Back in May ‘07 I became a Reiki master. Years before I had become a Reiki 1 and 2 practitioner as I had wanted to heal other people. I did both courses in the same weekend. I’d been asking myself for years “What can I do in order to help other people heal?”
The thought that I may need healing myself was never a factor in my process or decision to study Reiki. I soon knew that Reiki worked as I’d had a very profound experience after my initiation. This had followed self-treatments for six weeks after my course.
Despite this, I had huge reservations as to the intent and motivation of my Reiki master. I clearly had my own issues going on at the time and he was the perfect target for my projections. Consequently, I did not seek his guidance and proceeded on my own, using my intuitions to assess the energies that I was channelling. Since I was working night shifts I used my breaks to give myself long treatments.
On that occasion I soon developed a large pain in my chest, at the location of the heart. Fortunately, as I was working in a Coronary Care Unit (CCU) at the time I knew the symptoms were asymptomatic of angina and just trusted the process. This was despite a daily increase in the pain after each self-treatment.
After six weeks the pain was so great that I could barely drive my car, since it was too painful to turn the steering wheel. I cancelled all of my shifts at work and treated myself for a few more days, and now my sleep started to suffer.
One day, whilst in the bath, I had a huge catharsis and began to see my life flash before me. Everything that I had done was starting to become apparent and I started to wonder what message I would have left the world if I had died just then. I cried for England as the bath filled up further.
I spent the next three days acting as though I was Scrooge on Christmas morning! This led to me telling all of my friends and family, who were around me at the time, how much they meant to me, whilst shedding plenty more tears. With each proclamation the pain eased a little more.
Despite the profundity of this experience I stopped using my Reiki, except for the odd, intermittent treatment, for several years afterwards. During my Reiki 1 and 2 course I met two very dear friends, Alan and Annette. We have remained in contact ever since and shared our respective journeys.
When Alan asked Annette and I if we wanted to become Reiki masters last year I decided that it sounded like a good idea. He had found a Reiki master that he liked and we would need to meet up four times over three months.
We attended the course and, like before, I started to do a few treatments on myself. Shortly after I developed a pain in my shoulder, which worsened over time and Reiki. As there was plenty going on in my life during that period I had not considered the synchronicity of becoming a Reiki master and developing this pain.
My NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) training had led me to believe that I had created this pain for a purpose, so I set out to find what I needed to do to resolve it. I addressed issues with family and friends over the following months, which yielded numerous positive outcomes, yet the pain still remained. I performed Time-Line Therapy and self-hypnosis, releasing many things but still the pain remained.
I then attended a therapist who dealt with past-lives who regressed me to a battle numerous lifetimes ago where I received a spear in my shoulder. Surely this was the breakthrough that I had been looking for? Apparently not. Although the pain lessened considerably, I was left with a residual ache.
Earlier that year I had picked up a form from the Reiki Association, telling me about the annual Reiki gathering. Last September I decided that I would attend, as it would be a good opportunity to find out a bit more about Reiki and meet other practitioners.
During the gathering I experienced some huge energetic and emotional shifts, which frequently had me on the verge of tears. I was also humbled by an array of profoundly talented masters and practitioners.
During a group healing with a wonderfully insightful couple, Rosemary and Trevor, I was informed that the pain was due to a chip that I had on my shoulder. They also brought many other profound insights into my consciousness, giving me a healing stone to help me on my path. I was surprised; as I thought that I had forgiven everyone that I could think of, whom I’d had an issue with.
Further treatments during the gathering intensified the emotions that I had been experiencing and several questions surfaced for me. Fortunately, I was helped by the insights and healing energies of the attendees of the event.
Then, finally, on the last day I sat next to another Reiki master, Ian, and started chatting to him. He listened to my Reiki story and very gently informed me of a couple of things that I needed to know. Firstly, that I was not ready to initiate any master’s into Reiki as I was clearly not ready. Indeed, watching many of the Reiki 2 practitioners during the gathering had already made me realise that I had a long way to go in order to match their skill.
