Random Thoughts To Occupy My Time

Usually my best writing is done when I start out with a blank mind and a blank page. In those moments, I just write whatever comes to my mind first. Everyone tells me I should be a writer. Well, this might be the only way it happens, really. Otherwise, I have to wait those very long intervals in between inspirations. But when I DO write, I end up saying something that hits home to someone, somewhere.

My latest attempt at being successful professionally will commence in about two weeks from now. It is a recycled idea from many years ago that has a more developed approach to it now. I will be advertising my hotel call services to all 45 hotels within a five-mile radius of my home/office. Both chiropractic and Reiki services will be offered. As my chiropractor, Dr. Joe Donahoe of Roseville, MN, said to me just today, “You never know where it might lead.” In order for doors to open, I have to knock first.

This past Sunday night I was listening to Joel Osteen’s TV sermon. Now I am not a “religious” person, but I find great spiritual encouragement in his rather non-sectarian messages. He said, “Be careful what you put after the ‘I am’ because that’s what will come looking for you.” It is a great message of hope and encouragement. All too often we focus on what we DON’T have in our lives while at the same time we are not thankful for what we DO have. I think one of the roles of karma is to help us to focus on what is here and now before we can enjoy and fruits of our labors later on. God only exists in the present. Memories of the past and thoughts about the future are merely pictures created in our own mind. Let’s take a look at the here and the now. Live in the moment. It’s the only way we can resolve our hangups about the past AND relieve any worries about the future in the same stroke.

I was reminiscing with a fellow firefighter on Facebook the other day about those seemingly glorious six months in 1981 when I was a firefighter, and how “office politics” caused me to be booted off the fire truck once and for all. I answered to that, “It was all good because it led to something better.” It was a real example of doors to opportunity opening simply because I knocked. To read the full story of what I am referring to, you can read my earlier post entitled “The Last Call.” While my message is about not living in the past, it is important to know that that which happened in the past is what shaped us into the person we are today. If what you are today is something you don’t like, then NOW is the time for you to change that. Today will be tomorrow’s yesterday. If the person you are today is a person of character and integrity, then you have your life events to thank for that. I am currently working on a book that I am co-writing with my wife Bianca about my life story and how, despite having autism, I got to where I am today.

Speaking of being successful despite having autism, I always say to people that NOT being diagnosed with autism when I was younger was the reason why I accomplished so much in life. Although I did everything the hard way, there was no one to tell me I COULDN’T do something. I never had a label, a naysayer, to hold me back. Whenever I give one of my autism lectures to an audience, I remind the parents and caregivers in the audience to never limit a child with autism. Yes, they will be learning challenged and socially challenged. But that does not in any way mean that they cannot reach their goals. They are JUST as capable as anyone else. They just have to figure out their own way around. Time is of the essence!

 
That’s all I can think of writing for now. My brain stopped thinking.

Myths & Facts About Reiki

Last week a new Reiki client called me out of the blue to schedule a session. The result of that session left me with the notion that I really need to focus more on what is working in my professional life rather than on what is not. I guess you could call this writing a continuation of my previous post entitled "The 'Other' Calling," in which I describe how being autistic leads to a natural flair for being a minister. The one thing that my menus of health care services and ministerial services have in common is Reiki healing. Thus, it is the Reiki that will be my primary focus for promotion and advertisement from now on.

While many people reading this article may wonder what Reiki is, I will explain it in a nutshell for now. Hawayo Takata explained that Reiki means Universal Life Energy, and we are all composed of this energy. It is that force behind the flow of everything – healing of wounds, the circulating of blood, the flowing of water, the blowing of wind, etc. This energy can be used for healing. During a Reiki session, hands are placed in various areas on or over the body, front and back. There is no manipulation. The Universal Life Energy simply flows on its own accord to the areas where healing is needed. We all have this ability to some degree. With Reiki attunement and training, this ability is magnified immensely to where the results can actually be quantified and measured.

