Soul Journeys Healing & Companioning

One of the greatest misconceptions about Reiki is that you have to want to become a practitioner to learn it.

That wasn't my story.

I enrolled in Reiki Level I because I was searching for healing. At the time, I had no intention of ever teaching Reiki or building a practice. I simply wanted to feel better. I wanted to understand myself more deeply, reconnect with my intuition, and find a different way of moving through life.

Looking back now, I can see that saying "yes" to that first class was one of the most important decisions I've ever made. It didn't change my life overnight, but it changed the direction of my life.

Healing rarely happens all at once. More often, it begins with one small decision. One moment of courage. One willingness to believe that something different is possible.

You don't have to have everything figured out before you begin. Sometimes all you need is the courage to take the first step.

❤️ What is one small step you've taken that changed the direction of your life?

Enlightenment - August 2026 | Insights on Life, Death, and Grief - https://mailchi.mp/merrileeculbert.com/enlightenment-august2026

Card of the Month: WORRY

" I am learning that worry doesn't change an outcome."

Worry is a wasted emotion; it does nothing other than give you the illusion of control. When you expend too much energy worrying, it limits you and has an adverse effect on the natural energy of the soul. Worrying destroys the hope, faith, and excitement that are wonderful elements of the schoolroom called Earth.

Remember that you are what you think, and you have the power to create positive thoughts, which beget positive outcomes. Worry is a negative emotion and sets you up for a negative result. What unnecessary worrying are you carrying around with you now? Examine them objectively in the light-of-love. Help your soul by releasing them and be gully connected to the current moment, which is where your power resides.

Sometimes we're so focused on how far we still have to go that we forget to notice how far we've already come.

A year ago...

Five years ago...

Ten years ago...

Who were you then?

What have you survived?

What have you learned?

What once felt impossible that now feels like part of your story?

Growth doesn't happen all at once.

It's found in the small choices we make every day.

The quiet moments when we choose to keep going.

The days we get back up after being knocked down.

The courage to try again.

Take a moment today to look back before you look ahead.

You may be surprised by just how far you've come. 💚

Nearly four years ago, I learned something I never wanted to know.

I learned that it is possible to survive the loss of someone you love with your whole heart.

It's a lesson I hope I never have to live through again.

When love found me again, I wasn't afraid of falling in love.

I was afraid of someday surviving another loss.

There's a difference.

Fear has a way of convincing us that protecting our hearts will protect us from pain.

But that's never really been true.

It only protects us from fully living.

I've come to believe that love is always a leap of faith.

None of us knows what tomorrow will bring.

But I would rather love deeply, knowing there is risk, than spend my life wondering what might have been.

Again and again...

I choose love. 💚

There was a time when I was afraid that healing meant learning to live without the people I loved.

But that was never the case.

Over the years, I've come to understand that healing doesn't ask us to let go of the person who died.

It asks us to discover a new way of being in relationship with them.

The conversations may be different.

The connection may be different.

The way we experience their presence may be different.

But love doesn't simply disappear because someone dies.

It changes shape.

If you're grieving someone today, I hope you'll remember this:

Moving forward doesn't mean leaving them behind.

Sometimes it simply means learning a new way to carry them with you. 💚

Enlightenment - July 2026 | Insights on Life, Death, and Grief

https://mailchi.mp/merrileeculbert.com/enlightenment-july2026

Card of the Month: FAILURE

"I understand that a mistake is only an opportunity to learn."

Life on Earth is full of experiences. It is our human brain that views outcomes as good or bad. The soul simply views them as chances to grow. Learn to see the big picture of life instead of the minutiae. Failure to accomplish a task is merely the opportunity to evolve, and the negative connotation of the word 'failure' can prevent you from trying again.

You must come to the realization that there is no judgment involved with your soul's lessons. Realize that what you view as a failure is just your soul telling you that there is another path. Embrace the maxim 'When one door closes, another one opens'. It is time for you to stop any negative emotional investment you have in the outcome. Revel in the "knowingness" that everything will reveal itself when it is meant to. No matter what, be true to your dream and the creative process.

One of the most life-changing lessons I've learned is that acceptance is not approval.

Acceptance doesn't mean we like what happened.

It doesn't mean we agree with it.

It doesn't mean we stop wishing things had been different.

Acceptance simply means acknowledging reality as it is, rather than exhausting ourselves fighting what cannot be changed.

In my experience, acceptance is often where healing begins.

Not because the pain disappears, but because we stop spending energy arguing with reality.

There are seasons of life when survival is enough.

When getting out of bed, making dinner, returning a phone call, or simply making it through another day is an accomplishment.

But at some point, many of us begin to wonder:

Am I still surviving, or am I living?

Healing often begins when we become active participants in our own rescue—not through grand gestures, but through small choices made consistently over time.

What is one small thing that helps you feel more alive?