honor
Self Nurturing: More About Reiki
I love working with the energy. Whether you acknowledge it as the “universal” energy or the “God” energy (which are really one and the same!), it is truly wondrous to be part of someone’s process as they open themselves to receive healing energy.
As I have already mentioned in a previous posting, Self Nurturing- Reiki, I am a Reiki Master Third Degree or Level III. This means that I am certified not only to practice Reiki but also to teach other people about Reiki and to attune them to the different Reiki Levels I, II, and III.
I have had some wonderful Reiki Teachers/Masters along my Reiki path, Pio, Marta, and Amy, and each has gifted me with something precious and unique. In order to develop my own practice and understanding of Reiki and to better help myself to teach and impart the principles of Reiki to my students, I have written my own basic Reiki text.
There is so much information about Reiki “floating around out there”, and so much has been added to the basic steps that Dr. Mikao Usui laid down, that I find a great deal of “complication” in many texts. My personal opinion is that Dr. Usui received very simple instructions through visions about modern day Reiki.
I know that my first Master, Marta Getty, who attuned me to first and second Degrees, added no frills to the basic concepts taught by Dr. Usui. I would like to share with you some of my writing about Reiki.
REIKI: A Definition
– Reiki, pronounced “ray-key” comes from the Japanese language
– Rei, is the Japanese word for universal, spirit, and gift
– Ki, is the Japanese word for the life force energy which flows through everything
Reiki is a profound yet very simple system of healing. The Reiki practitioner places his/her hands upon the person receiving the treatment thus facilitating the flow of the universal life energy. Some Christian Reiki practitioners call this energy the “God Energy”.
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT REIKI
Reiki Levels: There are three levels or degrees of Reiki. Reiki I, Reiki II, and Reiki Master/Teacher. Some schools of thought on Reiki like to make a separation between Master and Teacher thus creating a fourth level.
Attunements: The attunement process for each level is what awakens the student to the energy of Reiki and helps to open the energy channels within each student, thereby facilitating the flow of the energy.
Symbols: There are four Reiki symbols. 1) the empowering symbol/physical healing symbol; the mental/emotional symbol; the long distance healing symbol; the master/teacher attunement symbol.
Hands-On & Distance Healing: Hands-on healing is demonstrated during training at the Reiki I level and this is the basis for all levels of Reiki. During the Reiki II training students learn how to effect distance healing.
THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF REIKI
- Just for today do not worry
- Just for today do not anger
- Honor your parents, teachers, and elders
- Earn your living honestly
- Show gratitude to everything
All Reiki practitioners are encouraged to commit to and live by these principles every day of their lives. (I have made them a part of my morning meditation and quiet time.)
Worry consumes a lot of energy that could be put to better use. Worry is perceived as a stressor by our brain which sends messages through the nervous and hormonal systems to get our body into “fight or flight” mode. This causes unnecessary wear and tear on the body and leads to illness.
Anger is as destructive to the mind and body as worry. Anger, in and of itself, is not bad. It lets us know that things are not right. It’s how we react to anger that can be the killer – literally. Many violent crimes are the direct result of anger, and serious illnesses can be caused by living in a state of anger.
To honor and to be kind implies being non-judgmental and allowing the other person the space to be and become all that they can be. This allows us to develop compassion for others which, in turn, allows us the space to have more compassion for ourselves.
Whether working hard to earn our living or to deepen our spiritual practice we will increase our self esteem and sense of personal dignity. Living honestly also offers us a path to personal truth and leads us to inner peace and happiness.
When living in a state of gratitude ego is “kicked to the curb”. Gratitude encourages us to look at our blessings rather than our lack, which in turn leads us to live in a positive state rather than a negative one. Gratitude also helps us to cultivate the quality of humility
I will share more writing from my Handbook in some further posts.
Shared Wisdom: The Present Moment
Maybe the stars are aligned at the moment. Perhaps God is nudging me to place some real importance on this subject right now, in this moment! A few weeks ago I wrote a posting about living in the present moment (Musings- The Present Moment). Just yesterday I wrote a posting about meditation and labyrinths (Labyrinth Meditation At The Beach) in which I referred again to being in the present moment.
There is a wonderful internet posting that I receive every day called Daily OM. I am going to paste and cut their entry for today 7 September because it is such a re-enforcement of everything that I have said in my two postings and I firmly believe in “sharing the wisdom”, especially when it is about something that I have been able to put into practice in my own life with a certain degree of success. (I work on the premise that if I can do it, anyone else can do it!!)
