Helene Williams Reiki

05/26/2026

This past Wednesday evening in our five-month Reiki III Shinpiden training, we had the honor of learning from our guest speaker, Vanessa Simmons, LPC, SEP, TCTSY-F, whose thoughtful presentation, Showing Up: Trauma-Informed Presence for Reiki and Energy Practitioners, offered meaningful insights into bringing trauma-informed principles into both our Reiki sessions and teaching spaces.

Together, we explored the importance of invitational language in practice, the six SAMHSA principles of trauma-informed care, and the five core elements of Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY). Through discussion, reflection, and role-playing exercises, we deepened our understanding of how presence, safety, choice, compassion, and awareness can shape how we hold space for others.

As Reiki practitioners and future teachers, learning to embody trauma-informed principles is such an important part of practicing with integrity and care.

Deep gratitude to Vanessa for sharing her knowledge, wisdom, and thoughtful guidance with our class. We are so grateful for your presence and the meaningful conversations you helped create.🙏🏻 To learn more about Vanessa, her practice at https://www.meadowgrovecounseling.com/ and https://www.embodiedwisdominstitute.com/

05/25/2026

🕊️Wishing you a peaceful Memorial Day.

🍃 Remember to care tenderly for yourself and one another.

05/23/2026

05/14/2026

Last evening, during our Reiki III Shinpiden training, we explored the topic of Reiki and social justice. As our class moves just beyond the midpoint of our five-month journey together, it feels especially important to create space for these conversations and reflections as practitioners and future teachers.

I'm deeply grateful for the wisdom and presence of our guest speaker for the evening, Erin Sweeney, whose thoughtful guidance helped open meaningful dialogue around this very important topic (scroll down to learn more about Erin).

When we think about Reiki practice, our first thoughts are often about peace, compassion, and healing. And, when we deepen our relationship with Reiki, it also asks us to become more aware of our interconnectedness and the realities unfolding around us. It invites us to notice suffering, injustice, inequality, and harm without turning away from them.

Part of embodying Reiki is learning how to bring presence, compassion, ethics, and awareness into the way we move through the world and into the ways we hold space for others. It’s allowing our clients the space to be with difficult emotions and experiences without spiritual bypassing (the tendency to move too quickly toward positivity or spiritual explanations instead of fully acknowledging pain and difficulty). While this is often well-intentioned, it can sometimes create distance rather than the deeper presence and support that clients need from us.

It's difficult to cover everything we discussed last evening in one post, but it was a deep learning experience that gave us all a lot to contemplate.

These are not always easy conversations, but they are meaningful ones, and I'm deeply grateful for the honesty and thoughtfulness this group of students continues to bring during our class time together. They are all amazingly insightful.

Erin Sweeney is a healing practitioner, antiracist group facilitator, movement + mindfulness instructor, and writer based in Lancaster, PA. You can learn more at their website: erincaitlinsweeney.com.

Thank you, too, to Elise Brenner and Nancy Spatz for helping bring this conversation into Reiki practice in their book, Reiki: A Self-Practice To Live in Peace with Self and Others (which I use for my Reiki I classes). Eternally grateful for both of you!

05/13/2026

“I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” - Anne Frank

05/06/2026

Thank you to the Lebanon VA Medical Center for recognizing all of their dedicated volunteers at their appreciation banquet a few weeks ago. It has been an honor to volunteer there as a Reiki practitioner since 2019. Before COVID, I offered in-person Reiki sessions at the VA, and since the pandemic, I’ve continued supporting veterans through weekly online Reiki classes and meditations.

Over the years, I’ve witnessed so much courage, openness, connection, love, and healing within this community, and I remain deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve in this way.❤️

05/04/2026

The perfect way to spend my morning.❤️

“To understand the soul of a horse is the closest human beings can come to knowing perfection.” – Author Unknown

05/02/2026

May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope." — Emily Brontë