Secondly, he let me know how important it was to get permission from your Reiki 1 master before getting another master to further the Reiki journey. Suddenly, I had a light bulb moment. This led to the following e-mail correspondence with my first Reiki master, which, in turn, led to another cathartic moment and the release of all pain in my shoulder.
Dear Reiki Master,
I realise that you will probably not remember me, yet it is important that I write this mail. I took a Reiki 1 and 2 weekend with you about six years ago and felt very negative about you and your teaching style afterwards. The consequence has been that it has taken me this long to understand the error of my perception.
My Reiki journey has been confusing and resulted in periods of neglect, self-doubt and disillusionment with regard to my spiritual and healing practice. During that weekend I felt that there were too many students and not enough opportunities to ask the many questions that I had at the time.
When some of your teachings were contradicted by other Reiki masters I decided that I had been short-changed and chose not to contact you about it.
Although you have not been consciously in my thoughts for several years now I have recently found my way back into Reiki through becoming a Reiki master a few months ago.
Recent attendance of a Reiki masters’ gathering, with The Reiki Association, has caused some powerful energetic shifts within me and led me to talk about my early Reiki experiences. Once again, I found myself feeling very negative.
However, I now know that my negativity towards you was only a projection of my negativity towards myself. I am now in a place where I am ready to own it and apologise humbly to you for any energetic consequences that may have happened as a result of my actions.
I would also like to acknowledge the gift that you gave me during that weekend and how it has now led me to a place of very profound, deep and meaningful healing. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart and offer my unreserved apologies for my lack of insight into the nature of Reiki and what happened to me during my initiations with you.
Peace, Love, light and healing energy,
Adam Shaw.
Dear Adam
Apologies for delay – have been in Mexico building our cancer centre, conducting research studies with children in schools with ADHD, and developing projects with the Mexican NHS.
Your email is certainly appreciated. Although you will discover as you tread your path that it is not important what a minority of others think about your work. There will always be those who do not understand – and there are countless reasons why they cannot understand.
The most important things to know as we work our soul missions are that
1. we are coming from the best possible motivation of love to help our world
2. we are attempting to help the highest majority of people who seek our help
Blessings for your good works
Reiki Master
I may not be a master of Reiki yet in anything but title – though healing comes in many forms.
My healing came the day I changed my question to the universe. It is only through honestly asking myself on a daily basis “what do I need to be consciously aware of to achieve the maximum healing in the minimum time” that led me back to Reiki.
Real, sustainable healing occurred for me the second that I decided to take responsibility for everything that has ever happened in my life. Only through this process of self-empowerment can sustainable healing occur.
My Reiki journey has led me to one of the most profound experiences of my life. For this I am filled with gratitude.
Posts Tagged ‘Healing’
Pain Before Pleasure – My Journey into Reiki
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009What is Reiki Energy Healing?
