Photography Saved My Life

I said this to someone just recently and I didn’t realize the power in that statement and the truth it held for me.

How exactly did photography save my life?

Before photography entered my life, I was so caught up in walking a path that was not my own. It was the result of living up to certain expectations that was placed on me by others and that I placed on myself which was not based on the truth of who I was. I was on a path that I thought would bring me happiness and “success” by enduring 6 years of advanced education so that I could get a job in cubicle nation.  The emptiness I felt inside at the end of each day was too hard to bear.

I had always enjoyed taking pictures in my spare time. I liked the feeling it gave me of soulful satisfaction and depth to an otherwise one-dimensional world. I held the camera in my hand; felt it’s weight and then as if by magic it summoned something wonderful in my heart & mind.

I lifted the camera to my eye and suddenly the world started to take shape. My imagination saw the world through the camera’s viewfinder. A bird taking flight, two dogs kissing, a butterfly perched on a flower, a long windy road that led to the unknown. Is this what my heart saw? And if so, how beautiful that I saw it? I somehow became a part of the scene in a photo. I felt actively connected to the world that was taking place right in front of me. It went from a vision in my mind to being captured in a photo and just like that my pointer finger became the executor of my hearts imagination.

Photography gave me life that I didn’t know I needed; it acted as a direct channel to my heart. I discovered myself and the truth of who I am in a photograph.

My life had truly begun. Photography reacquainted me with my heart and for that I will forever be grateful. Photography saved my life.

With Love & Light,

Ariane

A Conversation with a Reiki Master

About a month ago I had a profound experience that I'm so excited to share with you all today! I had my first Reiki session. I've heard about the practice of reiki so many times before but had yet to experience it. I knew only a little about it but my good friend and Reiki Master Wen had me so inspired to try it once she told me how effective Reiki is as a form of self-healing. Self-healing? Do we really have the natural capabilities to heal ourselves internally?  And how?  All I can tell you is that the experience was eye-opening for me. After my first reiki session, I knew exactly what Wen had been telling me about it's effects. I felt a new sense of spiritual awareness that I had never felt before after my session with Wen. I felt finely tuned in within my physical body and yet my mind also felt extreme clarity; unclouded by any mental distractions. 

Reiki is one of those things where you just have to see for yourself because everyone has a different experience from it.

I'm happy to share this recent interview I did with Reiki Master Wen-Chi! Here she breaks down the meaning of Reiki and why it is so effective. Even in mainstream healthcare facilities.  Take a look at what she had to say!

First a little bit about Wen-Chi:

Wen-Chi Chen is a practitioner in Traditional Chinese Medicine (since 2001), Reiki Master / Teacher, also a visual artist.  She learned Reiki from Hyakuten Inamoto sensei, the founder of “Komyo Reiki Kai”, which presents Reiki as it was understood and commonly practiced in the 1930’s in Japan.

For over a decade, Wen has utilized many energy healing tools to help people release tension, enhance creativity, achieve personal well-being and spiritual growth.

Ariane Hunter: Please describe in your own words, what is Reiki?

Wen-Chi Chen: Reiki is a combination of two Japanese words rei, or “miraculous” “transcendental” “sacred”, and ki, or “life force/energy of the universe” .

Reiki healing art is a “laying-on of hands” healing technique that uses the vibrations of love and harmony of universal life force to heal, balancing the subtle energies within our bodies. Reiki addresses physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances. The Reiki practitioner serves as a vessel that supplies healing energies where they are most needed. Reiki energies flow out of the practitioner's body through the palms of the hands while they are touching the recipient's body or without touching.

AH: From what I understand about Reiki healing, one word that is used to describe the process is ‘attunement’ into the universal channel that facilitates a persons healing response.  Could you please elaborate on this?

WC:  Anyone can be initiated into Reiki Ryoho and become a Reiki practitioner to heal themselves and others. This is done by means of a ritual called "Reiju" or "attunement." 

A Reiki attunement is the process by which a person receives the ability to give Reiki treatments.  Attunements are what separate Reiki from other forms of healing; the Attunement ceremony replaces the need for extensive training by opening you up as a channel for the healing energy of Reiki. Once a person is Attuned, they can heal themselves and those around them. This power never leaves you once you are a channel for Reiki energy, you are connected for life.

 AH: We have seen hospitals and healthcare facilities adopting the practice of Reiki for the treatment of their patients.  What type of healing effects can Reiki have on treating physical and emotional pains?

WC: At hospitals and clinics across America Reiki has been gaining acceptance as a meaningful and cost-effective way to improve patient care. There are close to 200 hospitals in the United States where Reiki is offered as a standard service to patients. Reiki is quickly becoming a favorite among alternative health care.

Reiki sessions cause patients to heal faster with less pain, Reiki accelerates recovery from surgery, improves mental attitude and reduces the negative effects of medication and other medical procedures.  It is very useful for making people who are extremely stressed feel calm.

