Sharing an article that I wrote for a publication a few years back that pivoted my life for me to become a Spiritual Coach and teach Reiki. Enjoy.......

The Defining Moment

"Sometimes, our paths are clear to us from the beginning; other times, they’re spurred by a life-changing event. Bessie Estonactoc’s decision to start her business as a Spiritual Coach, surely falls within the latter category.

It was 2005, and Bessie’s aging mother, whose health was beginning to decline, had just come to live with her and her family in Hawaii. At first, things went smoothly — her mother was ecstatic to be living in “paradise,” surrounded by such beautiful landscapes — but this joy was short-lived. As the years passed, times got tougher.

As Bessie's mom entered her 80s, her health declined further, and tending to her needs became harder and harder. Bessie was stressed out and stretched thin between taking care of her and working at her full-time practice as a marriage and family therapist. Additionally, Bessie's husband had been laid off causing even more stress. When she had to cut her hours and her household income decreased, her deepest fear – losing everything she and her husband had worked so hard for – seemed imminent.

But then, a defining moment came to her one morning when her mother said, “Bess, I’m afraid to die.” Suddenly, her priorities became clear: she confidently replied, “Mom, I will be with you until your last breath. Don’t worry.” On a deeper level, she and her husband knew they were going to be fine financially. The most important thing that had to be the focus was taking care of mom.

When Bessie stopped working and devoted herself to focus on her mother’s needs, a remarkable shift happened within her: she felt completely free from the worry and stress that had plagued her before, and instead felt more loving and compassionate than ever. She surrendered to Spirit and her guides, dug deep within her own spirit, took lots of deep breaths, stayed focused on caring for her mom and turned to Reiki for her own self-care.

During this time, a quote by French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin resonated with Bessie. “We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience,” he said, “We are spiritual beings having a physical experience.”

Being an empath, Bessie has always believed that there is more to life than just the physical realm. She’s sensitive to energy, very intuitive, and when taking care of her mom, she knew that her angels, guides, and ancestors were looking after her and her mom.

On August 22, 2012, mom called Bessie and said, "Bess, it's time." So she immediately left work and went to the care home she was in. Throughout her mother’s time of illness and transition, Bessie was able to share Reiki with her.

Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a Japanese healing technique discovered by Dr. Mikao Usui. Reiki is a safe, gentle technique, which can be done either hands-on, hands-off, or online and is a holistic system for balancing, healing, and harmonizing all aspects of the person – body, mind, emotions and spirit – and can be also used to encourage personal and spiritual awareness and growth.

Bessie found that it helped to ease her mother’s fears during her transition. She was able to provide Reiki and support her mom to help take her ‘last breath on earth and her first breath in the heavens’. Her Mom's last breath on earth was before dawn on August 23, 2012 and she transitioned peacefully.

It was through this pivotal experience that Bessie decided to follow her own dream to teach others to live a more spiritual, mindful life by learning and practicing Reiki.

After her mother’s passing, Bessie went on to become a Reiki Master Teacher and learn Spiritual, Shamanic, psychic and mediumship tools to better understand how we are all energetically connected to the Universal Life Force Energy. Her study included a deeper understanding of Ki, the life force energy that flows through every living thing. (Reiki allows Ki to move blockages within when the life force energy is low, or there is restriction to the flow).

Bessie feels fortunate that she was able to use what she learned from her Reiki Practitioner training to help ease her mom’s fears as she transitioned. This experience taught her that fear doesn’t have to be at the forefront of our lives; life is too precious for extraneous worries. Most importantly, it taught her that she had to follow her dreams of teaching others how to live a more spiritual, mindful life.

Bessie continues to love, enjoy, and cherish each moment of her journey through life. Of course, life holds challenges and bumps on the road. But this is where we can learn and provide Reiki to our loved ones and our community, learn to practice mindful moments, so we can spend less time worrying and more time savoring life."

* Has learning Reiki been on your mind and in your heart but you haven't taken the inspired action?

Check my website for the 2024 Reiki training dates for Usui Holy Fire Reiki III Levels 1, 2 and Reiki Master.