Monday, December 28th, 2009
Dr. Mikao Usui founded Reiki in the mid-nineteenth century while he was searching for the ancient secret of healing. It was in the Indian sutras, written in Sanskrit, where he discovered a formula for contacting a higher power that could bestow healing. During a 21 day fast and meditation on the mountain of Kort-Yama, he followed the formula and experienced a beam of white light that had the consciousness and healing power he had been seeking. This beam of light struck him in the forehead and rendered him unconscious. During this state he rose out of his physical body and was shown beautiful colorful bubbles of light that contained the Reiki symbols. As he contemplated each symbol he received an attunement for each symbol and the knowledge of its use. This was the beginning of Dr. Usui practicing Reiki energy healing around Japan for the remainder of his life. There is much more about the history of Reiki. I encourage you to check out “The Spirit of Reiki,” by Walter Lubeck, Frank Arjava Petter, and William Lee Rand, “Reiki: Universal Life Energy,” by B. Baginski and S. Sharamon, “The Reiki Handbook,” by L. Arnold and S. Nevius, “Empowerment Through Reiki,” by P. Horan, and “The Reiki Touch,” by J. C. Stewart. Reiki is hands on energy healing. It can also be done a couple of inches off the body as well as absentee long distance healing. Traditional Usui Reiki attunes practitioners to different levels of Reiki with the symbols Dr Usui was shown on Mt. Kort-Yama. This allows the universal life-force energy to flow though our bodies and out our hands into our clients. Our hands may get hot or our clients may feel heat flowing from our hands into their bodies. In the case of long distance healing we are sending the energy through an ether tube to our client. With Reiki, we are really just conduits for the universal energy of Love. This healing energy is channeled into different parts of the body for the highest healing purpose of the client, the Reiki practitioner, and the universe. We are not doing any healing. The client decides whether or not to heal with the help and healing power of the universe. We are just facilitating the energy process and witnessing the results! Reiki has been shown to facilitate many types of miraculous healings. It can and may happen. However, to practice Reiki and claim healing of sickness or disease or any other type of illness is in error and out of integrity. Healing energy is always present with Reiki; it’s just that we as ego based carbon life forms do not know what the real healing is for each individual client. Much healing is associated with the lessons we are to learn in this incarnation. I urge you to not be attached to what you think healing is for each individual. It will not benefit you or your clients. Love is the only thing that is real when it comes to healing. In Reiki I students experience the first level attunement, learn about the history of Reiki and their Reiki Master linage, hand positions, kanji positions, grounding and centering, scanning and beaming, hands on clinical practice, and other more specialized techniques depending on the Reiki Master. In Reiki II students experience the second level attunement, learn some of the Reiki symbols, long distance healing, emotional healing and balancing from the heart, root/sacrum, and the mental level, removing clouds from the emotional layer, hands on clinical practice, and other more specialized techniques depending on the Reiki Master. In the Reiki III Masters Certification students experience the third level attunement, learn the Reiki Master Empowerment Symbol, how to teach Reiki, attune students to all three levels of Reiki, how to Love and heal thyself, hands on clinical practice, and other more specialized techniques depending on the Reiki Master. I must stress that Reiki has become so popular with many different teachers and as a result there are many different techniques and preferences that have been incorporated into Reiki under the traditional Usui Reiki umbrella. One thing I would recommend is that you look for a teacher who will give you plenty of clinical hands on practice. In addition, there are a plethora of other Reiki practices that have arisen over the years. No one type is better than another. It is the intent and humility of the Reiki Master teacher and practitioner that is most important. It is how the different Reiki practices resonate for you. You are the only one who knows what works best for you. I have found over 30 forms of Reiki other than the traditional Usui Reiki founded by Dr. Mikao Usui. I encourage you to read about them and research them to determine you own Reiki path or in finding a Reiki Master or Reiki practitioner that resonates with you. Here are a couple of useful places on the Internet to begin your search: http://www.reiki-4-all.com/index.php?showtopic=17 andhttp://www.medindia.net/alternativemedicine/reiki/Reiki7.htm. Here is a quick list of the different types of Reiki I have come across: Usui Reiki, Tibetan Reiki, Usui/Tibetan Reiki, Karuna Reiki, Gendai Reiki, Rainbow Reiki, Five Element Seichem, Seichim or Seichem or Sekhem, Tera-Mai® and Tera-Mai® Seichem, Shamballa Reiki, Kundalini Reiki, Imara Reiki, Raku Kei Reiki, Shamanic Reiki, The Radiance Technique® (TRTAI), Reiki Plus®, Johrei or Jo Reiki, Men Chho Reiki® or Medicine Dharma Rei Kei©, Traditional Japanese Reiki, Satya Japanese Reiki, Reiki Jin-Kei Do©, EnerSense-Buddho, Golden Age Reiki, New Life Reiki, Blue Star Reiki, Mari el®, Saku Reiki, Sun Li Chung Reiki, Jinlap Reiki or Tibetan Jinlap Maitri Reiki, Chi Sekai Reiki, Vajra Reiki, and Violet Flame Reiki. I’m sure this is not an exhaustive list. Do your own research. This will help get you started. I would once again like to reiterate that there is no one best method. It is what you feel drawn to, the integrity and humility of your Master Reiki teacher, and intent. If a teacher says their method of Reiki is superior to others then I would say that is a red flag of ego. I do not connect with arrogance. Follow your intuition. All healing modalities have their place. In closing, an empowering way to live one interpretation of Reiki and its teachings is to practice The Five Spiritual Principles of Reiki Plus:
Sekhem Seichim Egyptian Reiki Light – Powerful Healing Energy Saves Time and Money Spent on Doctors and Pills
Monday, December 28th, 2009According to quantum physics we are made of energy. Energy is all movement of particles. Particles are very very small, miniscule for us to even consider, as we are trained to think of ourselves as solid bodies.
