Jane Leo Reiki

04/08/2023

*Next pet-loss support group meeting is coming up on Monday 4/10 @ 5pm EST via zoom*
This group is for anyone grieving the death of a pet (no matter how long ago you lost them). But it's also for those experiencing anticipatory grief of a pet whose health is declining. And this group is for folks who have needed to rehome their pets or whose pets have gone missing.
Mourning the loss of a pet is disenfranchised grief—grief not recognized or legitimized by our culture at large. The stigma attached to grieving a pet can make one feel even more alone in working through the shock, despair, depression, and anxiety that can come when an animal companion dies.
You don't have to grieve alone. Our monthly pet-loss groups are a space for pet-mourners to connect with others who are similarly grieving. Participants may share their stories and support one another, which can normalize the grief process and help participants not to feel alone in it. Each week we focus our discussion on a grief-related topic but you should always feel welcome to simply be present without actively contributing to the meeting.
Please message me or email me at jleoreiki@gmail.com for more information and to RSVP.

03/07/2023

Our next Pet-loss Grief Support Group is coming up this Monday 3/13 @ 5pm EST via zoom.

This group is for anyone grieving the death of a pet (no matter how long ago you lost them). But it's also for those experiencing anticipatory grief of a pet whose health is declining. And this group is for folks who have needed to rehome their pets or whose pets have gone missing.

Mourning the loss of a pet is disenfranchised grief—grief not recognized or legitimized by our culture at large. The stigma attached to grieving a pet can make one feel even more alone in working through the shock, despair, depression, and anxiety that can come when an animal companion dies.

You don't have to grieve alone. Our monthly pet-loss groups are a space for pet-mourners to connect with others who are similarly grieving. Participants may share their stories and support one another, which can normalize the grief process and help participants not to feel alone in it. Each week we focus our discussion on a grief-related topic but you should always feel welcome to simply be present without actively contributing to the meeting.
Please message me or email me at jleoreiki@gmail.com for more information about this group.

02/16/2023

Breathe into it 😮‍💨
Let go of what no longer serves you 🧡

"I release myself from the versions of me I created just to survive."

Graphic: Unknown Sharing

Source: Poetry of Monsters

02/08/2023

*Pet-Loss Support Group Monday 2/13 5pm EST*
"I wanted to let you know how much I have appreciated this group. It really helped in working through my grief over my sweet, soul dog, Katie. I do not think I will be attending any more of the group sessions. I feel like I have found a place for her in my heart and have found peace with the grieving process. Of course, the tears still flow at certain times, but I think they always will. I think it's wonderful that you have chosen to continue this group. I hope that others are able to find as much comfort and healing with the group as I did.--Vicky D. Windham ME

02/08/2023

Maybe you're here because someone is dead. I'm here because someone is dead. Maybe you've come because life has irrevocably changed—through accident or illness, through violent crime or act of nature. ⁣
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How random and fragile life can be. ⁣
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If you've found yourself here, in this life you didn't ask for, in this life you didn't see coming, I'm sorry. I can't tell you it will all work out in the end. I can't tell you things will be just fine.⁣
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You are not "OK." You might not ever be "OK."⁣
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Whatever grief you're carrying, it's important to acknowledge how bad this is, how hard. It really is horrendous, horrifying, and unsurvivable. ⁣
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This place is not about fixing you, or fixing your grief. Our work is not about making you "better" or getting you back to "normal." This is about how you live inside your loss. How you carry what cannot be fixed. How you survive. ⁣
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And even though that thought—that you CAN survive something as horrifying as this—is unsettling and horrifying in its own right, the truth is, you will most likely survive. ⁣
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Your survival in this life post-loss won't follow steps or stages, or align with anyone else's vision of what life might be for you. Survival won't be found, can't be found, in easy answers or in putting your lost life behind you, pretending you didn't really want it anyway. ⁣
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In order to survive, to find that life that feels authentic and true to you, we have to start telling the truth. This really is as bad as you think. Everything really is as wrong, and as bizarre, as you know it to be. When we start there, we can begin to talk about living with grief, living inside the love that remains. ⁣
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I am so sorry you have need of this place, and I'm so glad you're here.⁣

01/12/2023

Monthly Pet-Loss Support Group Meeting: Tuesday 1/17 @ 5pm EST via zoom.

