Once, during a time I was lucky enough to live in Paris, someone asked me my favourite thing to do in the city. ‘Get lost,’ I replied. I hadn’t thought of that before; the answer just came out. And it was true. When I was exploring, I didn’t have a schedule or appointments. Wandering down a small street, on purpose or by accident, and ending up not quite sure where I was: it was a great way to see the city. It filled me with wonder and delight.

On the other hand, when you do have a schedule or an appointment, getting lost is not so great. Reiki Surry Hills can be tricky to find. Surry Hills is filled with small streets and alleys. The entrance to our apartment building is on a different street to the address. The closest intersection to the entry is at Little Riley Street and Mackey Street. But Little Riley Street has two parts, the one near me, and another section that begins on the other side of Albion Street, after being interrupted by Frog Hollow Park. Mackey Street, which looks more like an alley to me, is also in two parts, interrupted by a block. If you’re on the wrong part of it, you have to walk around the block to get to the right part!

Clients will know that’s why I give detailed instructions by text for how to find me.

But even then, it doesn’t work for some clients. The majority of these who are lost don’t use Google Maps, or they use it to find the general area, and then stop using it before actually finding me. Some clients tell me that Google Maps doesn’t work and delivers them to the wrong place. A few people have had their phones run out of battery, or are almost about to, which can be a bigger problem if they can’t call me to tell me they’re lost! And a fair number of lost clients don’t actually read the instructions carefully: they read one part and not the other.

The majority of my lost clients don’t make it easier for themselves by calling me when they’re lost. Some wander around for a while before I call them to see where they are, and even manage to get themselves quite upset from being lost.

This makes me wonder. Most of my clients come because of stress and anxiety. But doesn’t always being lost cause stress and anxiety? I also imagine that some of these clients, in their daily lives, constantly encounter bad energy from other people but not know why, though the reason is because they’re late for an appointment or have inconvenienced someone else or haven’t followed instructions or a request. It’s hard to live with your head in the clouds.

So, while I recommend getting lost if you have the time for it, most of the time I would recommend not being lost. Taking the time to pay attention to where you are, and the directions that people give you, could eliminate stress and getting bad reactions from other people. If you need help finding somewhere, ask for help! People like to help others find their way. I do! And in the long run, being mindful and paying attention could certainly help you as much as a reiki treatment could.

Discover the benefits of a reiki treatment. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and SMS, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Over the last 10 years, I’ve given over 1,900 reiki treatments.

Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it brings them. Folks visit from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.

I don’t know if Thor knew, in the last weeks of his too-short life, that he would die soon, because he really was especially affectionate and friendly with my reiki clients. Freyja, his sister, who thankfully is distracting us from our grief, will only sometimes say hello to clients (particularly if it’s close to dinner time) but she’s very coquettish and cat-like: to pet her you really have to offer her your hand in a gentle way, and then wait for her to decide you can touch her.

But Thor! He would often sit, right in the centre of the reiki table, or else on the couch, where a client is supposed to sit, especially on sunny days, but lots of other times as well. It sometimes seemed like it was his favourite place in the apartment. He would often leap from the reiki table to sit next to a client, and then nuzzle up to them and say hello.

While he seemed to be especially attentive to cat-lovers and lovers of animals in general, he would also say hello to those who were not quite as convinced. He was really a wonderful bonus part of a reiki treatment: for clients who were new to Reiki Surry Hills and to reiki, he provided a lovely, disarming burst of cuteness, and then sprawling down in relaxation showed us a model of how to be in the world: relaxed, chilled out and in the moment. I let him stay in the room most times, and I think he only jumped on clients during treatments three times in all! Very few clients were allergic to cats though the first one who was badly allergic (he became so congested that he couldn’t really relax and enjoy his treatment) led me to try to warn clients on my website that we have cats. But this had the unexpected benefit of attracting some cat lovers who would hope to meet Thor during their treatment.

I was also surprised to see cat-phobia in action, as it was hard for me to believe that someone could be scared of that cute face, but I’ve had at least two clients who really were scared of the cats and couldn’t bear the sight of them. It was fun to hear from clients who had had a Russian Blue or knew them through their friends or family. They really are a special breed. One story that I remember vividly was a client who seemed very attached to a story of her being sick with a mysterious ailment. As she was leaving her treatment, her body was hunched over as if she was too exhausted and in pain to get to the door. But then she saw Thor and seemed to forget she was sick, her whole energy changed as she leaned down to pat him. But then she remembered she was sick so adjusted her body back to the way it was. But Thor showed me the truth.

Many of my reiki clients got to meet Thor, and many fell for his charms, so I’m sorry to let my clients know that a few weeks ago, he laid down and died in our apartment, not even six years old, and we don’t know why. But even in those moments of grief, I was hearing lessons clearly from my reiki practice. Just for today. Be grateful. Do not anger. Do not worry. Be compassionate. We’re sad, of course, but so grateful to have enjoyed his wonderful presence and personality and energy. I’m surprised and also so grateful the way he became a part of Reiki Surry Hills, and also surprised to discover how much I fell in love with him. Farewell, my reiki cat. Thank you for everything.