by Tom White
My journey with Sarah (“A Humbling Encounter;” Reiki News Magazine, Winter 2009) came to an end on Thursday 4th March at 11:45 pm. The previous three weeks had seen her condition deteriorate more quickly and by the close of February it was clear that her time for transition was drawing near.
I spent an increasing amount of time with her and on the final week gave her all my available time, shedding most plans from my diary that could be postponed for another day. Reiki helped us both, I think, as it allowed me to feel positively focused and Sarah to be relaxed and apparently free from anxiety. At the start of her final week, I placed all the Reiki symbols in the room, asking that the energies provide comfort, protection and healing, not only for Sarah, but for everyone who entered her room. There was a peacefulness surrounding her despite the increasing physical difficulties that her body encountered in the last few days.
Since my last article written in September 2009, Sarah although weaker, stabilized and appeared to be more able to enjoy company. To everyone’s delight she was able to be dressed, and join the others in the lounge for the Christmas party, secure in the vantage place of her specially adapted chair. She was able to repeat this soon afterwards, but by mid-January it was clear that her illness was now progressing once again. Until the day before her death, she continued to respond to us, usually with a smile and big gazing eyes. She had a great need to have contact, and liked to be holding someone’s hand as much as possible.
On the last evening, I checked her chakras once again, using a pendulum and found that only her heart and crown showed any activity. Her crown chakra was open wide, and hot. At 11;45 pm while I was standing beside her, I saw a sudden change in her color and to my amazement saw lots of green “mist” appear to come out of her chest. This moved upwards and as it reached her head I sensed a surge of Reiki around me, then suddenly it was all completely gone. I got no movement at all from the pendulum when I rechecked her crown chakra, and my intuition told me that she had completed her transition. I stood for a few minutes, and had the real sense of being alone in the room. Sarah’s physical body continued to slowly wind down, finally becoming still at 7:20 on the Friday morning.
Sarah’s funeral, held a few days later was attended by what seemed to be everyone who had ever known her. It was a wonderful uplifting summary of her life and meant a lot to all those who had their own lives enriched by her great love of life and people. For me, it brought closure to my remarkable journey with her and filled me with a deep sense of gratitude for having shared part of her life -and for the wonderful gift of Reiki that brought Sarah so much comfort in her final year.