Now, imagine you and all you know around you are made of particles, and between each particle is…. WHAT??? Vacuum, nothing, dark matter, space.
Now it feels bizarre, that we may even think ourselves solid, doesn’t it?
In fact, we can say that since we are made of particles moving in a particular way, we are part of everything else. We are part of each other, our environment and the Universe.
From here, since we are part of everything else around us, so are all of our thoughts, are also non-solid particles moving in a particular mode.
Everything we think, every way that we think a particular thought, all of our worries, doubts about ourselves, our environment, or other people, all of that is connected to everything else. So in fact, all you think affects me! All I think affects you.
The way you think, the thoughts you put our there go out into the negotiated space and stay there until the critical mass of the particular form of thought is reached and then they come “down” to our “real reality”, the one we choose to live in. Then you might say “I knew this would happen!” And in fact, yes you did, and you also helped it happen, by contributing into the strength of the source of the thoughts about it.
Back in my teen years and later in my early 20s, my mother used to worry about me all the time, even when I moved away and started to live my own life, or should I say particularly when I moved away? LOL
Upon my resurfacing to the world, she would describe to me all the horrors of what she thought would happen while I was enjoying my life being a youth.
One day after a tirade like this, I asked my mother if there is anything good she thought I might have been doing or enjoying at the time of her worrying about me.
She, clearly stunned, replied negatively, and then I told her that perhaps it is more useful that from now, on when I am out, she would think about something else, find a hobby, or a book to read, go see her friends, or do some yoga, just so she did not have to think about ME, because all she puts out there goes out to the Universe as a request for that to happen. Sort of like a Law of Attraction in action, you might say. Do I need her worries to take physical shape and roll down into my life? NOooooo!
Now in her eighties, she often forgets to worry anymore. God bless her beautiful heart. I often send her love and positive thought energy. She says that she is still carrying on largely due to good thoughts I am sending her, which may be true.
Discovered in late 70s in Egypt this powerful energy of Reiki is a combination of the Universal white light of healing and the personal chi, ki, prana, thriving in each one of us. The word Sekhem was used in ancient Egypt as a powerful tool to attune the vibration of dying Kings -Pharaohs to the sanctuary of the Kingdom of the Dead. It is a symbolism that worked well to discribe the power of the attunement, initiation to the higher light of the energy of eternal life.
Because in fact, there is no death. All that there is, is just the energy flow changing its form. Particles flow to form yet another way of life, light and etheric, non-solid, again, and non- physical.
Application of this powerful energy are various and many: from arthritis and anxiety to healing the past trauma, and creating the future you want. Some were able to get rid of knee and hip pains, eating disorders, correct sleep patterns, depression, etc. and get off the medication, which is alarming to doctors.
When I was diagnosed with the Hyperthyroid I said to myself, no way, I don’t want this in my life, I am too busy living to start thinking of dis-ease.
With Sekhem, I was able to get rig of my hyperthyroid in 3 months, and the fibroids in 3,5 moths. The doctors told me thay are not intersted to know how I got rid of those dis-ease, and that it is not an alopatic method, but so what, the doctor said, “Go ahead and use it if it works better. I don’t need to see you anymore.” “Ever?” I asked. “Ever”, said my doctor. It has been over ten years I am still healthy, in fact even healthier than before, using Sekhem.
