Welcome to another episode of Reiki&Life. Today we would like to introduce you to Valentina Lopez, a former student of our school and now Reiki practitioner of Healing Hands Edinburgh The Reiki School.
Tell us a bit about you: origin, occupation, hobbies, dreams.
I was born and raised in South America, in my early teens, I decided I wanted to travel the world, experience new things and navigate my life in a very different way from people my own age. When I was 19 years old, I moved to Italy and fell deeply in love with its people, its culture, colours and traditions, so much that I now call Italy Home. In 2012 spirituality knocked at my door once again, I say once again because spirituality is always been within me. I have always been drawn to spiritual concepts, as a young girl I was very quiet and reserved, music was my favourite place to go and the night sky my favourite thing to watch. I would often have questions playing in my mind such as: Who am I? What is the purpose of life? What’s beyond the stars? So when I heard the call again I could not help but follow, I devoured hours and hours of reading material about ancient and modern spirituality, practices and philosophies and one day a word appeared before my eyes which changed everything, that word was Reiki. Today I am a Reiki practitioner and my hobbies have stayed pretty much the same, I love nature and quiet places, I enjoy a nice book or just sharing a nice meal with close friends and family. My dream is to keep working with Reiki, to travel the world and learn first hand about new holistic techniques and one day I would like to open my own spiritual school for free thinkers and dreamers. I would like to create a space where people can gather and reconnect with each other along with the universal energy which encompasses all.
Have you noticed any major changes in your life since you started learning Reiki?
Reiki has brought a new level of awareness to my life, I am able to better observe my thoughts and actions and I can find peace even when life is putting me through difficult moments, I can connect with my emotions no matter the nature of them and understand that everything in life is either a lesson, a mission or an undercover blessing.
What is your intention for becoming a Reiki practitioner?
My intention has always been to give and to help. I was blessed with the healing energies of Reiki and I am happy when I am helping restore the health of my clients to improve their lives. My ultimate goal is to bring awareness to my clients by educating them that I am not the one doing the healing, they are. I am only creating the space for that to happen.
What is the most powerful tool for you in the System of Reiki and what had the biggest impact on your personal changes?
For me, the most powerful tool in the Reiki System is the 5 principles. It teaches us in such a simple way the importance of living in the present moment, to change one day at a time is to change the way you view life itself. To realise how your perception of the external world can impact your internal world and vice versa is an extremely powerful tool. We are observers of our experience on this planet, we are not the experience. The past is gone and the future is being created now. By mentally repeating each one of the principles every day you are unconsciously rewiring your brain, changing your chain of thoughts and fundamentally becoming the co-creator of your life.
What else do you do apart from Reiki to support your spiritual journey?
I meditate often, I try to spend as much time in nature as I can, eat well and I also try to learn from my own emotions, my thoughts and the way I perceive others. I find life is like a mirror so whenever I see something out there that triggers me I try to take a moment and reflect on it, in order to decipher the message that life is trying to send me.
The meaning of life: why do you think we are here and what’s your main goal in your life?
Now, this is a very complex question. Life is a school and we are its students. We are here to grow and to realise that, there is no separation between me and you, we are stardust, we are the universe experiencing itself through everything that can possibly be or exist. Life is a journey, a blessing, a gift. Nothing is personal and everything is perfectly balanced.