When I decided one evening in March to pursue Reiki, it hit me like a punch in the gut (or a hug from an angel, in nicer terms).  I went from floundering to certain in a single moment.

I didn’t have that same moment when it came to my decision to plan a RTW trip.  It happened somewhere in June, following the World Domination Summit.  I just found myself talking about it like it was going to happen, and then I couldn’t figure out why I never believed it before.  In any case, it’s on!

Over the last several weeks, I have:

* Enrolled in Chris Guillebeau‘s Travel Hacking Cartel.  This is a monthly program consisting of a few e-mails a week detailing how to earn frequent flyer miles and hotel awards, with or without credit card sign-ups.  Within a week of enrolling, I received 40,000 miles in my Alaska Airlines account by applying and being approved for a Bank of America VISA – I didn’t even have to activate the card!  As a bonus, my acceptance letter included my current FICO score, which is back in Excellent range after my mortgage modification fiasco.

* Created a profile on CouchSurfing.org and hosted my first guest.  This is a worldwide hospitality network of individuals – those who open their homes to travelers and those who travel and stay in someone’s home instead of a hotel or hostel – for free!  I very much intend to take advantage of this service when I’m on the road, so I wanted to ‘pay it forward’ and experience the other side of the deal first.  I lucked out with my first guest, a Reiki practitioner currently living in NYC and traveling the West Coast for the summer.  She was quiet, respectful, and thoroughly enjoyable to have around.  I look forward to more of this experience of travel without leaving home.

* Registered for a nationwide event with Meet, Plan, Go!, an organization that encourages and educates about career break travel.  There are online resources, local meetups, and 17 cities are hosting a nationwide gathering on October 18 of people who are planning long-term travel or have already done it.

* Read chapters of: “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel”, “Rough Guide’s First-Time Around the World”, and “Shitting Pretty: How to Stay Clean and Healthy While Traveling” (the latter’s author is a female doctor who clearly has a sense of humor, as her other book is called “How to Shit Around the World”).

* Immersed myself in myriad web sites and blogs, absorbing the ludicrous amounts of information available regarding long-term travel.  It is immeasurably helpful to read first-hand accounts from people who have done what I want to do.  Every question I could possibly think of is answered in a dozen places.

* Deposited a healthy chunk of money in savings.  I went to the Bay Area for almost a week in July, a trip I’d planned back in March.  I was unable to save any money that month, but between my August and September budgets (I was paid for the latter today), I have added $1,100 to the travel fund.  The total this brings me to is about 10% of my goal.  Realistically, I will be saving and planning for the next 18 months or so.

* Purchased and practiced using a Diva Cup.  A menstrual cup is an eco-friendly, economical, and travel-friendly alternative to tampons and pads.  Wait… what?  There’s no such thing as TMI in blogland!

* Begun decluttering my home.  I’ve only scratched the surface on this one, really.  The one solid, tangible project I could start on right away was ripping all my CDs into iTunes before selling them (I got my first iPod in 2004 and somehow only had about 30% of my collection ripped).  I’m doing them alphabetically (because of course I am), and I am on the Hs.  It’s a start.

Wow!  I actually had no idea I’d done so much already.

In addition to all of that, I’ve progressed with my Reiki practice.  As of my last writing, I had started to practice for a half hour a few times a week.  That didn’t last long, and I finally realized, three months after my Reiki I attunement, that I just wasn’t going to practice after work.  Two weeks ago, I began setting my alarm a half hour earlier in the morning, and now I practice before I get up.  It’s a great way to start the day, and I’m thrilled to be practicing daily.

I’ve attended one more Reiki share and volunteered one more time at New Avenues for Youth.  Those went about the same as they have in the past.

A new experience for me, however, was when I gave Reiki to one of my closest friends while I was in the Bay Area.  We squeezed in a 20-minute session, and it went well for us both.  It was her first experience with it, and she really liked it and would like to receive more.  For my part, practicing on her was different than practicing on people I don’t know at the shares and when I’m volunteering.  It was more like when I practice on myself in that I could feel the energy much more strongly and consistently.  I look forward to practicing on other loved ones and continuing to expand my experience.

I will definitely be attending Michelle’s Reiki II class in October.  If I wasn’t sure before that I would be ready, I am sure now that I will.

Goddamn, forward movement feels good.