With all of us beginning to use this energy , doctors might start paying attention to how we really heal, and what really helps. It is the thought that we put out that makes reality.
So what do you want?
What thought do you want to put out there so it makes your reality?
How to make Reiki more powerful
Monday, December 28th, 2009There are millions of people in the world who have been attuned to Reiki
And there are probably thousands of people who practice it as healers every day
We hear about different levels of proficiency and power as Reiki is divided up into different levels from level one , two and Masters level, and we are told that the band of reiki energy we receive and then can channel to other people increases as we learn new symbols and take in more energy.
I believe that this is so but I think we are missing out on one of the best tools to fully develop and open Up to the power of reiki .
My take on it is thus, I believe that reiki energy does flow through us from the universal love energy surrounding us and it makes its way into our clients
I believe that “flow” here is the operative word and when we are blocked in some way it will impede flow of this energy Through us and into our client
I believe that if we are blocked emotionally that the reiki energy will stay in our body mind, trying to heal us and only some of it will flow to our client
The key then to leting this energy flow through us would be to experience our emotions as they arise and breath with them as they dissapate
In so doing we free up space and create a hollowness that will naturally fill up with peace.
This peace is in my view the place where Reiki can flow through and be directed powerfully into our clients.
I wish you peace
Reiki – Working With Spirit to Heal The Body
Saturday, December 26th, 2009Reiki is spiritually guided Life Force Energy. Anything that is alive has Life Force Energy flowing through it.
When are energy is low, our body is adversely affected:
When we use Reiki to heal and energize our bodies, we are basically “charging” ourselves with powerful Life Force Energy. The results of a Reiki treatment are many including:
What makes Reiki so unique is that is it so simple to use yet has such a gentle yet powerful impact on anyone it touches.
Anyone can learn to channel this energy by taking Reiki training from a Reiki master. Each student will receive a Reiki attunement which is a sacred metaphysical process that has been used for thousands of years. During the Reiki attunement, several changes take place:
The first degree allows the student to give Reiki to themselves and others. The second degree allows you to do distance healing with Reiki. Sending Reiki over distance to anyone anywhere in the world is one of the powerful aspects of Reiki. You will also be attuned to Reiki symbols in the second degree.
Reiki is not a religion, it’s the spiritual path to freedom, liberation and enlightenment.
By learning Reiki, you will set your feet on a spiritual path that will change your life in a wonderfully profound way. Once attuned to Reiki, you will have the ability to heal yourself and others. Reiki can be learned in one day…but you will have it for a lifetime!
Please visit www.soulcomfortnewsletter.com for a free weekly newsletter that will help you embrace your spiritual side.
Lori is a Reiki master/teacher, angel intuitive and spiritual channel. She has studied with medium-clairvoyant, Lisa Williams and is an angel intuitive certified by Charles Virtue, son of Doreen Virtue. She enjoys teaching others how develop and embrace their spiritual and psychic strengths by offering advice and tips through her articles and newsletter.
Reiki and Your Unborn Child
Friday, December 25th, 2009We were living and teaching Reiki in Darjeeling, India, when we decided to try for a child. Straight after conception I placed my hands on Bronwen’s sacral chakra, the area of the ovaries and a tremendous heat was channeled into the womb and it felt as of I was helping the seeds of life. This was the first contact that I had with my child because we soon realised that Bronwen was pregnant. After a 10 year relationship we had imagined that it would take a much longer period before she became pregnant, but we were now both sure that the Reiki energy was helping to speed things up.
I decided to do a daily Reiki session on our baby. It began to feel as if I was a part of the baby and of Bronwen, who had a deeper connection than I did with our new child. When I placed my hands on the womb I immediately sensed a beautiful energy streaming into our baby and I felt overwhelmed with emotions which I never knew I had.
I would love to promote Reiki as a means of helping couples to cope with pregnancy and as a way of supporting husbands to become more involved as this is a special time for sharing and communicating with each other, for all three of you.