My deep appreciation and excitement for Reiki healing goes far beyond what can be experienced in the purely physical sense. Because of that connection that exists with the Universe, I feel obligated to be true to the original methods, teachings, and practices of what Reiki really is. Unfortunately, there are too many people out there, including Reiki practitioners themselves, that DON'T know what it is, just like that new Reiki client who came to see me last week who said that he was a trained practitioner himself. The "knowing" isn't based on ideas about techniques and teachings -- it is based on the experience of what Reiki can do for you. Those who abide by the founding principles and teachings are not only more knowledgeable, they are also more respectful of the energy and of the Reiki Masters (teachers) who originally developed this great healing art. The true Reiki healer does not let his/her ego get in the way. A high degree of respect automatically takes ego out of the equation. Lastly, and most importantly to the client or patient, the one receiving the Reiki healing will experience something far greater than anything they've ever felt before. The Reiki session ends up being an unforgettable, life-changing experience!

To continue, I need to make it clear that I am not a Reiki Master at this point in time. I hope to be someday. There are three different “levels” of Reiki practice. The 1^st Degree practitioner performs hands-on healing for physical illness and injury, and the 2^nd Degree practitioner is able to use Reiki for psychological and spiritual healing as well as being able to perform in-absentia healing and other metaphysical/paranormal applications. As far as being a healer goes, one is complete in their abilities at the 2^nd Degree level. The Master is one who is trained to attune and teach other practitioners. In the traditional method of Reiki, there are no other levels. The 2^nd Degree practitioner is given three symbols, or “keys”, to work with in their healing practice. The Master is given a fourth symbol which empowers them to empower others. In the traditional method of Reiki, there are no other symbols, and these symbols are NEVER revealed, never shared, and never discussed. To do otherwise, such as posting the symbols on a website or displaying them blatantly during a session, is an abomination to the tradition. Reverence for the energy is paramount.

I’ve been writing “the traditional method” quite a bit in this article. That is so that I can set it apart from the non-traditional, and often less effective, methods that have been, rather egoistically, developed since Reiki came to the United States. In that light, one who practices and respects the traditional method will be intimately knowledgeable of Reiki’s history. I am not going to tell the entire history here. That is for a true Master to teach. Reiki is NOT an ancient healing art that was “invented” more than 2,000 years ago. It was discovered, and gifted to, a monk named Mikao Usui in Japan in April of 1921. Because of the great work of developing and perfecting it, done by Chujiro Hayashi and Hawayo Takata, the original Usui System Of Natural Healing According To Hawayo Takata was born. It was not originally called “Reiki”. “Leiki”, later called “Reiki”, is the word that Usui used to refer to the actual energy. When Takata brought the teachings to the West in 1970, much to the dismay of the traditionalists in Japan, she trained 22 Reiki Masters in this traditional system of healing. Unfortunately, not all 22 of them kept true to the original teachings. They instilled their own egoistic ideas, creating their own methods, and mixed Reiki with other healing arts. THIS is what exists in grossly large amounts in this day and age. I once talked to a Reiki “Master” here in Minnesota who said to me that she “heard of” Hawayo Takata. I was appalled at the lack of knowledge and respect, which translates into less effective ability as well. I consider myself blessed to have been taught by the student of one of those original 22 Masters of the West who kept the teachings pure, unwavering from their origins. Because of the utmost degree of respect that I have for Reiki, I follow in their footsteps with great honor.

Perhaps the greatest myth that exists today about Reiki is that you can learn all levels in one weekend for only about a hundred dollars. This is far from the truth. It cost me $650 and more than three months of apprenticeship under my Master, Rev. Betty McKeon, to learn the intimacies of how Reiki works. You get what you pay for, and you receive what you are capable of handling. True Masters will have spent at least $10,000 and several years of apprenticeship under their Masters before becoming Masters themselves. True traditionalists will also know what their Reiki lineage is. Mine is posted on my website.

Shortly after I was trained in the 2^nd Degree, I had performed a successful spiritual cleansing of someone’s home which was haunted. When I was talking to a fellow member of a healing circle about the experience, she asked me how on earth I did it. Another person who was listening in on the conversation advised me that the person I was talking to was a Reiki “Master”. I figured that if she really WAS a Reiki Master she would have no need to ask. That just showed me that my Master was right about most people out there not practicing, and not even knowing about, the traditional method of Reiki, even though they staunchly think that they do. As for the new client that I performed a session on last week, his ego quickly disappeared when he experienced something profound during his session – a session that his own Reiki “Master” was never able to give him. He learned the depth and intensity of my respect for traditional Reiki. As I found out later from the person who had taken over the practice of my Reiki Master’s Master (Rev. Fran Brown) after her passing in 2009, my client’s “Master” was one of Takata’s 22 Masters that did NOT keep the teachings pure and destroyed what she was given with her own ego-driven ideas.

