November 23, 2025 • 50 mins
"The energy itself only has the higher frequencies of creation within it. It doesn't have any preference around your belief system—it takes you to your own inner truth." - Colleen Benelli
Episode Description
What if the most powerful healing technology isn't something you need to buy, but something you already possess? In this transformative episode, join mother-daughter Reiki masters Colleen and Robin Benelli as they share their extraordinary journeys into energy healing—from life-changing messages delivered by a horse to a near-death experience that cracked open new dimensions of consciousness.
Discover how these pioneers are revolutionizing Reiki practice by integrating shamanic wisdom, intuitive development, and practical daily applications that work for everyone—even analytical, left-brain thinkers. Whether you're Reiki-curious or a seasoned practitioner, this conversation offers profound insights into making ancient healing practices relevant in our modern world.
Colleen Benelli is a licensed Reiki Master Teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training and shamanic practitioner with over 20 years of experience. Her journey began when her horse, Dakota, delivered a telepathic message: "I went lame to deliver you to your power to heal." She's passionate about making Reiki mainstream healthcare.
Robin Benelli came to Reiki after a near-death experience at age 30. With a background in business and finance, she proves analytical, left-brain thinkers can be deeply intuitive. She's partnered with her mother since 2016 to create global training programs making energy healing accessible to everyone.
What You'll Learn:
Reiki Journey Techniques & Daily Practice:
- Combining shamanic practices with energy healing
- "Reiki on the fly"—using energy during stress or conflict without ceremony
- The "Stay stable, be kind" mantra for moment-to-moment practice
- Integrating Reiki into everyday healthcare and wellness
- Building supportive communities beyond divisions
- Why Reiki works with any belief system
To learn more about Colleen and Robyn and all of their amazing trainings and offerings, please visit their website https://reikilifestyle.com/
You will find information on all of their offerings and free resources including their podcast and You Tube videos on shamanic journeys.
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Rose Wippich bridges ancient wisdom and modern life, teaching people how to tap into their natural healing abilities. As an Energy Alchemist, she guides women towards vibrant health and helps them rewrite limiting narratives around aging and step into their sovereign power. Discover how to protect your energy, honor your boundaries, and reconnect with your true desires. Your journey to energetic sovereignty starts here. 👑
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rose (00:00):
Have you ever wondered why certain healing modalities seem
to find us exactly when we needthem most?
Or how ancient practices likeReiki continue to evolve and
remain relevant in ourtech-saturated, fast-paced
world.
Today's guests are the perfectguides to help us explore these
(00:20):
questions.
I'm thrilled to welcome Colleenand Robin Benelli, the powerful
mother-daughter doo behindReiki Lifestyle, a global
platform that has transformedhow thousands of people
experience energy healing.
Colleen's journey began with anextraordinary healing
connection with her horse,Dakota, leading her to become a
(00:44):
licensed Reiki master teacherfor the International Center for
Reiki Training and a respectedshamanic practitioner with over
two decades of experience.
She's worked closely withWilliam Rand, founder of the
International Center for ReikiTraining, helping develop
innovative approaches that haveshaped modern Reiki practice.
(01:05):
Robin's path to Reiki camethrough a near-death experience
that fundamentally altered herperception of energy and life's
purpose.
Together, they've created aunique blend of traditional
Reiki teachings infused withshamanic wisdom, practical life
applications, and aheart-centered approach that
(01:26):
makes these wonderful andpowerful practices accessible to
everyone.
We'll explore their personalstories, unpack how Reiki works
as both a spiritual path and apractical tool, and discover how
these sacred practices cancreate everyday miracles in our
own lives.
Welcome, Colleen and Robin.
(01:48):
I'm so excited that you're bothhere today with me.
Thank you.
Well, thank you for having us.
Robyn (01:54):
Excited to be here as well, Rose.
Thanks for having us.
Rose (01:56):
Yeah, thank you.
You've been such a big part ofmy personal journey as a Reiki
master teacher.
I've taken trainings from bothof you, and I've met um Colleen
at the Reiki conference atOmega.
And so I'm very blessed thatyou're both here today.
Um, so we'll start by justasking um just some personal
questions around your both ofyour journeys uh with Reiki.
(02:19):
So, Colleen, I know that yourjourney with Reiki began through
a very deeply personalexperience with your horse
Dakota.
You're very close to animals,especially horses.
And looking back, how did thatmoment change your relationship
with healing and intuition?
And were you um, I guess youwere already a Reiki master at
(02:39):
the time.
So if you could just talk aboutthat experience, I I've heard
it from you before, and it'sjust a very beautiful and
inspiring story.
Colleen (02:48):
Well, actually, I was already in shamanic training for
about three years, and when myhorse went lame, he was only
five, so that was very young,and it was clear that it would
be a permanent lameness.
So one day I asked him whathappened.
It was a huge change in mylifestyle.
Robin uh was in 4-H with mewith horses, and you know, our
(03:13):
whole world kind of revolved,revolved around it.
And so when he we discoveredthat he would be permanently
lame, which for those of youthat don't know means that he
was injured, his leg wasinjured.
So, anyway, he showed me animage of me placing my hands on
(03:35):
him and said that he went lameto deliver me to my power to
heal.
And so I didn't actuallyunderstand what I did understand
what he meant, but even thoughI'd been in shamanic training,
at that point it never occurredto me that I would uh work in
(03:58):
actually healing with people.
I was making my living as afiber artist, I liked what I was
doing, it was very successful.
And mainly I didn't think Icould do healing work because my
empathy was so powerful that ifsomeone was in pain, I would be
in pain.
And so I thought, well, thisisn't going to be helpful to
(04:21):
them or to me.
So when I received Reiki aftermy horse gave me that message, I
could feel the energy flowingthrough me to the other person
rather than from my own lifeforce energy.
And it switched that empathy.
(04:41):
I could have, I couldunderstand the discernment about
what was theirs and what wasmine.
So my intuition was reallystrong always.
Um, but that empathy piece wasthe big piece that changed.
I thought I would be working onanimals because, of course, my
(05:04):
Reiki was um encouraged by myhorse.
Um, but actually, as I wasworking on him, he said, no, you
need to work on people.
So that's what started myjourney with people and
understanding what was theirs,what was mine.
And Reiki just became socompelling.
(05:25):
I just had to do it all thetime.
Rose (05:28):
Yeah.
Wow, what a great story.
Yes, that's beautiful.
And um, it's lovely that yourhorse was able to gift you that
message.
Yes.
Um, Robin, I know that youtransitioned.
Well, you've always been a partof Reiki, having your mom.
I've been a Reiki masterpractitioner for many years.
Um, but your transition toReiki followed something very
(05:49):
different.
Um, something some people nevergo through.
You had a near-deathexperience.
Would you mind sharing yourstory?
Robyn (05:57):
Yeah, so I had, let's see, I think I was, yeah, I was
30.
I had a near-death experience.
I had a near fatal seizure.
And um I did cross over.
But what's interesting aboutthat process is that it wasn't a
right-away thing.
So a lot of people talk aboutafter an experience like that
(06:17):
because they've experiencedsomething that's, you know, um
like uh that ethereal aspect ofwhere we go, um, that they it's
it has, it's like, okay, there'sthis before and this after.
There was with me personally,but as far as understanding all
(06:41):
of this, I wouldn't say that wasa right-away thing, if I'm
being completely honest.
Um, but what it did do is itchanged how I think I perceived
my own intuition.
It changed how I perceived um,you know, what also is somewhat
(07:05):
important in this life.
And there were some decisionsthat were made afterwards
because of that, you know, suchas my husband and I hadn't had a
kid, had kids yet, and like,okay, that is something that we
know we want.
And what it it caused me to dois it caused me to say yes and
(07:27):
be more open more easily.
So kind of cracked me open tobe to be fair would be a good
way to say it.
So many, and the reason why Italk about it in that way is
because so many people say I,you know, had the experience
with God or angels or howeverthey, you know, that's how we
hear about those experiences alot.
And because of that, you know,I know what I know now, and
(07:50):
there is a knowing that I haveum from that experience and that
process of crossing over andwhere I went and all of that.
Um, but what it caused me to dois just kind of starting to say
yes.
And to maybe, maybe now inretrospect, I would call it a
bit of an ego death because Iwas I was pretty tightly wound
(08:13):
and pretty closed up.
Um and from that experience,that is where I did say yes to
starting to work with Colleen.
Um and on it was more on apart-time business as I was
supporting myself uh also as anartist.
Um, and then it was a couple ofyears later that I started
(08:35):
working full time with ReikiLifestyle.
And I know that that process,even though in the moment I
wasn't super, super conscious ofit, I know that that process is
what led me to all of thisbecause it I it did lead me to
just say, I don't know why I'mdoing this, but I'm saying yes,
and a level of trust with that.
(08:56):
And then from there, everythingelse unfolded.
