EPISODE 068: Bringing Healing Back To Medicine with Julie Speetjens

My guest today, Julie Speetjens, is an Usui Reiki Ryoho Holy Fire® III Reiki Master Teacher, a Registered Karuna Reiki® Master Teacher, a Certified Medical Reiki Master and a Psychic Medium. Julie talks to us about her passion for Medical Reiki and she is honoured to serve on the leading edge of bringing holistic healing into the clinical environment. She is qualified to be present before, during and after medical procedures, working directly with an individual’s medical team, to gain the necessary permissions in order to provide energetic and spiritual support throughout surgery, infusions and other medical events.

Empirical data from prestigious medical centres around the world confirms that patients receiving Reiki have better vital statistics, need less pain medication, have shorter hospital stays and experience reduced anxiety & recovery time. The beneficial effects of receiving Reiki during medical procedures are vast and the benefits are also experienced by medical staff and family members. Don’t miss this amazing episode!

This Week’s Episode

Episode 68 Resources

Here are some resources referred to in Episode 068, which you may find helpful.

Julie Speetjens – Website

Soul Journey Sundays

LifeSpark Cancer Resources

Medical Reiki by Raven Keyes

Reiki In Clinical Practice by Anne Baldwin

Mikhail Usui

 

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Ann Théato, CSNUt, Psychic, Medium and Spiritual Tutor, investigates psychic development, mediumship techniques, and paranormal science, so that you can come to understand your own innate psychic ability and expand your knowledge, whilst learning to develop a curious mind.

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PM 068

My guest today, Julie Speetjens, is an Usui Reiki Ryoho Holy Fire® III Reiki Master Teacher, a Registered Karuna Reiki® Master Teacher, a Certified Medical Reiki Master and a Psychic Medium.  Julie talks to us about her passion for Medical Reiki and she is honoured to serve on the leading edge of bringing holistic healing into the clinical environment.  She is qualified to be present before, during and after medical procedures, working directly with an individual’s medical team, to gain the necessary permissions in order to provide energetic and spiritual support throughout surgery, infusions and other medical events. 

Empirical data from prestigious medical centres around the world confirms that patients receiving Reiki have better vital statistics, need less pain medication, have shorter hospital stays and experience reduced anxiety & recovery time.  The beneficial effects of receiving Reiki during medical procedures are vast and the benefits are also experienced by medical staff and family members. Don’t miss this amazing episode!

You’ll Learn

• Why over 800 medical facilities in USA already offer Reiki

• How Reiki can help us heal

• What Reiki is & how it works

• Where Reiki comes from

• How medical reiki can help surgeons & their teams

• What distant healing is

• Why the Reiki symbols are considered sacred

• What a Reiki attunement is
  
  

TRANSCRIPT

Ann

Hello everybody my name is Ann Théato and welcome to Episode 68 of the Psychic Matters podcast.  I wonder if I could ask you all a favour.  Do you think you could go to this website www.podcastawards.com?  If you could go there now, and vote for Psychic Matters in The People’s Choice Podcast Awards, I would be so grateful to you. It’s in the spirit of these particular Podcast Awards, that we ask and work with our audiences to ask for your votes.  So, if you really love Psychic Matters, you love the episodes that have come out so far, you love the advice that you are getting from the experts that I’ve Interviewed worldwide. If you love the teaching from me that’s on there as well, or just love something about Psychic Matters, please, please, please do consider voting for me in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards.

How do you do that?  Go to the website, www.podcastawards.com and you will see that I’m listed in three categories – and so I would ask you to vote in all three of those categories.  So, I’m listed under Religion & Spirituality – Best Female Hosted Podcast, yay wouldn’t it be great to win that one?  And The Adam Curry People’s Choice Award.  So, if you go to the website and then look up those three categories, Religion & Spirituality, Best Female Hosted Podcast, The Adam Curry People’s Choice Award, you will see that when you go to that website, there is a blue bar across the top.  It says ‘nominations are open’ and then you can see a blue bar.  So, click on the blue button, because that is where you will find this year’s voting.  Listed on the front page when you go to the People’s Choice Podcast Awards, you will see all the different categories. That’s last year’s results. Last year I was absolutely thrilled, because so many of you voted, it meant that I was nominated in the final ten, which is just absolutely fabulous.  So how it works is, you guys’ vote, and then what will happen is, they will reduce down in the Spirituality category to the top ten podcasts, depending on how many votes they get.  So, last year, I was lucky enough to be in that top ten Final Slate which was really, really exciting.  And then those podcasts are listened to by a panel of judges and then the winners are announced on September 30.  So, please do go, vote for Psychic Matters, use all your voting powers that you can, that would be just absolutely amazing and let’s see if we can become a Number One Podcast for the work that all of us are doing out there in the world.  Thank you so much for doing that for me, I would be absolutely thrilled so thank you very much for taking the time to vote.

I’ve got a fantastic episode for you this week.  I’m joined by an incredible guest who takes Reiki healing into the operating theatre, into medical facilities and works with patients during medical procedures.  The work that my guest is doing out there in the world is absolutely phenomenal, so get yourselves a cup of tea, cup of coffee, glass of water, sit down in your favourite chair, walk the dog, go to the gym, do the shopping, whatever it is you do, when you listen to this podcast, enjoy and here comes my wonderful guest this week.

Ann 

I’m so excited to have our next guest in the studio today. She is a Karuna Reiki Master Teacher and a Certified Medical Reiki Master, Julie Speetjens welcome to Psychic Matters.

Julie 

Thank you so much. I’m thrilled to be here.

