up to our uncomfortable, ugly feelings and actions. All too often the more we pride ourselves on our spiritual wisdom, the more likely we are to be ignoring our spiritual-or worldly!- childishness.

The group has been here about 6 days, and we're all totally burnt out and tense. I haven't had a full day off work since I arrived. They have been difficult, tense, disappointed, accusatory, and negative. Whenever I walk into a room of these people- and Jill has said this is her experience too- my stomach tightens and my breath shortens. These are symptoms of a nervous system fight-or-flight response, that when stimulated undermines the digestive and immune systems, stressing out your adrenal glands. Not what I would expect form a roomful of reiki masters!