Hey everyone you're listening to Code Switch. I'm B.A. Parker.

Okay, so is it just me or is it a stressful time right now?

There are wars raging in multiple parts of the world. Presidential candidates are saying some wild things.

Every few days it feels like there's some new climate disaster or shooting or public health crisis.

And while sometimes it can feel like there's nothing we as individuals can do about all that chaos out there,

we still need to get through each day. Go to work, take care of ourselves, and

our people. So I want to share with you all my small way of coping.

So, safe space.

I do Reiki.

And not just any Reiki, virtual Reiki.

We're still in the pandemic people.

So once a week, I meet a lady over Zoom and she sends energy into my

shockers. I sit on my couch, light my candle and place my crystals, and then this nice woman on the

screen angles her hands towards the camera setting an intention.

While I feel this warm static, travel through my crown and down my back.

A lot of energy just whoosh through.

Reiki, you know, is actually an ancient healing technique.

It was popularized in Japan, but it has roots in many other cultures and even though a lot of

people in the US think of it as kind of woo-woo I guess with all of the madness in the world that half an hour feels nice.

It's nice to get my energy cleansed,

ignoring my neighbor's toddler stopping on the floor above me, or the police sirens outside my window,

or the back-to-back meetings I sometimes have from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's my form of self-care. Oh, I think it is. Or at least I thought it was.

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