Ann 

It’s so fabulous to have you here. And I know you have literally just been over to the UK. And you’ve just got back to America think you’ve just told me before this interview that you’ve been back about a week, having come over here for some jolly fun. Maybe you can tell us what you were doing over here later. But I know that Medical Reiki is your absolute passion, Julie, and we’ve not discussed Reiki or healing to any great extent on this podcast yet, so I’m really excited to hear everything you’ve got to say on the topic. I’m sure everybody listening is as well.

Julie 

Thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah, Medical Reiki is my absolute passion because I’ve seen it work. You know, I’m one of those people, I don’t want to just hear that it worked for someone else, or read about it in the book, or read the clinical studies, which are great, and there’s lots of them, I want to feel it, to believe it. And so now that it’s become my experience, it’s amazing. And it’s a growing modality, honestly, it’s beginning to come into acceptance, you know, in the allopathic medical community, of course, it’s all about facts and studies, as it should be, as it needs to be, thank goodness. And they are cluing in because there has been so much evidence now, so much analytical data, saying that, oh, this actually does help our patients, they actually do relax, they actually do recover more quickly. It actually does stabilise their vital statistics. And so, anything, certainly that we can do to help someone heal, we should use every tool at our disposal, whether it might sound a little bit out there, you know, or woowoo. But now it’s actually gaining acceptance in the medical community, which is huge for me.

Ann 

Yeah, and I love that because years ago, and not very many years ago, it was considered a very woowoo thing a little bit out there, as you’ve just said, and not taken very seriously. So how did we as a society make this change, from that place to now you as a certified Reiki Medical Master, going into theatres and working alongside the consultants and the surgeons, etc. How did that happen? How did we get to that place?

Julie 

Well, it’s not done yet. It’s still coming. But it is happening. So, there’s a fascinating woman, her name is Raven Keyes. She’s written this incredible book called Medical Reiki. And her story will give me goosebumps as I retell it. But she was actually on the ground after 911 for eight months, giving Reiki to all the first responders because talk about an incredibly traumatised group that needed emotional and energetic and spiritual support. You know, these people on the ground at 911. And her story lands her a few years later in the OR with Dr. Oz, you may have heard of him, while he’s doing open heart surgery on one of her clients and she’s administering Reiki during surgery. And so, she started this entire sort of movement. She’s absolutely one of the pioneers of it because of her experiences. And now she works with Dr. Sheldon Feldman, specifically in the in the breast cancer arena, administering Reiki during mastectomies, you know, before and after surgeries and, and so she has an entire training programme, a certification programme, that’s how I became a Certified Medical Reiki Master was with Raven Keys. And it’s nothing short of a little bit magical, honestly, it feels like we’re bringing healing back to medicine.

Ann 

That is a beautiful phrase, an absolutely beautiful phrase. So, Julie, who are these prestigious hospitals that are hosting Reiki healers like yourself?

Julie 

Yeah, so there are over 800 hospitals and medical facilities in the states that already offer Reiki as part of their integrative medicine programme. And we’re not talking small places. We’re talking the big ones, the world-renowned ones. So, Harvard, Duke, Yale, MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, you know, they’re all tuning in to the reality that there’s more to healing than just the physical.

Ann 

I just love it. It’s wonderful.

Julie 

Thank you. Me, too.

Ann 

How then, Julie, is it measured? How do we know that it’s getting these results? Who’s measuring it and how are they how are they measuring its efficacy?

Julie 

Sure. Excellent question. So, you may be catching on to the idea that I’m an avid reader. There’s a book called Reiki in Clinical Practice by Anne Baldwin. And she details all of these incredible case studies, you know, analytical empirical data, proving that it improves heart rate variability, that it lowers blood pressure, that patients tend to need less pain medicine, you know, Reiki stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. So, it’s literally helping people relax in a physiological measurable way.

Ann 

Wow, that’s amazing. So how did you get into it then, Julie, because I read on your website that you have got a corporate background. So how did you come to be this wonderful healer?

Julie 

Thank you. For me, it was a blend. I think most people who come to any sort of feeling profession usually arrive to it first for themselves. And that was the case for me. So, as you mentioned, I do have a corporate background. I was an IT Project Manager. I was commuting between Colorado and Manhattan. For anyone familiar with the states, that’s quite a commute. And it was exhausting. And I had corporate burnout. At the same time, the universe was trying to get my attention, I needed major surgery on both hips. And my very best friend of 25 years was in a horrific car accident and her eight-year-old son was killed. And I didn’t know that I was an empath. If any of our listeners are familiar with that term, we tend to absorb other people’s energy and it doesn’t serve them or us. But certainly, this blend of grief and physical pain and corporate burnout sent me searching. And when you take symptoms to a, you know, General Practitioner, God bless them. You say I’m depressed, I’m anxious. I’ve developed a thyroid condition. I have eczema, I’m not sleeping at night, I feel disconnected. I feel apathetic. They just want to give you an antidepressant. Not that I’m taking anything away from the miracles of modern pharmaceuticals. Sometimes we need that to get us over a hump, or we’re dealing with something, you know, physiologically chemically based, and that can really help. However, for me, it felt like a Band-Aid. And I wanted to go in search of a real cure, not just treating the symptoms. And so, I went looking and found Reiki, thank goodness. And so, I started as a client and then I became a student and never thought I’d treat anyone, certainly never thought I’d have my own studio or be working in a hospital. So, joke’s on me, the Universe had other plans and I’m so thrilled because I’ve entirely shifted my life. And as you mentioned, now, I’m the Programme Director for LifeSmart cancer resources. I’m working in the chemotherapy infusion centres, giving Reiki to people as they’re receiving their chemotherapy infusions. I’m in the oh, I won’t say I’ve been in the OR because of COVID, of course. So, I’ve been in administering Reiki pre op, and then sending distantly, which we can talk about, from the waiting room. And then in post op, okay, at the hospitals, they allow that.  It is growing, that acceptance. So honestly, Reiki’s brought life back to my life.

