Mypath

B.C Satterfield

My Path To Mastery

It seems to me that I have always been a rebel of some kind. As a child, my
rebellion was not always a conscious act. I just could not agree with the
program as authority dictated. In young adulthood, I cast about for something
stable, but rebellion gave me understanding. Life without growth is really no
life at all. I decided to be the best possible rebel and allow it to teach me.
Now, in my maturity, my rebellion has evolved. When I observe instituted
forms of mediocrity and societal demands that stifle honest creativity, my
anger comes back.
To me, mastery is a feeling of sureness and confidence in every way possible
on a subject. It means that a person has put forth effort show proficiency and
may have superior knowledge of a subject. My expertise is in healing. I
define healing as the ability to help myself and others gain wholeness through
the channeling of universal healing energy. This is the best way to express
my love for humanity without depleting myself. My first approach to the
mastery of healing was through the study of Reiki.
In 1982, I went to an introductory talk on Reiki. I felt guided to take the First
Degree Reiki class, the basic course, consisting of four separate energy-
activating hand positions of the Reiki technique. I was already a natural
healer and the energy augmentation I received from the Reiki initiations and
I spent time practicing on all my friends. After several months, I quit my job
and used my retirement fund to pay for my Second Degree Reiki class.
Second Degree Reiki is composed of knowledge and activation of three Reiki
symbols: The first symbol is to bring in extra energy to the healing treatment.
The second symbol is used in dealing with deep-seated emotional and mental
challenges. The third symbol is highly effective for absentee-healing.
The purpose of the Second Degree initiation is to give the practitioner
specific tools and techniques for learning to direct energy on non physical
dimensions. My second degree class experience radically increased my
energy for personal development.
I had everything I needed to be a fine Reiki practitioner, but I was not busy. I
went through a healing crisis that winter, a true “dark night of the soul.”
During that time, I had a case of the flu, financial problems, and poison oak.
My friends helped me pull through and I finally got some work to recover my
financial muscles.
By spring, I was doing much better and met a woman who noticed the sparkle
in my aura. As she was also a healing practitioner, we decided to trade
treatments. At our first session, she reported that her spirit guides and mine
all hugged like long old friends. Her name was Gaynell. Later, we learned
that she had bone cancer. We began a program of Reiki treatments every
day. To deal with her condition we agreed to think only in terms of her
recovery. Since she was psychically attuned to her Healing Guides, we felt
optimistic as we channeled her ability to cure her disease.
In the next year and a half, Gaynell and I went through every form of
alternative healing we could think of. We explored Nutrition, Shamanism,
Naturopathy, Homeopathy, and Massage, traveling all over the country from
our home in Oregon. I was witness and assistant in these processes. I felt a
deepening sense of wholeness. However, as time went on, Gaynell became
weaker and more dependent on me. Finally, I had to admit that my resources
were not enough to take care of her. When I came to this painful decision,
many friends, family members and Hospice workers stepped in. Part of my
path to mastery has been recognition of personal limits.
All this time, I set my heart on the goal of Reiki mastery, and I received
much help and encouragement from Spirit. I took time to attend the first
Reiki self-assessment workshop at Winlaw, British Columbia. This was an
opportunity to learn from world Usui Reiki master Phyllis Furomoto and
others. I wanted to continue with my healing practice, but I also felt a strong
pull to develop my skills as an artist.
When Gaynell died, in the spring of 1985, I found I was depleted in every
way. I had to go through my own process of dying before I could become
functional again. I surrendered completely to God/Goddess, even offering to
leave my physical body if that was indicated. It wasn't. Mysteriously, series
of opportunities presented themselves for me to continue work with terminal
patients. All the skills I had learned with Gaynell's dying now helped me to
make a living.
The next summer, I went to another Reiki gathering and conferred with
Phyllis Furomoto about my own mastership. She urged me to attend another
self-assessment, and to work with another Reiki Master. When I returned
home, I was in for a shock. My carefully cultivated group of Reiki clients had
disappeared. I found myself in another healing crisis; this time more focused
on the emotional level. Every morning I walked by the river and moved as
many feelings as I could find to move. I began to understand my pattern of
rebellion.
I was holding anger about the Reiki mastership program. I felt the $10,000
price tag for the mastership was excessive. I also discovered I had anger
about the whole money system. I had to deal with my fear that I would have
to do something unpleasant to make the financial ends meet. I felt very out of
accord with the first two principles of Usui Reiki: "Just for today, do not
worry." and "Just for today, do not anger." Again, I rebelled in my own
behalf. I wrote to Phyllis and asked her to take me off the program. The
result seemed to be more healing clients and patients to work with, along with
an upsurge of art sales.
I began to notice rewards from my work which I had not anticipated. I spent
time with many terminally ill patients. When someone I was working with
made the transition to the spirit world they would compensate me with a gift
of consciousness. I accepted this as a process of reclaiming my own powers.
The greatness I had denied myself over many lifetimes was returning.
One such blessing I received was the gift of consciousness of the angel of
Liberty. This consciousness was not an easy or comfortable feeling. With the
eyes of this angel, I could see the fallacy of what people called liberty. This is
the message from the angel:
"Liberty is permission, this must be used responsibly. Liberty appears on the
face of every coin and is basic principle of this nation. Liberty has been
strangely twisted in the minds of many people who use it as license. Some
claim Liberty is theirs, but they are tied and gagged as well as blindfolded
inside themselves. Some take Liberty and abuse it to harm others and have
used Liberty for their own greed.
"Those of you who desire to share this way of expressing Liberty, I say: With
the intention to heal, take every Liberty."
I became aware of the Liberty Angel as a symbol of the spiritual balance of
my healed emotions. I began to see with the eyes of Liberty and feel what the
angel felt. I was also given permission to begin initiating people into Reiki. I
tried this and then tested the initiates. In every case, the students performed
beyond my expectations. This confirmed my Reiki mastery.
The attainment of mastery does not mean a person no longer needs to learn
or grow. It does mean that I have decided with integrity to devote my life to
being totally myself with no compromise. It is a path filled with many dangers
and great joys. I believe all of us are masters of something, whether we
realize it or not, and discovering our own mastery is life's challenge.

Brian Satterfield lives in North Idaho. He may be reached by
email: bsatterfield@webband.com, or by phone (208)683-0343. He
is available for readings by phone, and he is available in person at
the Celtic Moon in Coeur d'Alene. Call (208)765-4546 for an
appointment.