A BLANKET OF COMFORT
Mary S. Wallis L.Ac. on the origin of her healing blanket.
My 90-year old friend Aline was in pain, dying at home. Although I’d only known her for a short time, I’d been deeply affected by her, and I wanted to bring her comfort.
We had met at a meditation class. Aline needed a ride, and I offered to drive her. I soon found that I looked forward to our talks each Monday night. She was a novice as a student of meditation, but a sage in the study of life. On the journeys back to her home after class, she challenged me with questions about the class, probing to learn what I understood. Let me tell you, it wasn't much! But those car rides led to lunches and a blossoming friendship. We laughed, pondered our existence, reveled in small insights, and hugged.
Aline’s family rightfully wanted her to have privacy in her final days. Although I wanted to be by her side, hold her hand, listen to her stories, and comfort her in some way, it was not to be. I realized, though, that I could bring a special form of relief to her. I have studied Reiki, a healing practice that originated in Japan, for over 20 years.
Reiki practitioners lay their hands on or over a client’s clothed body, using a series of specific hand positions to transmit energy. Clients often report a deep feeling of relaxation and calm after treatment.
On a chilly fall day, I delivered one of my favorite soft throw blankets to Aline’s family’s home where she was staying. I included a card that explained to Aline and the family that I had charged the blanket with Reiki energy in hopes that it would ease her pain. I felt glad to be respecting the family's wishes yet offering something that I firmly believed would be of some help.
I heard from the family that Aline had passed on peacefully. Several months after Aline’s funeral, her daughter Connie stopped by on a beautiful sunny day. We reminisced and cried together. Connie presented me with the blanket. She told me how it indeed had eased Aline's pain, and that Aline had specifically asked for it many times. I had always liked that throw blanket. When I was getting over an illness or mourning losses, it had kept me warm and cozy.
Now I had it again, enhanced with the Reiki healing charge and its connection to Aline. I’m always reminded of Aline's hug when I wrap it around me. The benefit that Aline and I received was so powerful, I am now offering Reiki blankets.
Who do you know who can benefit from a loving healing Reiki embrace?
A close friend who is ill?
A loved one near the end of life?
An older family friend or relative living in a nursing home?
When you give a loved one this blanket, you wrap them in care and healing energy, even if you can’t be with them.
The blankets are a generous size, 72 by 50 inches, and made of soft Egytian cotton with a vibrant custom-designed angel image woven into the fabric. The eternal Reiki charge will help people find a sense of peace and well-being.
To purchase a blanket, click here.
To return to Healing Energy Blanket page, click here.
Mary S. Wallis, L.Ac., Acupuncture Diplomate (NCCAOM), has been a massage therapist since April 1989, providing Reiki treatments since the summer of 1989. In 2001, she began her studies of acupuncture with Dr. Thomas Duckworth, Doctor of Kototama Medicine (D.K.M.), L.Ac., Acupuncture Diplomate (NCCAOM). She earned her L. Ac. license in 2007. Mary revisited Jeanne Greening (her Reiki teacher) in October of 2011 and now has the priviledge of serving as a Reiki teacher herself. She operates Improved Performance Inc. Acupuncture & Massage in Florissant, Missouri. For more information, see her website: www.improvedhealing.com.