September 7, 2009
Summon Your Aliveness
Being Fully PresentWhen we are fully present, we offer our whole selves to whatever it is that we are doing. Our attention, our integrity, and our energy are all focused in the moment and on the task at hand. This is a powerful experience, and when we are in this state, we feel completely alive and invigorated. This kind of aliveness comes easily when we are absorbed in work or play that we love, but it is available to us in every moment, and we can learn to summon it regardless of what we are doing. Even tasks or jobs we don’t enjoy can become infused with the light of being present. The more present we are, the more meaningful our entire lives become.
Next time you find yourself fully engaged in the moment, whether you are making art, trying to solve an interesting puzzle, or talking to your best friend, you may want to take a moment to notice how you feel. You may observe that you are not thinking about what you need to do next, your body feels like it’s pleasantly humming, or your brain feels tingly. As you enjoy the feeling of being located entirely in the present moment, you can inform yourself that you may try to recall this feeling later. You might try this while driving home or getting ready for bed, allowing yourself to be just as engaged in that experience as you were in the earlier one.
The more we draw ourselves into the present moment, the more we honor the gift of our lives, and the more we honor the people around us. When we are fully present, we give and receive aliveness in equal measure. For today, try to be fully present in your daily activities and watch a new reality open for you.
This kind of practice is also referred to as “mindfulness”. I learned much about mindfulness from two books that I have read. The first is titled Wherever You Go, There You Are by John Kabat-Zinn. The other was written by Eckhart Tolle and is titled The Power of Now. If you are trying to be more focused and more centered in your day to day living I highly recommend both of these books.
There is one other facet of living in the present moment that I may not have already mentioned but it is coming to mind now (it’s that God-nudging thing!). When I practice being truly present in the moment, when I focus on being mindful of where I am, what I am doing, and with whom I am engaged with, I tend to be more honest and more compassionate with myself and others. This can only bring more positivity and joy into my life, and I’ll live with that!
Nurturing Myself: Honoring My Body
A couple of days ago I had a bit of a traumatic experience. In the bigger scheme of things it was just a blip on the horizon, but it changed my plans over the last few days, causing me to spend several hours at the doctors and then at the pharmacy, and has caused me some severe pain and discomfort. Amazing what a small thing like a bee sting can do.
I’m not going into the details. The location of the sting is personal and somewhat embarrassing. I was innocently weeding the garden when it happened, ripping out whole forests of weeds that had grown in the swampy heat of our Florida summer underneath the Chinese Privets and the Chaste tree.
I grabbed yet another handful of weeds and found myself yanking on a long bindweed vine that was entwined in the Chaste three. I yanked and I yanked and shook the tree to its roots without realizing that I was disturbing lots of bees or wasps (I’m never quite sure which they are) that were getting drunk on nectar from the blooms in the tree. Next thing I know – pure white hot pain.
Within fifteen minutes I had a huge swollen area of skin and no pain relief despite copious applications of ammonia. Because of the location I decided that medical intervention was necessary as a precaution, so took myself to one of these “drive through” medical centers that have popped up like mushrooms. I was told there was not much to do other than go home, ice it down and take Benadryl for the swelling and “did I want some Vicodin for pain?”. (Is it any wonder that people get addicted to these kinds of medication? Doctors seem to hand them out like candy!)
Over an hour later I went home and did the ice thing, was already on an anti-histamine for something else so didn’t bother with the Benadryl, and took two 500mg Tylenol. Up until this point in time I had been dealing with pretty high level pain, so by the time the Tylenol kicked in I was exhausted. I curled up on the couch feeling crappy and wiped out and thankfully fell asleep. It was 8.15pm. At some point in time I must have zombied into the bedroom.
During the night I tossed and turned and in the early morning realized that a local infection had set up at the sting site – it was blistered and yellow:-(. So at a civilized hour I called my doctor and asked to go in. They lanced the blister, took a culture and I was given a Tetanus shot and a prescription for antibiotics. I was sent home with instructions to apply wet, hot pads during the day to “draw out the infection”.
I had an appointment at my favorite Natural Nail Care Center and thought that it would lift my spirits (it always does). But half way through, all I could think about was a nice comfortable bed or couch with cool sheets and a long nap. However, two hours later with my hands and toes sporting Perky Purple nail polish, I felt a little better and decided to honor a date with my husband for a bite to eat and a movie.
Halfway through the movie I became aware of a terrible itching sensation around the sting site, and by the time we got home there was an inflamed area about three and a half to four inches in diameter. I took my meds, did my hot wet bathes and crawled into bed feeling crappy. I had another toss- and-turn night and did not wake up feeling at all refreshed.
So I cancelled all the plans I had for today and have just honored my body and let it rest and relax. No housework has been done (thank God for pre-prepared meals!), no projects embarked upon. I have rested and read a book, bathed the sting site and taken my meds. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel ready to face the day with more energy. If that is not the case, I will honor my body and take another day of rest.