In this episode of Reiki from the Farm™, we dive into the crucial intersection of Reiki, nursing, and the battle against burnout. Join us as we host Jay Jackson, an author working on a groundbreaking book about nursing burnout and how to solve it. This is a must-listen that will help you discover how Reiki can be a healing force for healthcare professionals and gain invaluable insights into revitalizing the nursing profession.
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Jay Jackson, a dedicated healer and healthcare professional, began his journey in the late 1990s as a student of Reiki, achieving the status of a Reiki Master/Teacher in 2004. He also completed his massage program at the Utah College of Massage Therapy that year. Beyond his expertise in Reiki and massage therapy, Jay has delved into Crystal Healing, Sound Healing, and Sacred Geometry. His commitment to caring for others extends to his role as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Centennial Hills Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, and as a Nurse Case Manager for a Hospice Care Organization, where he integrates his holistic healing skills with modern medical practices.
Get in Touch with Jay
Website: https://reiki-healing-arts.com/index.html
Pam Allen-LeBlanc is a scientist, a businesswoman, and a Licensed Reiki Master Teacher (LRMT) with the International Center for Reiki Training. She is the author of "The Reiki Business Book" and a co-author of ICRT Animal Reiki training. Pam teaches Reiki, Animal Reiki, and Animal Communication online and in person in Canada, the US, and Australia.
Get in Touch with Pam
Website: https://www.reikifromthefarm.com/
Email: pam@reikifromthefarm.com
A special thanks goes out to Music from Pixabay for the intro music and to Nate Miller for the meditation music.
Register for our newsletter!
In this episode of Reiki from the Farm™, we dive into the crucial intersection of Reiki, nursing, and the battle against burnout. Join us as we host Jay Jackson, an author working on a groundbreaking book about nursing burnout and how to solve it. This is a must-listen that will help you discover how Reiki can be a healing force for healthcare professionals and gain invaluable insights into revitalizing the nursing profession.
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Jay Jackson, a dedicated healer and healthcare professional, began his journey in the late 1990s as a student of Reiki, achieving the status of a Reiki Master/Teacher in 2004. He also completed his massage program at the Utah College of Massage Therapy that year. Beyond his expertise in Reiki and massage therapy, Jay has delved into Crystal Healing, Sound Healing, and Sacred Geometry. His commitment to caring for others extends to his role as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at Centennial Hills Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, and as a Nurse Case Manager for a Hospice Care Organization, where he integrates his holistic healing skills with modern medical practices.
Get in Touch with Jay
Website: https://reiki-healing-arts.com/index.html
Pam Allen-LeBlanc is a scientist, a businesswoman, and a Licensed Reiki Master Teacher (LRMT) with the International Center for Reiki Training. She is the author of "The Reiki Business Book" and a co-author of ICRT Animal Reiki training. Pam teaches Reiki, Animal Reiki, and Animal Communication online and in person in Canada, the US, and Australia.
Get in Touch with Pam
Website: https://www.reikifromthefarm.com/
Email: pam@reikifromthefarm.com
A special thanks goes out to Music from Pixabay for the intro music and to Nate Miller for the meditation music.
Register for our newsletter!
Hi and welcome to the Reiki from the Farm podcast brought to you by me, Pam Allen Leblanc from Hidden Brook Farm. I am a scientist, a businesswoman, and a licensed Reiki master teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training. Each week in this podcast you'll be entertained as you learn about a wide variety of relevant Reiki topics, helping you become a more knowledgeable and effective Reiki practitioner. We caution you though, this podcast may also dramatically improve your life, and we are so happy that you're here. On this week's podcast, I am talking with my sweet friend and our senior licensed Reiki master teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training, Jay Jackson. Welcome, Jay. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. I'm so glad you're here too. Some of you will remember some of the previous podcasts that Jay has helped me with. He was a busy nurse during COVID. We also talked about Reiki helping him through the LGBTQ community and with all of this. But Jay is also an author. Jay wrote a chapter in the book, Dare to Care. aNd he's working now on a groundbreaking new book about nursing, burnout, and its solutions. So welcome, Jay. Thank you. And that's and it's important to know Reiki is a huge part of that journey in the book, because for me, that's where I've been able to find a lot of the solutions. Yeah, is Reiki. Through Reiki, yeah. You should almost say Reiki Solutions. Reiki Solutions. Jay, I'm so glad you're here. Guys, before we get started, I just wanted to let you know what we have going on. For those of you who have been following the political journey. I've had to do the hardest thing ever. I'm actually needing to fundraise. I need to raise about 40, 000 for my campaign and I have to ask people for money. That's horrifying. That's the hardest thing. I'm having such a struggle with it. So if any of you want to send Reiki to that, I'd appreciate it. If you do want, yeah. They're not sending money to you. No. They're sending money to a better future. Thank you, Jay. That's actually what I have is in my signature line is a better future because just. Things have to change. They do think alike. It is so hard to ask though, Jay, and what I think I will do is I am going to put a donation link in the write up just in case any of you want to take advantage of the opportunity. Year end tax savings. There's huge tax savings. I think like here in New Brunswick, a 200 contribution, you get 150 back in tax savings. Yeah, 200 is the, they say 400 is the sweet spot. I think you get like 250 back for 400 and two, anyway, whatever, any contribution, even 5, 10, 15 is appreciated. So I will put that in just in case any of you But I would appreciate if anybody wants to send Reiki to help me with that. It's so hard to do. I think I can, you're here to serve and I think I can do all the service I have no trouble with, but that asking is so hard. But speaking of that, we are also going to be having an animal event where I can explain to people how energy and communication can combine to allow you to have a closer relationship with the animals in your life. There's an in person event on November 29th, but please... Watch for our newsletter this weekend because I've been asked to make that a virtual event as well. And so in December, I will hold a similar virtual event and perhaps the money for that can go toward my campaign as well. We also have a lovely event for the Fredericton SPCA, January 18th. All proceeds will go to the animals who need us. And that is in person as well. There's expected to be a pretty big crowd. I think the auditorium seats over 200. And so that's exciting. And for those of you who love animals, we've got everything animal happening between November 30th and December 5th. There's Reiki Level 1 and 2 on the Thursday, Friday. Animal Reiki 1 and 2, Saturday, Sunday. And Reiki 1 and 2 is a prerequisite to Animal Reiki 1 and 2. And then that's all followed Monday, Tuesday