Reiki Help Blog

Nneka over at Balanced Life Center has written an excellent post on Consciousness. Yes, capital C is on purpose, but we also deal with the lowercase c.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to echo her with some content from archives here and expand the conversation:

The Self

I have always been; I am now and ever shall be. There was never a time when I was not. This I is not the me-of-today, but the continuous thread of the Self. The me-of-today is a precious pearl adorning the Self. There are many such pearls and I am all of them.

Self & Divine

The Self is a spark of the Divine; the me-of-today a spark of the Self. I knew nothing of the bridge between me, Self and Divine. Experience separated me further and further, until I was sure I was me. Now this me stifles and hurts. This me stubbornly asserts its rightful existence.

Wholeness / Duality

The me exists in duality; the Self in wholeness. There is wholeness in duality. The existence of me-in-today is a seeming separation from the simultaneous existence of Self-in-Consciousness. The realm of pure Consciousness is hurt-free. The membrane of separation being highly permeable, Self and me dance intertwined. I let one seep into the other, dissolving ignorance in the unity of conscious existence.

Wholeness in duality is realized by the unity of conscious existence.

I exist in a physical body and I am simultaneously conscious in the nonphysical Self.

I occupy the vast region between matter and Consciousness. In this vast region Spirit always prevails. Spirit is hurt-free. And for that I give countless thanks.

Before all that there is:

Awakening

Between birth and death is the hopscotch of daily despondency. Dimly in the background, the whoosh of eternity is coursing through my cells. The alarm clock of awakening is on perpetual snooze. It rings at regular intervals, yet an automatic programming silences it. Until the next time. And the next. And the next.

And of course:

Reiki as Consciousness parts 1 & 2.

Worry is pervasive whether you’re a Reiki practitioner or not. In either case, worry occurs but it isn’t a wisdom practice. Worry is about the future and the future hasn’t happened yet. Worrying simply locks your energy up in projections which may or may not happen, and even if they were to happen, haven’t happened yet.

Anything that invests your energy and awareness outside the present moment is not a practice of wisdom. It means that you’re not present to that which worries you.

This is not to say that we don’t have concerns in general, or in our practice of Reiki with others (others including our perts and animals). The question is what serves the life form you’re helping? Does your worry serve their healing, wellness and happiness? Is worry a healing agent or does it get in the way?

The answer is clear. Growing into non-worrying is a practice. This practice begins and ends with the wisdom of knowing that you are not responsible for the results of sharing Reiki with others, or the health of the recipient. You are only responsible for the quality and consistency of being the best Reiki practitioner you can be.

Usui Sensei kept it quite simple:

For today only: Do not anger, Do not worry,
Be humble,
Be honest in your work
Be compassionate to yourself and others.

Although anger is a different emotion than worry, it’s effect is the same: It removes you from the present. Anger is mostly about the past and worry is mostly about the future. Both are not the present and the present requires your full awareness.

Who you share Reiki with requires your full awareness in the present.

A member of Global Healing Weave said it like this:

We’re probably given such challenges in order to learn how to balance the tension of opposites, to hold both sides of a situation and be strong in the middle of it.

She’s right on! As practitioners of spiritual and healing arts we’re the clear, pure, central conduit in a world of duality. Anger and worry muddy up the conduit. These two emotions also wear us down, tearing at our birthright of true power and love.

“I’ve developed a new philosophy…I only dread one day at a time.”
–Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz)

Today I purchased gas at $3.79 & 9/10ths (what’s that all about?!) using a website that helps you locate the best prices in your area.

More to the point, I’ve increased my gas mileage from 23 mpg to 24.2 mpg using Reiki. OK now I’ll be harassed by big oil & Detroit (NOT! Only a joke, that’s not my reality.)

Here’s how:

• When pumping keep your Reiki hand on the pump & intend better gas economy.
• Use Jakikiri Joka-ho (method for cleansing objects) on your car, intending that it burns fuel efficiently, that all car parts related to fuel are clean, work well & efficiently.
• When driving direct Reiki ahead of you so traffic flows, you get all green lights and there’s no stop & start.

It also helps to practice these commonsense steps:

• Consolidate your trips.
• Make sure your tires are inflated to the right pressure.
• Don’t carry excess & unneeded weight in your car.
• Drive below the speed limit.
• Accelerate slowly & evenly.
• Accelerate going downhill.
• Don’t weave in & out.

Original goodness. How come we don’t hear that more often? We certainly hear its opposite in many world religions, and also psychotherapy which is based on pathology. Perhaps we don’t hear it more often because it’s easier to believe it doesn’t exist. Afterall if it exists at all it’s buried somewhere in the coal of our being. It’s hidden under many layers of protective armoring. We have all encountered suffering and threatening situations and have had to come up with survival or coping strategies. What we may not remember is that none of this changes our essential nature.

There’s an equally hidden motive force within us that seeks something worthy and true. In this seeking we may end up with the teachings of Reiki. Reiki is primarily a practice of wisdom and compassion. It answers our longing for freedom. In that answer we find our original beauty, goodness, nobility, and blessedness. It’s inevitable that we find these qualities of our true nature because they are woven into the fabric of our being. And so starts a sacred relationship with ourself.

Finding the sacred is the purpose of the various practices and trainings of Reiki. Each of these helps us recognize and uproot unwholesome patterns that create suffering and develop wholesome patterns instead. The emphasis in Reiki on training and practice, together with growing insight and understanding gives us a bedrock that is very reliable and nourishing. Through a practical and inspirational set of practices and further training, Reiki returns us to our innate wisdom and compassion, and directs us toward unity.

In Reiki when we meet each other we put palms together over the heart and bow in gassho. There are entire societies that practice this as routine. Gassho means to put the two palms together. It signifies the oneness of all beings. It’s the natural expression of reverence and gratitude. It’s also a sharing of love and in that, resonance. We acknowledge the healed version of the person, the seed of healing that coexists with all that is unhealed.

We also gassho at the start and end of all Reiki practices when on our own, bowing to the already healed, whole and divine being peering from behind all that’s unhealed in ourself. It seems that the world wants us to give too much attention to our protective armoring of fear, depression, confusion, aggression and worry. We all have areas that can be improved. However, we start with a recognition of an abiding goodness and wholeness.

As with any authentic wisdom teaching, Reiki gives us the opportunity to make the coal of our being the diamond that it really is, through the applied pressure of practice over time.

The word “Buddha” comes from the root buddh, which means to wake up. A Buddha is someone who is awake. When Buddhists greet one another, we hold our palms together like a lotus flower, breathe in and out mindfully, bow, and say silently, “A lotus for you, a Buddha to be.” This kind of greeting produces two Buddhas as the same time. We acknowledge the seeds of awakening, Buddhahood, that are within the other person, whatever his or her age or status. And we practice mindful breathing to touch the seed of Buddhahood within ourselves….

Our true home is in the present moment…The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment. Peace is all around us—in the world and in nature–and within us–in our bodies and our spirits. Once we learn to touch this peace, we will be healed and transformed…We need only to bring our body and mind into the present moment, and we will touch what is refreshing, healing, and wondrous.

–Thich Nhat Hanh