And again, that that opennessthat came from that experience,
a knowing of what that place is,uh, came from that experience.
And I do think that all of mymy future self, Reiki, the
(09:17):
divine, however you want todescribe that came through in
that time frame and led me toall of the unfolding that came
from there and working andreturning to Reiki because I had
uh diverted from it for a goodamount of time while I was in my
buried in my culturally createdself.
(09:39):
So um, so yeah, it did, it didactually lead me back.
It just wasn't like a okay,this happened and now I know it
was a little bit more of aslowing, slow unfolding.
And I like to share about thatpart because I don't know, maybe
it's just not talked about, butyou don't hear about that as a
common experience after anear-death experience.
Rose (10:01):
But it was that that changed me.
You know, you both mentionedintuition.
A lot of people talk abouttheir intuition or the fact that
they may not have intuition.
And what are your thoughtsabout that?
Uh, I know you're bothintuitively guided.
Uh, I've always been that wayas well, but we all have that.
Um, I feel.
What are your thoughts on that?
Robyn (10:23):
I'll go ahead and jump in first because of something you
said.
Um, Colleen has a lot to talkabout on this subject too, but I
actually was one of thosepeople that didn't think I was
intuitive.
I am, it took me a long time toget to that place of me
understanding my intuition.
And now I am in relationshipwith my intuition, as many of us
(10:48):
are.
Um, so I am a somewhat of alike left brain person.
Um, I, you know, Colleen is avery creative person, and while
practical and you know, thosethings, she's she's a creative.
And growing up under that, um,and not being creative in the
(11:12):
same way.
I always thought, oh, becauseI'm not creative in that way, I
am not, I'm not a creative, Idon't have that in me.
And so that extrapolated overto intuition because I think
that we perceive intuitivepeople as that, you know, this
right-brained person that isvery in touch with the flow and
(11:36):
their feelings and umcreativity.
And so we we always associateone with the other.
And I know I did too.
And so I thought because Iwasn't that, I'm not creative
and I'm not intuitive.
And so I shut down that part ofmyself for a long time.
I, you know, have a collegedegree in business finance, and
(11:59):
you know, I thought that that'swho I was.
Well, through this work, I havereally learned how my intuition
works, and it is verydifferent, even still, to that
process.
I think my intuition, I'mClaire cognizant.
Um, so I know my intuition.
I find a lot of intuitionthrough PowerPoints and through
(12:23):
Excel spreadsheets and thoughts.
And um, and so that what I'verealized is that now I'm not
trying to make my intuition likeColleen's.
I'm trying to learn my ownintuition on a different level.
And I am I am developing, well,it it's always a development.
(12:45):
I mean, I'm in a very differentplace than I used to be with
it.
Now I know that I'm intuitive.
I understand that yes that Italked about.
I know now that that's myintuition when I have that
compulsion.
I'm just gonna trust it and gofor it.
Um, but it's okay that myintuition is a little more
linear.
It's that that piece.
So I'm not trying to makemyself be like her anymore.
(13:06):
Instead, I am leaning into howI am and I'm developing that
further and listening to thatfurther.
Rose (13:14):
Colin, can you share a little bit about your thoughts
about how people can connectwith their intuition, perhaps?
Colleen (13:21):
Well, it was um, I think something that I've always
been intuitive, but at 68 yearsold, uh, definitely during my
younger years, intuition was oneof those things that was talked
about, like, oh, women haveintuition.
And it was kind of a chuckle,and it was really um
(13:46):
underdeveloped and alsooftentimes even suppressed.
So seeing what is happening intoday's world with intuition
being brought back as part ofour natural human intellect, our
authentic intellect, to me isone of the most important things
(14:10):
that I personally care aboutconveying and how Reiki energy
actually enhances yourintuition.
So when I first startedteaching Reiki, one of the very
first things that I noticed waseven on day one, in the the very
first morning of Reiki 1,people were receiving intuitive
(14:33):
insights, but they did not knowwhat to do with it.
They didn't have any sense ofhow to believe in it.
One of the number one questionswe get is Am I making this up?
How do I know I'm not makingthis up?
And so I am so excited forthese younger generations to be
(14:57):
raised and taught at early agesand all the way through their
adulthood to listen to theirintuition or listen to their
gut.
And I see it over and overagain: like listen to your gut,
listen to your intuition.
But a lot of people, just asRobin defined it, don't have any
(15:18):
sense of what that is.
And think that intuition meansyou have to be clairvoyant or
you have to see your intuition,not realizing sometimes you
think your intuition.
If you're an analyticalthinker, left brain, you're more
likely to think it in your ownwords and so dismiss it because
(15:41):
it sounds like you'reself-speaking to yourself.
Um, but you learn how todiscern what is uh, you know,
what I call your bright mind,and what is just your normal
normal, ordinary mind, whichalso equally is important.
So our human intellect, ourauthentic intellect, all of it
(16:05):
is a part of our naturalability.
And so, you know, learning thedifferent clare senses.
If people are listening to thisthat don't don't have any idea,
Google or use ChatGPT and findout more about ClareSenses.
Those are the place to find outhow yours works and uh then be
(16:30):
able to develop it the way thatit works for you.
Rose (16:34):
Yeah, that's great advice.
And the way and the more youwork at developing, you may even
unlock some of the other sensesthat may be dormant.
Can you talk about Reikilifestyle, maybe about the
trainings and also your podcast,just a general overview so that
people have an understanding ofwhat you do with that?
Colleen (16:55):
So it started really with my original business name
back in probably 2003, the colorof Reiki.
And that name came to mebecause one of the children that
I worked with had autism, andhe went from very low
functioning to very highfunctioning with Reiki.
And he always called me thecolor color doctor, and
(17:19):
everything that we talked aboutbetween us was really
telepathically conveyed throughcolor, and Reiki enhanced that.
But the name itself was anawkward name, and um people
always wondered, well, what whatdoes that mean?
Or what what is your name?
(17:41):
And one day a colleague of minesaid um he had channeled my
business name, and it was ReikiLifestyle.
So I didn't really understandit at the time.
Lifestyle was a whole new termback then, so it was unusual.
And I had done a Reiki journeyto the spirit of my Reiki
(18:07):
practice, and in that journey, Iwas told that my purpose for
developing my Reiki practice wasto help Reiki become so
mainstream that children wouldgrow up with it as a part of
their health care, theirwellness care, and that they
(18:29):
could grow up and decide thatthey wanted to be a Reiki
practitioner and it couldsupport them financially and
their family, which was news tome.
I did not know that was mypurpose.
And so, what I really would sayis that Reiki lifestyle itself
(18:51):
developed my practice and guidedme all the way through.
So it was a collaborative umguidance with Reiki and then my
natural inclination.
I've always been self-employed,so I like big business
(19:12):
practices.
Um, at that time, websites werenew, even computers were fairly
new, social media didn't existyet, so all of that had to be
done.
Anything that we did was cutand paste and learning how to do
that at the printer, right?
So, and everything had to behand drawn and everything, and
(19:34):
so then developing throughsocial media, and then Robin is
the one, and her husband Sean isthe one who said, in I think it
was 2012, that I should have apodcast.
It took me two years to evenknow what a podcast was, even
though I was doing it, and soyeah, they chuckle at me the
(19:55):
whole time, and I called it ouruh global Reiki telephone
teleconference call.
And so uh that continued, butthat really started because
everything we do is about how dowe provide resources and Reiki
(20:17):
education.
So that particular method wasjust was um developed because
people sent so many emailsasking questions.
I thought, well, let's justanswer them all together.
Let's get together and talkabout it.
And so that was the developmentof the podcast when Robin
(20:38):
joined Reiki Lifestyle.
That was a big game changerbecause she brought in another
level of expertise um on alllevels with both Reiki, business
development, technology, all ofthose things.
Um, and we work really welltogether, so that is a a great
(21:01):
advantage and big big blessingfor me.
It gave me an extra umph andcontinuing and also looking that
it fulfills that early messageof children growing up, thinking
they can do this and it canactually support them.
Robyn (21:22):
The only thing that I would add is that uh Colleen
said about the free resources.
I think that that's a big thingthat we really enjoy doing is
you know, with the distanceReiki Share, with the podcast,
having conversations.
Also, we have our next up Reikitraining classes in addition to
(21:43):
animal Reiki and human Reiki,like the you know, traditional
Reiki classes.
And those classes areexploration and skill
development courses um for afteryou have taken a Reiki class.
And the reason those they theyuse Reiki journey techniques, so
you learn to become a reallyproficient Reiki journier.
(22:06):
And the reason that thosedeveloped was because people
come out of their Reiki one andtwo or the Reiki master, and
they are looking for additionaltraining, they're looking for
additional exploration, theywant the community.
There's a lot of differentreasons why what, and there's
there in the time, there's it'sbeginning to become more and
(22:28):
more common.