by Animal Communication Level 1 I don't teach the Animal Communication very often. I just can't fit it into my schedule. So go ahead and grab that and join us for six full days if you really love animals. would like to do it all up, or if you have friends or family members who would like to. It's a nice immersion. In January, I've got a full lineup of classes. All of the Reiki and Animal Reiki Level 1 and 2 and Master Classes, Karuna Reiki Masters, and although I haven't got the dates set yet I probably will have by the time our podcast goes live. Watch for Australia and Asian friendly time zone classes in February and March. We're also offering free shipping on essential oils until the end of November. And in fact, I'll also just decided right now, I will throw in free shipping on our Reiki business book if you would like that as well. And yeah, there's just an awful lot of great things happening. Jay, what have you got going on? Oh nothing. Today is his first, last night was his first night in his new house in Ecuador. So he's got a beautiful view of Ecuador. What have you got going on for classes? For classes, so so I just I was a little bit hesitant to teach virtually, like many of us. Yeah, I saw the power of it, of being able to do it. It was great and but then being able to move here, I can still teach virtually to anywhere in the world like you have, Pam, and and I love it. I love being able to at least I teach virtually. So part of being here in Ecuador is I get to teach more, and I'm so excited to be able to teach more because when I teach, I learn, and I need to learn more. So December, I'm keeping a little bit light. So I have like the 8th of December, I'm teaching a Reiki 1 and 2 class on Eastern Time Zone. And in the, I think, second or third week of December, I'm teaching a Kaurna Reiki class, which is one of my favorite classes. I love it. Is that fun to teach? And I, don't teach that real often and, but I absolutely love it. Then in January, I'm going to get busy and I'll be teaching every month Reiki one and two. And in January, I'll be teaching a master class, Reiki master class. And then I'll be also teaching animal Reiki classes as well. Animal Reiki 1 and 2 and Animal Masterclass. And my experiences here in Ecuador with the animals has just been amazing. And it's given me such an appreciation of the animal kingdom and Mother Earth, because I'm right in the middle of... I'm in the middle of the earth, is what they call it, because I'm right at the equator and so the energy of Mother Earth is just so prevalent here, and I have animals, I have to pass cows, Staked out along the roadside as I walked along the walk and I love it. And the horses and the dogs and pigs and goats and sheep and llamas and Isn't it fantastic? And the birds. And the birds are just amazing and I've just had some wonderful experiences with animals and so I'm just, I'm really excited about. I really didn't get excited, this excited about animal Reiki until I moved to Ecuador because I have so much more exposure to animals. Then my living in the city of Las Vegas. So now it's a daily occurrence. I greet a dozen different dogs I'm familiar with on my walk to town. So that's wonderful. Then coming along in February I'll also be teaching Crystal Reiki healing classes. Oh, wow. I'll be starting that in February. And so that, that will be really interesting. I've not taught them virtually yet, but the energy of those classes are just absolutely beautiful. These are the classes that come from the information taught by Lorelle Shantigai, who was very instrumental in creating the licensed teacher program for the International Center for Reiki Training, and just someone that I still adore, um, even though she is since passed away, and so I've got lots of things going, lots of great things going on in this next coming year, um, so in addition to being in beautiful Ecuador. Oh I can't and I will give everybody who's listening a little sneak peek that you and I were talking about the possibility of doing an animal Reiki retreat in Ecuador. It's just an absolutely beautiful place because there's so many different animals. Last night, so I had, we had the open house at my house. So even my first day in my house, it wasn't really truly my day, it was the community's day. And there's a foundation here called Amishi Kanis Foundation. And they're a nonprofit group that takes care of pets in need, which there, there are tons of, because there's lots of street dogs here, and there are dogs that need to be medical care they'll get medical care, and so many wonderful things that, that they do. And so I talked to her about, possibly doing a retreat and being able to use their facility to facilitate Reiki sessions with animals at the, At their facilities. We also have a phenomenal condor park that the condors of Ecuador. So these giant birds that are 12 foot wingspans that they have in rehabilitation, they have a so when I visited there, I was telling them, I felt like I was walking into a set of Harry Potter and I was meeting Buckbeak, because they're so enormous. And just incredible creatures, and then I have a beautiful display, a presentation there as well, and so yeah, so I'm just thinking that's a strong possibility in the future. You're going to have one, but I said, I'd like to come, it might be the way I can afford to come and visit. And really, to me, for me, it's going to be people who are experienced at a master level at Enemo Reiki, I think would really appreciate it. Yeah. From what I'm seeing. I love it. I love it. Hey, maybe we could even offer some of my animal communication. My animal communication classes are expanding and this March I've been shown that I'll be taking it to a master level, master teacher level. Wow. Yeah. So maybe we can even offer and I should have my animal communication book complete by then as well. So will you be able to speak to the animals here in Spanish? No, they don't speak any particular language, but I will be able to speak to them. I just won't be able to do it in Spanish. They kind of work through whatever language we use. It's not actually language, I usually get pictures and a feeling, so that's nice because it translates. The animals feel that energy. They really do. And they love the animal Reiki, it seems. And I loved, I noticed a picture you had on Facebook. There was a little dog with his head leaning on your knee as you were having lunch. Oh my gosh, that dog was so sweet. It is. It's adorable. And it actually looked to be in great condition, even though it's most likely a street dog. That that dog probably has an owner. Yeah. Okay. It probably has a house it goes to. But then it's left to roam the streets and eat fin for itself. Because that Pernod dog did have a collar. A lot of the street dogs here, though, it's interesting to find and respect their, what their purpose is. What is it gonna be? An But'cause some of them that don't have owners, people to take care of'em, their purpose is survival. Yeah. And they may approach you and want something to eat, but they may not like you to pet them. BUt other, other likes into one little dog in that picture, into my dog does that. Baxter, he'll put his head on our knee when he wants something. and their other dogs, their job is to protect their home. Yeah. And when they bark at me, and I just say, Oh, you're a good dog. You're doing such a good job. Yep. You're beautiful. That's right. You're doing a great job. Good for you. I love it. We are going to talk a little bit about your adventure in Ecuador. But before we go too far, I'm just going to invite everybody to bring their hands together and just activate