Men are often overlooked as being important in the pregnancy – or at least many feel this way. If they were to practise Reiki they would have no excuse not to take part and already show their child love and support.
Hands can be placed on the Mother’s uterus – on the baby – with the intention that energy moves freely to wherever the baby requires it at that moment in its life. The father can also do Reiki on the mother to offer his support for her. And lastly the father can also offer energy to himself. Everyone needs support and love and fathers are no different.
During childbirth I also used Reiki as a technique for releasing tension and stress (when Bronwen allowed me!). I placed my hands on her tailbone and gave energy, when I felt that I couldn’t do much I sent her energy as well. It was wonderful to feel that even this process – the birth – was something that I could be involved and supportive in.
For me it felt like I was more a part of the pregnancy and birth. When our baby finally arrived and we touched each other’s skin it was with recognition as we had already known each other’s energies.
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Where is Reiki taking us?
Friday, December 25th, 2009I often ask myself “Is the discovery of all this new Reiki information helping my Reiki teaching and practice?”- and this is my answer to myself…
The wonderful world of Reiki is changing minute by minute. Tick, tick, tick.
I find that with each new day I am presented with more insights into the history of Reiki. I occasionally ask myself, ‘What is the use of that?’. But when Reiki is your way of life it can make a difference. New ideas and challenges can help you retain your integrity and humility as a teacher.
You may think that Reiki is greater than a few facts that the energy is all that you need to know. It is true that experience what makes a great teacher but also as a teacher to daily question your approach, your attitudes and your certainties leads in one direction and that is growth. Growth as an individual leads to integrity as a teacher. Ignorance is not bliss – it is laziness. Continually looking at what we teach and how we teach can only benefit us, our students and Reiki in the eyes of the community.
It is humbling to know that what we once knew is now changed. Change is a fact of life: birth, life, death. We are change. And yet we forget this – trying to tie ourselves down, resisting that which is natural. Mc Donald’s hamburgers are so popular not because they taste good but because they never change. You can buy that same hamburger wherever you are in the world and that is comforting – aaaah. Change can be traumatic, unexpected or down right ugly (let’s not forget exciting, stimulating and adventurous). Sometimes when we teach we talk so much, keeping control, telling others, holding on to what we know that we forget to listen. You see we may not like what we are listening to – it may tell us that we have lost touch, don’t know everything that there is to know or that things have changed. With our mouths shut and our ears open life can be a humbling experience. To be humble is to listen is to learn.
So new facts and details can not only arm us with interesting information but may lead us on a journey. So as a teacher learning new things, I try to remain truthful and continue to fill those Reiki files in my head with more fascinating data. Tick, tick, tick.
Camping out with Reiki
Friday, December 25th, 2009Let’s go camping.
(If you have never been camping before then we recommend you suspend your disbelief and we’ll attempt to conjure up a likely image for you.)
It’s a gorgeous day, you’ve been wandering through the bush for a couple of hours looking for the perfect camping spot (yes, let’s make it an Australian camping story). You startle a wallaby as you turn a corner and she hops away as fast as her powerful legs can carry her. The white cockatoos screech at each other from towering gum trees and the exotic scent of sweet wattle hangs in the warm air.
Ahhh this is the life.
You’re searching for the perfect camping spot; one that will keep you safe and warm throughout the night.
On the other side of a great red boulder you finally see it… a clearing at the edge of a deep, vast valley with an uninterrupted panorama as far as the eye can see of the wild Australian bush and its turquoise sky.
At the centre of the clearing you notice a small clump of ashes with a log lying nearby that will be perfect for a fireside seat; you realise that someone has camped here before. This is always a good sign. You are not the first to have chosen this path, it must hold some merit.
You walk to the edge of the precipice. Breathe in deeply. You’re ready. All the equipment you need is in your backpack, you just have to make sure you use it correctly.
Camping out could easily become an analogy for the wonderful world of Reiki. Or have we been too obvious already? Probably.
Choose your Reiki path with care. Will the course offer you the tools you need, will it build your independence and yet highlight a path that has shown itself to be successful for others?