Another myth is that since all energy is the same one should not charge for their healing services. One of my Spiritual Teachers, Swami Muktananda, once said that it is not a bad thing if one’s healing practice is their livelihood as long as they are honest in their work. Yes, there are those like me who do this as a profession. In addition, those who are WILLING to pay for the service are the ones who know the true VALUE of what they are receiving. Therefore, they will certainly gain more from it. For people who have never experienced real Reiki before, and to give people a sample of my style, I will certainly offer a five-minute session at no charge. It is interesting to observe that people quite often experience something profound just during the sample! It is even more amazing what they walk away with after a full session. With me, a full session lasts an average of 75 minutes. On numerous occasions during the 13 years I’ve been practicing Reiki, I’ve had people say to me that even though they’ve had Reiki done to them before, they never felt the magnitude of powerful energy that they felt with me. That usually leads to a discussion about the difference between the nontraditional “Westernized” methods and the pure, unadulterated, traditional method, “the way it was taught and practiced in Japan,” that I use. There definitely IS a difference!

Two other myths about Reiki that make it out to be some kind of New Age hokey pokey game are the ideas that the practitioner is “clearing” the client’s chakras and that Spirit Guides are communicating with them and guiding them. The energy actually flows on its own accord, and its effects cannot be directed or predicted. Intuitive information does arise, unattributable to any kind of angelic or garish entities. On that note, I will share a personal view. It’s not just that the traditional teachings are more pure and potent. My Reiki Master told me that I was so connected to the energy that I was a natural. People who are autistic do seem to have a natural ability to be connected to the universe, the inspiration, that surrounds them. This is what I attribute my “natural” ability to. There is something transcendental about placing my hands on someone and experiencing the flow of energy. During the course of the 75-minute (average) session, intuition itself “speaks”, and I share the information with my client. Oftentimes it ends up being an Edgar Cayce-like experience. They learn something about themselves that helps them along in their quest for healing and positive life change. They walk away with something tangible they can use.

For more information about my Reiki healing services, please see my website at http://www.DrPatSuglia.com/reiki .

The "Other" Calling

Although it’s been a couple months since I last wrote a blog post, I’ve been quite busy writing my book about being autistic. I’ve also been busier with planning and officiating wedding ceremonies, as it is that time of year. I don’t usually focus so much on my ministerial work in my writings, but in this blog post I will. In just two hours from now I’ll be officiating a wedding ceremony in this tourist town of Rice Lake, WI. When I woke up this morning, things started clicking in my mind. Becoming an Ordained Minister is something that occurred by happenstance way back in October of 2001. I didn’t really do anything with it until 2004, which is when I officiated my first wedding. Even my attempts at starting my own church fell flat simply because I wasn’t really motivated. But now something is different. Times have changed, and feelings have changed.

For the most part, I felt rather uneasy officiating weddings and performing other ministerial tasks. It wasn’t because I was afraid of being in front of crowds. I am not. Perhaps being autistic had something to do with it. And then this morning, as I lied in bed half-awake, this realization suddenly came to me:

The five points of being an autistic wedding minister:

1. You are a man of the cloth. Your social foibles are forgiven.
2. You are not building relationships, and these people will never see you again.
3. You will feel out of place because you are not part of this family. Don't worry about it.
4. You will be looked up to anyway because of your important role.
5. Regarless of the first 4 points, you are automatically considered trustworthy and may even become somebody's confidant along the way.

During yesterday’s rehearsal for today’s wedding, these points were very palpable. That which made me feel so uncomfortable in the past was suddenly a moot point.

These same points DO NOT apply to being a chiropractor. Since almost all people see chiropractors as either not "real" doctors or an "optional" piece of the puzzle, I am automatically under more scrutiny and am being judged more, a fact that I cannot afford being autistic. It’s not that I want to leave this profession. Those that know what I do say that I am a great healer (their words, not mine), thus I want to continue helping those who trust me enough to experience what I have to offer. It is just that since this part of my life has not panned out the way I wanted it to, perhaps, after eleven years of trying, it’s time to shift my focus.

