Reiki Heart - About Deirdre

So you know a bit about me...

I am a Licensed Health Care Practitioner who lives in the Central New York area, in the Town of Pompey, with my husband Michael. We have four grown children: Claire, Jesse, Zachary and Nolan; and two wonderful grandsons, Tyriq & Reese.

I provide Reiki Healing, Holistic Wellness Counseling, Hypnotherapy, Past Life Regression Therapy, Mindful Living & Stress Reduction Training, Meditation Instruction as well as other holistic healing treatments at my private practice, Reiki Heart.

I have a Masters Degree in counseling and I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor; Certified Hypnotherapist, Certified Past Life Therapist, Credentialed Chemical Dependency Counselor; Credentialed Rehabilitation Counselor; & NADA Certified Acupuncture Detox Specialist, NADA Certified Acupuncture Detox educator & Reiki Master Practitioner and Teacher. I am also an Adjunct Evaluator for Empire State College in Behavioral Science. I have worked for 30 years in the Mental Health and Chemical Dependency fields, most recently working at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, New York as a Clinical and Program Supervisor in Chemical Dependency Treatment Services and as a volunteer Reiki Practitioner. Prior to 11 years of service at Crouse Hospital, I worked as a psychotherapist at Pelion, Inc. for 17 years providing mental health and chemical dependency treatment to dually diagnosed adults. I am now devoting myself to my private practice, Reiki Heart, as well as tending to the seeds at The Center For Happiness.

When I was young, I was very sure of what I believed in... that we are part of the Universe and that when we die we are still alive in the stars, the wind, the trees, the birds, other people - in everything of nature. This was something I simply knew to be true. I was born into a family that belonged to a church, but the teachings of our religion all too often seemed illogical to me. I didn't fit in, and I consciously chose the forest as my church. I was blessed with a mother that agreed with me on an important element of my spirituality - that God was Love and Love was God. My mother and I respected each others beliefs. She continued on through her life devoted to her Roman Catholic faith... I knew no one who thought as I did about spirituality, nor did I know enough to seek them out.

Some of my happiest moments were in nature - in solitude. One of my finest memories is of me alone, in our row boat on Tully Lake, rowing and being totally in the moment...feeling, seeing, breathing, hearing, smelling and knowing the perfect wonder of the water dripping from the oars back into the lake in a beautiful pattern. The rhythm of life in my breath, my body working, the water's flow, the wooden oars and the sound they made as they circled around, the sunshine rippling on the water, the air on my skin and my knowing this was pure happiness were my total and only focus. I look back now and know I was in complete oneness with the Universe as I rowed. I was indeed the one song that is our Universe.

After some turbulence in my teen years, I sought out a transcendental meditation teacher at the age of 19 and was given my mantra. This was one of the few things I chose during those years that was actually good for me! Another positive thing I chose was dance. In dance, I found that same serenity I had found in my row boat. While dancing I was in the moment entirely, and I was dancing to the one song that we all are. I was that song and that song was me. I was very happy when I was dancing. Transcendental Meditation was wonderful and helped me to be healthier, but it was not as "in the moment" powerful experience that dancing was for me.

I was attracted to dance and healing and decided to major in Psychology in college with a goal of becoming a dance therapist. I did do some work in this field during and after college, but then turned my attention to the more traditional talking therapies. I went on to earn a Masters Degree with a focus on developing my skills as a Psychotherapist. Through my career, I always chose to bring in approaches that were of the mind-body connection. I worked with patients who suffered with chronic pain using counseling, biofeedback, meditative techniques and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). In addiction treatment I used acupuncture detox treatments, meditation, mindful living skills, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (which is a CBT that brings the additional elements of Zen thinking - particularly the idea of non-judgmental radical acceptance). I recommended yoga and other movement activites that were similarly healing. I took trainings through the hospital on Mindful Living Skills for Stress and Chronic Pain Reduction to better be able to help our patients. Yet I was still working in a very traditional setting and had the feeling that it was important for me to work in a different setting.

When I first heard of Reiki, the skeptic in me approached it with my usual caution and intellectual curiosity. When I received my first attunement, I had the experience of the center of my chest slowly opening up like it was a metal lotus flower with a dull but strong ache that could not be ignored; I then felt the vibration level of my body rising slowly up from my heart to my head. I felt like my face must have looked different, and my Reiki Master confirmed this with an unsolicited comment that I was glowing. I had to admit that something had happened although I did not really understand it.

From that day forward, I felt a connection with the spirituality of my childhood that just grew more and more powerful each day. My creativity increased remarkably, and I began to see the possibilities for my life in a new way. I knew I wanted to share this with others and envisioned a way to do it. From this vision and creativity came Reiki Heart and the Center For Happiness.

I am now a Reiki Master Practitioner and Teacher. Below is a picture of me with my Reiki Master Teacher, William Lee Rand. William is the founder of the International Center for Reiki Training. I am also blessed to have three other wonderful Reiki Master Teachers - Laurelle Gaia, Michael Baird and Mary McDowell.

My Lineage: see the Reiki Classes page.