Reiki and Addiction Recovery Stories

This week on Talk Recovery Radio we welcome educator and reiki master Keli Kane who talks about how Reiki can heal trauma, followed by a powerful story of recovery from addiction from Rain P. You can catch it all on Talk Recovery Vancouver’s Facebook page  Thursday at noon PST.

Guest 1:

Keli Kane

Keli’s loving and compassionate demeanor has destined her to teach young children as a Kindergarten Reading Specialist. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree, and a Master of Science in Education Degree. She is permanently certified by New York State as a Public-School Teacher Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-6. She is also permanently certified as a Reading Teacher grades K-12. She has been and is currently still employed in the same school district as a Reading Specialist teaching grades K-12 since 2003. Through her life journey Keli has suffered and overcome many unforeseen changes, traumas, and upheavals. Keli has used her God given gifts to not only change her own life but others’ as well through energy healing. She has also studied Shamanism and became an Usui Reiki Master and Teacher.

Keli is an extremely confident woman exercising excellent self-discipline to create strength needed to overcome traumas and obstacles. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is truly as authentic as one can be. She can easily be described as an Earth Angel always finding the best in a person or a situation. Children and animals are drawn to her white light high vibrational energy. Keli is a true social chameleon and those around her are at ease sharing their thoughts and feelings. Her positive energy and enthusiasm precede her entrance into a room.

Keli grew up in upstate NY and has one son.

Keli’s Twitter | Keli’s Instagram

Educator and Reiki Master

Happiness is a state of being. At times it can occur naturally and other times it requires a conscious decision to do the work.  Happiness doesn’t come to you, it has to come from within you. Healing depression is an ongoing process that requires perseverance even when you feel like you have nothing left to give yourself. It’s important to make the choice to invest in yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. It’s the daily choices one makes each day that adds to an individual’s happiness despite circumstances that arise. What do you read? What do you watch? What music are you listening to? Who do you share your energy with? What are you feeding your soul? These choices define a person and add up to keep one in a happy state of mind. Focus on what you want to be and be thankful for what you have. Do your best to live in the moment and not the memories of the past or the worry of the future. Change your mindset to remember that every day is a new beginning. Live by that phrase “one day at a time” because saying that to yourself when no one can be around to say it to you is critical. Smile, breathe, refocus, and try again. Love yourself a little extra on the emotionally trying days. Choosing to heal spiritually with an open heart is exactly what I’ve done but it’s a continual process.

It’s important for you to understand why I have advice to offer on the topic of healing depression with a loving heart. I’ve been a Reading Specialist for grades K-12 in the same school district since 2003. I’ve always poured my heart into everything I do since the very first day running around shouting “feel the love” to everyone. I’m definitely a hugger, and thoroughly enjoy blowing kisses to everyone. Working with such unique cases and under extreme scenarios much of the time has always taught me to think outside of the box, always finding the good in everyone and every situation. Considered a “gifted Empath” I use my gift to deeply connect to people. In the year 2014 I was struck; blindsided by a drunk driver four times over the legal limit. The injuries I sustained were a traumatic brain injury, torn right shoulder, neck trauma, left hand finger torn, and left side hip pains. It took me years of physical training (neck, shoulders, back, left hip side, and left hand), prescribed medications for pain, injections in my shoulders, neurofeedback, and cranial sacral therapy to name a few of the several healing paths I took for rehabilitation. I attended neurofeedback for one and a half years. During this time I was deemed “mentally disabled”.

I lost the ability to form complete sentences, write, and had short term memory loss to the point of not remembering the words I spoke just moments before. I lost my sense of humor as I couldn’t process information correctly causing me to lose my fun loving and playful personality. I was so angry that I had lost my identity, fearful that I would never find myself again. Truth be told I didn’t! I just created a new me with an unconditional love that I showed myself. I am still seeing the amazing psychologist that has been my grounding force through all of my traumas in the past 7.5 years. I saw a total of 14 specialists, PT’s, etc. to rehabilitate including the unorthodox ways of healing.

Guest 2

Rain’s Personal Story

Days before coming into recovery I was a lost soul.  I felt like a ghost walking in my own life.  I was continually numbing from having the inability to look behind me at the journey I’ve been on.   I was doing drugs and keeping people at bay, keeping anyone from getting close to me because it was honestly easier to write people off before making any sort of connection.  I was dead inside and just wanted it to end. I wanted to live, but it was heavily eclipsed with not wanting to even exist.  It was a weird place to be in.  On top of all this, I was so unsure of myself and who I am.   Being bisexual/two-spirited on its own has brought a lot of uncertainty about who I am.  Whether it was from losing the girl I loved from the bottom of my heart to a car accident or my choices to put myself in abusive relationships with guys – all of it led me further and further into a downward spiral of hating myself, not respecting myself and most importantly not loving myself.  I was committing spiritual suicide daily.  Every chance I got I was using drugs or drinking, most of the time on my own.

I left a civil engineering career in 2016 to become an artist. I thought that it was the career that was killing me, but it wasn’t.  It was my addiction.  Not just using drugs, but my habits.  My lack of ability to work on the hurt I was feeling and carrying is what led me to be sad and so angry all the time.  I discovered artwork in 2016 and it changed my life. It was the first time my heartbeat for something again. Artwork saved my life, I decided to dedicate my life to it.   I made a decision to put myself into a treatment facially for my 30th birthday to see what untapped potential was like. I wanted to see if this was a chance to get happy.

On May 19th 2020 I was dropped off at the Last Door Recovery Centre in New Westminster.  To be honest, I used all my drugs and went on a bender after my visit to the centre 4 days prior.  I was dropped off by my brother still high and really unsure of what I was even doing.  All I knew was that I needed help, regardless of how bad my demons wanted me to stay out and keep using.  I wanted to leave shortly after my check-in.  I kept looking outside the blinds thinking everyone was talking about me and not wanting me there.  But my roommate Chris changed that. He really was the reason I stayed the first week. He assured me that nobody was talking shit about me and that I was safe.  I was worried nobody would like me for being two-spirited.  He said, “if anyone has a problem with you, they have to go through me first, you’re safe here.”  So I stayed.  I still thought in my head nobody wanted me there, but I stayed. I made connections with the guys.  At the center, I slowly began to collect key fobs as time passed and I dove into my first set of 12 steps.  I started to work on the trauma and hurt I carried, as well as diagnosing my anxiety and getting proper medication – it changed my life.  My shoulders began to relax and my confidence started to build.  It was here I met some people I call my best friends.  I had so much fun at the recovery center for all the things we did together like paintballing, lake days trips to the mansion up at keystone and even journal parties at night time.

Fast Forward to today, I am taking a year of clean time on May 19, 2021.  I never thought in a million years I’d be this happy and content with who I am.  I love myself, I have my family back (I’m even doing renovations for my dad’s house – something I’d never do in addiction).  I am a part of society, I help out where I can. I also volunteer at the last door and connect with the new guys. My business is booming with projects and work.  I moved out of treatment after 10.5 months. I did 140 days in primary care and the rest of my days in transitional care – where I got to adjust to normal work life.  I moved out with 3 of my besties and we have a place in New West we can call home.  We practice recovery, hit meetings and honestly, we live the best life.  We are happy.  I am happy.  And it’s all because of recovery.

Listen and Subscribe

Talk Recovery airs live every Thursday at noon on 100.5 FM, Vancouver Coop Radio. The Last Door produces this weekly radio show discussing the many pathways to addiction recovery. To end stigma we must continue to talk about recovery. Talk Recovery is in its 7th Season, Hundreds of guests, thousands of listeners, thank you. Show ideas? Email community@lastdoor.org

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