Plant Shamanism & Reiki Training – Fay Johnstone
Fay Johnstone – Teacher of Reiki, Shamanism, Elemental QiGong and Plant Medicine – gives MysticMag the opportunity to discuss her passion for plants and energy healing and what one can expect when working by her side.
What first triggered your deep passion for plants and the world of energy?
I feel like I have been gently nudged by the universe to follow this path and it has unfolded slowly and organically. Over twenty years ago a friend suggested I join them on a weekend training to learn Reiki and the rest is history!
I was a closet practitioner for many years, offering treatments on the days I wasn’t working my 9-5 office role. What followed next was my fascination with the drum and shamanic practices and it was Reiki that led me to the plants. Reiki and the plants really help us to get in touch with the truth within our hearts and guides us to what lights us up. For me, it started with a move out from the city to a small town where I was able to grow my own vegetables, forage the hedgerows, and create herbal potions. I then started studying Herbal Medicine.
My desire for space and reconnection to the land took me from the UK to Nova Scotia where I ran an organic flower and herb farm for five years, alongside my husband. I simply follow the breadcrumbs laid down by the universe. They led me back to the UK, where I now run retreats and workshops at a beautiful botanic garden in Scotland.
How much of a role do our ancestors play in our lives, in your experience?
What a wonderful question! Let’s put it this way, if we don’t have a practice or a mindset that includes our ancestors in our lives then a vital part of who we are is not recognised or honoured. Not only do we share DNA but we also share cellular memory and energetic patterns from the past which affect our lives today. Honouring our ancestors and healing any conflict is essential for helping us feel whole and recognising all our gifts. This is so that we can create and live our own story, rather than repeat patterns of the past.
What approach do you use when working with your clients, and what can one expect to
achieve?
I’ve learnt to listen deeply. I like to create a safe space before I begin and make sure everything has its place both seen and unseen so my client can be held in wholeness. It starts with asking the client about their vision for their lives and really getting a feel for what they long to feel and create. Then we can dive into what is preventing that and what they would like to change.
I work using Reiki, plant medicine and shamanic healing. No two sessions are the same. My work is spirit led. This means I allow myself to be guided and feel for the truth. Clients can expect a transformation. A shift in the pattern that they have been living and a realignment with their true nature. Often energy is released, power is restored and soul pieces are called back home. What this looks like is clients feeling more confident, free of stress, able to be themselves, happier and more alive. Clients also regularly feel more connected to the natural world, supported and held. It can be very humbling.
Is Reiki an intrinsic part of what you do?
From the moment when we are attuned to Reiki, the frequency of Reiki is with us for life. It’s not really a case of Reiki being an intrinsic part of what I do, it’s more like Reiki is who I am. It’s an incredible energy for helping others come back into balance and take responsibility for their own healing so I always call it forward. I can’t help it, it naturally flows to where it is most needed.
What can you tell us about your books and where you found your inspiration?
My books are all inspired by my healing work and guidance that I receive. In all of them I share my experiences and teach valuable techniques so that the reader can feel supported, gain confidence and develop their own way.
The first, Plants that Speak Souls that Sing: Transform your Life with the Spirit of Plants was inspired by all the plants and connection to nature that I felt while we ran the flower farm. This also led to the development of my work with Plant Spirit Reiki: Energy Healing with the Elements of Nature. This is the subject of my second book and is specifically aimed at Reiki practitioners to help them bring the healing power of nature into their Reiki work.
My third book, due out in the fall 2023 is Shamanic Reiki Drumming, and is inspired by my fourteen years of drumming with Reiki for personal, professional and planetary healing.
The natural world is a source of wonder and delight for me and I write daily, either channelling messages, guidance or poetry. My writing started to flow ever since I began to show up with devotion and deeply listen to what is present within myself and what exists in the world around me.