Um, but at the time when westarted this, I think it was
back in 2017 or 18, um, therewasn't a lot.
And so there are in othermodalities, but not within using
Reiki energy.
And so combining shamanicskills, combining Reiki really
(22:48):
helped in the development ofthose courses because um we just
saw that there was a need foradditional support.
And um, that is where thoseclasses, again, that's another
one that we really listened tothe energy about what those
classes wanted to be.
And but that's the main thingis like, okay, how can people
hone their skills?
How can people receiveadditional support?
(23:11):
And that's that that's wherethose classes were were born out
of.
And the only other thing that Iwould really like to add is
that there's two of us, there'smore than two of us because we
have a a team, but there's twoof us that have like an equally
vested interest in this, youknow, business and our hard
(23:32):
intentions and things like that.
We work really well together.
And so when one can't be there,the other one can.
Rose (23:38):
I I want to circle back to something that you've said,
both of you, Reiki Journey.
Can you talk about what thatis?
Because maybe people don't knowhow you integrate shamanism
with Reiki, and Reiki Journey isa big part of what you do
either in one of your weekly umReiki shares or on your podcasts
(23:59):
or in your trainings.
Colleen (24:02):
Well, again, going back to our conversation about day
one, people start havingintuitive impressions during
Reiki sessions.
Now, not everybody does, so ifyou don't, it's not like you
should, but it happens commonly.
And what I would say morecommonly is that all people have
(24:24):
them.
They are still learning howtheir intuition works and how to
understand how they haveintuitive impressions.
So when I started with Reiki,it was a very strict style.
Back in 2000, there were a lotof very strict rules, a lot of
(24:45):
wrong ways to do Reiki.
And one of those wrong ways wasto really understand the level
of telepathy, the words for it,telepathy, psychic impressions,
intuitive impressions, all ofthose things combined actually
(25:07):
happen with Reiki energy.
But because it was consideredinappropriate as part of a
practice, I saw it as somethingthat was actually being
suppressed.
And my thought around it washow do we teach people the
skill?
And of course, I had developedthe skill through uh my shamanic
(25:31):
training.
And um, and really they'redoing the same thing.
How do we access higher levelsof consciousness?
In my case, I do have aninterest in accessing an
expanded reality of this life onearth and an expanded reality
(25:52):
of the spiritual dimensions.
So, on all of those levels,Reiki energy actually gives us a
greater access to ourconsciousness, gives us a
greater ability to expand ourinner awareness, outer awareness
of it of an expanded reality.
(26:12):
And then also, how do we accessspare guides spiritual realms
that are beyond this realm andanother level of consciousness?
And so we really worked withit.
A lot of it started with thatthe actual classes, Robin and I
(26:33):
working together, and we thoughtwe were going to teach how to
create um Reiki ceremonies,because that's another area that
we have a lot of skill in.
And the energy actually came inand said, No, you're going to
teach this, and you're going toteach people how to develop
(26:56):
those natural abilities usingReiki energy.
So if you want to compare whatis the difference in shamanic
journeying and Reiki journeying,they're just two different
techniques and differentenergies that you're working
with.
So in my shamanic training, Istudied with many different
(27:16):
traditions of indigenous peopleand learning how to journey in
those traditions.
So for instance, in the Celticrealms, you know, working in the
fairy realms, working in thenature spirits, working in, you
know, the oak, ash, and thorn,which is very much part of my
(27:37):
genetics and past life, workingin Tibetan or Nepali or African
or and a huge amount of mytraining was in Lakota uh
traditions.
And finding that Reiki energyis just simply another energy
(28:00):
and another pathway to accesshigher consciousness, access our
expanded realities here andbeyond, and that I could use the
distance symbol as a bridge oflight to travel to these realms,
(28:20):
travel inward to my higherconsciousness, travel to the
extraordinary reality here onthe earth, and then be able to
access as a bridge of light intothe spiritual realms.
And with the particularspiritual guides that I work
with, with Reiki energy.
(28:41):
So a Reiki journey is reallyjust another technique, another
method, another energy that weare working with to be able to
access higher levels ofconsciousness that are a little
bit harder to do in our ordinarymind.
What we do find is that throughthe training that people
(29:06):
receive in Reiki Journeytechniques, um, which by the
way, we have articles on ourwebsite with it, we have YouTube
things on it, you know, so youdon't have to just take a class.
We we do it all the time in allof our resources.
So um, but anyway, what we havediscovered with it over time,
(29:28):
and through so many differentstudents developing these
abilities and these skills takesus back to the first
conversation we had aboutunderstanding your intuition and
how it works, and then mostimportantly, how it actually
applies to your daily life.
(29:49):
Because to me, that's what allof this has is that ability to
um apply it.
How do we apply Ourspirituality, our expanded
awareness, our inner awareness,our higher consciousness in our
daily, practical daily life,because we're all living that
(30:12):
life, right?
We're not often a mountainsidewhere we are spending all day in
these higher levels of spiritand consciousness.
And so how do we bring thatinto those higher levels of
consciousness into thepracticality of living every
day?
Yeah.
Rose (30:33):
I I know you've had a lot of conversations on some of your
uh podcast episodes, and I knowin your training about that
practicality, and you've oftenuh labeled it or have used the
term uh Reiki on the fly thatyou've used, you know.
And I think people that becomeReiki practitioners sometimes
forget that they can just useReiki anytime, anywhere.
(30:55):
It's not just a ceremony thatthey have to perform in a
certain way, in a certainfashion, and that there's
practical ways to use it.
And and that also goes back tothe Reiki journeying.
You uh you support thattraining in, I'm sorry, is it
the next step Reiki that youhelp people to enhance or
develop that technique?
Robyn (31:17):
So we have two trainings.
One is the next step Reiki,which is actually a three-year
training that if you continuethrough all of it, is a
three-year training.
There's a level one, a leveltwo, and a level three, and they
are each one year.
So we meet monthly um and uhfor for 12 months.
(31:43):
Um, level one is reallylearning about Reiki journey
techniques, developing yourintuition.
Um, we do a little bit ofjourneying for others, um, but
that really comes in year two,where um we learn about the
spirit reveal technique.
And that is a session techniquethat Colleen and I have
(32:04):
developed that again combinesReiki journey um or shamanic
techniques with Reiki and Reikijourney techniques.
So we learn all about how to,you know, do uh past life
healing, ancestral healing,things like that through Reiki
energy for ourselves, but alsofor others.
And then in the third year, welearn about how to channel all
(32:27):
of it that we've learned outloud and in addition, learning
additional skills through that.
And then we do have anothertraining that is called explore
the 12 heavens.
And that is where every monthit's a one-year course.
Um, and every month we um weexplore a different heaven of
(32:48):
the consciousness.
So starting here on, or you canthink of them as the levels of
consciousness.
That's kind of how I perceivethem.
So we start here in the earth,which is the first heaven of
consciousness, the physicalrealm, and then we explore one
to 12 essentially.
And the last month is the 12thheaven, which is source or
source consciousness.
Um, you learn skills in thatclass, but that's more of an
(33:11):
exploration class.
And then uh we do have likequarterly Q ⁇ A's.
They're all live, they're alllive on Zoom.
So you are, you know, in alearning environment with us as
well as a group, you know, ordifferent cohorts that are
together um through them.
So you do have to be Reiki one.
(33:31):
Um Reiki two is preferred, butwe definitely have done Reiki
one just because you have tohave that basis.
We use Reiki energy to do thejourney work.
So you have to have that basisof understanding about Reiki
energy.
And um, we in our lineage, weum keep the the symbols sacred.
(33:54):
So we don't say the symbolsunless you are attuned to them,
and we use the symbols in class.
So the first three symbols uhwe use them in class.
And so uh we like to to knowthat people are attuned to Reiki
in order to be able to um to dothat.
So uh that is um why we arewant people to be attuned to
(34:17):
Reiki level two to take thecourses.
Rose (34:20):
Yeah, and I always encourage people to take both of
the training because it feelsso complete when you're taking
levels one and two.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah, having the symbols andhaving just more opportunity to
use Reiki in your life.
Robyn (34:37):
And I feel like understanding the distance um
aspect, because in Reiki one, ofcourse, you know, you still can
do that, but having thedistance aspect um for our human
minds uh can be round out thattraining really, you know, well.
Rose (34:54):
So how have you seen it or how do you see it growing even
more?
Let's put it that way.
We've seen it grown a lot inthe past 15 or so years, 20
years, changes to the the thepractice and more acceptance.
Um, how do you see changing?
What's your vision for how youwant to see Reiki develop or
(35:15):
change?
Colleen (35:16):
Well, again, I would like to see Reiki be so
mainstream that it is commonlyeither practiced in the
household by people themselvesor people take and people take
uh uh their children andthemselves to a Reiki
practitioner for treatment inthe same way that you know we we
(35:41):
do self-care and wellness carethrough massage, acupuncture,
yoga classes, all of thedifferent things that um help
you physically, but also I seeReiki as such a practice that
(36:02):
helps us connect spiritually.