Ann 

And you say you found, you found Reiki or did Reiki find you? That’s an interesting one, isn’t it?

Julie 

Yeah, it tends to call the people.  I certainly believe like my students now, I believe they’re guided to their teachers, they’re called to Reiki, they’re called, you know, to me, hopefully.

Ann 

Yeah, cuz I was gonna say why, obviously, you’re looking for a cure, you’re looking for something to help you with those, you know, that, all of that that you’ve just described. So, I was just wondering why you settled on Reiki as a modality rather than any other healing modality.

Julie 

Sure. So, for me, like I mentioned, I could feel it. When I was receiving Reiki, I could feel the tingling, I could feel the floatiness, the heaviness, the heat, the cold, the incredible sense of peace and calm and connection, which was huge. For me, it was something I’d always been searching for, you know, when we searched for it in religious frameworks, and for me that just hadn’t, hadn’t quite fit. I hadn’t found a, you know, a church home that felt open and accepting and real, and authentic, you know, and the more I learned about Reiki, you know, all of our aches and pains and diseases have energetic and emotional roots. And so, the more I learned about that, that was something that made sense to me. It was something I could integrate and use in my life and my healing. And now, you know, obviously helping others tune into their own awareness of their energetic and emotional well-being. Because there’s so much more to health and healing than just physical. That’s a part of it. It’s vital. Thank goodness, I’m not taking anything away from the miracles of modern medicine, but you know, holistic healing in the States, we tend to think of that as just being complementary or alternative, but it’s not, it’s a blend. It’s an and symbol, however you want to think about it. It’s not either or, it’s physical, its mental. Its spiritual, its energetic. Because first and foremost, we are energetic beings. And so, if we just keep slapping Band-Aid, you know, on the symptoms, we’re never really reaching into and addressing and releasing and healing those energetic and emotional roots. We all have trauma, there’s no way of avoiding it. And so, for me, Reiki was the tool to do that.

Ann 

And so, when you felt better, so you had this Reiki, and it had this amazing effect on you, why didn’t you go back to your corporate job then thinking, okay, I’m better now I’ll go back to the corporate world.

Julie 

Because it has opened my eyes to the chronic unhealthy position I was putting myself in. And I suddenly felt like I had found my calling, my purpose, my reason for being here. Personally, I think I’ve always wanted to be a healer in some way. My university degree was environmental science. I wanted to heal the world, one tree at a time, one recycled bottle at a time. But now having gone through, and I believe all of our experiences serve us and lead us, you know, on our healing paths. Having gone through what I’ve been through, there was no denying that there was a higher calling for me, and I’m so blessed and grateful for every client and every student and every opportunity I’m given to share what I’ve learned, in a way that I hope doesn’t feel like I’m trying to convince or convert anybody. It’s, you know, it may not be for you. It may not be part of your journey. But, man, I sure hope you’ll, you would, anyone would give it a shot.

Ann 

Yeah, I have to say when I, when I came across Reiki, now I’m certainly not qualified like you are in it. I’ve done Reiki one and Reiki two but when I, how I first came upon it was through a friend of mine.  We were both actors at the time. He’s now a Reiki Master and a Shaman and a Druid. He’s been on this podcast before actually Thomas Marty. And he offered me a Reiki healing when I had my son, my son was about two at the time, two and a half. And he’s running around, I remember going over to Thomas’s flat. And my son Jacob was running rings around the chair, you know, he was only two and a half full of little boy testosterone. And I was just thinking, oh, for God’s sake, how am I gonna get any good out of this session? And it was the most profound experience I could ever, I almost can’t talk about it, because it would make me cry. It was just amazing. And I was blown away by the fact that it had such an effect continuing on, not just during that session. But it was the day afterwards I went home, I think I must have slept for three days, I was absolutely so tired. And then it had this most beautiful, all I can describe it as is, balancing feeling for me. And that’s how I became absolutely fascinated by it.

Julie 

Lovely. Well, and good point. I like to say Reiki plants, these little positive scenes, you know, yes, you have this wonderful session where you’re relaxed, and you’re sort of out of body, and you just feel at peace, and you feel connected. And that’s great. But, you know, we got to go back to our real lives, right. And it’s interesting, because it certainly helps empower positive healthy choices. So, I will say, once I started learning Reiki and needed some Reiki guinea pigs in my life, my friends and family, right? I started giving Reiki to my husband. And it’s one of those, you know, he’s just very left brain. You know, he’s the reason I was in IT project management, because I mean, he said it was, and, you know, he was sceptical to say the least. But here we are. Several years later, he’s quit drinking. He’s lost 40 pounds. He’s become a vegan, and now he’s an ultra-marathoner. Now, I won’t say it was all the Reiki, right, of course, he had to lace up the shoes and go do the work. But it’s things like that, you know, sometimes people leave like, I’m not sure that helped me at all. But then they look back and they’ve quit smoking. Sometimes. It’s a little bit unquantifiable in the moment, but it just helps us at all levels. It goes where we need it to go physically, mentally, energetically, spiritually, consciously, subconsciously. Raven Keys has a wonderful term for it. She says it invites us to be mystery grateful.

Ann 

Oh, I love that.

Julie 

Don’t you love that? Because at some point, we can analyse it to death. We can measure it, we can, you know, think about it, and we should do all those things. But it’s certainly not religious. But for me, it is spiritual. I mean, it’s chi. It’s prana. It’s universal. lifeforce energy, it is a little bit magical.

