Hello my darlings,
This is Jolene Joy Moss and tonight I'm reading you Emelina and Papa's Healing Hands,
Illustrated by Carlos Alvarez Cotera.
Emelina is five years old.
She loves to squish her toes in the mud and hug frogs to her cheeks.
The best day to do both of those things are rainy days.
Then the frogs come out to splash in grassy puddles.
But one day it was raining and Emelina was sad.
What's wrong,
My princess of mud castles?
Papa asked from the doorway.
I don't feel well,
Said Emelina.
My head hurts and my tummy feels sick.
Oh,
I see,
Said Papa.
And I can't go out in the rain,
Said Emelina.
Oh,
I see,
Said Papa.
And the more I think about it,
Said Emelina,
The sadder I feel and the sicker I feel.
Ah,
Now I see,
Said Papa finally.
Papa came in and sat down in front of the window.
Emelina climbed on his lap to watch the rain.
Papa put one big warm hand on her forehead and one big warm hand on her tummy.
And when he did,
Emelina could feel the sick feelings just melt away.
Emelina leaned back and fell asleep with a little smile on her face.
When Emelina woke up,
She was in her own bed and she felt much better.
She ran down the hallway to the kitchen where Papa was pulling on his boots.
Well,
Emelina,
Said Papa,
I don't think we'll be squishing our toes in the mud today.
But if you put on your galoshes,
You can follow me outside.
I think we'll find a big surprise.
Emelina pulled on her galoshes as quickly as she could and followed Papa down the stairs to the backyard.
Emelina found seven frogs immediately and hugged them all to her cheeks.
Papa tapped Emelina on the shoulder.
And when he did,
Four of the seven frogs slipped from her fingers and her jaw dropped open because across the sky was a million miles of rainbow.
Emelina hugged her muddy cheek to Papa's leg and whispered,
Thank you to his healing hands.
Why do Papa's hands make Emelina feel better?
He's using a technique commonly called Reiki.
It's a way of channeling pure energy into the body and inviting the body to heal itself.
Anybody can use Reiki to start healing themselves.
And the more you learn about it,
The more effective you can be.
