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Reiki One-Liner^SM

On July 30, 2008 I started a new service in the microblogging world by sending out this one-liner about Reiki:

Reiki is living with wisdom & compassion.

Since then Reiki One-Liner^SM has gone out to Twitter and Plurk everyday between Monday and Friday, with breaks of a few days since its inception.

Read the first 50.

Read the next 50.

Read third 50.

Here, presented in alphabetical order rather than the order they went out are 50 more Reiki One-Liners:

1. At the core of anxiety, Reiki is abiding calm.
2. At the core of fear, Reiki is solid knowing of self.
3. At the core of illness, Reiki is a bottomless resource.
4. At the core of pain, Reiki is the presence of love.
5. At the core of sadness, Reiki is unending joy and comfort.
6. Reiki activates the dormant divinity in your cells.
7. Reiki beckons the soul.
8. Reiki busts hardened habits and beliefs, opening many new possibilities.
9. Reiki declutters mind space, personal/work space and heart space.
10. Reiki deepens meaning.
11. Reiki deepens your consciousness.
12. Reiki deepens your heart.
13. Reiki deepens your humanity.
14. Reiki deepens your relationships.
15. Reiki expands the accuracy of your intuition and your trust in it.
16. Reiki expands the heart past personal dramas.
17. Reiki expands the mind to perceive more than the five senses tell it.
18. Reiki expands your horizon.
19. Reiki expands your orientation from personality to soul.
20. Reiki gives Heart when life seems heartless.
21. Reiki helps you know who you are before personality and possessions.
22. Reiki increases the soul’s magnetic power.
23. Reiki is a celestial waterfall.
24. Reiki is a cool spring in the heat of trials.
25. Reiki is a nonphysical umbilical cord between you and the great Mother universe.
26. Reiki is a series of stepping-stones across the pond of life.
27. Reiki is Heart solace.
28. Reiki is spring rain on your weary soul mind body.
29. Reiki is springtime renewal all year round.
30. Reiki is tête–à–tête with your soul.
31. Reiki is the light of the Heart on the pathway of life.
32. Reiki is the Universe saying “pssst!”
33. Reiki is the Universe’s 411.
34. Reiki is the Universe’s 911.
35. Reiki is the way of the Heart through the pathway of life.
36. Reiki opens a Heart-based relation with all.
37. Reiki opens you to your soul.
38. Reiki replaces neurosis with bliss.
39. Reiki restores your original codes.
40. Reiki restores your original power.
41. Reiki returns you to the divine self-worth of your origin.
42. Reiki reveals what your name is before you take birth.
43. Reiki takes you from particle to wave and back to particle at a different location.
44. Reiki warms the soul.
45. There’s a truth before and after your lifespan. Reiki will reveal it to you.
46. With Reiki the Earth finds succor.
47. With Reiki there are no losers.
48. With Reiki there is refuge.
49. With Reiki you can be like a multi-armed deity.
50. With Reiki you can converse with Life.

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Please read my personal musical journey before the reviews of these magical CDs, for it puts it all into context.

I’ve always been a music head. I was living in London with my parents when Help! by The Beatles was released. I was five and it was probably the first album I had. The single, “Get off of My Cloud” by the Rolling Stones topped the charts the same year.

The predominant music in my house was Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Astrud Gilberto, some Italian crooners, Jazz and Latin music, with some pop of the era like Petula Clark.

There was also the classics, mostly Russians like Rachmaninov, completely over the top and engaging. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos were a favorite.

Later I did the whole Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, The Police, Talking Heads and many others in no-particular-order-thing.

Then it was Blues and Jazz for the longest time. Forever. Very serious and utterly devoted. I dreamt of studying the Blues curriculum offered in some Southern university, and having front row seats to Miles.

Monk and Mingus were gods, Coltrane an elder. The list is looong. Very long.

I’ve omitted a lot of names from the other genres too. You get the point.

I’m not a musician. I played guitar and the sax for a while, could read rudimentary music. Then I forgot it all. Later, Paramahansa Yogananda channeled himself down my arms and taught me how to play his songs to the Divine on the harmonium.

I was instantly able to read basic music again and found my singing voice. This was unique because as an actor for twenty years, I’d never sung. In fact, I’d been told I was tone deaf. What a lark!

I became enraptured with devotional chanting and lead three hour sessions every Friday, as well as at many other gatherings. The chanting and untrained voice talent have continued. I’ve forgotten how to play the harmonium or read music, unless I pick it up again.