When I was a very young kid, John, the kid I grew up with that lived next door to me, and I used to pretend that we were Catholic priests. We both went to Parochial schools and were very active in our churches as altar boys. We both became very close friends with our parish pastors. Now John lives in a seminary. While his goal is to become a priest, he of course balks at my having become a minister "for hire". In the end, though, it seems that we followed through, in our own ways, with that which had inspired us in our younger years.

For me, I see it as something different, yet at the same time not. I am still a healer. I’m just not performing in the "doctor" role at the moment. As an Ordained (Interfaith) Minister, I can still use energy medicine (Reiki) to hold healing sessions. I can counsel on a spiritual level. My service to the Heart (the hub in which God dwells) through bringing people together in wedding ceremonies, memorializing people at funerals , welcoming people into this world through baptism, or in other ways, is how I am serving humanity. This is a duty, and this is a most honorable CALLING.

Such food for thought.

Caveat Emptor

Yesterday I was killing some time at the Rosedale Center before it was time to go to the Autism Society of Minnesota’s Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder support group. I was browsing through books the health and wellness section at Borders when I came across a few books on autism. One particular book caught my eye. Its message said that autism is not a behavioral disorder but a disease that can be effectively treated. Next I saw that the book was written by someone who is a strong advocate for the “Defeat Autism Now!” diet program. That was quite a pshaw moment for me. If autism was THAT easy to take care of, then nobody would have it. Besides, I bet a lot of the people who I and my social worker/counselor know that tried the DAN! program to no avail would like to have a word or two with some DAN! practitioners and advocates. The truth is that not everybody that has autism has a gluten or a casein allergy. I don’t. Also, autism is NOT a disease. It is not even a behavioral “disorder”. It is a different-than-the-norm way that the brain is wired which affects the way people think, feel, interpret, learn, socialize, problem solve, and communicate. In the worst cases, it also affects one’s ability to be functional to any viable degree.

Unfortunately, there are people and “health practitioners” out there who are using autism as their marketing tool, as their way to market a product or service to a vulnerable niche. This may sound like an extremely harsh criticism on my part. After all, some people really ARE helped by the DAN! program and by other medical and alternative medical treatment programs out there. That is absolutely wonderful, and I love hearing testimonials about things that work. But, what irks me to no end is when people with clout take what helped them or their family member, get up on a lucrative soapbox, and market their story and product as THE solution for ALL people with autism. It just doesn’t work that way! This is why I am not an advocate of any organization that promotes one thing or, like the DAN! program does, promotes the latest thing to come along. So, since gluten/casein diets obviously don’t help EVERYone with autism, along came the mitochondrial defect theory -- a new soapbox to captivate an audience. Mitochondrial diseases do exist. But the people who have them have musculoskeletal disorders, not autism. People with autism can have mitochondrial diseases, and when this issue is addressed they do improve. But, like everything else, it is not a be-all-and-end-all answer.

These sometimes melodramatic pitches about “what helped my child will help everybody” or “what I have (or do) is THE cure” are why I am a practitioner of responsible functional medicine evaluation. Do I tell people I can help them? Sure! Do I promise people I can cure them? Absolutely not. Can I test you for food allergies? Yes. I can also test for mitochondrial disease, for heavy metal toxicity, for genetic defects, for impaired neurological development, for amino acid deficiency, for hormonal imbalances, and a whole lot more. I don’t just randomly throw you onto an arbitrary treatment and expect things to get better. My approach is very different. Unlike some “health practitioners” who do the DAN! program, chelation therapy, and maybe even hyperbaric oxygen treatments or some other theoretical workage all at once and with no apparent basis for some of them, my approach is extremely individualized, evidence-based, and conservative. And it comes without promises of a cure.

With that being said, I should point out some important news from the “other side”, from the perspective of the person that HAS autism. Many of US do not like being treated as a person with a disease, somebody who needs to be corrected or cured, nor do we like being looked down upon because we don’t “fit in”. We just want to be accepted AS WE ARE. My goal is not to “fix” your kid, your spouse, or you who don’t seem to “get it”. My goal is to help those who are least functional, are greatly challenged, or who really want to see what they can do for themselves and their overall health concerns, and to do so sincerely and with compassion. After all, I have autism too, and I DO know what your concerns are.

