Susan-Emma sheds some light on her passion for Reiki and the Bach Flower Remedies.
“We are all constantly learning and growing, so I do not profess to be a “master” of anything, but I do know that I am dedicated to helping others in the very best way that I can because I realise through experience, that no one likes to feel sad/depressed/unwell/lost/alone/angry/frustrated… the list goes on – we’ve all been there at some point in our lives.”
Which aspects of your life journey stand out most for you today?
I have several memories that seem to stand still in time and were instrumental in the path that I was to follow later in life. One of them was when I was at my sister’s house, bored, while she was at work. I remember finding her psychology textbooks on her bookshelf, and literally spending hours reading them, totally engrossed. Years later, I knew that I had to do a degree in psychology. I grew up in South Africa but was planning on going to the UK. I knew that I needed to complete my degree in psychology before doing so. Psychology totally suits my personality and everything I do.
While growing up on my father’s farm in South Africa, I had a little black pony called zigga. I had the most incredible moments with him and my other animals and this very natural, intrinsic connection with my animals led me to know that there was much more to it than met the eye.
This incredible interaction inspired me to want to go into animal healing. When I arrived in the UK, I was actively seeking animal healing. I started doing an animal communication course, and my teacher randomly said to me one day that he was so excited I was learning Reiki…I asked him if this would enhance my animal healing and enrolled in a Reiki course. As soon as I started, I knew that I wanted to teach Reiki one day – no doubts!
Years later, I went back to SA after a very stressful period in my life. My mum sent me off to see this person (I had no idea where I was going) and he happened to be a healer and worked with Flower Remedies. I remember holding the remedies in my hands and feeling very skeptical about it all. However, the money had been paid so I went ahead with it. Ten days later, I had finished the bottle and was blown away as I didn’t feel the same – it had really worked.
All of these moments have made me the person I am today. If you piece all of my skills together; the Reiki, the animal communication, the healing, the flower remedies, the psychology, the coaching and the counseling – this is who I am and I truly love it!
What incited you to first learn Reiki and how did it impact your life?
It started with the desire to work with animals, but with Reiki you can only complete the Reiki course for animals once you have completed the courses for humans. I initially thought I would simply get through all the hours of practice as a means to an end, but in the process came to realize that humans weren’t half bad 😉 – I actually enjoyed working with them too.
What can one expect to learn from Reiki courses 1 & 2?
Most people look at Reiki as a hands on healing modality and this is all they see – a method of healing. Scientifically, everything is energy. As soon as your awareness shifts into energy in this way and you start putting your hands on a person in a healing way, you start to experience emotions and energy in a different way and this is how your skills start developing.
You fine tune your senses and you are able to define feelings in more detail. Reiki 1 is very much process driven and simply allows the person to familiarise themselves with the sensations of energy and to build trust for what they are feeling and experiencing.
Reiki 2 is all about the symbols. If I have one word of advice, it would be to focus on yourself and your connection. When learning symbols, don’t put a symbol on someone to give them more energy – instead try and think about what that symbol reminds you of and what you visualize. It is a reminder of who you are as a spiritual being practicing Reiki as opposed to a person doing Reiki to someone.
Masters is mindblowing – you have at this stage confidence in what you are doing and feeling. It starts to become a lot more about who you are and how you choose to live your life. It really becomes a lifestyle at this stage.
Would you recommend the practice of Reiki as a lifestyle for us all?
Massively! It is basically easy access meditation. Reiki allows you to go into a space where you focus on one thing, and this is meditation itself. Additionally, because you have the feedback of the hands and the emotions and if you see pictures or memories, or your hands feel hot or tingly, you focus on these. Then your body starts to feel nice, and because of this you release negative emotions… It all just flows so fully without the ‘stress’ of meditating. The sensations or visions bring you back into the space very naturally and easily.
The beauty of doing it regularly is that naturally you uncover that light in yourself because you connect to it over and over again until, one day, you become that person. If you allow it to, and harness the tool and the process with that in mind, it will shift you as a person.
How effective is Reiki for animals and does it have the same bearing on them as it does on us?
Animals work very differently from humans. They often don’t need as much Reiki as we do. What I love about working with animals is that there is no placebo effect. No animal is going to do something to make you happy – fall asleep, look comfortable, lie still… They will do it because they feel it, or they will simply walk away. It is one of the most powerful ways of trusting in your healing.
I actually had an experience a few days ago with a new client where the dog came up to me, licked me all over and lay on my lap where I performed a Reiki treatment on him. The owner assures me that this is not normal behavior for this dog. I have experienced this over and over.
Seeing the difference in them is so rewarding. Again, flower remedies work just as well with animals too – an animal will not shift its emotional state just because you put some drops in its water, it will either shift or not.
How do Bach Flower Remedies resonate with you?
I live it! They are in my tea, they are everywhere. I wouldn’t want to call them my crutch, but I don’t want to live without them. The way they work is basically homeopathy but in liquid form. They shift the emotions – as you might experience after walking past a beautiful scented rose and feeling lifted.
I like to work with them in a very conscious way. I don’t take it simply to make me feel better but rather I take this and I watch my behavior and how I respond to things based on the awareness of that remedy being in play. Flower Remedies help understand yourself so much better and therefore your relationship with others.
They are not medicinal and don’t interact with other things which makes them so safe. There are 38 in the system and therefore a little fine tuning is necessary. Once you start working with them and getting to another level, you can start putting the pieces of the puzzle together and see how one remedy can feed another and where that comes from etc..It becomes easier to relate emotions and remedies and work on long term change.
Did your spirituality develop as you delved deeper into the art of Reiki, and if so why?
One of the biggest blessings was Covid. Before Covid I was fully booked every single day. I had always believed in distance healing and had practiced it to a certain degree but when Covid hit, everything shifted to online. This is when the evidence became mind blowing. I had so much consistent and empirical evidence from my clients about the work I was doing. The more this happened, the more I trusted in what was going on and this transitioned my spirituality in ways I can’t describe.
What can one expect to walk away with after a session with Susan-Emma?
I have been very careful not to be a Jack of all trades and Master of none. I have taken my core interests: Counseling, coaching, psychology, flower remedies and Reiki. I have practiced these over the years and have alway visioned the long term. Being pragmatic, I don’t like to do something unless I know for a fact it will work, and I have always relied on feedback from clients to keep me on this path.
A consultation is VERY tailored to the individual. I have a structure which I follow and which makes sense but it will depend on where the person is at and how they are responding. We then discuss their flower remedies so they get a personalized mix of flower remedies, and then we do distant healing (or healing on the table).
We will then have a follow up as the client gets to download and release, and have the understanding from the communication. Then the Reiki literally clears pathways, releases what needs to be released and then balances it all.
A client will walk away with a greater understanding, and be able to move forward being able to make sense of behaviors and emotions. They are typically more connected to themselves, feel compassionate towards others and feel more purposeful in life as they know how everything falls into place.
One message I always try to get out to people is: Shine in your light and do it with love – this all makes sense, I can shine my light because I’m happy, I can make others feel good so they too can shine their light. Search for a meaningful life by being your best self and helping others.