And because it does not have aparticular belief system, it
really gives people access totheir belief system, their inner
truth.
That can be anything from youknow thinking in terms of the
(36:23):
universal realms, of biofields,electromagnetic fields, um, the
energy of the planets and thesolar systems, um, galactic
realms, for instance, but allthe way to uh a deep religious
perspective, if that is whatthey have.
(36:45):
And then also for many of usthat are uh in what I would call
independent spiritualitypractices, um it takes us each
to our own inner truth, and itdoesn't have any preference
around that.
The energy itself is alwayscoming from a higher realm of
(37:09):
consciousness, an enlightenedrealm.
And so the energy itself onlyhas the higher frequencies of
creation within it, of lifeforce energy within it.
So I would like to see, ofcourse, it become even more and
(37:30):
more mainstream.
And from the time that Ireceived that original message,
it was difficult back in thosedays.
There was a lot of criticism.
Robin and I did one of ourearly podcasts together about
what it was like for her as ateenager to grow up in a uh very
(37:51):
conservative small town inOregon with very alternative
parents.
Um she received a lot of, Iwould call it religious trauma
from her peer groups.
Um, and so did I, other than Iwas an adult by this time and
more comfortable choosing my ownpath.
(38:14):
But we definitely received it.
I definitely received some umquite a bit of even estrangement
from some of my family membersbecause of it.
So there was a lot of criticismback then that we really don't
encounter today.
(38:35):
All of my family members honorand respect what we do, even if
they're not participating.
I don't have that judgmentanymore.
Um, we've found our community,and I think that is the biggest
thing happening in Reiki rightnow that is so essential in
(38:56):
today's world is that communitybuilding and finding a group of
people that we are not debatingour belief systems, we're not
debating our political ideals,we are truly moving into how do
we gain access to wellnesswithin in our mind, in our body,
(39:21):
in our spirit, so that we wecan apply it to our daily life.
One of our mantras that we havebeen uh teaching in our
distance Reiki Share, which isfree by the way, for anybody
listening, every Tuesday morningit's online and it's very
global.
But our our main mantra when westarted it in 2020 was stay
(39:45):
stable, be kind.
And that piece of it right now,when things get get chaotic or
difficulty, or maybe there'sconflict or anything else, just
do that Reiki on the fly, inviteReiki in, stay stable, be kind.
(40:07):
And maybe five minutes later,no, just stay stable, be kind.
And Reiki energy helps meachieve that foundational, just
again, I care about beingstable, I care about being kind,
and because of that, I believeI also receive that kindness in
(40:30):
return.
And so um, where I see it goingin the future, I think it is
ever evolving.
And one of the things that wehave really been focusing on is
learning how to ask thequestions we don't even know we
(40:52):
have, because it is in thequestions that the answers can
be provided, connected, and sothen also asking Reiki energy
and our spiritual guidance forwhat are the questions we need
to be asking so we can evolveand we can let the energy know
(41:18):
we're ready for those nextsteps.
Because I believe when we talkabout Reiki evolving, we are
evolving to the abilities Reikihas, and it will continue to
provide us with greater levelsof that ability to evolve as we
are able, and so as it hears ourquestions, that's when it
(41:43):
knows, oh, they're ready forbigger answers, they're ready
for these next levels, and sothat's why you know, even Yusui
said way back when that thegreatest thing for a Reiki
practitioner to do is tocontinue to receive greater
levels of uh quantities andqualities of the Reiki energy
(42:08):
that they channel, and so I seeus doing that.
It was never meant to bestatic, it has always grown, we
have always evolved, and it hasalways helped us, depending on
where we are individually andthen also in our collective
consciousness too.
Rose (42:29):
Beautiful.
I I was getting emotional asyou were talking about that
because I really felt that umresonated so loudly.
And it's a relationship.
I I I get I've always felt thatI've nurtured a relationship
with the Reiki energy.
It it's like it's like havingyour best friend with you,
(42:50):
someone that you can count on,someone that you can speak to,
ask those questions and be therefor you when you need that
guidance.
What are the next steps for aReiki lifestyle?
Is there anything that is newand exciting coming down the
pike for that?
I have a feeling there isalways changing and you're
(43:10):
always evolving, and it's justso wonderful to see how much
you've grown in the past severalyears.
I was just curious if there'sanything new and exciting coming
down the line.
Robyn (43:21):
But there's always new things.
Rose (43:23):
I'm laughing because there's a lot.
Robyn (43:26):
I I I see it.
We have a we have a lot comingup.
Um so you know, Colleen'scontinuing to travel for
classes, that remains a littlebit uh more challenging for me
just because I have a young kidand it's hard to travel when you
have um uh you know childrenthis age.
(43:47):
And um, you know, the the thingabout talking about it is that
we um it's hard to know whichone is actually going to come to
fruition and which one is not.
Rose (44:01):
Well, you don't have to share, but you know, I know that
you have to do that.
Robyn (44:04):
What I will share is what one of the things that we have
been trying to develop for along time, and it it it feels
like it's finally developinginto a material thing, it are um
products.
And so we are looking atdeveloping additional, you know,
self-study online courses, um,not Reiki one and two self-study
(44:30):
online courses.
Those will always be uh live,but additional support courses,
additional materials that peoplecan use for skill training that
they can use in theirpractices, um, things like that.
Uh, we've always wanted to do aproduct like merchandise line.
We think that that's gonna cometo fruition, but you know, it
(44:52):
took us, we've been we weretalking about our new website
for two years before it actuallycame to fruition.
So we do these things, and justso everybody knows out there,
definite of purpose over timeproduces results.
Um, so you know, things cantake what timeline those are on,
we are unsure.
Rose (45:12):
But it's on a Reiki timeline.
Robyn (45:14):
It's on its own timeline.
We are two people who balancefamily life and work life, and
you know, so there's all ofthose things that we continue to
keep a priority as well.
Um, but that is where we areare headed that we have been
wanting to develop for a reallylong time, and we're really,
really excited about what wethink will be manifesting here
(45:36):
in the near future.
And um, that is just additionalthings for Reiki practitioners.
And then if we do have themerchandise, that'll be outside
of just Reiki, people can anythere's more spiritual um here
as well, not just Reiki.
Rose (45:51):
Oh, I love that.
Who doesn't love things andmerchandise, right?
It's fun.
Colleen (45:56):
I want to I want to add to that a little bit too,
because always our thought, andI'm I'm speaking to other people
that are doing this same thing.
Our thought is always in how dowe provide greater resources
for Reiki training, Reikiskills, Reiki, the ability to
(46:16):
use Reiki.
And, you know, in today'sworld, a lot of that is through
self-study because people needto be able to do things in their
own timing, right?
And then also the other thingthat we think in terms of is how
do we provide resources forteachers, Reiki teachers to
(46:38):
teach also?
So that's a lot of what isbehind all of this, like what
will help people.
For instance, one of the thingsthat we're talking about is,
you know, listening skills.
Number one skill for a Reikipractitioner to develop, but the
(47:00):
content itself is not veryexciting to hear about.
But how do we teach more aboutthat?
And we have so much contentthat we have developed over the
years.
And another one is how tomanifest your dreams,
meditations, invocations.
And what we want is for it tobe useful for people to be able
(47:26):
to use for themselves, but alsoto be able to use in their Reiki
practices.
Robyn (47:32):
I do want to say really quickly um before we uh move on,
but uh one thing that we didget done is we have started what
we call Reiki Conversations.
So that's a blog that's on ourwebsite, um, as well as an email
that has like kind ofadditional things to that.
Um, and so if you sign up forour email list, you'll get the
emails weekly, and then theconversations um are also uh
(47:56):
they're released weekly.
Rose (47:58):
I I do encourage everyone to connect with your website
with your information, even ifyou're not a Reiki practitioner,
it's not because you don't haveto be a Reiki practitioner to
be a part of this wonderfulcommunity.
I mean, you welcome everyoneand and everything and every
animal and every being.
And it's a a great opportunityto be introduced to the world of
(48:23):
Reiki.
Uh, I will I will linkeverything in the show notes.
Is there anything else that youwanted to share just to wrap up
or any message for theaudience?
Colleen (48:32):
I think the one thing I haven't said that I think would
be really beneficial forpeople, so many of our free
resources are provided onYouTube, Reiki Lifestyle on our
YouTube channel.
And when you mentioned thatpeople don't have to have Reiki
to be able to access the Reikijourneys that we talked about
(48:56):
here, we actually do a Reikijourney every week just about at
our distance Reiki shares,which are free, but then they're
also posted on our YouTubechannel and our podcast channel.
So people can listen to it.
You don't have to watch it, butpeople can just listen to it.
