Red Pine Reiki provides soulful healing Energies flow strong from professional practitioner

On September 16th, the Herald made its way to the northern reaches of Monroe County, to the business of Red Pine Reiki, which is located at 4295 County Highway I, in Cataract. The location is enveloped by a forest, providing ample calm and comfort from a busy, stressful world. Aside from the interview, with Red Pine Reiki owner, Janet Parent, the Herald partook in a Reiki healing session, with Parent, to better understand its functionality and grasp a higher understanding of this Eastern healing practice.

In a world that is in strong need of stress relief, healing and calm – there is a constant search to alleviate and mitigate the unwanted negative stressor elements we carry with us, on an individual level. The search itself can prove daunting and confusing.

While many people are willing to exchange the energy of their hard-earned money for the refreshing feelings of happiness, calm and bliss, finding an honest soul that can provide that viable and verifiable gift, remains a mystery to most. Word of mouth seems to be the most effective gauge of feeling confident about taking that leap into the mystical world, where proof can only be validated from your personal experience. Janet Parent provides that verifiable and valuable gift of healing, through her practice of Reiki, at Red Pine Reiki.

Education and Work History Pre-Reiki

Janet Parent was no stranger to healing, prior to her immersion into Reiki. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. She minored in sociology, and became a certified social worker, through Upper Iowa University. Parent has worked for 25+ years, with children, elders, and everyone in-between.

Parent was hired by the Monroe County Department of Human Services in 1999, as a case-manager, coordinating home health care for the elderly, disabled adults, and children with disabilities, in the community. “My career expanded, and I was appointed the lead Adult Protective Services worker for Monroe County, completing court work and adult and elder abuse investigations,” Parent informed the Herald. “I was also a crisis case manager for the Behavioral Health Unit, completing suicide assessments; monitoring mental health commitments; and coordinating essential services. I served as the Monroe County Dementia lead, for the Aging and Disability Resource Center, which included facilitating a family caregiver support group and administering caregiver grants. I have also worked for Black River Memorial Hospital, as a medical/surgery unit social worker, which included providing crisis services in the emergency room. I've spent a large amount of time supporting individuals and families experiencing complex traumas of many forms. This support is always provided from a space of love and compassion; it is very important for me to connect with others — from the heart, as I have also experienced loss, trauma, and abuse in my personal life.”

Personal Path to Reiki

The trauma for Janet came in 2019, from a terrible car accident, in which she suffered a traumatic brain injury. She began getting terrible migraines. When the intensity kept increasing, as well as the frequency, she started participating in physical and visual therapies, at a brain injury clinic. It was here that her physical therapist suggested Reiki, and she had no idea what it was.  

“I was in need of relief, so I tried Reiki. The first session was interesting,” Parent told the Herald. “Something was happening, and I became more and more curious. I then went to a second practitioner. This session brought about a profound experience. I was experiencing relief in the session. Not just physical relief from migraine and injuries, but emotional relief, which I didn't even know I needed. I saw colors, my head stopped hurting, I had new information coming in. It was confusing, exciting, peaceful, and healing.”

Her practitioner, Angela Klaeser. advised Janet that she should learn self-treatment and recommended her teacher, Amy Wilinski, of Golden Light Healing, near Green Bay. Janet travelled there by herself and attended Reiki Level I class, where she learned self-treatment. “It was recommended to self-treat for 21 days …  I took it way beyond 21 days, and completed full body self-treatment, daily, for 6 months,” Parent said. “I observed small changes, daily. My pain became less intense, and the migraines were becoming less frequent. I was building new neural pathway responses to pain, in my brain, via Reiki. I no longer required medical attention for migraines. I cleared a lot of life experiences that were no longer serving my highest purpose and released a lot of tension in my body.”

Reiki Training Continues

Janet found herself wanting to learn more about Reiki, so she moved up to level 2, and then took the Master Teacher classes. Parent traveled to Chicago, to take her Shinpiden classes, with Frans Steine. In Western Reiki, the title of Reiki Master Teacher is used, but in Eastern Reiki, Shinpiden is the title for Master Teacher. Janet is currently a Shinpiden Master Teacher. Frans has traveled to Japan on multiple occasions and teaches what he has been taught, with a strong emphasis on meditation and the Shinto and Buddhist influences within Reiki.

“I discovered that Reiki is more than a hands-on Reiki session,” Parent said. “Reiki has a strong emphasis on returning to our true, authentic selves, who we were, prior to an injury or emotional trauma. Reiki Masters become The Great Bright Light, and help others remove the shade, to illuminate their light.”

Parent went on to explain to the herald that we are all born with Reiki, but we lose it as we experience life and attempt to become what others think we should be. She says that babies are born with the capacity of unconditional love. “When their mom is sick, a toddler might place their hands on their momma's face and ask, ‘What is wrong, momma?’ This is Reiki,” Parent described. “When we stub our toe or sprain our ankle, we immediately grab it with our hand — this is Reiki.” 

Parent informed the Herald that there are many systems of Reiki. “Most Reiki in America has been Westernized,” she explains. “If the Reiki session includes crystals, sound healing, tarot, psychic, mediumship, or visual readings, it is a Western influenced Reiki. I am a strong believer that no matter the system of Reiki, any Reiki is an excellent Reiki!” 

Red Pine Reiki practices Jikiden Reiki, using a clear framework for how to use Reiki, in the most effective way, to enhance the body's natural healing systems. “We place a strong emphasis on Reiki, as a practical and down-to-earth treatment method,” Parent said. “Jikiden Reiki is Reiki as it was originally taught in Japan. It is pure, simple, and extremely effective and has over 65 years of experience behind it. Jikiden Reiki is the only truly authentic and acknowledged Reiki Certificate in Japan. My certificate has a stamp, with half of the stamp on my certificate, and the other half is on another certificate, which is held at the Jikiden Reik Institute, located in Kyoto, Japan.”

Red Pine Reiki Classes

Red Pine Reiki offers Level I, II, and III Master Teacher classes. Parent states that Reiki classes are not just for those who want to become a practitioner. “My hope is for every family to have a Reiki Master, to aid in life's transitions and to treat physical and emotional ailments, as a first line of treatment,” she stated. “Instead of reaching for an aspirin or Tylenol, one might benefit from Reiki, before a clinical diagnosis is needed.” 

Red Pine Reiki Sessions

In a Reiki Session, the client is fully clothed. The practitioner gently lays their hands in specific positions upon and just above the client's body. The Reiki process calms the nervous system, releasing rigidity, anxiety, stress, and tension. The result is peace and less pain. Reiki maximizes your body's self-healing capacities. Red Pine Reiki offers home health Reiki in Monroe, Jackson, and La Crosse Counties, for those who are homebound.

For more information on classes, sessions, or a deeper understanding of Reiki, especially as practiced at Red Pine Reiki, go to their incredibly informative website, at redpinereiki.com for information on sessions, classes and events. They can also be found on Facebook and Instagram. The Editors experience at Red Pine Reiki will appear in his column, this coming Thursday.