Ann 

Yeah, it is magical. And I was so blown away by the fact that, something, you imagine if you go for a healing session, which is what I imagined, my son I sleep or play quietly with his truck in the corner while I had a lovely time but that’s not what happened at all, it was actually quite stressful. However, it had such a profound effect. It’s, it’s lasted in my mind and in my body ever since really. So, I do find it absolutely fascinating. But Julie, talk to us then about the different types of Reiki because we hear all these different terms for Reiki. You are a Karuna, Reiki … Yeah what are they?

Julie 

Usui, Holy Fire, Reiki Ryoho hope, right?  They’re all these words, right? I mean, sometimes I think the humans have to step in and just botch things up. We can’t just let it be. But there are lots of different times and lineages and traditions and styles and frameworks of Reiki. At the heart of it, it’s all energy. In the, in the mind training, which was Usui, which is for the founder, you could say the the Buddhist monk who rediscovered it 100 years ago in in Japan, and there are there lots of other certainly kinds. So, and they all have, they all have their own benefits, they all have similar sensations. I wouldn’t worry too much about finding someone who was you know, Usui Reiki Ryoho trained or, you know, some other type of Reiki trained, they’re all energy, they’re all beautiful, they all have merit. Some of them focus on a much more strict process for the practitioner, you know, a specific sequence or series of hand positions. Whereas in Usui it’s, there are certain, there’s a framework there for suggested hand positions and things like that. But you’re also taught to trust your intuition. So, you know, personally for me, that’s, that’s my preference. But and, and even in the training, they say, take from all different teachers.  Take all different styles and lineages of Reiki, there’s no sense of competition, thankfully, you know, part of becoming a Reiki Master is healing your own wounded ego, your own sense of competitiveness, and there’s just no room for that in healing.

Ann 

So, what’s the process Julie? You’ve talked about it being this beautiful healing modality and its energy based. Maybe you could talk to us and let everybody know how it works or what the process is.

Julie 

Sure. So, if someone were to come in for a session, I would explain that it’s it’s a Japanese energy healing modality. It works in your aura and your chakras, you know, turns out those are real. And basically, I think of it as pouring hot water over ice cubes, energetically speaking, and let me explain that. So, all of our emotions first and foremost are neurochemical reactions. And they literally vibrate at different frequencies. And so, these lower frequency emotions that we all have trauma, hate, shame, rage, guilt, jealousy, grief, right? All this horrible feeling stuff literally vibrates at a lower frequency within us. Whereas the higher frequency emotions, joy, love, generosity, empathy, right? They tend to slide right out of our awareness like Teflon, it’s why we need constant reinforcement. Okay, so you’ve got these lower frequency emotions, like Velcro, I think of it like energetic hair in the drain, okay, clogging us up preventing all of our systems from functioning optimally. And when we receive Reiki, it’s higher frequency than anything we can generate within ourselves. So, it’s like pouring hot water over those those energetic ice cubes, okay, we’re flushing out those knots, those wounds those tangles. And it’s like plugging into a power outlet a little bit, you know, we’re filling back up with this higher frequency energy. And of course, what that feels like can be a whole spectrum of sensations. It can be that tingling; it can be that floaty or a really heavy feeling. If anyone’s ever done hypnotherapy or done a really lovely yoga session at the end and that deep shavasana state where you’re just not even sure what planet you’re on, you know, a lot of people will feel a heat or a cold or they’ll fall asleep. I always tell them extra points if you snore, because part of the magic of these modalities is we’re literally helping your brain shift out of that busy beta brainwave. Okay, out of that fight or flight response that most of us perpetually live in, that’s dumping cortisol into our systems and causing all sorts of health-related problems. And we’re shifting down into an alpha or a theta Brainwave. And when we do that, our parasympathetic nervous system can kick on and all the magic happens. Okay. So, it’s this wonderful one two combination of enhancing encouraging, empowering your body’s natural healing abilities and receiving this higher frequency energy. It’s not religious, you don’t have to believe in it to receive it. It doesn’t conflict with any belief frameworks. It’s just energy. You know, it’s not it’s not philosophy, its science.

Ann 

And so, when you receive it Julie, where does it come from?

Julie 

Interesting. For me, it’s heaven sent. Whatever the framework for people may be for that. I believe I work with a whole team of angels and guides, helpers, healers, inspirers, teachers, and I feel their presence around me now, every time I conduct a session or teach a class, or you know, work in the hospital, and I hope that’s approachable for people, but it just feels like it’s within us all. And we’re also channeling it. So just like a water pipe in the walls of your home, we are filled up with it first, and you can turn the faucet on and off, and it doesn’t empty the pipe in the wall. Do you know what I mean? Does that make sense?

Ann 

Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

Julie 

Thank you.

Ann 

You have got some great descriptions. It’s lovely. I love listening to you. When I learned Reiki, I was given two symbols. Actually, I was given three symbols. So, there are three symbols that I know that I work with. And you get more don’t you when you’re a Master, and I’m sure you’ve got loads, because you’ve got loads of qualifications in Reiki, but what are the purpose of the symbols that are given? And also, I was told, never show them to anybody, never write them down, don’t share them anywhere. And I know now I can get books and I can see those symbols written in the book. So, you can go on the internet, and you can see the symbols. So maybe you could talk to us about the symbols, why they’re sacred and all of that stuff.