(49:16):
So between the podcast and theum the YouTube channel and then
the Reiki conversations thatRobin talked about on our
website too, there is just somuch information there.
And um, the Reiki journeys,like you can just listen to what
you feel like.
You don't have to besequential, you can skip around.
(49:38):
It's all, you know, it's allthere.
But um, anyway, I just wantedto mention that because it's an
easy way to find the resources.
Robyn (49:46):
They're they're guided, so you don't have to be Reiki
attuned, and that is very donevery attentionally for those
that are Reiki curious.
Maybe you've heard of it, ormaybe you have had a few
sessions, you're not ready totake a class yet, things like
that.
You they're guided Reikijourneys and information.
So um, you don't have to beReiki attuned to to do those.
Rose (50:05):
Yes, thank you for sharing that.
And and uh I will puteverything in the show notes.
And yes, there's so manyresources and I love it.
Thank you so much, both youboth for being here today.
I'm really blessed and to bepart of your community for so
long and to continue to growwith your community as well.
So thank you so much.
Colleen (50:23):
Thanks for having us, Rose.
Thank you.
Rose (50:25):
We appreciate you too.
Have you ever wondered why certain healing modalities seem
to find us exactly when we needthem most?
Or how ancient practices likeReiki continue to evolve and
remain relevant in ourtech-saturated, fast-paced
world.
Today's guests are the perfectguides to help us explore these
(00:20):
questions.
I'm thrilled to welcome Colleenand Robin Benelli, the powerful
mother-daughter doo behindReiki Lifestyle, a global
platform that has transformedhow thousands of people
experience energy healing.
Colleen's journey began with anextraordinary healing
connection with her horse,Dakota, leading her to become a
(00:44):
licensed Reiki master teacherfor the International Center for
Reiki Training and a respectedshamanic practitioner with over
two decades of experience.
She's worked closely withWilliam Rand, founder of the
International Center for ReikiTraining, helping develop
innovative approaches that haveshaped modern Reiki practice.
(01:05):
Robin's path to Reiki camethrough a near-death experience
that fundamentally altered herperception of energy and life's
purpose.
Together, they've created aunique blend of traditional
Reiki teachings infused withshamanic wisdom, practical life
applications, and aheart-centered approach that
(01:26):
makes these wonderful andpowerful practices accessible to
everyone.
We'll explore their personalstories, unpack how Reiki works
as both a spiritual path and apractical tool, and discover how
these sacred practices cancreate everyday miracles in our
own lives.
Welcome, Colleen and Robin.
(01:48):
I'm so excited that you're bothhere today with me.
Thank you.
Well, thank you for having us.
Robyn (01:54):
Excited to be here as well, Rose.
Thanks for having us.
Rose (01:56):
Yeah, thank you.
You've been such a big part ofmy personal journey as a Reiki
master teacher.
I've taken trainings from bothof you, and I've met um Colleen
at the Reiki conference atOmega.
And so I'm very blessed thatyou're both here today.
Um, so we'll start by justasking um just some personal
questions around your both ofyour journeys uh with Reiki.
(02:19):
So, Colleen, I know that yourjourney with Reiki began through
a very deeply personalexperience with your horse
Dakota.
You're very close to animals,especially horses.
And looking back, how did thatmoment change your relationship
with healing and intuition?
And were you um, I guess youwere already a Reiki master at
(02:39):
the time.
So if you could just talk aboutthat experience, I I've heard
it from you before, and it'sjust a very beautiful and
inspiring story.
Colleen (02:48):
Well, actually, I was already in shamanic training for
about three years, and when myhorse went lame, he was only
five, so that was very young,and it was clear that it would
be a permanent lameness.
So one day I asked him whathappened.
It was a huge change in mylifestyle.
Robin uh was in 4-H with mewith horses, and you know, our
(03:13):
whole world kind of revolved,revolved around it.
And so when he we discoveredthat he would be permanently
lame, which for those of youthat don't know means that he
was injured, his leg wasinjured.
So, anyway, he showed me animage of me placing my hands on
(03:35):
him and said that he went lameto deliver me to my power to
heal.
And so I didn't actuallyunderstand what I did understand
what he meant, but even thoughI'd been in shamanic training,
at that point it never occurredto me that I would uh work in
(03:58):
actually healing with people.
I was making my living as afiber artist, I liked what I was
doing, it was very successful.
And mainly I didn't think Icould do healing work because my
empathy was so powerful that ifsomeone was in pain, I would be
in pain.
And so I thought, well, thisisn't going to be helpful to
(04:21):
them or to me.
So when I received Reiki aftermy horse gave me that message, I
could feel the energy flowingthrough me to the other person
rather than from my own lifeforce energy.
And it switched that empathy.
(04:41):
I could have, I couldunderstand the discernment about
what was theirs and what wasmine.
So my intuition was reallystrong always.
Um, but that empathy piece wasthe big piece that changed.
I thought I would be working onanimals because, of course, my
(05:04):
Reiki was um encouraged by myhorse.
Um, but actually, as I wasworking on him, he said, no, you
need to work on people.
So that's what started myjourney with people and
understanding what was theirs,what was mine.
And Reiki just became socompelling.
(05:25):
I just had to do it all thetime.
Rose (05:28):
Yeah.
Wow, what a great story.
Yes, that's beautiful.
And um, it's lovely that yourhorse was able to gift you that
message.
Yes.
Um, Robin, I know that youtransitioned.
Well, you've always been a partof Reiki, having your mom.
I've been a Reiki masterpractitioner for many years.
Um, but your transition toReiki followed something very
(05:49):
different.
Um, something some people nevergo through.
You had a near-deathexperience.
Would you mind sharing yourstory?
Robyn (05:57):
Yeah, so I had, let's see, I think I was, yeah, I was
30.
I had a near-death experience.
I had a near fatal seizure.
And um I did cross over.
But what's interesting aboutthat process is that it wasn't a
right-away thing.
So a lot of people talk aboutafter an experience like that
(06:17):
because they've experiencedsomething that's, you know, um
like uh that ethereal aspect ofwhere we go, um, that they it's
it has, it's like, okay, there'sthis before and this after.
There was with me personally,but as far as understanding all
(06:41):
of this, I wouldn't say that wasa right-away thing, if I'm
being completely honest.
Um, but what it did do is itchanged how I think I perceived
my own intuition.
It changed how I perceived um,you know, what also is somewhat
(07:05):
important in this life.
And there were some decisionsthat were made afterwards
because of that, you know, suchas my husband and I hadn't had a
kid, had kids yet, and like,okay, that is something that we
know we want.
And what it it caused me to dois it caused me to say yes and
(07:27):
be more open more easily.
So kind of cracked me open tobe to be fair would be a good
way to say it.
So many, and the reason why Italk about it in that way is
because so many people say I,you know, had the experience
with God or angels or howeverthey, you know, that's how we
hear about those experiences alot.
And because of that, you know,I know what I know now, and
(07:50):
there is a knowing that I haveum from that experience and that
process of crossing over andwhere I went and all of that.
Um, but what it caused me to dois just kind of starting to say
yes.
And to maybe, maybe now inretrospect, I would call it a
bit of an ego death because Iwas I was pretty tightly wound
(08:13):
and pretty closed up.
Um and from that experience,that is where I did say yes to
starting to work with Colleen.
Um and on it was more on apart-time business as I was
supporting myself uh also as anartist.
Um, and then it was a couple ofyears later that I started
(08:35):
working full time with ReikiLifestyle.
And I know that that process,even though in the moment I
wasn't super, super conscious ofit, I know that that process is
what led me to all of thisbecause it I it did lead me to
just say, I don't know why I'mdoing this, but I'm saying yes,
and a level of trust with that.
(08:56):
And then from there, everythingelse unfolded.
And again, that that opennessthat came from that experience,
a knowing of what that place is,uh, came from that experience.
And I do think that all of mymy future self, Reiki, the
(09:17):
divine, however you want todescribe that came through in
that time frame and led me toall of the unfolding that came
from there and working andreturning to Reiki because I had
uh diverted from it for a goodamount of time while I was in my
buried in my culturally createdself.
(09:39):
So um, so yeah, it did, it didactually lead me back.
It just wasn't like a okay,this happened and now I know it
was a little bit more of aslowing, slow unfolding.
And I like to share about thatpart because I don't know, maybe
it's just not talked about, butyou don't hear about that as a
common experience after anear-death experience.
Rose (10:01):
But it was that that changed me.
You know, you both mentionedintuition.
A lot of people talk abouttheir intuition or the fact that
they may not have intuition.
And what are your thoughtsabout that?
Uh, I know you're bothintuitively guided.
Uh, I've always been that wayas well, but we all have that.
Um, I feel.
What are your thoughts on that?
Robyn (10:23):
I'll go ahead and jump in first because of something you
said.
