Sitting in a Place of Power
For quite some time now, one of my favorite song/chants is this one called Place of Power, written and recorded by Ann Hill on her Circle Round and Sing album released in 2020. It is a circle chant rooted in Earth-based spirituality.
I found this song in 2010 in my role as the Director of Religious Education for a Unitarian Universalist congregation in St. Louis, Missouri. Upon my first hearing of Place of Power I was deeply moved and completely enchanted by its simple but powerful lyrics. I’ve been using it in my teaching ever since.
Sitting in my place of power, I look out at the world.
This idea of sitting in a place of power may be foreign to you, or perhaps you’ve already found your footing and know this place well. The journey of self to search for and discover such a place is a profound one. I’ll tell you about mine.
I was heavily pregnant with my third child when I found reiki. To be honest, reiki walked right through my classroom door in the form of a wonderful human called Sydney Parrish. Sydney had recently signed on to take over the classroom teaching when I (and coincidentally my co-teacher) went out on maternity leave. In addition to being a teacher, Sydney was also a Reiki Master. I remember the morning she asked me if I knew anything about reiki. I responded that I did not, but I could feel the pull to know more. She offered me my first ever reiki treatment session. Sydney arrived at my home one evening and set up her table in our small home office. As I settled myself onto the table (no small feat when you’re almost 9 months pregnant), she lowered the lights and started a recording of some calming atmospheric music. Then she laid her hands on me and through her gentle touch I experienced the reiki energy for the first time. It was pure magic to me. I said it that night and I’ve said it many times since, that moment in time with reiki was far and away the most spiritual experience I’d had in my life up to that point. I was, as they say, blown away.
Thus began the process of finding my place of power.
Personal angst, anxiety, and inner turmoil were my companions at that time in my life. Finding reiki, experiencing reiki, learning reiki, receiving my first reiki attunement, were all stepping stones to finding peace within my heart and head. I didn’t really understand it yet, but I was grounding myself on a path that would lead me to a spiritual comfort I had not known.
I was finding my place of power.
My continued learning and training in reiki helped me feel confident and strong at the very heart of my being. I was finding myself whilst learning and practicing reiki. I have been incredibly blessed over the years to study with remarkable reiki teachers, including Sydney Parrish, Laurelle Gaia, Michael Baird, Arthur Baird, and many others. Each class, each training, each experience, each attunement allowed me to find and solidify what sitting in a place of power meant for me.
I love this work I do. I love reiki and all of its power, and what it teaches me every single day. I love that through reiki I’ve found a place self-awareness, reflection, and a peace-filled calm. That remarkable space is a place of power, indeed.
Sitting in my place of power I look out at the world.
Join me. I’m waiting here for you.
