Embodied Mercy
There is a painting hanging inside one of my Airbnb’s that I just fell in love with. I have spent countless hours staring at it in some form of meditation. One day I decided I needed to figure out the meaning behind it.
It is The Seven Works of Mercy by Caravaggio. Originally painted in 1607 for a Catholic charitable organization in Naples, the artwork portrays mercy not as an emotion, but as something we embody through our actions. Every figure in the painting is responding to suffering with compassion.
After walking through my own spiritual awakening, religious wounds, grief, trauma, rejection and years of learning to meet myself with compassion instead of judgment, the painting spoke differently. I realized that mercy is not something we simply choose one day. It is something that naturally flows from a healed heart.
We often tell people to be more compassionate.
To forgive.
To love.
To be patient.
But the truth is, those things become incredibly difficult when our own nervous system is living in survival.
When we carry unresolved trauma, shame, fear, resentment, or emotional pain, we naturally interpret the world through those wounds. We become reactive instead of responsive. We protect ourselves instead of connecting. We judge others in the same places we’ve never learned to hold ourselves with grace.
Healing changes that.
Not because someone tells us to become kinder.
But because we finally experience kindness within ourselves.
Ironically, this realization has fully landed in the buisiest of times…softball season and the fast pace of summer.
I’ve found myself wishing for more quiet and slow time to dive into my own practices—to meditate longer, to sit in stillness, to spend more time healing. Yet something unexpected has happened. Instead of noticing what I haven’t had time for, I’ve begun noticing what has already taken root.
Thorughout my travels this summer, I’ve found myself having meaningful conversations with complete strangers.
Just last night, I struck up a conversation with a man eating at the same restaurant. He shared he was a cancer survivor. He told me about his challenges he had to overcome and how after everything he’d experienced, the greatest joy in his life was his grandchildren. As I was listening, I wasn’t trying to fix anything. I wasn’t trying to teach. I simply held a space for another human being.
Walking away, I realized something profound.
After experiencing rejection, betrayal, and deep wounds within my life and my community, I wasn’t sure I would feel safe opening up my heart so freely.
Healing didn’t erase those experiences. It transformed my relationship with them.
I am seeing people instead of their opinions, hearing their stories instead of making assumptions, and becoming genuinely curious about what has shaped their lives.
Perhaps this is what Embioed Mercy really looks like.
No grand gestures. Not having all the answers. Just creating moments where another person feels heard…seen…valued…even if you’ll never meet them again.
That is why Living As Light Healing Arts exists.
This isn’t simply a place to receive a Reiki session or attend a meditation.
It is a space designed to help people come home to themselves.
Through Reiki, meditation, gentle yoga, sound healing, breathwork, quiet reflection, and intentional practices, we begin creating enough safety within the body to gently explore the places we’ve spent years avoiding.
Healing isn’t about becoming someone new.
It is about removing the layers that have kept us disconnected from who we have always been. It’s about remembering who you were before fear convinced you otherwise.
As we learn to sit with our own pain without judgment, something remarkable happens.
Our capacity to sit with someone else’s pain expands too.
Compassion becomes less of an effort and more of a natural expression.
Mercy becomes embodied.
The world doesn’t simply need more people talking about love.
It needs more people who have healed enough to become love in the way they listen, the way they respond, the way they lead, the way they parent, the way they partner, the way they serve, and the way they complete strangers.
Embodied mercy begins within.
And from there, it quietly transforms every relationship we touch.
As I continue to reflecting, I’m reminded the world doesn’t need more people talking about compassion—it needs more people who have experinced it deeply enough within themselves that it naturally overflows into the lives of others.
That is my hope for this next season.
This fall, I will be welcoming individuals or small groups into an intimate four-night, three-day retreat centered on this very principle: Embodied Mercy.
We will step away from the noise of everyday life and create space to heal from the inside out through Reiki, meditation, gentle movement, breathwork, sound healing, quiet reflection, and meaningful conversation.
When we learn to extend mercy toward ourselves, we begin offering it effortlessly to our families, our communities, and even the strangers whose path crosses our own.
If this message resonates with you, I would be honored to walk alongside you.
More details about Fall 2026 Embodied Mercy Retreat will be shared soon I hope you’ll join us.
Check out your accommodation for one or two people:
Accommodation for more:
With love,
Nichole
Summer Healing and Energy Support Offerings
Summer has a way of becoming incredibly full. More activity. More travel. More socializing. More movement. More stimulation.
