Crows in the trees outside my window are talking politics over their morning coffee (or so I imagine). A beautiful orchid given to me by a student has begun to release its blossoms. My beloved brother-in-law of 46 years made his transition recently after a long battle with cancer. A few weeks later, a dear friend also succumbed to cancer.

Seattle Ferris wheel, taken as we waited our turn to get on.

My grandson celebrated his first birthday and took his first steps. I celebrated my 69th birthday and reflected on the richness of my life's tapestry in all of its joys and sorrows, pain and pleasure, losses and gains.

Friends and I celebrated my birthday with a delicious seafood dinner and a ride on the Seattle Ferris wheel. It occurs to me that life is a bit like riding a Ferris wheel. You get on, and you know you'll have to get off at some point. At its low point, you can't see much beyond the gondola; at its apex, you feel as if you're on top of the world.

The key to a Ferris wheel is balance, both in the engineering and in the way the gondolas are loaded. That's true of life also. If we achieve balance, we know, even at our lowest point, that the wheel will turn; the gondola will rise and our vantage point and perspective will shift.

At the low points in my life Reiki has shifted my energy and perspective, helped me to get moving again, regain my balance, and to see the gifts in all life experiences.

I'll be sharing three visualizations that have been key for regaining and maintaining balance in my life during a workshop on August 7. See below for details. I hope you'll join me and bring your friends! (No Reiki training is necessary.)

A few months ago I had the great pleasure of spending a day with my grandson.

Cy, sleepless in Missouri

We had come back from a weekend trip the day before, and Cy was worn out from the disruption of his accustomed schedule. Despite his exhaustion, he just wouldn't settle down for a nap. I walked with him, rocked him, sang, and tried every other trick I could think of without success.

Finally, giving it no forethought, I began chanting the name of a Karuna Reiki® symbol as we rocked. Cy looked up at me, not startled, but curiously, as if to reassure himself that the sound was actually coming from me. Twice more he looked up, and then, within minutes, he was sound asleep. He didn't stir when I placed him in his crib, and he had a long nap.