Um, Colleen has a lot to talkabout on this subject too, but I
actually was one of thosepeople that didn't think I was
intuitive.
I am, it took me a long time toget to that place of me
understanding my intuition.
And now I am in relationshipwith my intuition, as many of us
(10:48):
are.
Um, so I am a somewhat of alike left brain person.
Um, I, you know, Colleen is avery creative person, and while
practical and you know, thosethings, she's she's a creative.
And growing up under that, um,and not being creative in the
(11:12):
same way.
I always thought, oh, becauseI'm not creative in that way, I
am not, I'm not a creative, Idon't have that in me.
And so that extrapolated overto intuition because I think
that we perceive intuitivepeople as that, you know, this
right-brained person that isvery in touch with the flow and
(11:36):
their feelings and umcreativity.
And so we we always associateone with the other.
And I know I did too.
And so I thought because Iwasn't that, I'm not creative
and I'm not intuitive.
And so I shut down that part ofmyself for a long time.
I, you know, have a collegedegree in business finance, and
(11:59):
you know, I thought that that'swho I was.
Well, through this work, I havereally learned how my intuition
works, and it is verydifferent, even still, to that
process.
I think my intuition, I'mClaire cognizant.
Um, so I know my intuition.
I find a lot of intuitionthrough PowerPoints and through
(12:23):
Excel spreadsheets and thoughts.
And um, and so that what I'verealized is that now I'm not
trying to make my intuition likeColleen's.
I'm trying to learn my ownintuition on a different level.
And I am I am developing, well,it it's always a development.
(12:45):
I mean, I'm in a very differentplace than I used to be with
it.
Now I know that I'm intuitive.
I understand that yes that Italked about.
I know now that that's myintuition when I have that
compulsion.
I'm just gonna trust it and gofor it.
Um, but it's okay that myintuition is a little more
linear.
It's that that piece.
So I'm not trying to makemyself be like her anymore.
(13:06):
Instead, I am leaning into howI am and I'm developing that
further and listening to thatfurther.
Rose (13:14):
Colin, can you share a little bit about your thoughts
about how people can connectwith their intuition, perhaps?
Colleen (13:21):
Well, it was um, I think something that I've always
been intuitive, but at 68 yearsold, uh, definitely during my
younger years, intuition was oneof those things that was talked
about, like, oh, women haveintuition.
And it was kind of a chuckle,and it was really um
(13:46):
underdeveloped and alsooftentimes even suppressed.
So seeing what is happening intoday's world with intuition
being brought back as part ofour natural human intellect, our
authentic intellect, to me isone of the most important things
(14:10):
that I personally care aboutconveying and how Reiki energy
actually enhances yourintuition.
So when I first startedteaching Reiki, one of the very
first things that I noticed waseven on day one, in the the very
first morning of Reiki 1,people were receiving intuitive
(14:33):
insights, but they did not knowwhat to do with it.
They didn't have any sense ofhow to believe in it.
One of the number one questionswe get is Am I making this up?
How do I know I'm not makingthis up?
And so I am so excited forthese younger generations to be
(14:57):
raised and taught at early agesand all the way through their
adulthood to listen to theirintuition or listen to their
gut.
And I see it over and overagain: like listen to your gut,
listen to your intuition.
But a lot of people, just asRobin defined it, don't have any
(15:18):
sense of what that is.
And think that intuition meansyou have to be clairvoyant or
you have to see your intuition,not realizing sometimes you
think your intuition.
If you're an analyticalthinker, left brain, you're more
likely to think it in your ownwords and so dismiss it because
(15:41):
it sounds like you'reself-speaking to yourself.
Um, but you learn how todiscern what is uh, you know,
what I call your bright mind,and what is just your normal
normal, ordinary mind, whichalso equally is important.
So our human intellect, ourauthentic intellect, all of it
(16:05):
is a part of our naturalability.
And so, you know, learning thedifferent clare senses.
If people are listening to thisthat don't don't have any idea,
Google or use ChatGPT and findout more about ClareSenses.
Those are the place to find outhow yours works and uh then be
(16:30):
able to develop it the way thatit works for you.
Rose (16:34):
Yeah, that's great advice.
And the way and the more youwork at developing, you may even
unlock some of the other sensesthat may be dormant.
Can you talk about Reikilifestyle, maybe about the
trainings and also your podcast,just a general overview so that
people have an understanding ofwhat you do with that?
Colleen (16:55):
So it started really with my original business name
back in probably 2003, the colorof Reiki.
And that name came to mebecause one of the children that
I worked with had autism, andhe went from very low
functioning to very highfunctioning with Reiki.
And he always called me thecolor color doctor, and
(17:19):
everything that we talked aboutbetween us was really
telepathically conveyed throughcolor, and Reiki enhanced that.
But the name itself was anawkward name, and um people
always wondered, well, what whatdoes that mean?
Or what what is your name?
(17:41):
And one day a colleague of minesaid um he had channeled my
business name, and it was ReikiLifestyle.
So I didn't really understandit at the time.
Lifestyle was a whole new termback then, so it was unusual.
And I had done a Reiki journeyto the spirit of my Reiki
(18:07):
practice, and in that journey, Iwas told that my purpose for
developing my Reiki practice wasto help Reiki become so
mainstream that children wouldgrow up with it as a part of
their health care, theirwellness care, and that they
(18:29):
could grow up and decide thatthey wanted to be a Reiki
practitioner and it couldsupport them financially and
their family, which was news tome.
I did not know that was mypurpose.
And so, what I really would sayis that Reiki lifestyle itself
(18:51):
developed my practice and guidedme all the way through.
So it was a collaborative umguidance with Reiki and then my
natural inclination.
I've always been self-employed,so I like big business
(19:12):
practices.
Um, at that time, websites werenew, even computers were fairly
new, social media didn't existyet, so all of that had to be
done.
Anything that we did was cutand paste and learning how to do
that at the printer, right?
So, and everything had to behand drawn and everything, and
(19:34):
so then developing throughsocial media, and then Robin is
the one, and her husband Sean isthe one who said, in I think it
was 2012, that I should have apodcast.
It took me two years to evenknow what a podcast was, even
though I was doing it, and soyeah, they chuckle at me the
(19:55):
whole time, and I called it ouruh global Reiki telephone
teleconference call.
And so uh that continued, butthat really started because
everything we do is about how dowe provide resources and Reiki
(20:17):
education.
So that particular method wasjust was um developed because
people sent so many emailsasking questions.
I thought, well, let's justanswer them all together.
Let's get together and talkabout it.
And so that was the developmentof the podcast when Robin
(20:38):
joined Reiki Lifestyle.
That was a big game changerbecause she brought in another
level of expertise um on alllevels with both Reiki, business
development, technology, all ofthose things.
Um, and we work really welltogether, so that is a a great
(21:01):
advantage and big big blessingfor me.
It gave me an extra umph andcontinuing and also looking that
it fulfills that early messageof children growing up, thinking
they can do this and it canactually support them.
Robyn (21:22):
The only thing that I would add is that uh Colleen
said about the free resources.
I think that that's a big thingthat we really enjoy doing is
you know, with the distanceReiki Share, with the podcast,
having conversations.
Also, we have our next up Reikitraining classes in addition to
(21:43):
animal Reiki and human Reiki,like the you know, traditional
Reiki classes.
And those classes areexploration and skill
development courses um for afteryou have taken a Reiki class.
And the reason those they theyuse Reiki journey techniques, so
you learn to become a reallyproficient Reiki journier.
(22:06):
And the reason that thosedeveloped was because people
come out of their Reiki one andtwo or the Reiki master, and
they are looking for additionaltraining, they're looking for
additional exploration, theywant the community.
There's a lot of differentreasons why what, and there's
there in the time, there's it'sbeginning to become more and
(22:28):
more common.
Um, but at the time when westarted this, I think it was
back in 2017 or 18, um, therewasn't a lot.
And so there are in othermodalities, but not within using
Reiki energy.
And so combining shamanicskills, combining Reiki really
(22:48):
helped in the development ofthose courses because um we just
saw that there was a need foradditional support.
And um, that is where thoseclasses, again, that's another
one that we really listened tothe energy about what those
classes wanted to be.
And but that's the main thingis like, okay, how can people
hone their skills?
How can people receiveadditional support?
(23:11):
And that's that that's wherethose classes were were born out
of.
And the only other thing that Iwould really like to add is
that there's two of us, there'smore than two of us because we
have a a team, but there's twoof us that have like an equally
vested interest in this, youknow, business and our hard
(23:32):
intentions and things like that.
We work really well together.
And so when one can't be there,the other one can.
Rose (23:38):
I I want to circle back to something that you've said,
both of you, Reiki Journey.
Can you talk about what thatis?
Because maybe people don't knowhow you integrate shamanism
with Reiki, and Reiki Journey isa big part of what you do
either in one of your weekly umReiki shares or on your podcasts
(23:59):
or in your trainings.