Finally I became a fan of healing, world and devotional music. More than a fan, this kind of music has become a practice, because it teaches.

The reviews below have emerged from the astounding people I’m meeting on Twitter. I’m not a musician but have an affinity to it, and as a Soul Whisperer^SM can recognize substance. This is music that grabbed me instantly and transported me to imaginal realms of deep connection and beauty.

Beloved by Ashana

When Ashana friended me on Twitter and I listened to “Opening to Love” on her MySpace page, I couldn’t stop listening and had an instant recognition. Within the first few chords my chest changed and love was present immediately. It’s from Ashana’s latest album, Beloved.

These songs are musical experiences of the Divine, harmonies to the Divine, and an undeniable example of artist as vessel.

Ashana breathes and gives life to alchemy and classic frosted crystal singing bowls. She also sings and composes. On Beloved, Thomas Barquee is co-writer on all but one track; producer, arranger, and on keyboards, bass and vocals. The other instrumentation includes cello, guitars, tablas and percussion.

Let’s be clear though, this is ethereal music and the arrangements make use of these instruments in unique ways.

Barquee’s arrangements and production values are richly sensitive and provide a container for this music that wouldn’t be readily available in other hands.

Before going into any other details, and fully acknowledging her special touch with crystal bowls, let me mention that Ashana’s voice is…purity personified. It has a singular clarity and a layered presence.

The Tracks

One of my favorite aspects of Beloved is that it honors world traditions. For instance the first track You are My Breath includes the Sufi invocation, La’illaha il’Allah, meaning “There is nothing other than You, O God. You alone are God!” This is really the title track of the album as it’s a serenade to the Beloved.

I’ve been a fan of The Aramaic Lord’s Prayer for some time now, in various translations that are so radically powerful, compared to the version in the regular translations of the Bible. Here, Ashana actually sings a version by Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz in Aramaic. Listen once and you’ll understand why I’m so moved by this music. Clocking at 10:10 minutes, it can easily be put on prepetual repeat.

O Birther! Father- Mother of the Cosmos
Focus your light within us – make it useful.
Create your reign of unity now-
through our fiery hearts and willing hands
Help us love beyond our ideals
and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.
Animate the earth within us: we then
feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.
Untangle the knots within
so that we can mend our hearts’ simple ties to each other.
Don’t let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back from our true purpose.
Out of you, the astonishing fire,
Returning light and sound to the cosmos.
Amen.

Dona Nobis Pacem means “Give us peace” from the Roman Catholic mass. This track highlights Ashana’s voice. It’s also impressive in how the guitar is played to sound like an instrument from the Renaissance. In fact, throughout the whole album the juxtaposition of all the instruments is surprising. It really makes me smile for instance to hear tablas accentuating this very Latin chant.

Opening to Love comes from a depth of heart the world needs so much. Ashana actually wrote it for a deceased friend, but as is the universal theme of this album, and as she says on her website: “I dedicate this piece to his spirit, which is of course, the spirit of everlasting, unconditional love that is the essence of who we are.”

Only You in My Heart has no notes about it. It doesn’t need explanation. You refers to…you know by now.

Deep Peace is a traditional Gaelic blessing that I happen to email to my students as my wish for them after completing Level I Reiki. This version has 10 and 12 inch Aqua Gold crystal singing bowls as drones in an arrangement which gently rocks you side to side in peace, literally.

Deep peace to you.
Deep peace to you.
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you.
Deep peace to you.

Here’s what Ashana says about Alleluia – Wahe Guru: “Alleluia” is a word used in both Jewish and Christian traditions to express praise, joy and thanks to the Divine. Wahe Guru! is the primary mantra of the Sikh religion, and means “Wonderful Lord!” Yogi Bhajan, who brought Kundalini Yoga and Sikhism to the West, translated it even more deliciously as “Indescribable Ecstasy!”

Beloved is a complete work and substantial achievement. I’m very enamored of way the cello is a constant presence and highlighted beautifully in several parts. There are rich, sustained basses and other drones, eloquent guitar, embellishing keyboards, and bemusing tablas.

Then it’s all tied together by the presence of the Divine that fills you from the speakers or headphones.

Now go buy it! >> Beloved

Cello Circles by Kalyan and Sambodhi Prem

I was having a conversation on Twitter with someone about my love for the cello when Sambodhi Prem friended me and introduced me to this collaborative album. Entirely composed and performed by Sambodhi and Kalyan, and produced by Sambodhi, Cello Circles also instantly stopped me to listen and opened my heart. Then my mind opened too!

