10 QUESTIONS WITH REIKI MASTER, MARCI LAUGHLIN
- Feb 24, 2015
- 9 min read
Photos by Julia Cooke
Feelings of stress, self-doubt, comparison and lack of energy are common among anyone living in the world these days. Images of conflict, violence, abuse and fear fill our minds due to messages we receive from the media, public and even close family and friends. These same fears, doubts and emotions are what lead Marci Laughlin to ask herself one of the toughest questions in life: Who am I? During the process of answering that question, she was lead to separate from the all too common lifestyle driven by money, success, power and prestige, to one of personal growth, spirituality and Reiki healing.
Reiki simply defined is, “A Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.” Marci now defines herself as not just a Reiki Master, but also a passionate healer who helps people in the process of transformation. She says that Reiki, “gets people in contact with who they really are.” It is a process of unleashing all the blocks – both mental and physical – that may be preventing you from knowing and hearing your true self. Many of her patients have used the healing technique for physical ailments like migraines, back or muscle pain, as well as a tool for healing emotional blocks due to trauma, past events or what can be stated as “humanness” – that sometimes overwhelming feeling of not being enough, not knowing enough, not doing enough. These feelings are so relatable and sadly, all too common. Reiki helps to peel away at what is not you, leading you to feel more energized and relaxed. From that free and relaxed state, you are able to think and act in a way that is more aligned with who you really are.
Marci herself was not always so connected to who she really is. She spent years in academia, first pursing a Master's and then a PhD at the University of Washington (UW). She focused her studies on International Relations, Arabic and Turkish. She first stepped foot into Turkey in 1996, as a guinea pig for a new Turkish Language Program that was starting up in partnership between UW and Bogazici University. This would be the catalyst for a journey of self-discovery that would lead Marci from Istanbul, back to the US, Cairo, Istanbul again, Rome, Nepal and Thailand, before her last return to Istanbul almost three years ago. This journey would also give Marci the courage to make a radical break and leave her PhD program to focus on heart centric studies. Marci was actually introduced to Reiki healing by a Sufi community while she was studying in Cairo. Her interest in spirituality and energy healing scared her at first, because she felt, as an academic. that she should be focused on more logical ways of understanding the world. Still, something drew her to Sufism and Reiki healing, and so she completed her Reiki Level 1 course in Cairo. The Level 1 course opens up the channels that allow someone to receive energy healing. It teaches participants how to heal themselves and others using life force energy. After returning to Seattle to finish her PhD, Marci realized academia was not her true calling. All of these fear based thoughts started arising around the money she had spent, the trajectory for her life she had built and what others would think if she left her program. It was a difficult transition, but she learned to quiet the thoughts and calm her fears with the assistance of her Reiki training. She eventually received her certificate for her Reiki Level 2 course – which goes deeper and teaches students how to grow their energy life force and use symbols for healing. Marci now gives private Reiki sessions in Istanbul, either at people's homes or at a wellness studio in Nisantasi. Sessions are typically 50 – 60 minutes long. Occasionally, Marci also holds Reiki Level 1 courses for small groups interested in becoming practitioners. This Spring, she will expand her work as a healer by completing her studies and becoming a certified Heart Intelligence coach.
If you are interested in working with Marci or have questions, you can email her at marcilaughlin@yahoo.it.
I was so moved by Marci's energy and perspective on the world, and especially by her courage to live her authentic life. I am grateful – because there is so much to learn from her – that she was able to share how she stays grounded, sane and healthy in Istanbul.
My perfect day of eating is...Unfortunately, my perfect day of eating isn’t what my normal day of eating looks like! I have never been a 3-meals a day type of person. Though it’s supposedly more healthy to eat your main meal at lunch, I have always enjoyed saving the main meal for dinner. Most of my life, I’ve been more of a frequent snacker throughout the day...but now that is more easily “justified” because I am always running to and from my private lessons in Istanbul. So I tend to eat a lot of nuts and other things that are easily portable. I CAN'T leave the house without my morning coffee---something I have loved since I first starting drinking espresso the moment I discovered “Café “Roma” in my University town. (well before the birth of Starbucks). For the last 9 months I have been drinking kefir which I make at home, almost every day, and eating LOTS of beets, which I love. My ideal—if I had easy access—would be to just eat meals of delicious meze and salads all day. As a vegetarian who occasionally eats fish, I appreciate the fact that mercimek and ezogelin soup is found in abundance here. The foods I crave are usually green veggies and I ADORE REAL pesto and Italian Parmesan (Grana Padana). I always feel that Parmesan energizes me—but it’s probably more from the sheer joy I get from eating it. (I eat it in the Italian style—nice chunks of it—not the grated kind.)
The three biggest benefits of Reiki are: I think the most obvious benefit of Reiki is that you can do it for yourself. It is both relaxing and energizing and really great for dealing with conditions of chronic pain, which was one of the main reasons I first did Level one in 1998. The 2nd benefit is that you can use it on friends and loved ones, and also send Reiki healing (distance healing) after taking the 2nd level course. What is so special about Reiki and what I have learned to value so much over the years is the self-trust it brings with regular practice. It does this by connecting you to your authentic self. It somehow peels away all the layers that are not you...so the REAL you can emerge. When you connect to your heart, to your authenticity, there comes a clarity which anchors you...giving you the courage to be who you are, to accept who you are without apology!