Julie 

Sure. It’s a good question. So, the symbols, when Mikhail Usui, the Buddhist monk that I mentioned a minute ago, when he rediscovered Reiki 100 years ago, he was gifted them.  He had been meditating for 21 days on Mount Karama. And he wasn’t, you know, setting out to create a healing modality or anything, but he received a spiritual download. And the first three symbols that you would have received in your Reiki II, were those three symbols.  He was told they were the keys to unlocking the healing powers of the universe. Pretty epic, right? And that the technology within them was then implanted in anyone who, who took the classes and did the attunements. So, I’ll digress here for a moment about attunements. It’s not mysterious. It’s, it’s basically, from the outside, it would look just like a guided meditation. Okay. But what’s actually happening, it’s sort of like an energy infrastructure upgrade. So just like if you were expanding the water pipes in your house or expanding the bandwidth, you know, to get faster internet at your house, we’re literally increasing each practitioner’s ability to channel energy. So, we all have that ability. But we’re literally expanding the hara line is what we call it. So, think of it like you know, the water main into your house, but energetically into your body. It goes down your spine through all of your chakras. And then the symbols, they help to focus, the intention of the healing energy. So different symbols have different purposes. You know, there are ones for physical healing, there’s ones for mental and emotional healing. There’s ones for distant healing, and we can certainly talk about that, because Reiki does work from a distance. And the idea is, they aren’t secret, like you said, they’re all over the internet, but they are sacred. So as practitioners and masters we are taught, it’s just a sign of respect to treat them with discretion. Because if you haven’t had the teaching, you haven’t had these attunements from a Reiki Master, then you haven’t had that upgrade to your infrastructure, energetically speaking,

Ann 

Thanks for explaining that. That’s really, really lovely to know. So, tell us then about distant healing. How does distant healing work?

Julie 

t is fascinating. So, I have a fun story about distant healing. In college, I had this wonderful professor, smartest man I ever knew. And you know, this was a ways back. This is in the late 90s. And he had had a degree in physics from Harvard. He had a degree in literature from the University of Virginia. He wrote all the books for our courses; you’re getting the idea. We built a solar powered car together. Okay, fast forward 20 years or so. And part of the benefit of Reiki for me was that it opened up my intuition. And suddenly I found myself aware of my my Clair’s, you know, I became a psychic medium. And so, I was fascinated. I was in every class, I could be in every workshop, every practice. And one time I was receiving a reading, and a woman starts describing my professor from college. And of course, we’d sort of lost touch. And I could not confirm that he had transitioned that he had crossed over. And so, as she’s talking and bringing through fact after fact, in detail, I’m googling it, you know, and it turns out, sure enough, he had crossed over two months earlier. And she says to me, and he’s saying, you know, you’ve stepped into a healing role, and that you’re struggling with the idea of distant healing. And he says, he’s working with brilliant minds on the other side. Probably Einstein because that was his calibre. And he says, the quantum mechanics checks out, just trust it. And I don’t know how you get a medium to say quantum mechanics. Frankly, I’m still in awe.

Ann 

Wow.

Julie 

So, I feel like I have it. What is that firsthand, secondhand knowledge straight from a dear friend of mine in spirit, who was brilliant, who has confirmed that yes, the science checks out, just trust it, it really does work.

Ann 

That is amazing.

Julie 

It is well then with Lifespark cancer resources. So, for the past several years, of course, because of COVID. And, you know, working with an immunocompromised population, all of our healing sessions have been distant. So, for me, that’s one of those silver linings of COVID, that it opened up to so many people, not only this idea of energy healing, which is pretty new to a lot of people. But this idea that it does work from a distance, and people have all the same healing benefits, they have all the same physical sensations, just as if they were in my studio on the table in front of me. And I will say, actually, sometimes the healing is even more powerful at a distance, because we’re taking out of it some of the human distractions, right? Did I brush my teeth? Is the room the right temperature? Are they comfortable? You know what I mean? All of that is removed, so it just becomes a pure energy connection. And so sometimes I’ll get clearer medical intuition, you know, about their aches and pains areas where the energy might need to focus. So even though it is the energy is always going to go where it’s needed. It’s nice, and certainly it’s a lovely confirmation for them. When I can say, oh, do you have scar tissue in your left knee? Does it cause numbness in your foot? And they can say, oh, my god, yeah, I do. How do you know that sort of thing? So, it just, it builds confidence, I think, as much as anything.

Ann 

Incredible. And so, when you go into operating theatres, just as an example, what how does your Reiki work? Are you right there next to the surgeon? Are you towards the back of the wall? And therefore, are you sending distant healing? That’s short distance, or how does that process work?

Julie 

So that entirely depends upon the the head surgeon, they, you know, they’re in charge, whether or not they let you in that room with them at all. Whether or not they let you right up to the table. I have a lovely story, where a woman had come to me for a Reiki session, I’d never met her before. And when I got over her gallbladder area, I sensed resentment. And it’s just one of those I can’t quite put my finger on. It was just the sense I had. And we got all through the session, we’re comparing notes. And I said, you know, would you understand this sense of resentment, and you know, specifically around your gallbladder, and she said, oh, I know exactly what that’s about. That’s, you know, towards my ex-husband. And I’ve just been told I need gallbladder surgery. Lovely follow up, and we rarely get this, she then hired me to administer Reiki to her during her gallbladder removal surgery. And she and I had this lovely opportunity to talk about how we store these emotions physically, and the gall bladders tend to hold resentment. Our liver tends to hold rage, our kidneys tend to hold fear, our heart and tends to hold grief. You know, some of this is pretty intuitive. There’s a lovely book called Your Mind by Deb Shapiro, where she illustrates some of these things. But I was able to be with her pre op, obviously, helping her be calm, helping her feel safe and connected and protected, you know, providing her energetic support, to, you know, promote all of these wonderful things that our parasympathetic nervous system does for us. Because it was during COVID, I had to administer at a distance during the actual surgery from the waiting room. But I’ll tell you, I know the minute that they started the incision, because I felt it right over where my gallbladder is. I still have mine, but I felt them start. And so, as I’m, you know, doing my process, my techniques, I’m texting her. So, she has this stream to look back over once the surgery is complete. And I’m just texting her, they just started. You’re doing great. All these things. And I knew the moment they closed up, and sure enough, the surgeon walked in about 20 minutes later, and then I was able to be with her postdoc. So, I won’t say it doesn’t matter whether you’re right there because certainly, our human selves, love to have that support, right? They want you sometimes, right there, because is there, are we ever in a more vulnerable position, medically speaking, then we’re under anaesthesia. We’re in an operating room. It’s an alien environment. And it’s just wonderfully reassuring to have someone there with you, holding space for you energetically. The surgeons are brilliant, their staffs are brilliant, and they’re brilliant at the physical stuff. But there’s so much more to healing than just the physical. So, I love the idea of being able to support someone energetically, emotionally, spiritually, you know, when they’re in that vulnerable space?