your Reiki energy, calling in your Reiki symbols. And breathe. And some of you listening have probably experienced burnout or overwhelm yourselves. And if you have, stay with us. We're going to go through a meditation to release that at the end of our time together. And some of you may be stepping into new adventures. Jay and I are. If that's the case, we're going to invite your adventurous spirit to activate and open up and be with us today. Whatever you're experiencing, just know that you're exactly where you're meant to be in the world at this moment in time. And Reiki, brothers and sisters of the light, the divine animal kingdom, the licensed teachers. They're all here to support you in the journey of your soul in our daily lives. You're on the planet at this moment in time. Thank you for being you and for the beautiful light that you shine in the world. Aho, Namaste, Amen. Jay, tell us a little bit about what motivated you to write a book on nursing and burnout and just what that journey has looked like for you. All right, so the one book that I contributed the chapter to, Dare to Care, and that's a fascinating book because it's an anthology of many different people's experiences of working in health care, specifically during the pandemic and how that impacted them. And my journey was a little bit more towards, part of my journey to authentic self. And then how that journey into authentic self helped me to be in a greater capacity to care for others, me in a caring presence. But in the, the past couple of years not only myself, but many other of my colleagues in the nursing field, I could see just. Incredible amounts of stress. It was so difficult for them to just exhausted when you come to work, knowing people who would cry in the parking lot before they came into the work and cry in the parking lot before they left work, or after they left work. And then for my own experiences too, even though Reiki taught me so much in nursing. I'm so grateful for that experience because it allowed me to expand my Reiki presence in helping other people. I was able to make meaningful connections where others might have had a more challenge with. I was able to help families navigate. Severe issues with their family members, usually ending in a patient's passing and then helping support people, patients pass. But it was also consuming my life. And as much as I enjoyed it and part of the, I'll take part of the, I allowed it to consume part of my life too. So then what happens if that career is no longer serving you the way you need to serve it? So I would see single mothers who are trying to navigate problems with their kids at school doctor's appointments, and the stresses at work. aNd then have to go home and then take care of their family. And sometimes things in the nursing culture, nursing changes constantly. That's, and it's a beautiful thing that nurses, nursing changes constantly because things improve and things change. But sometimes that can add greater stress. So that I saw many people who are just in the burnout and some of them just realizing, I don't think I can do this anymore. This is not healthy for me to do this anymore. And even worse, there are people who nursing was no longer a good fit for them, but they couldn't even admit that to themselves. And they were so ingrained in that process of that's what they had to do, because that's what they had to do to support their family, that they couldn't even think there might be something else. So that can have devastating consequences and not only devastating consequences for that nurse that, and I'm using nurse as a loose term because it's similar to other parts of profession in medical fields. But then it also can bleed into care of the patient as well, because if you, I don't have any patients, I'm burnt out before I even get to work. Kiss. I'm now asked to work five shifts that week instead of my normal three, and I'm up late trying to get things ready for my children for school, and I don't even have patience for my kids anymore, and now I have to have patience for your mom who's ripping out her IV and trying to crawl out of bed and fall and hurt herself and screaming and yelling because she has dementia. At a certain point, mentally, we just are overwhelmed. And that's a, that can be a, an element. I've seen nurses who were phenomenal nurses and worked other careers, were phenomenal, but because of the changes in nursing and creating for profit healthcare systems that things were now based off of financial basis versus patient outcome, those, their values were no longer aligned. But their personal values of what the hospital system values may seem to be. And you have five years, 10 years left before you want to retire. You feel stuck. But yeah, I just want to run at the same time. I also found a lot of nurses who thought, Oh, nursing, what a great career. And it is a great career because if you do your job well, there'll always be a place for you somewhere. Yeah. But some people will get in there and think, love the idea of being a nurse, and then they get there and they go, this takes more than just showing up and being intellectually able to understand how to titrate multiple different medication, medications. You have to be emotionally mature as well. And you have to have the compassion skills that they don't teach you in school. There's a mentality to it too, Jay. It's physical. A what? It's physical. Physical. Yeah. Mental, physical. And so some of them find that even though it's a great profession, does not empower them. And so sometimes people finally realize, you know what, I need to have a profession that empowers me. So often there are many people who leave the nursing profession because it's no longer serving them. So my book looks at that. We're not treated very well during COVID and many not treated very well before COVID. And before COVID, you're right. And in fact, I remember one thing during COVID that you said in our podcast, and that was when COVID was brand new and nobody knew much about it. And I remember you saying, I had to go to work every day. I had to make peace with death. And I had to go to work every day knowing I could die today, today I might contract it and I may not survive. Am I okay with that? And you made peace with it, and I remember you saying that, and it made me emotional oh my god, I had no idea that our beautiful and brave healthcare professionals had to make such difficult choices. And I did lose co workers. You did, I know. I remember even at the time of our podcast, I think you had lost one, and you probably lost more after that. Yeah and they did everything that they were told to do at that particular time. And but that is the nature of healthcare, unfortunately. It's, you're taking risks every day, aren't you? They're taking risks, everyone's taking risks every day. So even after COVID though, then you've got companies are just trying to get back to mainstream. Our practices changed drastically and during COVID. So things that were like taboo, okay you better reuse that mask because there aren't any more left for you. Wow. It's such a, I can remember. Just thinking we've been sitting in it by now. We were so short of N95 masks and the elastic of my N95 mask broke. Did you have to tie it together? I went and found rubber bands and stapled it to the N95 mask to make it work. You're kidding. That was early on when our supplies were really limited at that particular time. But, we, we may do. so Now part of the challenge is that we took shortcuts. We had to take shortcuts. That were not best practices in the, overall perspective of medicine, but that was, we're not more a triage mode