And while summer can be beautiful, it can also pull us away from ourselves if we aren’t intentional about creating space to reconnect, rest, regulate, and heal.
One of the biggest lessons I learned last summer was the importance of balance. After an extremely busy season, my body eventually forced me to slow down and listen. Since then, I’ve become much more intentional about building healing, meditation, nervous system support, and energetic care into my life—especially during the summer months.
Because of that, I’ve created several offerings for May, June, July and August to help support others through this season as well.
Whether you’re simply curious about energy work, looking for emotional support and grounding, or feeling called to dive deeper into your healing journey, there are several opportunities to connect this summer.
Blue Moon Release Ceremony
Co-hosted with Helen Craven
This May brings a powerful energetic opportunity with two full moons —including a Blue Moon, which symbolizes deep release, completion, and transformation.
This donationn based online ceremony will focus on:
releasing old emotional patterns
energetic clearing
letting go of what no longer aligns
healing and reflection
group energy healing and meditation
Full moons are traditionally a time of release, and having two full moons in one month amplifies that energy significantly. This ceremony is intended to help you create space for what’s next while allowing old cycles, emotions, or attachments to gently fall away.
This is also a beautiful opportunity if you’ve been curious about my work and want to experience my energy and teaching style in a relaxed, accessible setting. Message for zoom link! Donations can be accepted via PayPal, @NicholeHelenRetreat
8 Week Chakra Healing Meditation Journey
Beginning June 10th, I’ll be guiding an 8-week online meditation journey focused on healing and balancing the chakra system. Each week we will focus on a different energy center within the body through gentle and repetitive movements, breath, visualization, energetic awareness, and grounding/nervous system support.
We will begin with the Root Chakra and gradually move upward through the chakra system before ending with a full integration and activation and clearing meditation during our final week.
These meditations are intentionally designed to be approximately 30 minutes long so they feel realistic to incorporate into your weekly self-care practice. They are live every Wednesday at 9am central time zone, completely online via zoom, and if you cannot attend that time all gatherings will be recorded so that you can access when you are available and/or repeat as needed.
This series is perfect for anyone wanting to:
reconnect with themselves
feel more grounded and free
regulate stress and overwhelm
deepen body awareness
support energetic healing
create intentional self-care practices
Register here: 8 Week Chakra Healing Meditation Journey - Healing Hub
Reiki Level I and II Certification Trainings
Usui Holy Fire Reiki Through the International Center for Reiki Training.
I will also be offering Reiki Level I and II certification trainings throughout the summer for those feelings called to dive deeper into healing work.
Upcoming Trainings:
June 22nd/23rd Colby Kansas
July 18th/19th Online
August 1st/2nd Omaha Nebraska
These two-day trainings are designed to help you:
learn Reiki for yourself and others
better understand your energy sensitivity and empathic tendencies
support emotional and nervous system healing
reconnect with self
develop grounding and energetic awareness
cultivate deeper self-love and self-trust
Many students take Reiki simply for their own healing journey, while others eventually integrate it into caregiving, wellness work, or professional practice.
Training includes:
Usui Holy Fire Reiki Level I and II Certification
Comprehensive training manual
Ignitions and Placements
Hands on practice
Techniques for self-healing and working with others
Ongoing support and guidance
These trainings are taught through the lineage and standards of the International Center for Reiki Training. I am currently a student teacher with the Licensed Reiki Master Teacher program.
To register (this is a non-refundable committing you to the class): Usui Holy Fire Reiki I and II - Healing Hub
For full details and pay in full option:
June Training: Usui Holy Fire Reiki I and II - Healing Hub
July Training: Usui Holy Fire Reiki I and II Training - Healing Hub
August Training: Usui Holy Fire Reiki I and II Training - Healing Hub
You do not have to wait until burnout, exhaustion, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm to begin taking care of yourself.
Healing work is not about escaping life. It’s about creating balance within it.
As life becomes busier externally, it becomes even more important to stay connected internally.
I hope these offerings help provde a little more grounding, peace, clarity, and support throughout the summer.
Why take a Reiki Class?
There comes a point for many people when they realize that healing isn’t just something you receive— it’s something you can learn! A reiki class is an invitation back to yourself.
At it’s core, Reiki is a simple yet powerful practice that teaches you how to work with energy to support balance in your body, mind, and emotions. In a world that constantly pulls us outward, Reiki brings you inward—into awareness, presence, and self-connection.
One of the biggest reasons people take a Reiki class is for self-healing. Instead of relying solely on outside support, you gain a tool you can use anytime—whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, tired, anxious, or just needing a reset. It becomes part of your daily life, like breath or movement.