Ann 

Yeah, I mean, it’s so vital. It’s absolutely brilliant. It must also have a knock-on effect on the surgeon, on the staff, on the nursing, the doctors.

Julie 

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And has there been a time in our recent history when our medical staff needed some support more than right now, you know, actually, that’s a good point. With Life Spark, we are training the oncology nurses at a facility up in Denver, for their own self-care, they’re learning Reiki, because you can do Reiki on yourself, like you said, it’s this wonderful self-care tool to help you feel calm and centred and grounded and supported and connected, you know. So absolutely having a Reiki Master, Certified Medical Reiki Master in an OR, or in an infusion suite, or in a dental facility is wonderful for the whole staff and also for the family. So, you know, frequently our loved ones are, you know, they’re nervous, they’re anxious. And so having someone there to help calm them is an incredible gift too.

Ann 

And if you are working in an operating theatre, I don’t know why I keep talking about it, I’m obsessed with it, I’m just, I just think it’s so amazing.

Julie 

It’s fascinating, right? It’s so exciting, I know.

Ann 

 If you’re working, are you aware then that you have your guides that come around? Or are you aware of perhaps loved ones belonging to the person that you’re treating, being with you?

Julie 

Interesting. I would think that’s certainly possible. Anything’s possible. Let’s be honest. Anything’s possible. And I do believe our loved ones, and spirit are around us lending us their encouragement and their support and their love. And especially in those times when we need that, I think so sometimes during a Reiki session, whether it’s in a medical setting, or in my studio, or at a distance, I will have an inkling of an awareness of a grandmother or a dog, or, you know, just somebody coming close with a loving message. And, you know, some people want to hear about that, and some people don’t. So, I’m always careful to ask at the start, you know, if I sense any of your team, you know, whether they’re guides, angels loved ones, or you know, are, do you want to know? And I think that’s important to give people that option. Because some people are fascinated, yes, please tell me and some people are thinking, that’s a bit much for me, you know, keep it to yourself. And so, then I can just sort of, you know, shut that down and just focus on the energy, which is also nice.

Ann 

And when the patient comes around from the anaesthesia, do they remember anything about the healing they received or anything about that?

Julie 

What I’ve heard most frequently is they just felt calm. They felt safe, they felt more at peace. They knew they weren’t alone, you know, there was a sense of support that, you know, of course, relieve their anxiety about the whole situation. So, I’m sure there are lovely stories out there. You know, how there are people who saw the medical staff and that sort of thing. I just haven’t had that experience personally yet, yet.

Ann 

Yeah. Beautiful. And then, have you got any wonderful stories you can share with us about really good examples of where healing has really made a big difference to somebody?

Julie 

Yes. And thank you for asking. So, several years ago, before I ever had any Reiki training, my older son needed his wisdom teeth removed, and he had all four out and he swelled up like a watermelon. They got infected, he had four dry sockets, you know, he needed special medicine, we were back and forth to the doctor, it was traumatic for him and for all of us. I mean, just you wouldn’t believe the pictures. Fast forward four years later. Now I’ve done all my Reiki training. I’m a Reiki Master, my younger son needs all four wisdom teeth out with the same doctor in the same building with the same anesthesiologist. I mean, everything was the same genetics 100%. Okay, but I was able to be in the surgical suite with him administering Reiki throughout the surgery. And I the difference could not be more stark, there could not have been a greater contrast. So, my younger son did not have any significant swelling. He had no infection. He had no dry sockets. He took no pain medicine, other than a few Tylenols. He was rock climbing a few days later and eating almonds within the week, the only difference in my mind. The only significant difference was Reiki.

Ann 

That’s amazing.

Julie 

How often do we get that sort of experience in our lives where we literally have that control, that experiment, you know, where we can see that so clearly, it was unbelievable?

Ann 

Can you then send Reiki back into the past or Reiki into the future?

Julie 

Oh, fun, yeah, absolutely. So, in that first class, the Reiki II class, when you get the three symbols, as we mentioned, one of them is for distant healing. And so, think of it however you want to collapsing time and space opening a portal, I don’t know, it melts my brain a little bit. But yes, you can send Reiki healing back into your own past, if there were traumatic moments, you know, obviously, we can’t change the sequence of events. But we can soften the edges and start that healing, plant those seeds around ourselves in that moment, if that makes sense. And say we have something important coming up, you know, whether it’s an interview or a class or a trip, you know, we can send Ricky ahead into the future to be waiting for us when we get there.

Ann 

I just love the thought of that. If you’ve got an exam to do that, you can just send it forward. And it’s there when you walk into that exam hall or something.