versus best practice, right? Our nurse, our ratio for nurse to patient ratio were awful, our resources were awful. And so we. We had to do what we could do to help our patient, have the best outcomes possible, which meant that sometimes we had our former best practices had to be suspended to a certain degree. And then we got used to those. I'm sure you did. Yeah. And then try to become more aware of. Now I, now we have to learn, oh yeah, now I have to do this documentation this way. I have to make out this plan, my health care plan, all of those things we set to the side. So that was stressful, but sometimes we still had, times of still having patient ratios that were out of whack and there's still a lot of places that the patient ratios are not safe. Even, even today I think things have improved in most places. I Look at my leadership that I had in my hospital and, man, what terrible decisions they would have to make. Oh, yeah. Things that they had, were probably stuck between a rock and a hard place a lot of the time. And sometimes we would get so angry with them because we would perceive that they had no idea what was going on the front line. And some of them that was the case. Some of them really had no clue, but there were some that did. A lot of them that did. I know mine, my personal leadership, were there and involved and knew what was going on and were, but we didn't know they were advocating for us. as much as they could and trying to buffer all the crap that was coming down from administration. So there, sometimes we don't see those other perspectives because we get so entrained and visually seeing what was going, what we're experiencing. We don't see what the picture is for other people who are trying to support us at other levels. I'll admit that. But so yeah, so the burnout. is So real. So real. Did you experience burnout, Jay? Oh my, yeah. You must have because you were burning the candle at both ends. I was worried about you. But I guess the advantage was that I had, excuse me I was, because I've been using Reiki mostly, I was still in that, I was People would just look at me and just think I was absolutely bonkers because I would still come to work and most of the time be bubbly and happy and trying to love and support all my coworkers. Yeah, you did a lot for your coworkers. Yeah, there were times. Yes. And I would get burned out. But because I was doing Reiki, I also, for me, was blessed that I was able to recognize the burnout. Okay, so at least even, oh, I'm burning out. Something's got to shift and change. So during that process middle to the last half of the worst of the COVID, I realized I was burning out and I needed to make a change. So I had an opportunity to do a travel nurse assignment in another state, and I still kept my job at my facility in Las Vegas as a per diem employee, and moved and then went to Utah. So fortunately for me, it was A good situation because I had family there. I was able to stay with my nephew and his family. I had a private bedroom and bathroom. I could limit my exposure to them. My mom was just down the street. My sister was down the street. My, two of my children were in state. And I got to see how health care was different. That was now, instead of being a cost basis. That was a not for profit basis. And they were struggling, those employees were struggling. And I remember telling them, you guys don't know what you're, you don't know how good you have it. I said, this is like going to Disneyland. Really? As the, that type of a system, they would have spent resources on taking steps out of the nurse's day. What can we do to eliminate the number of steps a nurse has to make in order to treat their patients? If we move this piece of equipment here, the nurse won't have to go find it down another hall, just many of those elements that they actually spent the energy and time, money, resources. into improving the care of the patient. Doesn't that improve the care of the patient? And to be able to see how that worked, yes, there were still problems. Absolutely. There's, nothing's perfect, but it was great to see that and gave me a different perspective. I worked in an environment that was much more supportive. And where we had the resources that, that I didn't experience in other places. And so that helped navigate that burnout. I was still exhausted. I was still tired. CAuse then I would work and then work my days as much as I could. And then when I had the opportunity, I'd fly back to Las Vegas. And I would work some more there, just enough to keep my foot in the door, and then also bring some best practices that I saw there to my unit. Where I worked in Las Vegas, but then at a certain point, I realized that am I able to am I able to create change in this environment? How much change can I create? How much, what is the, is that cost worth it to me? Do I need to help unionize the hospital and what a beautiful thing that could accomplish, but what a monstrous, beautiful So those were all different things I was considering. I knew that I could make a difference by trying to elevate. The energy and mood of my co workers and the families and the people, because obviously I said hi to everybody, I hugged everyone, our housekeepers, our philobotomists, everyone, just because we were all in it, we're all, and still are, in a tough position, all need to be loved and appreciated. And then also I was trying to look at my core values of what I need in my life. And so for me, it was, In my mind, I always knew I needed to be practicing Reiki much more full time, so I've been trying to attempt to teach and practice Reiki part time, but I was working 60, 70 hours a week. I don't know how you were doing it. A lot of it was my choice. Yeah. But. So I was still able to teach occasionally, which was beautiful and wonderful, but even before I went into nursing, I always knew that using nursing, or using Reiki full time was really something that was part of my element of my progression. aNd how in the heck was I going to do that? Because here I was newly widowed. Yes, that happened during all of this time. And it was a year ago, May, and so now I don't have family in Las Vegas, I have a beautiful home, lots of work, lots of, um, but I realized that I wasn't going to be able to sustain that for a long period of time. I took another job in as a inpatient hospice nurse. So in that, because I love hospice, I love that death and dying process. And thinking that was going to be my lifelong career until I died. Retirement was not an option financially under those circumstances. So it was shortly after, or about that time that I was also introduced to the idea of moving abroad and moving to Ecuador. And I had always been a part of me that kind of knew I would be moving somewhere in Central or South America. You always knew. I've known that for a long time. I've always had that, just a feeling, had no idea where or what. And so when that idea was presented to me, I didn't go what? Karen Kegg, my, my good friend that, she's the one who introduced the eye to me, and I was going, oh, What? Tell me more. And she said, I'm the only person that ever asked, said that to her. Tell me more. Everyone else says, you're crazy. What in heck are you doing that for? So I was introduced to the idea and I thought, okay, this is an option for me in the future, maybe in a couple of years. And I can remember, even though I was in this new position, again, I stayed pretty in my other hospital. So I still had my foot in that door, working both jobs. And I had a really tough night. The day before my shift, I had to stay late because there were just issues and stuff. I wasn't