Winds of Change

Copy/paste from the deviant: I got a boyfriend that eats up my time now and I am looking for employment while trying to get into college. I have become a fan of two things recently. The first one is the Twilight series. Make fun of me all you want I like the supernatural soap opera in the books.

The 2nd, which drives me into passion, is the Saw movie series. I am going to buy one of those pig masks and use it in my rituals. (While I am at it I was thinking this is the perfect time of the year to get some sort of psycho drama outfit.)

We went to Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights & the first place we went to, that I made my BF go to, was the Saw house. I think I died in there and went to heaven. They had traps and people from I-IV. They even had the corpse of Lynne (Complete with her head blown off!!!) and John, as a recreation of the room after John's death in III. There was the writings from IV all over the wall "Cherish your life" and "See what I see" (etc). The timed head trap guy, the one dude who was changed to the wall, the toilet and glow in the dark X, the five person arm trap from the end of V, (to name a few) and a bunch of pig people who kept jumping out at me and making me scream.

We also went to a Bill and Ted shown, Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, and Leave it to Cleaver house. Oh and Silver Screams which featured an area to Shaun of the Dead, ftw. (This year's theme is Ripped from the Silver Screen.) At Frankenstein this tall guy jumped out at me and I crouched down in defense. My BF calls this "the Heather defense pose" and won't let it go. (Heather, the main character from the video game Silent Hill 3.) He said I looked just like that. In Leave it to Cleaver there was actually a torso on display with full frontal nudity. That made me happy. I told my BF to grab the breasts and do the motion of "Honk, honk". I swear when I am at the houses I am tempted to touch the props. (Is that legal?) I know its rubber or something, but I feel like I have to anyway.

Anyway, the Horror Night lines were fine really early. But as the night dragged on teens and pre-teens filled up the theme park on THURSDAY night, which pissed me off. A couple of houses had wait times of 120 minutes!!! WTF?! There was so many people, that I decided the hell with it and started drinking to deal with people. To top it off, instead of the old time of closing at 2am, they changed it to 12am.

Our last house was Dracula and there was these group of teen girls who always talked "like OMG" and I wanted to strangle them. I just kept drinking. When we got into the house, they screamed so loud it was piercing. People were jumping out at me in scary vampire masks while my drunk face just stared back at them like "You ain't scary. Bleh.". They didn't make me jump when I was drinking. Though I will say the Dracula house had the theme of Vlad the Impaler the historical inspiration for Dracula who also bared that name. Yes, the whole Vlad set up. Impaled people with his dinner table right under the bodies and a wine glass to catch the blood. Imagine that.

It was funny. The more I drank the more I told most people what I thought of them. I didn't use words like "excuse me" in the lines either, I used words like "Get out of my way". By the end of the night, the damn security guards wouldn't let me take my drink out of the island walk so I had to drink it there, I was drunk and nauseated. I hurried to get to my BF's car so I could fall asleep. I remember waking up at a 7/11 because he needed gas and stumbling to the restroom to pee... I also remember buying a Domo-Kun (NHK/Japan's broadcasting company) plush at full price instead of waiting until after Halloween to buy it because I was drunk. I talked to it in the car too.

Why Domo-Kun is taking over our American stores is baffling. Is this Japan's version of revenge for WWII? I have no idea. But we all should watch out I think. But then after I type that I am going to the Hello Kitty store.

Oh yeah, we're planning to go again. So when we do, I'll actually give you a rating of all the houses. We got most of them this time, but not all. That will be my proper review. I was too drunk this time. (Fucking teenagers.)

We have contradicting scientific reports. This is why you should keep a open mind, kids.

"Lee, MS; MH Pittler, E Ernst (2008). "Effects of reiki in clinical practice: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials"."

Cites: Conclusion: In conclusion, the evidence is insufficient to suggest? that reiki is an effective treatment for any condition. Therefore the value of reiki remains unproven"

But then this review article says:

Results showed no evidence of short-term benefit in terms

of functioning or depression, as measured by standardized instruments.

However, the authors note that data on long-term and cognitive

change were not available, and so it was not possible to

measure the potential impact of Reiki on these dimensions.

[..]

Twenty volunteers who experienced

chronic pain from a variety of causes, including cancer, demonstrated

a significant decrease in pain after receiving a single 75

minute Reiki session.61This study is limited by its design and

the existence of a number of potentially confounding variables,

but it does point to possible clinical applications of Reiki that

should be studied further.

The Windana Society in Melbourne, Australia has operated

a Reiki clinic for more than 10 years and provides holistic care to

clients who are undergoing treatment for withdrawal from drugs

and alcohol.62 The staff reviewed clinical records and conducted

a client survey. Both clients and staff attribute a number of client

outcomes to Reiki therapy, including reduced pain and improvements

in clients? sleep patterns, mood, and clarity of thinking.

Their data supports the hypothesis that Reiki promotes a greater

sense of self-awareness and connectedness, and brings profound

relaxation. Clients described Reiki as bringing them a sense of

peace and well-being that enabled them to continue with their

recovery and enhanced their counseling sessions.

Quackwatch reports:

The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy (WHCCAMP) issued its final report in March. It is a prayer of praise to CAM, which it never actually defined, despite two years of "study". Between the WHCCAMP and the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), there have been, in 10 years, over one billion of our dollars spent, supposedly to research the efficacy, safety, and veracity of "Alternative Medicine." Results? We have -- according to these fine commissions -- debunked exactly nothing. Nothing has been either proven or disproven, according to these expert panels. 

(Note: This aricle is done by a RN, and not a scholar.)

Lastly, Journal of Advanced medicine concludes:

These findings suggest both biochemical and physiological changes in the direction of relaxation. The salivary IgA findings warrant further study to explore the effects of human TT and humeral immune function.

I am a very skeptical person. I like to try 'spiritual' things out to see if they actually work. Some things have in my experience, others have not. 

Recently, after going to a pagan meeting, I decided that I will try my hand at reiki. After all, I thought th crystals things was a bunch of BS until I saw that it actually DID work. Let's see if I can really 'heal' myself and others.

My aunt happens to be a reiki master. And I am sure she swears by it. My first order of business is through youtube. Yes, youtube. I will start out with video lessons, as they are free, and I am piss broke. I've experiemnted with Tai Chi and chi in Kung Fu so this will be fun.

Next order of business will be me trying out actual classes. However, let's start off slow. I will post my experiences and results with reiki, positive and negative. I heard I'll be starting practicing on myself, then others. When I get to people, I do need permission. However, I had heard that you can obtain permission by asking the person spirit. So let's try this out shall we?