Julie 

Right. And I absolutely experienced that for myself. So, you know, one of the saddest things you have to do as an adult right is our beloved Labrador, our dog, Cody. He was 13. And he had been sick with cancer for years. And, you know, it was time. And he and I, you know, agreed it was it was time. So, I knew going to the vet’s office was going to be horrendously heart wrenching. And so, I called on my Reiki, I called on some of my healer friends, and just said, will you all please send Reiki to me, you know, ahead for tomorrow, you know, or if you think of it at that time, in that moment, and support me energetically through this. And when I stepped into that veterinarian’s office, it was like someone put a warm blanket over me. And I won’t say it took away my grief. But it allowed me to go through that process of saying goodbye, with a little bit of grace, and a little bit of acceptance. Because I knew, not only was he going to be just fine. And he actually came through in a reading the next day with very specific, specific information. It was brilliant. But in that moment, I could feel the love and the energy around me supporting me.

Ann 

That’s such a great story. Such a great story. And it’s, it’s really making me think, because I’ve got to go and sit an exam at the weekend. So, I think I’d have to send myself some Reiki to that exam room. Waiting for me, I’d completely forgotten about that. Julie, just before we finish, you mentioned in all of the things that we’ve talked about, and believe you, me, I could talk to you for hours, but I want to be respectful of your time. You mentioned studying to be a psychic medium. Now, how did that come about? Just go back a little bit and tell us how that came into your life.

Julie 

Sure. So, for me, you know, 20 years ago, when my grandfather passed, I became fascinated. I watched all the John Edward Crossing Over shows, I read all his books, the Sylvia Browne books, the James Van Prague, the Tony Stockwell, I read all the books, I was fascinated, but I didn’t think I had it. Whatever it was, that allowed some magical people to connect. I just didn’t think I had it. I can’t do calculus. I’m not a psychic medium. Do you know what I mean? I wasn’t born with it. I didn’t grow up seeing ghosts, you know, but I will say for me, Reiki was the key to unlocking my intuitive abilities and awareness. So, after the Reiki Master Class, and the way it works is you do the One II, then you wait six months, you do the Master, you wait six months, you do Karuna, okay. And in the Usui teachings, that’s the progression. So midway through that, after my master class, I was doing a Reiki session on a friend because I had suddenly started walking around all day with my hands and feet tingling and realised that it wasn’t just about me, it wasn’t just for me. And so, I, and midway through this session, and suddenly I just become aware of her mother, who I know was in spirit. I didn’t know her when she was in life. And I didn’t know much about her. I became aware of her, and I just knew it was her. And she washed me with this incredible sense of motherly, unconditional, nurturing love, and I mean, the kind of love like when you’ve been pregnant forever, you’ve been in labour forever, and they finally hand you that beautiful baby, and your heart explodes out of your chest. That’s the feeling she gave me. And I’m just standing at her feet, just tears streaming down my face, and I’m thinking, oh, man, if she opens her face, she’s gonna think I’ve lost it. I looked like a loon. But suddenly, I knew that her mother’s name started with a P and had two syllables. I knew she loved houseplants, and I knew she’d given my friend a necklace on her 16th birthday. And I’m arguing with myself, you know, like our human does, like, do I do I mentioned it, she’s gonna think I’m crazy. What if I’m wrong? What if I hurt her feelings and just scratch this old wound of her mother has crossed, you know? But it was that feeling again, I’m all about the feelings, that feeling of love she gave me, and I thought I have to say something. So, we get all through the session. And we’re, you know, comparing experiences. And I say, I know this sounds crazy, but did your mother’s name start with a P? Did it have two syllables? Did she love houseplants? And did she give you a necklace on your 16th birthday. And my friend just started weeping, because her mother’s name was Pauline. And she had a room in her home dedicated to house plans. And my friend was wearing the necklace her mother had given her.  What greater healing can there possibly be? The knowing that our loved ones who we think are lost to us, are not lost to us. They’re right here with us. They’re just out of the physical body. And they’re so excited to communicate with us, if we’re open to it. It’s beautiful. It’s magical. I love it. I love it. I love it. It’s just such a blessing. And I think anyone can learn to do it if they’re interested, if they feel called to it. For me, the key was Reiki. Now was it because I had my energy infrastructure upgraded, was it because it was the first time in my life, I sat still and got quiet long enough to listen. But the whole thing has taught me such confidence and courage and trust. Because every time we do this work, we are sort of vulnerable, we are exposing ourselves, you know, people have sometimes really limited views of you know, what’s real, what’s not. So, for me, it’s absolutely been a life changer.

Ann 

Fascinating, just fascinating. And for those listening at home, I know that in order to give Reiki we need to be attuned, and we have to go through a certain process to train etcetera, etcetera. But for those listening at home, maybe you could, is there anything that they could try it out for themselves that they could try a little bit of energy healing? Not necessarily Reiki?