And Along Came Rocco

Once upon a time, my wife Bianca would have never considered getting a dog. I would have considered getting one to be a companion to our future children. Those ideas all changed a couple years ago when Bianca's parents bought a dog. Their German Shepherd named Jumbo changed our hearts and minds. So, for the past couple years, Bianca and I had in the back of our minds the thought of one day owning a dog. This past June, I happened to be browsing the internet for puppies. I figured that we should get a Labrador Retriever because I heard that they were family-friendly. I happened to see on the American Kennel Club website that a breeder had puppies for sale. I was sitting at the computer looking at the listing, and I called to Bianca who was in the next room, "Do you want to get a dog?" The rest is history.

I decided to name our new puppy Rocco because it seemed like such an appropriate name for a male lab. It has a certain kind of oomph to it. Little did Bianca and I realize how Rocco would strengthen the bond between us and bring more stability to our frames of mind. While Rocco is a paramount source of stress relief for Bianca, he is also the avenue by which I can get out of my own head and show how capable I am of taking care of family responsibilities. Bianca says she never saw me happier than when I am spending time with Rocco. To tell you the truth, I never felt happier! In return, Rocco senses that as well.

It is no great surprise that animals have such a therapeutic effect on people. There are horse riding camps for disabled children. There are people who have their dogs and cats trained to be therapy companions and visit people in hospitals and nursing homes. There is even a type of psychotherapy called AAT, or animal-assisted therapy. Because of my own personal experiences, and seeing for myself the effect animals have on fellow audies, I cannot stress enough how vital having a pet is for ANYone.

I recently saw that there will soon be a study done that examines the unique connection between dogs and children with special needs. Being autistic, I am not quite sure why all the neurotypical people seem to think this “connection” is so unusual. It just IS. Bianca seems perplexed at how Rocco responds to me and at how I always seem to know what he is feeling and trying to say. While any observant person can figure out their pet’s nuances, Rocco and I seem to be able to communicate on a subtle, nonverbal level. It works pretty much the same way as the nonverbal communication, the emergence of intuitive insights, that occurs when I am caring for my patients. Feelings arise. Vibrations are sensed. No interpretations are required. This is why the appropriate responses, verbally and in actions, can be made. I don’t know how else to explain it.

This connection is not unique to me and Rocco. This is how it is for fellow audies too. Why? Because people with autism, and their pets, do not have the same judgments and subjectiveness as a neurotypical person would. Outcomes are based on synergy, not on egoism. Neurotypicals tend to react and respond to things from within their own biases. Autistic people, who tend to not get the social clues most the time, react and respond to things based on past experiences of what is and isn’t appropriate. But between the world of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders and the animal kingdom, there exists a rationale that cannot be defined or explained. Like I said previously, it just IS.

We never trained Rocco to ring a bell or bark by the door when he has to go to the bathroom. I can just see the look in his eyes. When I ask him if he has to go potty, either the deliberate blinking of the eyes or a bob of the head means “yes”. It never fails. When I am giving Rocco strict discipline, all I have to do is calmly tell him what isn’t correct without yelling “no”. It is much more effective. While these interactions may certainly exist between neurotypicals and their pets, there is something extra going on here, something on a deeper level. I should add here that Labrador Retrievers, by nature, are very smart. Because of Rocco's good nature, we plan on having him trained as a therapy dog. I can only guess that this same level of understanding would exist if Rocco was another breed or was another animal all together. My guess is that there would be. A fellow audie who owns several dogs says that this is the way it is for her and all her canine companions.

If you’ve ever read Dr. Temple Grandin’s works regarding how she can interpret animal behaviors, then you have seen a glimpse of what I am trying to describe. She can get into the animal’s head. Therefore, she can determine what the needs and the concerns of the animal are. In this way, she can come up with the best solutions. It’s what makes her a genius at what she does as an animal scientist and designer of ranches and slaughterhouses. I can never claim to be a “dog whisperer” or a master of beasts. I am just somebody, like my fellow audies, who pays attention to the subtleties in the air through which esoteric communication exists. For me, there is nothing to decipher, nothing to figure out; it just IS.