To help plan for future meetings, we will plan to meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the same time. As always, this is an open meeting format which means members should feel free to attend or not join the group each month when they feel so moved. If you are feeling particularly vulnerable on the day of our meeting, just being present in silence with camera off is a perfectly fine way to attend.
PLEASE RSVP FOR MEETING LINK AND MORE INFO ABOUT THIS GROUP BY DMING ME OR EMAILING JLEOREIKI@GMAIL.COM.

12/23/2022

It's okay to NOT feel grateful.

12/18/2022

Meditation Tonight 12/18/22 6pm EST and every Sunday night!

One of my cats (on the right) Happy, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. I had been preparing myself for the worst and indeed the worst is what has been predicted. In the wake of this news, I have been thinking a lot of about the Jewish concept of dayenu or enoughness--literally something like "it would have been enough." If Happy dies tomorrow, I will be devastated AND it would have been enough to spend almost 3 precious years with her. And here she still is; I am so lucky to have her now--bonus blessings! Every morning it has been a delight to be greeted with loving head bumps for her brother Magic (and sometimes me!) as she and he gather to be pet in their designated "boom area" for full-body pets (fall down and go boom). So tonight we will discuss this concept of enoughness and how it can be the antidote to craving by opening our hearts to gratitude. Please reach out for link. https://www.cambioscoaching.com/blog-posts-blog/2020/3/31/blog-with-newsletter-c2zwl-jzfjk

12/06/2022

Please join us for December's pet-loss support meeting on Monday, 12/12 @ 5pm EST via zoom.

Here's the link for this month's short reading: some tips for grieving through the holidays: https://whatsyourgrief.com/treating-yourself-with-kindness-while-grieving-at-the-holidays/?fbclid=IwAR0iWpDYvG013vIX4dLiIJhOCIURbA23hTnCKDm5UCLFFSAAQRYj5VXzyNw. Pet-loss is disenfranchised grief which can add an add to feelings of isolation. Feel free to bring to the group whatever is coming up for you--just being in the presence of others navigating a path through grief can be healing. Please message me to RSVP and/or to find out more about this group.

11/28/2022

The wisdom of dialectics.
❤️

11/27/2022

Meditation tonight 11/27 EST via zoom: Judgement

We all have a judgy part of us that has helped us to survive--distinguishing between safe and unsafe. Yet judgement can also be a source of suffering that confirms feelings of unworth by comparison and a makes us feel separate from the rest of humanity. How do we navigate humility--letting go of self-righteousness--while still caring for ourselves? Let's discuss tonight post sit. Here's a wonderful article to get you thinking about these concepts:

Overcoming the last great obstacle to awakening: the conceit of self

11/14/2022

This really resonates.

Anyone familiar with Toxic Perfectionism? It goes something like, “I have to be perfect (and never mess up).”

Add to that,

“Also, if I’m not perfect, I have no worth, lovability, or right to take up space.”

Sheesh.

Talk about a recipe for anxiety and depression!

😫

It’s not a fun way to go through life, is it?

And no wonder we struggle with boundaries.

It’s hard to try new things when we’re not allowed to do it unless we’re perfect.

As we heal and grow, we notice that our perfectionism begins to relax.

Because we’re just humans.

Boundaries help us discover that.

We finally begin giving ourselves permission to be what we are.

Ourselves.

In process. 🌱

Because life is an adventure (and no one knows what they’re doing)!

Our job was never to be perfect…

It was just to show up (as best as we know how).

Oh. 💕

What a relief it is to discover that.

Our new boundaried practice: 🐛✨🦋

“I show up for my life as the fallible human I am, learning and growing along the way.”

❤️

Molly
Cartooning the Boundaries

10/30/2022

Meditation Tonight: Mistakes
How many times have you traced and retraced your missteps of an event gone wrong wishing for a different outcome? This is the ego at work: attached to specific outcomes--some we didn't even know we had until we fall short. Here's another perspective to consider post sit. Please join us tonight @ 6pm EST via zoom. Message me for the link:

Our worst faults and failings are an opportunity to create something.

10/28/2022

I'm proud to add social work to my skillset! While my Reiki practice is still in MA, I'm seeing clients in VA as a therapist via telehealth. If you know someone anywhere in the state seeking mental health care, I encourage you to pass along my info to see if I'm a good fit.

Jane Leo, Pre-Licensed Professional, Springfield, VA, 22152, (571) 454-8218, The world can be a trying, uncertain, and unyielding place. How can there be room for joy with so much destruction, hatred, and disregard? And where do you fit in? Building an awareness to the relationship we have with ours...

10/14/2022

Friday feelings courtesy of Avamariedoodles!