Welcome to the second in my series of interviews on “Cyber Geek Girl”, and I’m delighted to introduce Diana Street, the Founder of Peaceful Harmony. Diana is a qualified Reiki practitioner, wellbeing counsellor and pet bereavement counsellor who has helped me on numerous occasions through various bereavements including the stillbirth of my son Frankie and my beloved Aunt to dementia, as well as the losses of my beautiful dogs Toyah, Howie, Curley and my Aunt’s dog Rusty. Over to you Diana to tell us all about Reiki and the amazing benefits it has.

Can you please tell us a little about yourself and how you started on your Reiki journey?

I am originally from the beautiful island of Sri Lanka where I attended a Convent Boarding school.  Although it was a predominantly Roman Catholic school there were also pupils from other faiths.  It always interested me to see how calm some of them were and was told they did a lot of meditation, which intrigued me greatly. This was something I could not understand but promised I would look at it later.

This promise I made all those years ago was forgotten until something happened in my life that changed me completely to being a more positive, calm and understanding person.

Having trained as a Bereavement and later Pet Bereavement Counsellor I learned to listen attentively with empathy and learn how to ‘walk in their shoes’.  Helping others come to terms with their grief was so rewarding and nothing pleased me more than when I knew they did not need my services anymore and had come to terms with their bereavement.

I then had a fall playing my favourite sport badminton and hurt my knee quite badly.  I was on prescribed medication and went into deep depression. 

One day a friend mentioned she had been to see a Reiki Master as she was suffering from stress and depression. After just a couple of sessions she felt so much better and strongly advised me to have some Reiki therapy.  Now I must admit although I had heard about Reiki, I was extremely sceptical that it would help me in any way. After much deliberation however, I decided to try it as by then the pain was unbearable and I also wasn’t sleeping very well too.

I went along to see a Reiki Master and was very doubtful that it would work.  I secretly thought well at least I did try and if at the end of the sessions I could sleep more soundly at night it would have been worth it.  After the first session I felt a lot more relaxed and as a result I slept a lot better that night. I was impressed and booked a few more Reiki sessions and after each session I felt a lot less stressed and my sleep improved a lot too.

Then something ‘magical’ happened!

One day the ‘phone rang downstairs and I was upstairs.  There was no one in the house except myself and my first thought was to just ignore it.  It kept ringing and as I thought it could be important I walked downstairs and answered it.  As I sat down I suddenly noticed what I had done, I had actually walked down the stairs. My knee did hurt me a little but the pain was nothing like I had experienced before.  I was truly amazed.

I went back to see my Reiki Master and asked if I could learn how to heal people with Reiki (mentioning also that I did bereavement counselling) and he seemed confident that it would definitely complement the other work I did and also help to heal myself and others too.

How has Reiki affected your life?

Reiki has completely changed my life for the better. I realised what was and what wasn’t that important to me in my spiritual journey.  Did I really need that new car, or that executive job?  In other words, I was prioritising the things that I could change and not worrying about those that I couldn’t change.  Quite often I was being stressed about things that did not really matter. 

Who did you train with, and how long have you been teaching yourself?

I trained with Geoff Brooks a wonderful Reiki Master based in Swindon. I was attuned to Reiki 1, 2 and became a Reiki Master in 2011. Peaceful Harmony was a company I formed in 2012 and I have been teaching Reiki Spiritual Healing ever since.

The journey continues…..

How would you explain Reiki – is it a spiritual practice, energy healing or something else?

Reiki is an ancient Japanese spiritual healing technique that was started by Dr Usui. It is administered by ‘laying of hands’ (although you don’t have to touch the person to heal them).

What makes Reiki different from other forms of energy healing?

Reiki is different to other forms of energy healing as it channels the spiritual healing energy from the practitioner to another person, pet or even plants.

What is the most misunderstood thing about Reiki in your opinion?

There are lots of people who do not believe that Reiki can heal themselves especially as it is an unseen spiritual energy.  They are reluctant to try it because they don’t think it will work!

As a Reiki practitioner, what was the most challenging question posed to you by your student, and how did you answer it?

One of the most challenging questions I was asked was “How can you be sure that Reiki is not a cult religion?”.

My answer was that Reiki has no dogma or religion therefore it is for everyone.

Can you share with us your most unforgettable experience concerning Reiki?

There have been many unforgettable experiences I’ve had especially when I have been doing my Reiki sessions.

It has definitely strengthened my intuition so much that when I do see a client I can sometimes feel exactly where they most need their healing. My clients are amazed and wonder how I knew that it was their back, leg or sleep pattern that needed healing.

A client asked me if I could help her sister who had tourettes syndrome.  Now I wasn’t sure but had great faith in Reiki.  This little girl could not sleep at night and it affected her at school the following day as she was very tired.  After a couple of Reiki sessions she was sleeping soundly.  I was so very pleased for her and her family.

Combining it with the counselling that I also do Reiki has definitely been the ‘magic formula’.

What do you hope to see change for Reiki in the next five to ten years?

I would love to see Reiki used more during the next five to ten years by those who have experienced its healing benefits and attuned others so that they can help others heal.

Could you tell us a bit about your monthly Reiki group and how people can get involved in it?

My monthly Reiki Group is a huge success and is a small group that meets on the first Wednesday of each month. We discuss various topics including how crystals can help us heal and the 7 Main Chakras, as shown by the diagram below:

If you would like to join our group then you can contact me via email telling me a bit about why you would like to join our group.

Everything said during the group meetings is confidential and the group is fast growing in numbers.

Could you please tell us a bit about the Reiki services you offer at Peaceful Harmony?

I offer 1-2-1 Reiki sessions and attune people to Reiki 1, 2 and the Master’s Degree.

The attunements are done over a two-day period, a light lunch and refreshments are provided and participants receive a manual and certificate at the end of the course.

I also give talks to companies and groups who want to know more about how Reiki can help them heal.

There are many other ways that Reiki can help people:

  • Balance and amplify the energy you have
  • Increase your self-awareness, vitality and creativity
  • Heals the whole person
  • Helps release stress and anxiety
  • Gets rid of stored negative emotions
  • Sleep more soundly
  • Develops spiritual connection
  • Heightens intuition
  • Strengthens self-esteem

Reiki can also be sent backwards to heal an emotional distress or forwards in time, for example, to help with a stressful meeting. It can also strengthen your gut feeling and help release stored negative emotions.

For more information about Reiki and how it can help or benefit you, please visit www.peacefulharmony.co.uk. To find out more about Diana’s monthly Reiki group, please email her via diana@peacefulharmony.co.uk.