happy, and the next morning I got floated to another facility, and I had to drive across town, and driving across Las Vegas, through, past the strip and everything is not fun, and I was just feeling a little miserable. And I heard a voice, just as clear as day say, Jay, you don't have to do this. Wow. You don't have to do this. Oh, okay. So by the time I got to work, I knew I was going to quit that job. No, I didn't quit immediately, but I knew I was. I knew I was going to. That was where it was going. And I knew I was going to move to Ecuador. Much sooner than you thought and I thought I hadn't even visited Ecuador yet at that point So that was because your first visit to Ecuador was last November. I remember this was like October and But I had already Seen and read and studied. My, I, my ADD brain studied every little nth degree. I could have looked on Google maps, the satellite images of the town and everywhere and and so I that, I just felt so comfortable with that. So I. Eventually, so I quit that job, went back working full time job at the hospital, which paid better. That was the main thing is that I was able to then take a big chunk of money from that and put it towards house here. Wow. Now, I don't have money in savings. I don't have, create any 401k. But I was able to sell my house in Las Vegas in a horrible market, selling market. Got a decent fair price out of it. And own a house outright, a beautiful house outright here in Ecuador. Really? And I'm not working as a nurse currently. I actually found a job as a nurse because I just had a hard time letting it go. So I found a job that I could work remotely as a nurse. And I could contact patients. Via an app or the internet calling patients, and as a care manager. And I got here and I was going, no. You wanted to leave it all behind. And so yeah, and I was so yes, do I have some, in the back of my mind, some little nervous chatter about finances in the next several months? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, there's some of that nervous chatter that I go, just for today. Do not worry. But now I can focus my energy on being, when I tell everyone I'm not coming here to Reiki to Ecuador to Teach Reiki. I'm also coming here to learn. It's learning from the Indigenous that are here, learning from the Earth, Mother Earth that's here, and embracing Reiki in a greater depth than I ever have before. Jay, tell us about one of the things you and I have talked about is the Constitution in Ecuador with regards to the... So yes, Ecuador is... And a lot of this has stems from indigenous people. And I may not get this, all the facts and stuff. I'm not an aficionado on things here, but a year or two ago, they did have, a lot of protests. Where a lot of the indigenous communities and probably Ecuadorians as well were blocking roads. You could not pass through mostly peaceful, but what were they protesting? They were protesting oil and coming into some of these extremely sensitive, biodiverse. habitats that those companies would totally destroy that the nature of that area, these areas. And so that, that really impressed me that they've had so much love. Similar to when we have, that in the United States, you see it in Canada, you see it even in Australia and other places where, and some people will say, oh, they're just crazy, they're just... They're no they're fighting for the rights as things that they have loved for thousands of generations, and so they actually passed in their constitution that Mother Earth. is designated as a sentient being, so she has the same rights as anyone else, and people, these are Indigenous people who did not have any legal rights into the mid 70s, 1970s. Unbelievable. And I can just tell you, so many, most of the people who built my, constructed my house were Indigenous, just communities here, and the thought and, can you imagine? Building your house with Reiki. With each stone you place, you're placing it with Reiki and intention, the mortar, your mortar, and even though they don't have Reiki, I felt that intention coming from them. They weren't just on a construction job, they were focused. In history, It was a sign of huge respect when somebody hand dug a perfect grave for a loved one who had passed, the sides were just perfect and hand dug. The pylons that support my house were dug that way. No machinery dug any of the footings for this house. The pylons that went down six, seven feet deep. And it was perfect. It was perfect. So the intention of what they were doing was just beautiful. I love the space that, that they've created. I agree. That was a beautiful feeling. And just for those listening, today is Jay's first full day in his house. Full day! So there's maiden hairsaws in the background. They're still working on something. You're in your spare bedroom because there's still construction happening, isn't it? Actually, we can't hear the sounds, so it's working now. Oh, good. You probably can't hear them. Abandoned house. They had to stop construction. So you're, you experienced burnout, you heard very clearly, you don't have to do this. And, you moved half a continent away to, um, or a continent away to Ecuador. And tell us a little bit more about your book and how Reiki helped you come to solutions for that nursing burnout. So it was, this was not the first time. Obviously, we all experience burnout and realizing that maybe the profession that we're in is not serving us any longer. I, I didn't necessarily have burnout when I worked as a nurse in Utah prior to my move almost nine years, eight years ago, eight years ago, to Las Vegas. But I knew that it wasn't sustainable. The profession was not sustainable. So I had to come up with the plan. And so that's one of the beautiful things about nursing is that there are lots of options, right? So often as nurses, we sometimes feel stuck. I feel comfortable, but I feel stuck. We like the familiar and I don't know if I want to go to something unfamiliar. I can remember some of my co workers in Utah saying, Oh, Jay, don't go to Utah or don't go to Las Vegas because, the conditions there are not near as good and the people aren't going to be as nice and kind and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, that may be true, but maybe I can change it. Hey, that was part of my, and you know what, yes, I did. Absolutely I did. So that wasn't the first time. And that wasn't the,'cause I was a second career nurse. I, I wasn't a nurse from the beginning. I worked in corporate America, tele telecommunications. And when the economy crashed and I got a job as a nurse. So always constantly, and, and then that's again, that's Reiki helped me navigate those because making those changes are very stressful. So Reiki is wonderful for helping those stressful moments. One of the problems that we have is that when we get into those places where I'm feeling so stressed and I'm feeling like I'm discouraged. crawling and I need to crawl my way out a window. Sometimes our decisions that we make are not rational. I had a coworker one time was convinced that one of these scams That from somebody in Zimbabwe or some, country was giving her, 40 billion. Oh no, they never do. She, she was so desperate to leave the situation that seemed personal, perfectly rational for her. Wow. Other people will leave on bad terms because they just get so frustrated. One nurse who was a career nurse, she had a year left, year or two left in her career, and changes were made that impacted her, that required that position to have more education than what she had, even though she was an extremely experienced nurse and did a phenomenal job in what she did, that was, End of her