In 2015, April Hartmeister’s Stage-1 breast cancer diagnosis not only led her to fulfill her dreams of living on the beach, but also led her to LifeSpark. After a lumpectomy (alongside her big move), she wanted a more holistic approach to life. Lifespark helped her through all these changes by providing a release of energy and blockages. After a personal sojourn that led her to Belize and back, April decided to live near the ocean in Florida.
April shared how with cancer it is hard to find inner peace because you are constantly engrossed in the thought, “I have cancer.” Her LifeSpark sessions gave her relief from a preoccupied mind and day-to-day worries and allowed her to truly let go, rest, and relax. She shares that, with cancer, it is so hard to find any peace at all, and with LifeSpark, she was able to find that place of inner harmony.
Her biggest takeaway from Reiki was sleep, the kind of rest her body needed most. Insomnia and sleep issues were a direct correlation of living in constant worry due to having cancer for the first time, and not knowing how to handle everything. During most of her LifeSpark sessions, April would fall asleep, allowing her body the chance to heal itself.
As April describes it, when you have cancer, it’s hard to feel safe, and her LifeSpark sessions were truly a safe space for her. “It created a place of safety like you’re in a nest, and you feel like you’re being so cared for by someone who shares the same intention of healing you. I felt safe enough to fall asleep, and a lot of the time, lack of sleep is due to not feeling safe.”
After four years without LifeSpark, due to reaching the limit of sessions, as well as her move to Belize, a lump was found in April’s right breast. In what she calls a “manifestation,” an e-mail reminded her about LifeSpark and led her back into Reiki sessions. Instead of constantly thinking “I have cancer,” that second time around she focused on thinking “I want to recover.” Although the focus is slightly different, Reiki is equally helpful—if not more so—in supporting her on all levels: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
“We all have keys to unlock knowledge about ourselves. Cancer is a key, mistakes are keys, and LifeSpark offers a methodology of therapy for me as well. People consider therapy to be more of a verbal thing; you sit on a couch and talk. But even though Reiki is physical, it’s just as therapeutic, and highly effective.”
April now lives in Colorado, where she has finished receiving virtual sessions from her Reiki practitioner, Lori, whom she calls her “earth angel.” April says, “Cancer is a desperate need for self-love. With Reiki, I received that love. For someone who has a very difficult time accepting that kind of help, LifeSpark allowed me to open this part of myself.