AH: For those of us who may not have experienced a Reiki session before, would you please describe your personal experiences with it as a practitioner who has given and received Reiki healing?

WC: Few years ago when I received my first Reiki healing, I experienced a major shift physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  For the first time in my life, I felt compassion, freedom, happiness, inner peace, and love for myself. My life has since completely changed, thanks to Reiki. I decided I wanted to be able to give others that same feeling of well being and since then I became a Reiki practitioner and teacher.

I have also seen amazing changes in people that have come to me for Reiki treatments or classes. Many felt that their attitude has become so much more positive and experienced an inner strength that they never knew they had before.

People almost always told me how peaceful and relaxed they felt after Reiki healing. Many became free from all pain after years of physically and emotionally illness.

AH: What about this healing technique makes it so effective? And what changes could one experience as a result of receiving a Reiki session?

WC: Reiki healing is so effective and powerful because it is not from the practitioner but comes through the practitioner from the energy of the universe (or higher wisdom / higher power).  Reiki knows where to go within one’s energy field to heal.

It activates the inner healer in both the giver and the receiver.

Reiki triggers our own self-healing abilities, and improves and maintains health, working on all levels, body, mind, emotions, and spirit, bringing us to heal our whole selves. The energy is coming from a transcendental part of ourselves that is connected to an infinite supply of healing energy, therefore, each one of us will experience different results and changes according to one’s individual needs.

AH: If one would like more information on receiving a Reiki session or learning more about it, how can we get in touch with you?

I’d be more than happy to share Reiki healing and information with you. This Sunday, April 29th I am having an Intensive Reiki Class
＊You will learn a basic knowledge about Reiki and a basic hands on healing art.
＊You'll be initiated into Reiki by means of "Reiju" or "attunement" that will empower you to be a Reiki channel.
＊From this time on, Reiki energy will flow throughout your hands and do a fine job of healing. It means YOU are now a Reiki practitioner (healer) for the rest of your life.
＊This class is for beginners as well as experienced Reiki Practitioners who are serious in exploring to learn Japanese Reiki as it was taught in 1930s.

TO LEARN MORE & REGISTER, VISIT: http://reikibywen.eventbrite.com/

Email:   wenwellness@gmail.com | Visit my website:  www.WenWellness.com

Tel:  212-460-8686  /  917-304-3660

Opera & The City | NYC Lifestyle Portraits

I swear sometimes it feels like the universe is uniting me with some pretty amazing people.  People who are deeply passionate about their craft and have a love affair with living life! I had the awesome pleasure of working with Ernest recently for a lifestyle portrait shoot.  His energy, positivity, creativity, and talent was so very inspiring. 

Click to read more ...

The Identity of Pain

I became a life coach because I see that we are all in pain. Some of us suffer in silence and keep it all in. Some of us identify with that pain because it’s all we know. Some of us who are in pain suppress it and keep going thinking that one day it will all go away. But that day never comes because we never allow it to. Our feelings of indecision, confusion, overwhelm, and fear all comes from a place inside of us that feels “off”. A place that wants to be healed, touched, recognized, and comforted. We yearn for our pain to be comforted because it hurts so bad. We turn to alcohol, food, technology, and even the people around us to comfort us knowing deep down that it will only fan the flames of our pain.

My heart hurts when I see us hurt in this way. I want so much to hold a mirror up in front of you and show you what I see. A strong unique radiance of who you are; an amazing human being. 

I know what it feels like to be bought and sold into a dream that is not your own. I know what it feels like to be out of touch or disconnected from that place deep within you that wants something more than what you’ve been settling for. And most of all, I know what the voice of fear sounds like and the paralyzing hold it can have over you. This is the pain I struggled with for years and years. Even today that pain still presents itself. But I must say that over the years that pain has gotten smaller and in some instances unrecognizable. It is unrecognizable, because as the pain melts away, I am beginning to see myself without the identity of pain and thus, the real me. 

Pain is an inevitable part of the journey, but suffering is not. We have a choice, everyday and in every moment. For some of us it is not until that pain becomes so unbearable that we take the risk of flying than to keep sinking deeper and deeper into the comfort of our own pain. I cannot promise you that you will not fall or never experience pain again. But what I can promise, it will reveal the identity of who you truly are. A strong beautiful radiant human being who is capable of transcending all pain into love.

With Love & Light,

Ariane

From Search & Fix To Discover & Enhance

Self-help.  That word always bothered me. My first encounter with the word was in a bookstore when I was in my early twenties.  I wasn’t really sure what type of book I was looking for at the time but I was somehow drawn to the self-help section. I walked down the long aisle and let my fingertips run across the spine of each book packed tightly against one another. I glanced at each alluring title of tips and tricks, and quick fixes complete with pictures on the cover of people who seemed to be everything I was not.  My my, what a good way to make someone feel like they were lacking something.

What are we really looking for when we search for something we believe can ‘fix’ us? Who do we really want to be? What do we really want to have or feel?  Are we looking for a quick fix to relieve our pain or is it something deeper than that? 

Click to read more ...