rope. She walked out that day. And So you want to avoid the... That was the best thing for her. But she might have been able, if we suspend that anger, suspend that emotion, just for a time, we might be able to come up with a better plan. in The process of my book doesn't, isn't trying to tell people that we're you should leave the nursing position. End. But it may be that you need to, um, make a change. So making changes is a good thing. So one, one of my problems is I'm a workaholic. And I admit that I'm a workaholic. And why we belong so well, because I realized at one point that okay, I was working too much hospital and so guess what? I need to cut back. I need to cut back and work full-time. Only full-time. I worked full-time and then I got a. Part time job. And in a completely different environment. And I loved what I was doing. And it gave me, even though I wasn't technically balanced, it gave me more balance, more emotional balance. And so I was able to make some great changes that way. And I'm still able to do meet some of the goals that I had financially. And so some nurses, yeah, some people, they need to leave the profession altogether. How they do it, and that's going to be compliant, and, and, Jay, what would be, like sick of people listening to this podcast, because, you can have burnout. I've burned out in my role with the government, just covering too many people's jobs, too many vacant positions, and in a very demanding job already. I've experienced, even early on in my Reiki career, I actually experienced, I came right up to the edge of burnout there before Reiki put the brakes on and showed me that I needed to do things differently. So what are some signs of burnout, no matter what career you're in, that people can look for and recognize? Are you happy? Do you know what happiness feels like anymore? CaN you remember? Ask yourself your question. When was the last time you felt happy? And, sometimes it's not just your employment, sometimes it's the combination of family life and work life, you're not having enough balance and many different things. Are you happy? If you're a happy person, and you can connect with that energy of being happy, you'll probably recognize. If you're starting to get burned out if you're somebody who struggles to find happiness in your life, it's going to be a bit more of a challenge. And then you get to think, really, truly motivates me. What do I feel passionate about? Some people will find out they don't know what they're even passionate about. They're so just in survival mode. Even people who are financially well off are in survival mode. Often, they can be off in survival mode. We are not working in our optimum place. We are not serving humanity when we are in that survival mode. Because we're not. We're just surviving. We're not producing endorsements for the humanity, so those are questions. Yeah. What am I passionate about? What am I doing to reach, achieve that passion? Are you moving close to it? Are you planning it? Now everyone works a little differently. Their minds work a little bit differently. I have the gift of the ADD part of me that I love. The gift too is I resemble that remark. And I can dream. So I can dream. And so then I can go, what is it like? And I use Reiki to help me dream. What is it like to be this and this? And what would this happen? And and then I can start making plans. So like moving here, even though I knew I was burning out at the hospital, because I still worked at the hospital for a year while planning on making my move here. So it was not an instantaneous thing. Deal. I had to have a wise plan that worked for me. How, even though I was burning out, how did I get through that? It was because I was still working on my plan. Every day I was making incremental progress towards my plan. And that was the key for me. And I knew that there was an end. I knew that there was a solution and the solution was coming. And yes, there were times it got very difficult. There were times I some of my co workers, they go, Jay, I don't think I've ever seen you angry once. So yeah, that other day, yeah, I wasn't very nice to so and that was me being really angry, but some of, I had, yes, I had some of those days, but yeah, having that plan. And so just having that plan in place. It occurs to me that as you're working on the plan, you're reconnecting with hope and with your dreams. And you're realizing the dreams and as you realize the dreams then you connect. This is happening. It's working. There's still a lot. I don't know what people don't what people forget though, too, is that what I may have started dreaming two years ago. Isn't what I achieved today. Guess what? It's better. It's even better. aNd that's what, and so sometimes it's not reaching what I'm dreaming today is important. It's the fact that I'm dreaming and that I'm working towards it. And then as you're allowing your brain to think in that more creative space of what is possible for you and me, then it will allow you to show you another view. You climb that mountain, guess what? On the other side of that mountain, there's this beautiful valley. It has fruits and vegetables that are so yummy that you've never even experienced before. You might want to go spend five or ten years down in that valley, eating some of those fruits. And when you've learned all about those fruits and vegetables, and you start craving something more exotic, that peak over there, that looks fascinating. I have the energy now to climb that peak that peak. Wow. Guess what? I may want to sit up here and speak and look over this Vista for some time, but then I might have another opportunity. It just continues. Growth, burnout is terrible. Burnout is hard and burnout is probably a necessary evil. It's like a stop sign of the soul, isn't it? Whoa, hold up. You need to change. It is an indication that things, and so sometimes. And in my book, some people, they don't need to change their profession. They may not even need to change their position. They need to become the change agent within where they're at. And that's huge. And sometimes then when you have an empowered person and they say, okay, no, I need to advocate for this type of functionality in my unit, whether it's allowing, certain age of people to come in or allowing pet therapy to come in. And maybe that's something that they're trying to advocate for. I, I had people that I knew in Las Vegas that advocated for. a member of the Holistic Nurses Association of America. And so some of those members. in another hospital system, they actually had a holistic nursing unit or department, and they had aromatherapy as part of the therapeutic practices within their hospital. And they were very specific to aromas that weren't going to cause problems with any breathing equipment respiratory issues toxic to skin. And so they were, that they were using, but wow, they were empowered. And they created something wonderful for knowledge, and they would get nurses for, to have massage, or Reiki for touch for health, and as well as for the patients. So that, these are things that they can do. And sometimes they just, sometimes it takes another person just to say, what is it that, what are your passions? And sometimes we need to go on a little discovery. We didn't go shopping for something that you're passionate about. Are these some examples of some nurses, or do you have some examples of some nurses and other professionals who have gone through, overcome or gone through the burnout successfully with the use of Reiki? Do you have any, anything like that to share? Not so much specifically with Reiki. Other than myself, and I know there are others