The Gift That Keeps on Giving

When I was in college, I took several courses in linguistics-- not because I needed it to support my (nonexistent) career plans, or as a requirement for my course of study, but because I found the subject interesting. For one course, I had a professor who was one of the editors of Webster's New World Dictionary. He was tall and thin, with angular features, a bushy head of salt-and-pepper hair and a very erudite manner of speaking. Let's call him Dr. G.

One day in class, at the front of the room where Dr. G could not ignore it, someone knocked over a cup of coffee, which proceeded to spill onto the floor right in front of him. Dr. G looked up and asked, in all seriousness, "Does anyone have any Kleenices?"

Now, to find that funny, you have to know that the plural of index is indices, and codex, codices, which obviously Dr. G knew (and I did too). I might add as a personal corollary that I have never heard the words indices, codices, or any similar word uttered aloud, even once, in my entire life.

Over 30 years later, it still never fails to make me laugh out loud (a smile and faint chuckle, that is) whenever I think of it. I don't remember what the class was about, but I will remember that question forever. Thought of it again today, when I ran out of Kleenices at my desk at work and had to go buy some. Thank you, Dr. G.

Reiki Dreams

It was a very eventful 2010, with a lot of challenges. One very positive thing that happened in my life is that I became a Certified Reiki Master Practitioner/Teacher. My Master's training took place late in the year, during a cold, hard-winded four-day retreat at Rising Phoenix, the Loyola College Retreat Center in Flintstone, Maryland, during which three celestial events happened concurrently for the first time in 372 years: the winter solstice, a full moon, and a lunar eclipse. This gave a powerful energy and sense of moment to the retreat, which I shared with two fellow students, fun and fascinating men named Carl and Rudy, and my teacher David.

On the first day of our Reiki Master's journey, David asked us to write a haiku about what we were feeling about our experience, to be shared the following morning. This opened a floodgate of haiku, and throughout the rest of the retreat they came, some humorous and some serious. Since it has been so long-- probably twenty years-- since poetry has come to me unbidden, I thought I would share my Reiki haikus with you here.

Silver moon and stars--
the female principle reigns.
Loving, caring, strong.

The Reiki Master
sings and chants her four smybols.
Energy flows free.

David, Rudy, Carl:
my winter solstice brothers.
Reiki unites us.

The food was fantastic at the retreat center, and one night at dinner, I composed this one:
The Reiki Master
licks his plate clean at each meal.
Loyola-- good food!

The retreat center has a huge fireplace in their central gathering/dining room, and throughout that cold, blustery long weekend, they kept it fed and glowing for us:
A log on the fire.
The fire in my heart grows strong.
Both are burning bright.

We titled this one "Pick-up Line at the Reiki Bar and Grill":
Hon-sha-ze-sho-nen
is my favorite Reiki symbol.
So, what's yours, baby?