Colleen (24:02):
Well, again, going back to our conversation about day
one, people start havingintuitive impressions during
Reiki sessions.
Now, not everybody does, so ifyou don't, it's not like you
should, but it happens commonly.
And what I would say morecommonly is that all people have
(24:24):
them.
They are still learning howtheir intuition works and how to
understand how they haveintuitive impressions.
So when I started with Reiki,it was a very strict style.
Back in 2000, there were a lotof very strict rules, a lot of
(24:45):
wrong ways to do Reiki.
And one of those wrong ways wasto really understand the level
of telepathy, the words for it,telepathy, psychic impressions,
intuitive impressions, all ofthose things combined actually
(25:07):
happen with Reiki energy.
But because it was consideredinappropriate as part of a
practice, I saw it as somethingthat was actually being
suppressed.
And my thought around it washow do we teach people the
skill?
And of course, I had developedthe skill through uh my shamanic
(25:31):
training.
And um, and really they'redoing the same thing.
How do we access higher levelsof consciousness?
In my case, I do have aninterest in accessing an
expanded reality of this life onearth and an expanded reality
(25:52):
of the spiritual dimensions.
So, on all of those levels,Reiki energy actually gives us a
greater access to ourconsciousness, gives us a
greater ability to expand ourinner awareness, outer awareness
of it of an expanded reality.
(26:12):
And then also, how do we accessspare guides spiritual realms
that are beyond this realm andanother level of consciousness?
And so we really worked withit.
A lot of it started with thatthe actual classes, Robin and I
(26:33):
working together, and we thoughtwe were going to teach how to
create um Reiki ceremonies,because that's another area that
we have a lot of skill in.
And the energy actually came inand said, No, you're going to
teach this, and you're going toteach people how to develop
(26:56):
those natural abilities usingReiki energy.
So if you want to compare whatis the difference in shamanic
journeying and Reiki journeying,they're just two different
techniques and differentenergies that you're working
with.
So in my shamanic training, Istudied with many different
(27:16):
traditions of indigenous peopleand learning how to journey in
those traditions.
So for instance, in the Celticrealms, you know, working in the
fairy realms, working in thenature spirits, working in, you
know, the oak, ash, and thorn,which is very much part of my
(27:37):
genetics and past life, workingin Tibetan or Nepali or African
or and a huge amount of mytraining was in Lakota uh
traditions.
And finding that Reiki energyis just simply another energy
(28:00):
and another pathway to accesshigher consciousness, access our
expanded realities here andbeyond, and that I could use the
distance symbol as a bridge oflight to travel to these realms,
(28:20):
travel inward to my higherconsciousness, travel to the
extraordinary reality here onthe earth, and then be able to
access as a bridge of light intothe spiritual realms.
And with the particularspiritual guides that I work
with, with Reiki energy.
(28:41):
So a Reiki journey is reallyjust another technique, another
method, another energy that weare working with to be able to
access higher levels ofconsciousness that are a little
bit harder to do in our ordinarymind.
What we do find is that throughthe training that people
(29:06):
receive in Reiki Journeytechniques, um, which by the
way, we have articles on ourwebsite with it, we have YouTube
things on it, you know, so youdon't have to just take a class.
We we do it all the time in allof our resources.
So um, but anyway, what we havediscovered with it over time,
(29:28):
and through so many differentstudents developing these
abilities and these skills takesus back to the first
conversation we had aboutunderstanding your intuition and
how it works, and then mostimportantly, how it actually
applies to your daily life.
(29:49):
Because to me, that's what allof this has is that ability to
um apply it.
How do we apply Ourspirituality, our expanded
awareness, our inner awareness,our higher consciousness in our
daily, practical daily life,because we're all living that
(30:12):
life, right?
We're not often a mountainsidewhere we are spending all day in
these higher levels of spiritand consciousness.
And so how do we bring thatinto those higher levels of
consciousness into thepracticality of living every
day?
Yeah.
Rose (30:33):
I I know you've had a lot of conversations on some of your
uh podcast episodes, and I knowin your training about that
practicality, and you've oftenuh labeled it or have used the
term uh Reiki on the fly thatyou've used, you know.
And I think people that becomeReiki practitioners sometimes
forget that they can just useReiki anytime, anywhere.
(30:55):
It's not just a ceremony thatthey have to perform in a
certain way, in a certainfashion, and that there's
practical ways to use it.
And and that also goes back tothe Reiki journeying.
You uh you support thattraining in, I'm sorry, is it
the next step Reiki that youhelp people to enhance or
develop that technique?
Robyn (31:17):
So we have two trainings.
One is the next step Reiki,which is actually a three-year
training that if you continuethrough all of it, is a
three-year training.
There's a level one, a leveltwo, and a level three, and they
are each one year.
So we meet monthly um and uhfor for 12 months.
(31:43):
Um, level one is reallylearning about Reiki journey
techniques, developing yourintuition.
Um, we do a little bit ofjourneying for others, um, but
that really comes in year two,where um we learn about the
spirit reveal technique.
And that is a session techniquethat Colleen and I have
(32:04):
developed that again combinesReiki journey um or shamanic
techniques with Reiki and Reikijourney techniques.
So we learn all about how to,you know, do uh past life
healing, ancestral healing,things like that through Reiki
energy for ourselves, but alsofor others.
And then in the third year, welearn about how to channel all
(32:27):
of it that we've learned outloud and in addition, learning
additional skills through that.
And then we do have anothertraining that is called explore
the 12 heavens.
And that is where every monthit's a one-year course.
Um, and every month we um weexplore a different heaven of
(32:48):
the consciousness.
So starting here on, or you canthink of them as the levels of
consciousness.
That's kind of how I perceivethem.
So we start here in the earth,which is the first heaven of
consciousness, the physicalrealm, and then we explore one
to 12 essentially.
And the last month is the 12thheaven, which is source or
source consciousness.
Um, you learn skills in thatclass, but that's more of an
(33:11):
exploration class.
And then uh we do have likequarterly Q ⁇ A's.
They're all live, they're alllive on Zoom.
So you are, you know, in alearning environment with us as
well as a group, you know, ordifferent cohorts that are
together um through them.
So you do have to be Reiki one.
(33:31):
Um Reiki two is preferred, butwe definitely have done Reiki
one just because you have tohave that basis.
We use Reiki energy to do thejourney work.
So you have to have that basisof understanding about Reiki
energy.
And um, we in our lineage, weum keep the the symbols sacred.
(33:54):
So we don't say the symbolsunless you are attuned to them,
and we use the symbols in class.
So the first three symbols uhwe use them in class.
And so uh we like to to knowthat people are attuned to Reiki
in order to be able to um to dothat.
So uh that is um why we arewant people to be attuned to
(34:17):
Reiki level two to take thecourses.
Rose (34:20):
Yeah, and I always encourage people to take both of
the training because it feelsso complete when you're taking
levels one and two.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah, having the symbols andhaving just more opportunity to
use Reiki in your life.
Robyn (34:37):
And I feel like understanding the distance um
aspect, because in Reiki one, ofcourse, you know, you still can
do that, but having thedistance aspect um for our human
minds uh can be round out thattraining really, you know, well.
Rose (34:54):
So how have you seen it or how do you see it growing even
more?
Let's put it that way.
We've seen it grown a lot inthe past 15 or so years, 20
years, changes to the the thepractice and more acceptance.
Um, how do you see changing?
What's your vision for how youwant to see Reiki develop or
(35:15):
change?
Colleen (35:16):
Well, again, I would like to see Reiki be so
mainstream that it is commonlyeither practiced in the
household by people themselvesor people take and people take
uh uh their children andthemselves to a Reiki
practitioner for treatment inthe same way that you know we we
(35:41):
do self-care and wellness carethrough massage, acupuncture,
yoga classes, all of thedifferent things that um help
you physically, but also I seeReiki as such a practice that
(36:02):
helps us connect spiritually.
And because it does not have aparticular belief system, it
really gives people access totheir belief system, their inner
truth.
That can be anything from youknow thinking in terms of the
(36:23):
universal realms, of biofields,electromagnetic fields, um, the
energy of the planets and thesolar systems, um, galactic
realms, for instance, but allthe way to uh a deep religious
perspective, if that is whatthey have.
(36:45):
And then also for many of usthat are uh in what I would call
independent spiritualitypractices, um it takes us each
to our own inner truth, and itdoesn't have any preference
around that.
The energy itself is alwayscoming from a higher realm of
(37:09):
consciousness, an enlightenedrealm.
And so the energy itself onlyhas the higher frequencies of
creation within it, of lifeforce energy within it.
So I would like to see, ofcourse, it become even more and
(37:30):
more mainstream.
And from the time that Ireceived that original message,
it was difficult back in thosedays.
There was a lot of criticism.