Kalyan is a classically trained cellist, and can also be heard here as a multi instrumentalist on dilubra, recorders, kena flute, Japanese kyotaku flute and fretless bass.

Sambodhi is on acoustic and electric guitars, bass and sound modules.

Seven years in organically coming together, this is richly evocative music. Textured, layered and endless; when a track or the CD finishes there’s a palpable resonance in the room and in the listener.

It’s remarkable that this music is driven by improvisation. When it’s of this quality, mastery is the only word that comes to mind. Living on separate continents, Sambodhi and Kalyan meet in the circle of creativity, and add sheer beauty to the world.

In the literature Sambodhi supplied me, he says, “I love the cello because it’s able to express great depths of sadness and is equally able to reach the heights of joy…” I agree, and cello is just so warm to me and brings a fullness of heart.

I’m partial to the fretless bass too, and the slide trombone. I think I just like instruments that don’t show you where your fingers go. It adds a dimension of actually feeling where the notes are.

The Hindu dilubra is plucked on Leaving Space, and bowed on Spring Water. The Japanese kyotaku is heard on This Moment. Kalyan’s cello is faultless and elevates this instrument. He plays it with a passionate authority, and the sound it yields is full and liquid.

To break down Cello Circles to its individual tracks would be a disservice. This album is a continuous journey, aesthetic and exquisite. There are moments of quiet reflection and surges of celebration.

This music is without genre. There are subtle hints of contemporary jazz, orchestral music, studio sounds, meditative music, tributes to nature sounds, and other soundscapes.

While the compositions are built around the cello, what’s built around it has its own value and voice. Sambodhi shines on his guitars. There’s a delicacy to his fret work that’s unmatched, and the ease of spaciousness that comes from stillness. It’s obvious that he put in countless hours in his studio too, flowering the acoustics this music lives in; a labor of love.

The cover art by Sandipa is also gorgeous, appropriately titled “Harmony in Lily Flat Major.” In fact, Sambodhi has quite a few creatives around him and his website is well worth a visit.

What else can I say about Cello Circles? I can’t stop listening to it! Every time I think I’m ready for another mood, this album provides it. To go out to the edge of the known like this is courageous and true artistry.

Now go buy it! >> Cello Circles

The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy
by Cyndi Dale

This isn’t the type of book that you read cover to cover. It’s a reference work. You have it in your library to look up specific information and to study further those areas that are relevant to you. Colorfully illustrated, it’s a hefty one-of-a-kind work on a subject that really needs to be much more in the spotlight.

The premise of the book is the intuitive truth known through the ages that, “Everything is made of energy: molecules, pathogens, prescription medicines, and even emotions.” Dale defines energy very simply as, “information that vibrates” and goes on to show how that is and what effect it has on us in six well-organized and meticulous sections.

Part I is an overview of energy and its basic terminology. Part II is about physical anatomy but with a twist: that it’s in fact “an extension of the subtle energy system.” The next three sections detail the three subtle energy structures: Fields, Channels, and Bodies.

Part VI is a compendium of energy-based healing methods.

For me, perhaps the greatest contribution this book makes is the copious referencing of seminal figures who have historically studied subtle energy in a scientific way. When we look at medicine or other disciplines today, it isn’t obvious that subtle energy has indeed been scientifically studied and in many cases validated. And it’s a sad comment that despite a strong body of research, most disciplines and the predominant paradigm in society is still mechanistic.

Those of us who are in the arena of spiritual and healing disciplines know and understand that knowledge of subtle levels of reality has been with humanity for eons. So it was with great pleasure that I read about some determined people who formulated and stuck with their scientific explanations of intuitive knowledge.

The bulk of the book is dedicated to Energy Fields, Energy Channels, and Energy Bodies. While the information is scholarly and scientific, Dale is able to put it across in an easily understandable way, with key concepts reiterated throughout. She explains that there are two basic types of energy:

1. Veritable, i.e., physical and measurable
2. Putative, i.e., subtle and immeasurable.

In looking at energy fields, we understand that our energy isn’t contained by our skin, and we each have auric, morphogenetic, etheric and astral fields which play out in a bigger system of L-Fields (subtle physical) and T-Fields (thought).

Energy channels are mostly explained through the lens of meridians as understood in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). While this section furthers how intricately energetic we really are, there are many excellent texts on TCM. For the energy healer, the close connection between emotions and the organs is practical knowledge that can be immediately used.

