We were happy to receive an invitation to the 30th annual NA Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago. Prescription and street drug addiction is one of the most pressing issues in the healthcare field today. We believe reiki is one way to lessen the need for these kinds of drugs in the first place, as well as helping to ease people off of them once they are no longer medically indicated. 

The event was held at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, home to some of the best attended conventions in the country.

We offered 10-minute reiki demos to 93 conference attendees who might benefit from recognizing their energetic and spiritual nature as a pathway to wellness. 

Due to the nature of the event, Anonymous, we did not document the event as we normally would. Instead, below are the beautiful words of our two newest volunteers describing their experience at their first Reiki Brigade outreach event. 

Friday team:  Stephanie, Paula, Reggie, Alex, Heather, Janice.
Saturday team (not pictured): Patrice and Kristi. 

"Participating in Narcotics anonymous event was a powerful experience for me. I have witnessed the struggle of many friends and family who struggle with various addictions. Many of the clients that I worked with at the conference came from situations that I was familiar with, I saw the joy and release of stress on some of the participants faces after giving them a 10 minute Reiki session. While working on one of the participants I noticed that they began to cry and sigh in relief. After the session the partipant seemed lighter and smiled and thanked me for allowing her the space to feel at peace."  —Reggie Harris

Overall it was fantastic to encounter a range of Reiki-experienced visitors. Some had never heard of Reiki while others were intimately familiar with its effects. On several occasions it was exciting to see the apprehension wash away and the receiver have a sense of calm and a stress-free mood after a brief introduction to Reiki. There were many who would pass by our sign, giving strange looks, and questioning, but to have them later return and have a profound sense of relief of stress, pain, or grief after their experience was incredible. 

It is a magnificent moment for Reiki to be brought into the light and shared with the public. It demystifies a practice that can provide such a deep and lasting sense of calm, love, and healing. Often it only takes the right words, the right metaphor, the right symbol to unlock the potential for anyone and everyone to understand the incredible experience of Reiki as a common everyday practice." —Alex Zielinski

Here's to raising awareness and availability of the benefits of reiki!
If you'd like us to visit your workplace, please get in touch.
If you're a reiki channel who would like to join us in our outreach efforts, we'd love to meet you!
Complete the application linked to our web page to get the process started.