I know another lady I don't know her well, but we were at a retreat together and absolutely adore her. And she uses reiki and her practice, and she was a manager of a director of a intensive care unit. Wow. Part of Goldie Russell, who uses Reiki as a nurse manager of all that she does. And she had a very difficult time advocating for her nurses. They go you need to be in your office, Marcia. It's going, no, my nurses need help out there. They don't have enough help. That's where I'm going to be. And if you have a problem with that. My husband does that in his company, he is the manager, but he uses Reiki and his role as a manager to advocate for his people. And he says, really, that's what I feel my job is. And it's not being a company man. It's advocating for the people who are doing the work. And yeah, it can be very short. But she experienced, was experiencing burnout herself. Okay. And I think she may be newer to Reiki but she did, was familiar with reflexology. So she was. I was able to practice. So she quit her job and opened up a reflexology practice. Wow. Give her herself six months. I have six months. Let's see what happens. If I'm still loving it and passionate about it, then I'll continue. If not maybe I'll go back to what you were saying. I love it. And I often suggest to people in the Reiki Business Book, and if you are starting your business it can be very rewarding to start it part time while you still, continue bringing in an income. So just... Gauge where you, but it just depends on where you are at. Sometimes you're at a level of burnout where you just need to try to stop. But we also need to set ourselves up for success. Exactly. And you have to take your passion. And one of the things I recommend against from a business perspective is when your passion becomes your business, if it also has to become your livelihood, there's an extra layer of stress there that maybe doesn't need to be there. My concern too is that people who, let's say I've now committed to a 4, 000 monthly mortgage, and, but my job is no longer, serving, so I'm going to quit and go to work full time as a Reiki practitioner, and you know what, that's putting a lot of stress on you and your Reiki practice. Pressure and now away from the reason you want to do your Reiki practice, right? So if you can start creating that pathway. Then that pathway, then you can, you'll be able to create success but then there are times like, for me, after all these time, years of teaching Reiki, and I have the opportunity, yes, it may, it caused me to move to Ecuador, but, oh my gosh, how terrible, I live in Ecuador, it's beautiful You're loving it, aren't you? It is wonderful, and now I can do that. I've been working my, working my Reiki business for, a decade 12 years or so, and I have not taken it to where I know I can and where I wanted it to be because I was too much involved in my nursing career. But now that was when I was able to find that solution. Okay, I do have this asset of a house in Las Vegas. And even though I still owe a ton of money on it, what I can get out of it will at least get me a house free and clear in Ecuador that I can live from. And guess what? I have better internet here than I had in Las Vegas. I'm noticing that we're not cutting out like we have in previous podcasts. And I only have half the speed that I want. SO I'm eating better, my food's better. So there are many changes. So I look at pictures of myself in the last month compared to a year ago. You look the best I've ever seen you look, Jay. I'm losing weight naturally, healthily. I'm more active. Yes, there are challenges. Yes, it's stressful. I'm moving to another country. Moving, building a house in another country. Especially with a language that you're not 100 percent familiar with. I'm having fun though. I'm having fun learning another language. And I saw a picture of your meal the other day, and I want to move there just for that. My food? Oh my God. For 2. 50 for this huge meal? I couldn't finish it all. And it was absolutely wonderful. In the United States, I was not a big soup eater. Because most of our soups are all processed. There are all so many preservatives. I'm learning. Oh my gosh, I love the Ecuadorian soups. They're wonderful, they're flavorful, they have great... Fruits that are not fruits, but vegetables and meats in them. And so my soup had a great big, huge half a hunk of avocado. I never would have dreamed of having avocado in my soup. Delicious. Jay, before we move into our meditation today, is there any advice that you have for people? And just for those of you listening, we are going to be talking to Jay again in about a month's time. He'll have a few more details about his book. at that time. It's just in the editing process right now. It's even the title is still a working title. And then we're going to visit with him another month after that. We've got plans for several podcasts together. We're going to talk about what it's like to be a Reiki Nomad as well as His Reiki crystal course. And so I think by the time that we in a few months, when we talk again, I think you'll probably, you may even have a link that people can purchase your book. So tell us just a little bit more about that and advice that you have for people. You can look for help. If you don't have Reiki, get Reiki. Yes, please. Reiki as day, as your daily dose of medicine. It's, that's huge. And it's okay to ask for help. It's okay to talk to somebody. The worst thing is feeling isolated and alone in your situation. You probably are not able to talk to your spouse about some of the stress you're having at work. We try to protect our families from, as nurses, we try to protect our families from some of the things that we see. And so sometimes we even protect ourselves and not asking for help. Other nurses, you can ask for help. Especially if you're feeling stuck. Yeah, please ask for help, right? What's that? Please ask for help. Yeah, please ask for help. No, it's fine. And ask Reiki for help to find someone to help you. And sometimes, it may be someone, um, a technician that fills the medication room. with the medicine that just has a positive outlook that may come out and reach out to you and just give you some little wise words and that can change your mentality. There are all kinds of different things, but especially if you're thinking that you need to make some big changes. And I hope you do, because I think all of us have the potential of becoming much greater than who we are currently. That's when it's good to find someone to be a mentor that mentors many different people. But find someone who's going to help you get to your next level and do it in a way that empowers you. And so I just love seeing people live a full, rich life. And sometimes that, that little full, rich life means that you've traveled a lot of rocky roads. But sometimes we got to travel that rocky road to get to that vista. And being able to see up over that peak and it's absolutely worth it. And then we're living a very rich life. And then we realized that rocky road gave me such great strength and muscles in my legs to be able to accomplish much more. And then you can learn to love and appreciate the journey that you've been on. So yeah, I love that. And I Love to anyone and everyone who has that experience. I've been there and done that. I feel it. I understand it. I've seen solutions in my own life. I've seen solutions in other lives of people who have accomplished great things. And that's really what I think the purpose of that book is to look for resources and look for other options. And just help people find those options. And I love Jay, how you said