Energy bodies are discussed in terms of the most well-known teaching: the chakras and the lesser-known nadis. This section is thorough and revealing, with a few surprises. Much of it is explained in terms of the highly respected and celebrated yogic (Hindu) understanding. Even if you think you know your chakras, the bringing together of nadis, koshas (yogic energy bodies) and chakra personalities is impressive.

One of my favorite parts is Dale’s treatment of energy bodies from other cultures, including Tibetan, Mayan, Incan, Cherokee, Egyptian, African, Christian and Kaballah-based.

The book is also peppered with insets which explain in greater detail or provide new information. The bibliography too is excellent and I found myself highlighting some it for further consideration.

Dale adds another welcome element and that is an attempt at unifying the various traditions and scientific data into a workable whole, and succeeds considering the long history of traditions and data. The reader and practitioner can also draw their own conclusions and integrate accordingly.

The final part of the book is a compendium of energy practices. Keyword here is ‘compendium.’ There is a disclaimer at the beginning of the book that it does not in any way replace proper, professional training and rightly so.

I do have a couple of small bones to pick with the author, say about the size of phalanges (bones in the hands and feet.) One is the omission of any information on the Hara as an extensive understanding of the human energetic makeup. This is especially puzzling since Shiatsu is included, and the fact that Hara is a complete alternative understanding to the chakra model.

The other bone is regarding the section on Reiki. Admittedly this is part of the compendium at the end, so space is limited. Exactly for that reason, I wish Reiki was included with its full truth in light of the research that has surfaced in the last decade or so as to its origins and its founder’s biography. It was saddening to see the Reiki ’symbols’ also published and not so accurately. You can read why this is unwise and unhelpful here.

In its sheer scale and depth this is a volume that every spiritual and healing practitioner can without reservation add to their library and keep close at hand. I heartily endorse and heartily recommend it.

My own copy (thank you Cyndi!) will be going right next to:

A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine: Energy Healing and Spiritual Transformation
Richard Gerber, MD

and

Radical Healing: Integrating the World’s Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a New Transformative Medicine
Rudolph M. Ballentine, MD

Energetic Wellness

In Reiki as it is much was said about the true nature of Reiki, how it is a spiritual teaching and practice first, with healing being a natural extension of its enlightening practices. Yet Usui-san was widely known as a great healer. Teate means hands-on healing in Japanese and was very popular in Usui’s time. In 1923 an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hit Tokyo. 100,000 deaths were reported. His Memorial stone states:

“Everywhere there were groans of pains from the wounded. Sensei feeling pity for them went out every morning to go around the town, and he cured and saved innumerable people. This is just a broad outline of his relief activities during such an emergency.”

Fast forward to the 21^st century. We have many options available to us when it comes to healthcare and wellness. Yet few of these options, including other CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) therapies, address energetic wellness. Why is energetic wellness important? Because without it we are not able to be well!

Most people are experientially familiar with energy as it relates to the ability of their body to function in its daily tasks. This is called “metabolic energy,” provided by the foods and supplements we ingest, sunshine and oxygen. Some of this turns into the raw building blocks of our body and some of it into chemical energy that keeps us active and productive.

Our nervous system, on the other hand communicates through electrical messages. These biochemical and neuroelectrical energy systems are well-accepted by science. There is also growing research that our cells emit weak bursts of ultraviolet light, indicating a light-based energy system. (Gerber 13-15. See below for book references.)

Then there are the contributions of thousands of years of spiritual and healing knowledge from the various cultures and civilizations of our collective history.

Two such contributions are what may be called “life-energy” (or “lifeforce”), and “spiritual energy” systems. One example of a life-energy system is acupuncture with its meridians, responsible for distributing life energy to cells, tissues and organs.

The best known example of spiritual energy distribution is the chakras, the seven major energy centers that play a critical role in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. (Gerber 16-17)

The chakras are also related to a maze of channels that distribute this unique subtle energy. These are known as nadis.

The system of chakras and nadis corresponds to your experiential center, that inner core from which you feel yourself move when you are truly spontaneous. From there you move out to contact the world. The meridian system, on the other hand, reflects how that energy interfaces with the world around you. (Ballentine 408)

Ki

You can read about the system that Reiki utilizes in Reiki as it is. Ki is naturally present in the body and in a special Ki field around the body. The fundamental functions of Ki are to:

• Transform materials, such as food into fuel in the body
• Transport substances, like blood throughout the body’s vessels
• Hold substances in place, such as blood in vessels and viscera in the abdomen
• Protect against pathogens and trauma
• Warm living tissues

When there is overall harmony, Ki flows smoothly and any minor imbalances are rectified naturally. When the body becomes stressed for long periods or there is physical damage, emotional trauma (e.g. anger, worry, fear, grief), or mental inharmony the smooth flow of Ki is disrupted, creating pools of excess and deficiency.