Back to the story….
You are at your chosen camping spot. While it is still light you begin to unpack your backpack. You have everything you thought you would need as well as all those things that your friends and the camping store had recommended. Most importantly you have the basic elements of nourishment, water, shelter, your torch and … for an emergency your charged up mobile.
But there is something special that you require when you go camping out overnight that you can’t buy. It’s something only you can make.
Back in the world of Reiki you’ve paid for your course and you are being taught the basic elements of the system; hand positions, techniques and meditations, symbols and mantras, and precepts. You receive *reiju and you begin to feel ready to start your practice.
But there’s something more to this as well …
Fire.
Building a good Reiki practice is like building a great campfire.
First of all your practice needs to be ignited. Without ignition the fire doesn’t burn and there is no promise of future warmth or wisdom.
Obviously, you need good solid material to begin your fire with – kindling, dry matches and the perfect position. If all you hold in your hand is a pretty piece of paper, it will go up in flames in seconds leaving you with a smattering of uninspiring black ash and sore fingers.
Ignition is therefore a direct result of your experience during a quality Reiki course. Something catches alight when you bring together the basic elements of the system along with an accomplished teacher and your fellow students. This magical combination creates an environment predisposed to fire.
It might be during the practice of *hatsurei ho or when you receive reiju that combustion point is reached; you glimpse a sense of inner peace or perhaps feel momentarily connected to everyone and everything in the room or, more intensely, the universe.
You have been gifted with a promise. This promise is a transaction between you and something deep inside you that is normally covered with a thick veneer of society. You have just been offered a view of something that is beyond imagining; beyond your daily routine of work, recreation and sleep. But it is up to you to fulfil the promise.
Do you want that sense of inner peace to return again and more regularly?
Imagine continuing the experience of connectedness with everyone and everything? Do you want to try to be always moving with the flow of the universe and simply Being?
Now you can. Your fire has been ignited.
You must, however, feed it. Go gather more sticks, keep your fire burning.
At your course your teacher hands you something to take away. A practice and full support. Know that if you practice too little – your fire will go out. At times of doubt grab for that lifeline of support – or else you will forget the promise and your Reiki course will become nothing more than a pleasant memory.
Extend your given practice from 5 minutes a day to 10 and so on. Be aware of balance in your practice; some days you need a bit more and other a little less. It all depends upon your inner barometer and you are paying attention now, tending your fire.
So find yourself a comfortable spot near your great campfire that will warm you, feed you and light your way through the dark night. Build the fire gradually with the appropriate size logs until its constant white heat warms your inner soul. This spot will be like no other – it is individual to you.
Sitting at ease on your log, you notice the firelight flickering against the mottled trunk of a nearby tall tree. You are reminded that the grand gum trees of the Australian bush purposefully litter the ground with their leaves to encourage fire. Fire offers this unique flora regeneration. It is when the perfect combination of eucalyptus oil and dry heat unite, combustion occurs and the bush is caught in the renewing force of fire.
Enjoy the night sky, watch the stars sparkle in the heavens and sip your *billy tea.
It is humanity’s innate ability to find peace within. Foster the right conditions, keep the fire of practice burning like a wonderfully controlled campfire, and enjoy the fruits of life in action.
GLOSSARY
*Reiju: In Japan, reiju is the name given to the method a teacher uses in order to communicate with individual students on an energetic level. In the process of moving from Japan to the West, reiju changed a number of its aspects including its name. In the West its altered form is usually known as an attunement, initiation or transformation. For more information see the article Everything About Reiju.
*Hatsurei Ho: You will find versions of this technique here, in The Japanese Art of Reiki, or on the Reiki Ho CD.
*Billy tea: Billy tea is created in a billy can or billy. This is a traditional Australian utensil for making tea over a fire. It is a cylindrical can with a lid. A stick is poked under its wire handle to enable easy movement on or off the fire. How to make Billy Tea: Pour water into a billy can, place in fire and wait for it to boil. Remove from fire and add a couple of teaspoons of black tea. Hold the billy by its handle and swing in a great arching circle from the ground to the sky a number of times. The pressure of the fast movement ensures that the tea remains in the billy and doesn’t end up all over you. Let it sit briefly before pouring. This unusual process ensures that the tea leaves settle well, yielding up a delicious cup of billy tea without having to use a strainer. Mmm mmm.
