By Deborah Fox.
On any given day, Peter Castiglione is outside taking full advantage of Colorado’s trails on his bike.
Nothing is going to stop him – until he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a few years ago. That’s when, he said, “I went through some heavy-duty stuff” followed by a year in maintenance. He was forced to rethink everything. “I was a workaholic. I could be flexible with my employer, but too much work affected me.” Even though regular exercise helped him with the pain, he had to figure out other ways to help himself.
His sister sent him an email with many resources supplied by the hospital, including Reiki sessions with LifeSpark. Peter did not know what it was all about but was willing to try. “At first, I didn’t call right away. Then, I signed up for eight sessions in a row with a practitioner.”
He welcomed the non-medical solutions to his cancer. “I was curious. Not nervous at all. It turned out to be better than any of my expectations.” He also emphasized that his practitioner Barbara was a very good listener and was able to hear him out and provide exactly what he needed each session.
Although Reiki sessions are different for each participant, he had plenty of positive things to say right from the start. Describing the sessions, he said, “I felt like I was waking up from a dream. The day felt new. A fresh new feeling. My weekly Reiki sessions with Barbara have been a highlight of my week. I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from Reiki, and it’s helped me a lot with remaining calm, stable, and positive.”
When the session began, he went into a sleep trance very quickly and felt very energized afterward. “This taught me how to do something on my own.” Peter was very enthusiastic about continuing to explore Reiki. “We did guided imagery. Reiki reduced my stress and anxiety. Whenever I begin to feel that way, I tap into that Reiki feeling to fend it off.”
He highly recommends Reiki sessions and really looked forward to the appointments.
Right now, he’s in a stable condition, doing a 2-year plan and then they will reassess. In the meantime, he is back out on the trails with his bike having a great time in the Colorado sun.
PS If you are really observant, notice the banana strapped to his handlebars!