My favorite way to relax in Istanbul is my favorite way to relax in ANY place: hanging out at favorite cafes and having a heart-to-heart chat with friends. My favorite places are Kadikoy/Moda, and any time I need to shift my mood, I love walking around the fish market in Kadikoy or being near the sea or Bosphorous. Also, I love taking my journal and writing in one of my favorite cafes.
My favorite retreat in Turkey: I have yet to discover a favorite retreat in Turkey. Ideally any retreat for me would be involve sun and sea. A place that I feel really connected to is Kas, which I first visited in 1998 when my sister came to visit me after my semester in Bogazici. I then returned two more times from Italy with my husband, and then felt called back again last summer. My brain kept saying I should explore new places, since Turkey offers so many amazing places, but my heart insisted on going back to Kas.
The best tip for self-healing is... as my Heart Intelligence training coach always says, simple but not easy: be kind and gentle with yourself. You can “do” all the right things for your health: like eat the “right” foods, and exercise regularly, but if you are constantly feeding yourself negative self-talk, it’s meaningless. If you are constantly critical of yourself, you’ll never achieve true health or well-being. Reiki is not limited to the application of alleviating symptoms, or even healing the body; it serves to expand consciousness, and to stimulate your creativity on all levels.What I am more and more noticing both from my Reiki teaching and from my Heart Intelligence training is that a huge aspect of healing is self acceptance. And also about learning to receive; this is especially a big issue with women; so many women are conditioned to give and take care of others, but not to take care of themselves. There is so much conditioning around being “selfish”—especially in a society like Turkey, where there is such a heavy conditioning regarding taking care of everyone else first and being accused of being selfish if you don’t. Anyway, this aspect of learning how to receive is increasingly revealing itself to be a big factor in healing. Can we allow ourselves to truly receive from others? Can we learn to ask for what we want? And moreover, can we open to receive what we want, without all those shadow voices of “undeserving” being activated?
If someone wants to know more about Reiki, they should look here: There are hundreds of websites and books that one can consult in order to learn more about Reiki, but my usual advice is to EXPERIENCE a Reiki session. Let your knowledge come from your own experience. I never try to tell someone that they should believe in Reiki. As Osho, one of my favorite teachers, was fond of saying: drop your beliefs! Beliefs often stand in the way of true knowing/knowledge. Too often we form a “belief” about something, without having it be informed by our own experience; we merely accept what others say about something, or somebody else’s opinion and thus halt our own pursuit of truth; we make others’ truths our own reality. I think only when we approach something with openness, in the spirit of curiosity, then we pave the way for authentic“knowing.” I am not interested in trying to convince people about the benefits of Reiki. However, I am SO happy to open the door for them if they want to knock. I can say that in my own personal experience, I’ve seen people benefit greatly from Reiki, and even transform their lives with it. I’ve seen how it relaxes, how it rejuvenates, how it has removed obstacles in people’s lives on every level. But as the Reiki energy has its own intelligence, it will work with you according to your individual needs, according to where you hold blocks (whether on the physical, mental, or emotional levels), and where you need to come into balance. So everyone’s Reiki journey will be according to their signature, or blue-print, so to speak.
My morning routine: I get up and have a cup of coffee; then, if I don’t have a morning lesson, I do pranayama (yogi breathing exercises) and some yoga. Though I’ve tried many styles of yoga over the years, the one that most speaks to me now is Kundalini Yoga. This style of yoga involves the use of breathe, mantra and meditation much more than other styles. I guess I really resonated with it when I first experienced it in Rome in 2009, because it felt very much like a spiritual path—i.e. encompassing not just the physical aspects, but also the mind and spirit. Anyway, I tend to do the Kundalini warm-up exercises, and then some stretching and a rather syncretic mix of asanas according to what I feel like. (I
never imagined that my morning routine would one day be so tame, given that I LOVED running and used to do it every day, but had to stop a few years ago after some back issues.)
One thing you would say to those skeptical about Reiki: For those skeptical...see previous answer. Often I use the analogy of Oxygen; do you need to believe in it for it to work? But of course, if you come with the attitude of “this won’t work,” it won’t; because there must be a degree of receptivity. I recommend the scientific approach: an attitude of curiosity and investigation. Having your mind made up before your own investigation is contrary to a the spirit of scientific investigation.
My favorite thing about living in Istanbul is...proximity to water, and the people. As interesting and beautiful as Istanbul can be, if I didn’t feel such a connection with the people, I couldn’t be here. Especially as it wasn’t a job or love that brought me here—just some unexplainable affinity for Istanbul and Turkish people.
What would you like to see more of here in terms of health, wellness and self-care: I would love to feel the presence of a more connected and integrated “health and well-being” community. I know there are other Reiki practitioners out there, and other alternative health practitioners, but I’m not aware of any way of connecting to the others. It would be so great to have a community to fall back on—to share with, to exchange with, etc. It would also be wonderful to have more health-food options like Germany! Germany is a Mecca for vegetarians, or gluten-free options. Things can be found here but they are so expensive and there is not much of a range of options. Also, more organic grocers! Also--Maybe a utopic idea, but a REASONABLY priced bakery specializing in healthy treats! My big comfort food is cookies (esp. tuzlu) and I would LOVE to have access to healthy, maybe gluten-free, cookies!
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