What is the first thing you would say to a person who is suffering financial hardship or loss? Can they really alter their destiny by changing their mindset?

We can always alter our destiny by changing our mindset, but sometimes changing our mindset isn’t easy. When we’re depressed, fearful, anxious and so forth, it’s not so easy as simply saying, “Okay, I’ll just decide not to feel this way!” That’s where a belief in a higher power comes in. Sometimes we need to pray for help in changing our mindset. The Law of Divine Compensation is concerned with the kinds of thoughts that both attract and deflect miraculous breakthroughs in our financial and work lives. In a self-organizing and self-correcting universe, healing is natural; correction is natural; miracles are natural. We’re so convinced that everything that goes up must go down; what we need is a realization that everything that goes down will eventually go back up!

But when we are in the midst of struggle, frustration, stress and anxiety, how do we go about realigning our thoughts and opening our minds to the possibility of a miracle?

By prayer, forgiveness, compassion, self-awareness. By practicing the discipline of a more loving way of thinking and being in the world.

You mentioned forgiveness, and have said in the past that forgiveness is the most powerful tool for new beginnings. Why is this so?

Love produces miracles automatically. When we’re not forgiving someone, it’s like we’re putting a barrier in front of our hearts. And wherever there’s a barrier to love, there’s a barrier to miracles. Forgiveness is when we stand on faith in what lies beyond. Beyond what people did lies the reality of whom they are. 

In the book you say faith is visionary (not blind) — can you explain?

When a pilot has low visibility, he doesn’t assume there’s not a horizon; he simply flies on instruments. That’s what faith is: simply knowing that something is there, whether or not you can see it. What you know is there is an all-loving, self-organizing, self-correcting universe – but sometimes we can’t see it! Faith is the spiritual equivalent of flying on instruments.

The subtitle of your book refers to Work, Money and Miracles. What does the Law of Divine Compensation say about each?

That our work on earth is to serve love; that money is one of the ways that the love we put out into the world then comes back to us; and miracles occur naturally as expressions of love.

Reiki (pronounced “ray-key”) is a therapy tracing back more than 2,500 years to ancient India and Tibet, and there are some who believe it has its roots in the healing arts of the Egyptians. Reiki was handed down by a lineage of practitioners until it was rediscovered in Japan in the early 1900s by Dr. Mikao Usui. It is used to complement traditional medical treatment and in the alternative healing arts.

Reiki uses “chi”—also known as “ki” or “pranna”—in other cultures, the natural life force that is found in all living things.

The concept of chi is best known in the martial arts, where it is called upon to do things that might otherwise seem impossible, like breaking through concrete blocks with bare hands.

With Reiki, an individual can harness that same power but for profound healing purposes, both physically and emotionally. In knowing how to tap into the universal life force, Reiki practitioners maintain that they can not only improve their own personal health and well-being but help others as well. Reiki masters are handed down techniques to teach people how to tune in to the powerful healing forces of chi through a process called “attunement.” This is how you start down the path to a career in Reiki.

Beginning Reiki students start by taking a first-degree Reiki certification program. The cost generally ranges from $125 to $250 for a one- or two-day program. During that time, students receive up to four attunements from the teacher to open them up to receiving the frequency of Reiki energy. Following that class, students will be able to perform Reiki on themselves as well as family or friends, but it is not advised that they begin to do it professionally.

To work professionally, students need to take the second-degree Reiki certification course. This is generally a weekend-long program that provides all of the basics for a career in Reiki as well as several additional attunements. This course certifies the student as an Advanced Reiki Practitioner.

Reiki is one of the few alternative energy healing techniques that can be self-administered as well as performed on others—it can even be used on pets.

The majority of professional Reiki practitioners start their careers part-time while they are still employed in their current positions. Reiki practitioners are generally paid per session, with most sessions lasting about one hour and ranging in price from $45 to $75. The practitioner’s earning potential is therefore dependent upon the number of hours he can devote to the practice.

Reiki is currently used in the complementary medicine departments of many tristate hospitals and as a palliative care technique at many hospices. It is even taught at some accredited secondary colleges, such as New York College for Health Professions. For more information, visit www.reiki.org.