In September 2024 my family took the train down from DC to visit us in Richmond. We went to the science museum (where Todd and I each managed to beat the air-hockey robot!) and in the art room, my brother-in-law helped my (then-)five-year-old niece cut out and tape together a Brain Hemisphere Hat.
She left it at our apartment and I put it on one of our bookshelves. It’s fun looking at which part of our brain is in charge of which functions, not that I really gave myself more than a few seconds at a time to browse.
A few weeks later, as previously blogged, I went to visit Heather and her husband Zach in Minnesota. Heather had recently finished a reiki training, so she offered me a session. Though I no longer consider myself a member of the “woo-woo crew,” I am also not going to say no to a dear friend showering me with loving intention. I should mention that my first reiki experience (back in early 2013) led to a significant a-ha moment followed by an awesome new chapter in my life. Several years after that, I had a ho-hum experience with a different practitioner. So I figured it would be relaxing but beyond that, no expectations.
Here’s how I recounted the experience with Heather in my journal:
I laid down on the bed and had sort of lost myself for a moment in the comfort and contentment when I felt a “SHOOMF!” around my head, like a dome of energy. She had put her hands above my head. A little later on, she returned to my head and I started to feel weird on the right side of my forehead and crown, like she had dredged up something unpleasant. I breathed with it and in a little while it dissipated and I felt totally peaceful again. Felt sure she helped me release something.
WHAT WAS IT, I WONDER?
Back home in Richmond the following week, I laid out my scene-by-scene/beat-by-beat index cards on the table at my co-working space. For the first time, I felt like I had a logical, inevitable line of dominos, start to finish.
I was euphoric. Surely Heather really had jogged something loose?!
Three days later, I remembered the Brain Hat. I went home, plucked it off the shelf, and peered at the spot where I’d felt the weirdness dissipating: at the very front of my right frontal lobe.
What did I find there?
Story ideas: “Once upon a time…”
Understanding “the big picture”
⚡️“Eureka!”
I know this must sound too incredible to be true, but I promise I am not making this up. In my next post, Dear Reader, I shall tell you HOW I WROTE MY UNWRITABLE NOVEL!
[Edit, 12/29/25: I realized it makes more sense to finish writing this forthcoming post AFTER completing the revisions my agent has asked for. But it’s coming!!!]
P.S. The International Rescue Committee is the humanitarian aid organization to which I contribute on a monthly basis. Here’s a link so you can click through and donate if you feel so inclined.
