Are you a spiritual sceptic?

LET’S TALK spirituality. Giselle La Pompe-Moore ON CONFIDENCE, reiki and what that S-word means to her.

Giselle La Pompe-Moore is a spiritual guide and reiki master teacher, who is “here to offer spiritual support through your life experiences and changes, and I use an intuitive blend of teachings, practices, meditation and tarot.”

Giselle doesn’t believe that reiki is the only way we can use energy to heal and teach. She explains that with all her practices, she is connecting to the other person’s energy and channelling through spirit to receive the energy and answers. During the pandemic, she has been working with people online and healing remotely.

Giselle is interviewed in Fearne’s new book Bigger Than Us and her new book Take It In is available now.

Why will we want to read Take It In?

I wrote Take It In in the hope that it would make spirituality accessible and doable – a book that makes sense for the changing world that we live in. The way we talk about spirituality has to change, because we have changed and the world as we know it has too. I think it’s time for spirituality to move away from the complex concepts, rules and superstition that makes it feel like it’s only for some of us and not all of us. It needs to not shy away from topics like racism, poverty, doubts, fear and trauma, as ultimately that’s what so many of us are carrying that makes reaching for more love, bliss and joy feel difficult to do.

We can create a life that we never thought possible when we use spirituality as both a tool to survive, but also to thrive. When we take a deep look at all the stuff we’re carrying, give ourselves permission to work on it, then we can open the door to so much possibility. Take It In does this in a way that is practical, non-judgemental and works with the nonsense and brilliance of modern life.

What if we’re spiritually sceptical?

If you’ve ever been confused by spirituality, are sceptical or scared, or just thought it was only moon rituals and tarot cards, then this is for you. If you thought that just because you struggle to meditate or manifesting has never worked for you, that you weren’t ‘spiritual enough’, then this is for you. This is for everyone who doesn’t feel like they are spiritual; who have to know more or be more to have a spiritual practice. The ones who feel left out, judged or have no idea where to start.

This book is for everyone who thought that what they’ve experienced in life meant that they weren’t able to access a more bold, purposeful and exciting one. It’s for everyone who wants to watch reality TV, eat and drink whatever they want and still know that they’re a spiritual being. Ultimately, it’s for anyone who wants a reminder that they have the power within to create their reality. Regardless of what they’ve travelled through in their life so far.

What’s a takeaway from Take It In which you’d share with Fearne? 

Fearne is one of those rare souls who has such a beautiful way of space-holding, deeply listening, uplifting and centering others. She has such an ability to be able to witness the beauty in others and I hope that she wakes up every day knowing how spectacular she is too, and to never be humble in that.

In the book I speak about confidence and worth and that we should all move through the world knowing that we are “so blessed and so favoured”, and that by us owning how special and amazing we are, we are not saying that we are more or less special than anyone else.

“As I say in chapter four, when we can see just how special we are, “we guide others in seeing that the world doesn’t end when we stand fully in our authenticity. It’s almost our duty to do so, because we all thrive when we both individually and collectively know how incredible and deserving we all are”.

What is reiki and how can it help us?

Reiki is a holistic form of energy healing and it was founded by Mikao Usui in Japan in the early twentieth century. It is a practice to help kickstart your body’s own innate healing ability. That healing is happening on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level and I think that’s why energy healing is so fascinating.

We have such a Western view of healing being purely physical. If I have a headache I get treated for the physical symptoms of the headache and then I’m healed. With reiki, because we are working on all four of those levels, we are open to how that healing will work for you. As a practitioner, I’m channelling the energy. It’s not for me to determine where that healing goes. If you are presenting with a headache, I’m just placing my hands and the energy will flow to where it needs to go. It could be emotional grief that’s not been expressed, it could be wanting to connect to your intuition more.

Reiki is about focusing on the connection to spirit and consciousness and how we can bring that into our lives. In a world that seems so divisive, one where we speak endlessly about our identities and our differences, whether it’s background, politics, race etc., with reiki you just realise we are all energy. It’s the ultimate leveller. There is no difference.”

Do you channel your own energy into a person, or is it the bigger energy that is universal and beyond us as individuals?

It has nothing to do with me. It’s not my energy. I’m not giving them energy and I’m not receiving any energy from my clients. I am sharing energy. It’s so interesting that we can share energy remotely. People might think this is just a handy ‘pandemic special’ but it really isn’t. We’ve had the ability since reiki began.

I have clients all over the world – New York, Canada, South Africa. It’s incredible because it just proves that we are all so connected. It helps the client in so many ways and it’s like that old saying: “Where your attention goes, your energy flows.”.

• Take It In by Giselle La Pompe-Moore is published by Penguin.