August 7, 2026
Before I began practicing Reiki, I was acutely aware of societal divisions around us. Having grown up in different countries, I witnessed and experienced how race, ethnicity, religion, and social hierarchies kept people apart and even polarized groups. Some might say that these divisions are not as bad as they were decades ago, yet we’d be burying our heads in the sand if we thought they no longer existed.
Let me share my own experiences: When I was a child, my parents moved to the Philippines from Europe for a few years. I went to a private school where I was bullied by my Filipino classmates for speaking in English, the language of one of the country’s colonizers. My classmates let me know in the cruel way that kids do, that I should be speaking in Filipino since I was brown-skinned like everybody else. Their words exactly! My parents raised me with English as my first language – and there was nothing wrong with that!
On the contrary, in my teens, my family lived in Hawaii, and I was targeted by White classmates who were not yet open to brown-skinned foreigners. What did I do to warrant this? Nothing. I just existed. This was in the 1970s, a time when racial discrimination and ethnic tensions actively existed in Hawaii despite strong marketing that Hawaii was a multicultural paradise.
In short, I was harassed for being linguistically “too white” for my brown-skinned classmates, and for being “ too brown” in a white community. Either way, I could not win.
These experiences left deep marks on my psyche.
But when I began practicing and teaching Reiki, the pain I had carried since childhood from experiencing racism dissolved after one profound realization.
My students and clients from different ethnic and spiritual backgrounds sought healing for remarkably similar reasons: challenging family relationships, burnout, breakups, self-doubt, loss of identity, grief, anxiety, or physical illnesses, among others.
Their deepest hopes were remarkably alike. They wanted to heal family members or reconcile with loved ones. Many wanted to empower themselves and regain their self-esteem. Some longed to connect with deceased loved ones; others sought guidance from their angels or spirit guides.
I came to understand our great equalizer: that everyone fundamentally wants to lessen their suffering and experience peace, love, and joy.
In terms of different faiths, the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT), where I trained in Reiki for years, promotes a spirit of unity. We were invited to meditate on this statement: “May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all people on earth.”
Today I no longer believe there is only one path to the sacred. Different traditions nourish different people, and I have come to respect sincere spiritual seeking in many forms.
In my view, the Spirit of Creation and energy from Source does not discriminate or divide. It heals and unifies. It permeates our essence and makes us more cognizant of our shared humanity. It did this for me and set me free. I wish this for those who have experienced divisiveness of any kind. As I travel the world, I carry this medicine with me. Through working with energy, I invite you to experience the joy of knowing how much we really share.
Photo: Bas-relief at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia where I visited in 2024.