Robin and I did one of ourearly podcasts together about
what it was like for her as ateenager to grow up in a uh very
(37:51):
conservative small town inOregon with very alternative
parents.
Um she received a lot of, Iwould call it religious trauma
from her peer groups.
Um, and so did I, other than Iwas an adult by this time and
more comfortable choosing my ownpath.
(38:14):
But we definitely received it.
I definitely received some umquite a bit of even estrangement
from some of my family membersbecause of it.
So there was a lot of criticismback then that we really don't
encounter today.
(38:35):
All of my family members honorand respect what we do, even if
they're not participating.
I don't have that judgmentanymore.
Um, we've found our community,and I think that is the biggest
thing happening in Reiki rightnow that is so essential in
(38:56):
today's world is that communitybuilding and finding a group of
people that we are not debatingour belief systems, we're not
debating our political ideals,we are truly moving into how do
we gain access to wellnesswithin in our mind, in our body,
(39:21):
in our spirit, so that we wecan apply it to our daily life.
One of our mantras that we havebeen uh teaching in our
distance Reiki Share, which isfree by the way, for anybody
listening, every Tuesday morningit's online and it's very
global.
But our our main mantra when westarted it in 2020 was stay
(39:45):
stable, be kind.
And that piece of it right now,when things get get chaotic or
difficulty, or maybe there'sconflict or anything else, just
do that Reiki on the fly, inviteReiki in, stay stable, be kind.
(40:07):
And maybe five minutes later,no, just stay stable, be kind.
And Reiki energy helps meachieve that foundational, just
again, I care about beingstable, I care about being kind,
and because of that, I believeI also receive that kindness in
(40:30):
return.
And so um, where I see it goingin the future, I think it is
ever evolving.
And one of the things that wehave really been focusing on is
learning how to ask thequestions we don't even know we
(40:52):
have, because it is in thequestions that the answers can
be provided, connected, and sothen also asking Reiki energy
and our spiritual guidance forwhat are the questions we need
to be asking so we can evolveand we can let the energy know
(41:18):
we're ready for those nextsteps.
Because I believe when we talkabout Reiki evolving, we are
evolving to the abilities Reikihas, and it will continue to
provide us with greater levelsof that ability to evolve as we
are able, and so as it hears ourquestions, that's when it
(41:43):
knows, oh, they're ready forbigger answers, they're ready
for these next levels, and sothat's why you know, even Yusui
said way back when that thegreatest thing for a Reiki
practitioner to do is tocontinue to receive greater
levels of uh quantities andqualities of the Reiki energy
(42:08):
that they channel, and so I seeus doing that.
It was never meant to bestatic, it has always grown, we
have always evolved, and it hasalways helped us, depending on
where we are individually andthen also in our collective
consciousness too.
Rose (42:29):
Beautiful.
I I was getting emotional asyou were talking about that
because I really felt that umresonated so loudly.
And it's a relationship.
I I I get I've always felt thatI've nurtured a relationship
with the Reiki energy.
It it's like it's like havingyour best friend with you,
(42:50):
someone that you can count on,someone that you can speak to,
ask those questions and be therefor you when you need that
guidance.
What are the next steps for aReiki lifestyle?
Is there anything that is newand exciting coming down the
pike for that?
I have a feeling there isalways changing and you're
(43:10):
always evolving, and it's justso wonderful to see how much
you've grown in the past severalyears.
I was just curious if there'sanything new and exciting coming
down the line.
Robyn (43:21):
But there's always new things.
Rose (43:23):
I'm laughing because there's a lot.
Robyn (43:26):
I I I see it.
We have a we have a lot comingup.
Um so you know, Colleen'scontinuing to travel for
classes, that remains a littlebit uh more challenging for me
just because I have a young kidand it's hard to travel when you
have um uh you know childrenthis age.
(43:47):
And um, you know, the the thingabout talking about it is that
we um it's hard to know whichone is actually going to come to
fruition and which one is not.
Rose (44:01):
Well, you don't have to share, but you know, I know that
you have to do that.
Robyn (44:04):
What I will share is what one of the things that we have
been trying to develop for along time, and it it it feels
like it's finally developinginto a material thing, it are um
products.
And so we are looking atdeveloping additional, you know,
self-study online courses, um,not Reiki one and two self-study
(44:30):
online courses.
Those will always be uh live,but additional support courses,
additional materials that peoplecan use for skill training that
they can use in theirpractices, um, things like that.
Uh, we've always wanted to do aproduct like merchandise line.
We think that that's gonna cometo fruition, but you know, it
(44:52):
took us, we've been we weretalking about our new website
for two years before it actuallycame to fruition.
So we do these things, and justso everybody knows out there,
definite of purpose over timeproduces results.
Um, so you know, things cantake what timeline those are on,
we are unsure.
Rose (45:12):
But it's on a Reiki timeline.
Robyn (45:14):
It's on its own timeline.
We are two people who balancefamily life and work life, and
you know, so there's all ofthose things that we continue to
keep a priority as well.
Um, but that is where we areare headed that we have been
wanting to develop for a reallylong time, and we're really,
really excited about what wethink will be manifesting here
(45:36):
in the near future.
And um, that is just additionalthings for Reiki practitioners.
And then if we do have themerchandise, that'll be outside
of just Reiki, people can anythere's more spiritual um here
as well, not just Reiki.
Rose (45:51):
Oh, I love that.
Who doesn't love things andmerchandise, right?
It's fun.
Colleen (45:56):
I want to I want to add to that a little bit too,
because always our thought, andI'm I'm speaking to other people
that are doing this same thing.
Our thought is always in how dowe provide greater resources
for Reiki training, Reikiskills, Reiki, the ability to
(46:16):
use Reiki.
And, you know, in today'sworld, a lot of that is through
self-study because people needto be able to do things in their
own timing, right?
And then also the other thingthat we think in terms of is how
do we provide resources forteachers, Reiki teachers to
(46:38):
teach also?
So that's a lot of what isbehind all of this, like what
will help people.
For instance, one of the thingsthat we're talking about is,
you know, listening skills.
Number one skill for a Reikipractitioner to develop, but the
(47:00):
content itself is not veryexciting to hear about.
But how do we teach more aboutthat?
And we have so much contentthat we have developed over the
years.
And another one is how tomanifest your dreams,
meditations, invocations.
And what we want is for it tobe useful for people to be able
(47:26):
to use for themselves, but alsoto be able to use in their Reiki
practices.
Robyn (47:32):
I do want to say really quickly um before we uh move on,
but uh one thing that we didget done is we have started what
we call Reiki Conversations.
So that's a blog that's on ourwebsite, um, as well as an email
that has like kind ofadditional things to that.
Um, and so if you sign up forour email list, you'll get the
emails weekly, and then theconversations um are also uh
(47:56):
they're released weekly.
Rose (47:58):
I I do encourage everyone to connect with your website
with your information, even ifyou're not a Reiki practitioner,
it's not because you don't haveto be a Reiki practitioner to
be a part of this wonderfulcommunity.
I mean, you welcome everyoneand and everything and every
animal and every being.
And it's a a great opportunityto be introduced to the world of
(48:23):
Reiki.
Uh, I will I will linkeverything in the show notes.
Is there anything else that youwanted to share just to wrap up
or any message for theaudience?
Colleen (48:32):
I think the one thing I haven't said that I think would
be really beneficial forpeople, so many of our free
resources are provided onYouTube, Reiki Lifestyle on our
YouTube channel.
And when you mentioned thatpeople don't have to have Reiki
to be able to access the Reikijourneys that we talked about
(48:56):
here, we actually do a Reikijourney every week just about at
our distance Reiki shares,which are free, but then they're
also posted on our YouTubechannel and our podcast channel.
So people can listen to it.
You don't have to watch it, butpeople can just listen to it.
(49:16):
So between the podcast and theum the YouTube channel and then
the Reiki conversations thatRobin talked about on our
website too, there is just somuch information there.
And um, the Reiki journeys,like you can just listen to what
you feel like.
You don't have to besequential, you can skip around.
(49:38):
It's all, you know, it's allthere.
But um, anyway, I just wantedto mention that because it's an
easy way to find the resources.
Robyn (49:46):
They're they're guided, so you don't have to be Reiki
attuned, and that is very donevery attentionally for those
that are Reiki curious.
Maybe you've heard of it, ormaybe you have had a few
sessions, you're not ready totake a class yet, things like
that.
You they're guided Reikijourneys and information.
So um, you don't have to beReiki attuned to to do those.
Rose (50:05):
Yes, thank you for sharing that.
And and uh I will puteverything in the show notes.
And yes, there's so manyresources and I love it.
Thank you so much, both youboth for being here today.
I'm really blessed and to bepart of your community for so
long and to continue to growwith your community as well.
So thank you so much.
Colleen (50:23):
Thanks for having us, Rose.
Thank you.
Rose (50:25):
We appreciate you too.
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