about, just turning it over to Reiki and just working toward a goal, but realizing that the goal may be so much more. Wonderful than you could even imagine. It always is. It always is. William Rand said that. He said, he just allowed Reiki to help him one step at a time. And he just kept following the Reiki guidance. And he says if he had known where he was going, he wouldn't have thought it was possible. He would have stopped himself, so just being open to the fact that even as you're working towards something specific, Reiki may be taking you into a bigger direction than that. I love a meditation. You do some meditation for us? Yes, I might lead us. I was originally going to do the full compassion fatigue meditation, but my guidance is telling me to do it a little bit differently. In Animal Reiki, as we were creating Animal Reiki, we became aware that so many people who work with animals, including the human animal, like nurses do and healthcare practitioners, right? So many people, like in healthcare and in, in other care positions, experience compassion fatigue and that's just another name for burnout. And the animals were very clear. that they wanted to help. And so we're going to use some animal Reiki energy today to lift out or to help lift out compassion fatigue for anyone listening. And just remember, you can come back to this meditation and listen to it as often as you need in order to do that. So I'm going to take it in a slightly different direction. Then what we have in our manual, I'm just going to let it flow through, but let's see what we can do to help the people listening if they're experiencing compassion fatigue in any area of their life. Okay, so once again, I'm just going to invite you to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and bring your hands into Gassho to activate. Your Reiki energy, just imagining the Reiki energy and the symbols flowing from the highest heavens and from the divinity within the earth through your hands and into your heart. A gift of love. I invite you to ask yourself that if you are weary, if your soul is weary, if you are experiencing compassion fatigue in any area of your life, it might be within your relationships, your work, your home life, financially, Your job, just invite, just ask yourself, if compassion fatigue exists within me or if an extreme level of fatigue exists within me, where would it be? What shape would it have? What color would it be? Am I willing to let it go now? And if the answer is yes, go ahead and place your hands comfortably on your body. As I invite you to imagine that it's a beautiful, warm, sunny day. And you're walking through a trail in a beautiful forest, and as you walk along and as you breathe into yourself, you breathe in the life essence of the forest as the energy of the earth flows up through the bottoms of your feet. You walk along until you come to a bridge across the river of life, and as you cross that rid bridge and enter the third heaven, you realize that you've stepped into the third heaven in Ecuador, a place at the equator in the center of the earth, which exists the closest to the sun. Jay is there, Karen. And just the beauty of being in this land that is considered by its people a sentient being with rights and privileges. And together we walk to the ancient temples, the ancient Ecuadorian temples from the third heaven, reality. And I invite you to imagine sitting by one of the temples, the pyramids, and leaning back against it as you gaze up at the sky. And as you do the earth below you begins to glow as a beautiful beam of light pierces the clouds and shines directly upon you and all around you and so you find yourself enveloped in the light of the mother and father perfectly balanced. The energy focuses on any fatigue that you're experiencing for any reason that it's there and it lifts it out with love and tenderness and gentle kindness. You can feel the energy that wraps around you beginning to nurture you now and take a moment to consider that as a Reiki practitioner, as a nurturer yourself, when is the last time that you allowed yourself to be nurtured? And the light of accelerated rest flows through the nurturing energy as well, just lifting fatigue from your body. your mind, your soul, and your spirit. I allow you to open your heart, your body, your mind, your soul, to be, allow it to be nurtured now. And just pay attention to any insights or messages that may come, or maybe you'll just experience this as a quiet time of allowing yourself to receive from the kind and wonderful energies of Reiki, the mother and the father, the creators, the source of all that is. Allow yourself to receive nurturing now. We'll remain here for some time. And if you feel responsibilities in the ways and worries of the world, I invite you to set those down while you receive. Now slowly open your eyes, and as you do, You notice that the Divine Animal Kingdom and the Brothers and Sisters of the Light have formed a circle around you and that they are supporting you. They too are nurturing you. And we remember that their compassionate assistance is always available to us. And so we invite it, even and especially when we forget to ask. We take a moment to say thank you to Jai, to the beautiful land of Ecuador, to the earth and to the heavens. And we step back across the bridge, taking this energy, bringing this energy, this peace, this lightness of being with us. And if you did happen to receive information or next steps on your journey, I invite you to go ahead and take a little bit of time writing about your experience. You'll find that as you write, it will continue to process. So take a deep breath now, bring your attention to your eyes. Slowly open your eyes and return, bringing with you that beautiful lightness of being and that sense of having allowed yourself to be nurtured. Thank you. Namaste. Thank you, Jay. Thank you so much. It's always fun to talk with you. I love your energy and your purpose and the journey that you're on right now. Oh my gosh. So you just have to know I'm energetically just sending you so much love and for the people of your province as well. And I'm just knowing that there are many other situations across the world that need that attention individually. bUt we got work right here to do, right? We do. I was saying to Jay that we're on similar journeys. I just get to do mine from home because this stepping into politics has been such a learning journey. But like you said, Jay, it's so much more beautiful than what I thought it would be. actually so appreciative of the score and I'm really love, I'm enjoying it more, much more than I expected. Usually because Reiki shows us the beauties. It really does. It helps us suspend the judgment of things that are not comfortable and and that's how we can live more fulfilled lives and not, other people who may be listening to this need to understand that this doesn't always just happen overnight after a first Reiki placement or two month. It takes daily practice with the Reiki and to develop it and I look forward to continuing to develop it. That's what's cool. I'm excited. One of the things you said before we were on the air is that now you have the time to be in Reiki more so you can learn and, or maybe sleep in. Thank you. And thank you, if you are a healthcare practitioner who's listening, may I just say thank you for your service. You are so appreciated by, I didn't have to avail myself of your services this time around, but I'm so grateful that you were there for those who did. So thank you. Bye everyone. Keep being the beautiful light that you are in the world and thank you for being with us. Namaste. Namaste.