Healthy flow of Ki is known as Genki and disrupted Ki is called Byoki (literally, sick Ki). There are four basic types of Ki disharmony:

Deficient Ki – this can lead to spontaneous sweating, fatigue, lethargy and weakness.

Sinking Ki – which is characterized by organ prolapse (e.g. sagging organs and bagginess), vertigo, weariness, and a very weak pulse.

Stagnant Ki – the flow of Ki is slow or blocked, which can produce swelling, bloating, belching, achiness all over and fidgetiness.

Rebellious Ki – the direction of normal Ki flow is reversed, leading to hiccups, vomiting, coughing, asthma, liver problems and fainting.

The human energy system (HES) continues on. Beyond the scope of this discussion, we are also surrounded and interpenetrated by a set of subtle bodies.

The first of these is the “etheric body,” an almost exact replica of the physical and its template. Another subtle body is the “astral” which relates to feelings and their expression and the influence of our emotions. Each of these spiritual bodies vibrates at a higher rate than the previous one. However they are not to be understood in linear fashion, but more in the sense of expanding and connected fields. The “mental body” of course deals with the energy of thought, creation, invention and inspiration. Lastly, there is the “causal” or “spiritual body.” This obviously relates to our soul and higher Self, and is a divine template. (Gerber 23-31)

As you can see, so much more is going on to create the physical body and enable it to function. So much more is also going on to make our mind and feelings function. Consciousness is not only a mechanical firing of electrochemical signals, but an energy of its own. And a whole lot is going on to make our soul a part of physical existence.

In light of this information, energetic wellness takes on new meaning. It becomes a priority, vital to health, prevention, wholeness and a life of fulfillment.

Reiki as a Healing Art

Reiki is organized, orderly Ki. It is intelligent, compassionate and wise. There is a harmony to it.

Reiki is not dependent on the practitioner’s ability to sense disruptions in the energy or Ki field of the recipient to diagnose their energy flow and patterns. There is no need to direct or manipulate the energy, and no need to “correct” in any way.

Reiki treatments are gently balancing and support the wellbeing of the recipient in a holistic and individualistic way. Relaxation, pain relief, physical healing, reduced emotional distress, mental acuity, and a deepened awareness of spiritual connection are commonly reported benefits.

Reiki:

• dissolves stagnant ki
• eliminates deficient ki
• balances rebellious ki
• tones sinking ki
• neutralizes incompatible energies
• re-balances the human energy system
• flows healingly through both the meridians and the nadis
• addresses the recipient at a causal level, not masking symptoms

Reiki offers a direct link to starting and growing an energetic relationship with yourself in the deepest, most meaningful sense. What is interesting about Reiki is that it runs the entire energetic spectrum, from life energy to spiritual energy. It is both the chi (ki) of the meridians, webbed out more on the surface of our body, and the prana­ of the chakras and nadis, webbed in the more nonphysical aspect of our being.

Reiki treatments are richly nutritive to body, mind and soul, and help one to make the changes needed for optimal living. With so much at stake, an experienced and sensitive practitioner is essential.

The word “practitioner” does not only mean one who practices Reiki on others, but more significantly, one who practices Reiki as part of their personal spirituality.

Find a Reiki healer who is not merely using techniques, but comes from the sincerity of inner understanding, who embodies the sacred space needed for true change and wellness to take place. The healing relationship you will have with this practitioner is based on trust and mutual resonance. There needs to be trust in the process also.

A remarkable feature of Reiki is that it creates access to your own answers, insights and revelations. It is second to none in receiving your own spiritual and healing information. Your commitment level to your own growth and healing is vitally important. Personal growth and healing occur in an environment of partnership, cooperation, discipline and real willingness on your part to better some aspect of yourself. It takes courage to embark on a journey of self-development and many twists and turns are common. Hurdles and obstacles do come up. Open communication is the best way to move your inner work ahead and succeed.

Reference books:

A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine: Energy Healing and Spiritual Transformation

Richard Gerber, MD

Radical Healing: Integrating the World’s Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a New Transformative Medicine

Rudolph M. Ballentine, MD