By Colleen Benelli
First Published – Reiki News Magazine, Fall 09
Winter is coming and it is a perfect time of year for crafts. Consider making your holiday gifts this year and using Reiki to empower your love and intentions as you create. Reiki adds life force energy to anything we ask it to. It fills our bodies, food, homes and pets, and it can imbue Reiki qualities into any other material. It doesn’t differentiate between natural and man-made. It will empower all things with a divine presence, and higher consciousness vibrations.
It is fun and easy to make Reiki gifts for others. Simply add Reiki to your craft as you make it, think of your intention or prayer for the other person, and imbue your gift with love. Those receiving your gifts can feel the life force energy of handmade crafts imbued with Reiki and prayer when they open them. Energy and love will continue to emanate from the gifts while they are being used. I knit Reiki scarves blessed with prayers for health and well-being and give them to kids in hospitals. I often receive comments about how comforting they are.
When you are making your Reiki gifts, listen to the phrase, “It is the thought that counts,” and go deeply into that truth. Let Reiki help you align with your heart, to deeply feel and think of the blessings you are imparting to your gifts. Activate Reiki in yourself and in the room and fill your breath with Reiki so your intention is always present as you create a gift. Reiki will hold the purity of your intention for you, so if you are talking to others, or watching TV, or doing anything else while you are creating, the gift will only receive the prayer from your heart and not any of the other outside influences.
You can use the same technique for imbuing all your materials and handmade pieces with Reiki. Here is how I do it, and you may also choose to develop another way that works really well for you.
I find inspiration for my arts and crafts from many sources. I look for ideas online, in craft stores, craft magazines and from other artists. Often, I will see a craft technique that will give me an idea and send me in a completely different direction than the original technique I had intended to use. One idea leads to another. Then I often have the trial and error phase. For example, I got the original gift idea for the magnets from Reiki Master Sioux Strong. She made magnets as gifts for supporting her during her Spirit Quest. She used the same materials I used, but used words like Beauty and Knowledge under the glass. I wanted to use family photos, and it took a few tries to get the right paper and sealant so the ink did not run. I thought it would be a snap, and I wanted instant gratification, but Reiki helped me be patient until I got it all figured out!
Each of the crafters in this article imbues their projects with Reiki. Reiki adds another dimension and feel to each item or gift. Reiki enhances your ability to create and to enjoy your creations. It also continues to broadcast and emanate from your piece once it is made. I encourage you to use Reiki in all of your creativity, in any form. Plan Reiki craft dates with friends and family, make gifts for others, make things for your home.
My granddaughter Eva and me, friends Riley and Leslie, and my daughter-in-law Jennifer had a craft play day. We had a great time making a mess and playing with Reiki while we made Reiki Play-Doh! The kids loved it, and they loved using Reiki. They would get their little hands out and send their giggles into the Reiki-Doh. Reiki-Doh has a completely different feel than traditional Play-Doh and is wonderful to play with. We had so much fun; it was a great day! Here is the recipe for Reiki-Doh.
1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. oil
¼ cup salt
Food coloring
Mix all ingredients and stir. Add food coloring to desired color. (It gets darker as you cook the dough.) Add Reiki. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from the heat and knead with Reiki until it has a Play-Doh consistency.
Reiki Master teacher Margie McMahon was inspired to quilt Antahkarana symbols after she received her Reiki Master attunements. She is also a shamanic practitioner and makes wonderful power animal quilts. She uses Reiki in all of her pieces to empower the piece so it emanates Reiki into in the room where it is placed. Margie said she gets into her studio, turns on Reiki and sees what she has made when she is finished! I am always excited to see what she creates next!
Dana and Ariel Vieweg, mother and daughter, make Reiki goat milk soap. Ariel gives Reiki to her goats while she milks them and then uses the milk to make soap. They Reiki the ingredients as they cook and mold the bars of soap. Selling the wonderfully soft and gentle “Hazy Creek Goat Milk Soap” helps Ariel with expenses for her goats. She plans to have a farm with lots of animals when she graduates from college. They will be lucky animals to live on her farm!
Linda Harper weaves “journals,” which she calls Medicine Shields. They are woven with materials representing the four elements: fire, water, earth and air. Each one is designed specifically for the recipient and holds the special and sacred mementos he or she has gathered during their life journey. Recently, Linda gathered all of the materials and supplies to make her daughter a shield and was excited to make it, but instead found herself “stalled,” completely unable to sit and make this gift. She didn’t understand why until she took a Reiki Level I and II class. The night after her first Reiki attunement, the shield started talking to her. It wanted to be made with Reiki imbued in it! It was waiting until she received Reiki! Linda said, “I am so excited to use Reiki on my shields and build them with my hot little hands!”
The following are some additional examples of gifts you can make for others that are simple, inexpensive, and perfect for the upcoming holidays.
I used my own photographs for the magnets. I activated Reiki and asked to be guided to the best photos to express the Reiki Ideals. Although I have thousands of images, I found each one easily. The photo would pop into my mind, or I would randomly open just the right folder. Then I played with the word placement, colors and fonts. I have learned to enjoy creating with my computer. It has provided me with a whole new arena of creative opportunity. I placed Reiki symbols between the photo and the magnet to empower the Reiki Ideal in my home. They are on my refrigerator and provide an easy reminder as well as a smile. I chuckle at Eva on Gator every time I see the magnet, and it does remind me of how grateful I am. My grand-dog Thomas reminds me to work with a glad heart! All of the photos are special to me.
Detailed instructions for making each of the handmade projects in this article can be found on my Web site, www.reikilifestyle.wpengine.com. Each of the artists shares his or her process. Where possible, I have listed the materials and where to find them in the instructions. I also provide photo galleries with free photographs you can download for your projects, as well as additional Reiki craft projects.
Some of the best online sources of free craft project instructions are on www.hgtv.com and www.diynetwork.com. Videos of craft making are available on both sites. Their television networks air craft shows such as Carol Duvall, Craft Lab, and That’s Clever. Some of the best magazines are the Somerset Studio magazines, which you can find at www.stampington.com. Look online under free craft projects, craft magazines, etc. There is so much to look at and to be inspired by! If you don’t have a craft supplies store close by, supplies are best found by using an Internet search for the product you are looking for. Michael’s craft store is a national chain that usually has most craft supplies you may need.
This year consider making gifts from your heart. They are so appreciated and loved by the people who receive them. And of course, make things with Reiki for your own home! Reiki crafts and projects are fun and often very easy to make. Use these ideas as inspiration and allow your imagination to open to the endless possibilities of creation.
Colleen Benelli can be reached by email at colleen@reikilifestyle.com, by phone at 503.912.0664, on her website at www.reikilifestyle.wpengine.com, or on her Facebook page, Reiki Lifestyle-Colleen Benelli.
Join Colleen’s monthly ReikiChat™ conversation, www.reikichat.com.
Colleen offers Reiki training and Reiki sessions. She is a compassionate, conscious healer who has clients around the world. Her healing methods include decades of discovery into the world of Reiki, including the new and powerful Holy Fire III Reiki. Learn more >
