Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

I'm not in a critical state.

Of course, I am, in the broader sense, since we are all on a journey toward the end. But right now, I am not suffering from anything severe. I’ve just been feeling under the weather. Normally, I would rest and wait for recovery, but this time it wasn’t happening, prompting me to do something I rarely do: call my doctor.

Oh, how things have changed! Getting an appointment is nearly impossible. For emergencies, you must call at 8 a.m. and hope to be first in line to see a doctor that day. However, I didn’t feel like I was in an urgent situation, so I didn’t want to take a slot meant for someone truly in need.

With that in mind, I reached out to the nearest Natural Health Centre instead.

Did you know there’s a sort of ranking among complementary therapists? It’s quite personal. As an acupuncturist, I view my field as top-tier because we undergo extensive training for a minimum of three years and can work within the National Health Service. Medical herbalists rank highly as well, having trained for seven years. At the very bottom are Reiki practitioners, who can become Masters in just a weekend.

Guess who had available slots? That’s right—the Reiki practitioner.

I understood that any improvement might be attributed to the placebo effect or a phenomenon known as “regression to the mean,” but I didn’t mind. I went for it.

My Reiki therapist, Sophia, had bright, twinkling eyes and a warm demeanor. Within just five minutes on the treatment couch, I felt significantly better. After 50 minutes, I was invigorated and had elevated Reiki’s status in my personal hierarchy—somewhere close to Shiatsu.

Then came her advice: soak up some sunshine, wear yellow, and consume yellow foods. Challenge accepted!

I bought a yellow sweater, then ventured into the grocery aisle. I dismissed bananas; the edible part isn’t genuinely yellow. Instead, I opted for a yellow pepper and, of course, some fries—definitely yellow.

Once home, I settled in the sun with some music:

You’ll want to listen to it until about 38 seconds in to understand why. Music can have a profound healing effect.

The yellow pepper remains untouched in my fruit bowl because I realized my cooking skills are lacking, and I don’t have any recipes that use yellow peppers. But fries? I can manage that!

While I could conclude the story here, there are broader lessons to reflect on.

1. Beliefs are only beneficial if they expand your options. Are there beliefs that restrict your choices? If so, it might be time to let them go.
2. Life often improves when you set aside judgments and embrace all possibilities, including the healing benefits of Reiki and comfort foods like fries.
3. If you work in complementary therapy and are unfamiliar with “regression to the mean,” you should explore this concept to understand why clients often feel better after their initial visits.
4. Hierarchies are best avoided, as they can lead to circular reasoning.

If anyone has a recipe involving yellow peppers, please send it my way before it spoils!