Julie 

Sure, yeah. Um, you know, the laying on of hands is not a new concept. It’s ancient. We all have this energy within us, we all have this instinct. You know, when your stomach hurts, you put your hand on your stomach, when your head hurts, you put your hands on your head.  When a baby is learning to walk and they fall down, you instinctively pick them up in them and try to absorb the hurt off of them. You know, we all do that naturally. In learning, energy, healing, whatever the system is, Reiki or anything else, you’re just sort of fine tuning that awareness. So, for instance, if any of your listeners want to bring their hands up together, palms open, fingers spread, and bring their hands just a few inches apart. And just for a moment, you know, take a deep breath, tune into yourself, and send your energy to your hands, just breathe into your hands. And see if you can start to become aware as you move them slowly, a little bit closer together a little bit further apart. If you become aware of any sense of almost like magnets, sort of pushing each other apart a little bit, or it might feel a little bit sticky, like you’re pulling Taffy or something, you know, between your hands. It’s just, it’s subtle, and it’s it’s just fine tuning that awareness, that energy that we all have, because we’re all made of it. You know, we say Reiki is love. But we are love, we are energy. So, it’s just giving us the tools. When we take these classes, we do these attunements it’s giving us the tools and the understanding, to tap into what is our divine birthright, frankly,

Ann 

That’s a gorgeous exercise. Thank you, Julie. That’s so lovely for you to share that with everybody. And so, if somebody wanted to come, they’re listening to this episode, and they’re thinking, oh my goodness, I’ve always wanted to learn Reiki with the right person and the right person sounds like Julie Speetjens for me. How do they, you know, what are you offering people on your website?

Julie 

Thank you for asking. So, my website and my business name, it’s www.soaringheartenergies.com. So, www.soaringheartenergies.com. And I offer classes year-round, in person, typically here in Colorado, sometimes in fantastic places. But obviously the classes just like the healing work online, they work at a distance, the attunements work at a distance. I offer the Reiki i, II, the intermediate Master as well as the Advanced Karuna classes throughout the year. And I’ve also got some, you know, fun things. So, for instance, I host an event called Soul Journey Sundays, and we do it monthly and it’s this wonderful collective of incredible intuitive artists, psychics, shamans, spirit artists, we’re talking, you know, spirit art, oracle cards, tarot, all of these wonderful, beautiful tools and modalities, and it’s all online. It’s called Soul Journey Sundays. And you get two personal readings from two different intuitive artists. So, it’s sort of a spiritual smorgasbord. We, internally, we call it a psyche De Solei. It’s just wonderful. It’s like a panoply of beautiful gifts. So that’s fun. That’s coming up on July 17. And there’s a link on my website if anybody wants to come to that. And then of course, if you, if you or someone you love is going through a cancer journey, you don’t have to be in Colorado in the states to receive free healing sessions through Life Spark. So, you can just go to the Life Spark website, that’s https://lifesparknow.org and you can sign up to receive sessions. Or if you are a Reiki Master, and you’re interested in volunteering as a provider, we have a wonderful network of over 100 certified providers, mostly here in Colorado, but there’s they’re all over now. That’s another gift of COVID. And certainly, we all know it works from a distance. So, from anywhere. If you want to get involved in Life Spark, just go to that website, https://lifesparknow.org.

Ann 

Oh, thanks, Julie. That’s really brilliant. And your Soul Journey Sunday sounds absolutely fabulous. And as you were talking there, I was thinking, gosh, you know, people that are listening to this episode, we listen to things and we think, oh, I’ll do that one day, but maybe people, here’s my advice for myself, really and take it if you want to people that are listening, go to Julie’s website, soaring heart energies.com and sign up, do you have a sign-up sheet there where people can sign up for a newsletter or something that you’re doing that tells them things?

Julie 

The website is the best resource, obviously, they can also follow me on social, I’m on Facebook and Instagram, both and I do occasionally send out a newsletter to anyone who has come for a session or been a student. Obviously, I don’t like to spam people and overwhelm their inboxes. But certainly, my website is the best tool I’ve got, as well as Facebook and Instagram at soaring heart energies.

Ann 

 Yeah, good. Great or sign up because then you can let people know when you’ve got something special on can’t you:

Julie 

Yes, yeah.

Ann 

It’s just been so wonderful talking to you, Julie, what’s next for you? Over the next six months?

Julie 

Oh, interesting. You know, I try to leave it open to the universe, wherever they want me to be. Certainly, I hope, more opportunities to be in the hospital, in the OR as the COVID restrictions are lessening, I am also helping host a few wellness retreats where people can come and try Reiki and yoga and qi gong and massage, and breath work and you know all these other beautiful modalities that also help us create a sense of authentic well-being. So, retreats, travel, I’d love to come back to Arthur Findley certainly someday that was magical and amazing. And you know, wherever the universe takes me, I’m game, I’m here for it. This this ride has been incredible so far,

Ann 

Judy speech and thank you so much for joining us.

Julie 

Thank you

Ann 

Well, that was Certified Medical Reiki Master, Julie Speetjens – isn’t she incredible? Do go to her website swww.soaringheartenergies.com and take a look at all that Julie has to offer.  She is an amazing tutor with incredible knowledge and I’m sure that you can tell from this episode she has such a gentle, kind and nurturing personality – and we could all learn so much from her.

If you want to pick up the show notes for this episode, along with some useful URL’s, links and references mentioned in this episode, along with a full transcript, please visit my website anntheato.com, go to the podcast tab, and click on the podcast page. 

And if you haven’t already done so, please don’t forget to vote for Psychic Matters in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards – www.podcastawards.com – vote in three categories Religion & Spirituality, Best Female Hosted Podcast, The Adam Curry People’s Choice Award. 

Oh, and just to let you all know, I had a wonderful weekend at The Barbanell Centre, doing my CSNUt teacher training and my mock exam went very well indeed and so I’m really thrilled I had an opportunity to do that.  I met some wonderful students and I loved teaching there – such a beautiful centre for spiritual development.

Have a fabulous couple of weeks everyone.  I hope you can take away some new learning from this episode and that it might encourage you to look into Reiki as a healing modality, just as the medical profession are doing in hundreds upon hundreds of world-renowned hospitals and medical facilities across the globe. As Julie Speetjens says, it’s not philosophy, it’s science.

My name is Ann Théato and thank you for listening to Psychic Matters.­