Celtic Healing
Martyn Pentecost retired from the rat-race nearly two decades ago.
“In the 90s, I was an IT professional in a high-stress corporate environment,” recalls the 44-year-old healer, who lives in London, but is of Welsh, Scottish and Irish ancestry.
“Whilst searching for something that would help me to cope with the day to day pressures of that world, I stumbled across Reiki. I found a local Usui Reiki Master and had a treatment.”
The hour-long session moved him so profoundly that Pentecost went on to train as a Usui Reiki Master himself, before quitting his job to start treating and teaching others. Over time, he developed alternate types of therapy.
“After the initial creation of Celtic Reiki, and upon seeing how people across the world responded to it, I was compelled help others make real change in their lives. This was no longer about ‘me’ and what I wanted, but about developing Celtic Reiki into a therapy that could affect deep and lasting transformation for others, many of whom were facing the darkest and most traumatic of times; those living with terminal illness, the parents of sick children, people in the grasp of life-threatening addictions, and those coping with mental health issues, HIV, and so on.
“It was through these experiences that I learned it’s not about Reiki… it’s about the perspective of each person and how they experience Reiki.”
Much like the ancient Celts, Pentecost believes that human beings are part of an immensely complex ecosystem.
“Celtic Reiki is a form of complementary therapy that takes its philosophy from many traditions, including those of the ancient Celts. At its heart is the principle of a Universal force that not only connects us all, weaving through our lives like an unseen thread, but actually creates our physical world. This force, which is sometimes called ‘Ki’ – from which Reiki is derived – has been a part of mysticism for millennia. Yet in Celtic Reiki, we use the more ‘Celtic’ perspectives of community – the natural world, and the spirit or uniqueness of each individual person – to create a treatment or practice. For me, Celtic Reiki is like a walk in a peaceful forest or a stroll along a beach at sunset… it harnesses the force of Ki to realign us with the world around us; reminding us that together, we are all an integral part of the Earth.”
He points out that Celtic Reiki is different from Usui Reiki, which was first developed in Japan in the late 1800.
“Reiki is like electricity; it can be used to power many devices, but it is always energy, not the device it powers. Just as electricity can power an iPhone or a thought in the human brain, Reiki can be used to power many tools, like a therapeutic treatment for example. Celtic Reiki is a method of discovering your own, unique perspective of Reiki, and then using this perspective to help yourself and others develop greater well-being.”
Over the years, Pentecost has received thousands of emails and letters from clients, sharing the positive impact that the treatment has had upon their lives.
“Almost always, people speak of improved health, greater levels of positive thinking, or sustained and lasting change that permeates each day and the events they encounter.”
One can only keep positive energy, he says, by giving it away.
“The most profound rewards for me come from the people I have met along the way. These people have taught me about kindness, compassion, forgiveness and, most of all, happiness. Every day we are offered invitations to be more loving to each other, to instill kindness in our every action, to inspire others, yet so often we ignore these. I cannot ignore these invitation; they keep getting thrust back upon me until I RSVP! Over time, I’ve learned that it is a wiser alternative just to be genuinely kind, loving, and forgiving in every deed. I could never have learned this in such a heart-felt way without the people I’ve met through my work.”