Looking for a Reiki Association?
Thursday, December 24th, 2009There are many Reiki associations across the globe and there are many reasons for their existence and growth (or non-growth).
When we first arrived back in Australia in 1999 we joined an association that was run by a Reiki Master. We paid our joining fees and received an annual newsletter that focussed on the teachings of that teacher and advertised her courses. This wasn’t what we had expected of an association (we were simply supporting her Reiki business!) and soon left. The word association means an organisation of persons having a common interest and we knew that it was certainly not our interest (nor in our interests) to be a part this association. The association did not survive much longer either.
At this point we started thinking seriously about what makes an association worthwhile. We realised that we were looking for an association that had community, was interested in setting some standards for Reiki practices and promoted the system in the greater community. To be successful in its own right an association needed to fulfil certain requirements by providing support to would-be clients and students of the system of Reiki as well its own members. It is not about building the practise of another individual, school or organisation.
It was then we found the Australian Reiki Connection or ARC. It appeared to have proven itself in many ways – one way is simply that it has been in existence since 1997. An important factor is that it is not run by one individual but rather by members for members . The president and the committee are not getting any ‘kick backs’ from their positions and instead dedicate themselves to creating an environment where members can come together to create a vibrant and progressive Reiki community in Australia. Positions within the association are voted on by members each year, a bi-monthly newsletter brings everyone together along with a website that has a member’s section. As this is not an advertisement for ARC we wont list the benefits and discounts members receive but, in short, we found what we were looking for.
If you’re in Australia we’d recommend this association to all Reiki practitioners and if you’re not – there are many other associations around the world that are trying to promote, educate and support too. It’s a fabulous way to meet others and promote the growth of Reiki in a positive light through active membership.
The Deeper Meaning of the Word Reiki
Thursday, December 24th, 2009One literal translation of Reiki is spiritual energy or universal energy. We suggest that Reiki may have another meaning – one that does not stem from a literal translation but rather from one’s direct experience.
When we practice the various elements that comprise the system of Reiki we utilize spiritual energy (Reiki). Practitioners are surprised when they discover in their practice that different stages exist within this spiritual energy. A path is unearthed and those who conscientiously practice the elements of the system of Reiki gradually see where it is heading.
To tap into this spiritual energy, in it’s completeness, is to have arrived at the advanced stages of our personal spiritual practice. To paraphrase the experience of receiving the full effect of Reiki actually means to achieve satori*.
At this stage all our ordinary perceptions are transformed and we realise our true potential as human beings.
Attaining this enlightened state of mind and becoming pure light is the ultimate goal of a Reiki practice. This is reflected by the mantra and kanji (symbol) that are practiced at the third and final level of the system. The mantra literally translated from the Japanese means ‘great bright light’. So the goal is to become this great bright light by achieving a state of non-duality or satori.
As practitioners we say we channel Reiki but in effect we only tap into a small amount of this spiritual energy until our energy has become strong enough to channel pure spiritual energy. In other articles about the system we have said that we are Reiki or spiritual energy. Yes, fundamentally we are Reiki but as long as our true realization of this state is limited then so too is our ability.
To achieve satori may take years and years of practice and there is no shortcut by means of using secret symbols or mantras. What is required though is perseverance and the right understanding of how to work with the basic elements of the system of Reiki.
Without this right understanding we just fumble about in the dark never reaching the great bright light. So it is necessary to go back to the roots of the system and practice with the tools as Usui sensei intended us to.
In conclusion, we may not channel the completeness of Reiki, but we do practice a system called Reiki. And, when we finally become the great bright light we will still not say that we channel the completeness of Reiki as, once achieved, such statements no longer hold importance.
*Satori means Enlightenment