Others feel called to Reiki because they naturally care for others. Reiki allows you to support friends, family, or even clients in a way that is gentle, non-invasive, and deeply calming. You’re not fixing anyone— you’re simply creating space for the body and energy system to come back into harmony.
But beyond the technique something deeper happens.
Reiki classes often open the door to greater intuition, awareness, trust in self, and authenticity. You begin to listen differently— to your body, your emotions, and your inner guidance. Many people walk away not just with a certification, but with a sense of empowerment they didn’t have before.
You don’t need to be “spiritual enough” or have any special abilities to begin. Reiki always meets you exactly where you are. If you’re feeling a nudge, it’s usually for a reason.
I am currently a Registered Student Teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training, and this path has asked me to rise into a deeper level of integrity, responsibility, and devotion to this work. It’s not just about learning techniques—it’s about embodying Reiki as a way of living. I view myself as a steward of Reiki energy, honoring the teachings while helping guide others back to their own innate ability to heal. My role isn’t to position myself above anyone, but to walk alongside my students, holding a safe, grounded, and energetically aligned space for them to remember who they are. If you feel called to Reiki, there is a reason. And it would be an honor to walk with you as you step into it.
Upcoming Usui Holy Fire Level I and II Training (2-day Certification):
April 25-26th Colb,y Kansas
May 23rd/24th (Online)
August 1-2nd Omaha, Nebraska
Message me if interested! Reiki Blessings
Reiki 101
Reiki has become increasingly popular over the past few years as people begin looking for ways to support their health, regulate their nervous systems, and reconnect with their inner balance. But one of the most common questions people ask is simple:
What exactly is Reiki— and how does it work?
Reiki is a gentle form of energy healing that originated in Japan. The word Reiki comes from two Japanese words:
1.) Rei- universal or spiritual
2.) Ki-life force energy
Together, Reiki refers to the universal life energy that flows through all living things.
Just like blood flows through the body, energy also moves through the body. When this energy flows freely, we tend to feel balanced, calm, and healthy. But when stress, trauma, illness, or emotional strain builds up, that flow can become disrupted.
Reiki works to help restore natural flow.
What Happens During a Reiki Session?
During a Reiki session, the client usually lies comfortably on a massage table fully clothed in a calm, peaceful environment.
The practitioner gently places their hands either lightly on the body or just above it, allowing energy to flow where it is needed most.
Every session is a little different, but people commonly report feeling: deep relaxation, warm or tingling sensations, emotional release, sense of peace or clarity, feeling lighter or more balanced afterward.
Many people say it feels similar to entering a deep meditative state, where the body can finally relax enough to begin healing.
How Reiki Supports the Nervous System
One of the biggest benefits of Reiki is its ability to support the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the “rest and restore” state.
In modern life, many people live in a constant cycle of stress, pressure, and overstimulation. This keeps the body stuck in fight or flight mode, which can lead to symptoms like: fatigue, inflammation, anxiety, poor sleep, and tension in the body.
Reiki sessions help the body shift out of this stress response and into a state where repair and regulation can occur naturally. This is why many people seek Reiki for stress relief, emotional balance, and overall well-being.
Can Anyone Learn Reiki?
Yes. One of the beautiful aspects of Reiki is that anyone can learn it.
Reiki training is traditionally taught in levels. In a Reiki 1 class, students learn how to:
understand energy flow in the body
perform Reiki on themselves and others
develop awareness of their own energy system
incorporate Reiki into their daily life for healing and balance
Many people take Reiki training simply to support their own healing journey, care for family, or to do it in some professional capacity.
Experience Reiki at the Healing Hub’s Living as Light
I have been practicing Reiki for 13 years now after a shared near death experience. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with individuals who were navigating stress, life transitions, emotional healing, and spiritual growth. One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is watching people rediscover their own sense of balance, intuition, and inner peace as well as feel “lighter” and healthier. Healing often begins the moment we slow down enough to listen to what our bodies and energy are trying to tell us.
I offer Reiki sessions (in person and distance) and am also teaching as a Student Teacher with the International Center for Reiki Training. My home base is in Colby, Kansas. I also will be traveling to Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, and places within Kansas to teach Reiki Classes. Online courses will also be offered within the end of this year.
If you feel curious about experiencing or learning about Reiki, I would love to support you on that journey! Feel free to message me at healinghub.lal@gmail.com
Blessings,
Nichole Olsen
Karuna Reiki Master