These videos are just too good…
Bob Randall, a Yankunytjatjara elder and traditional owner of Uluru (Ayer’s Rock), explains how the connectedness of every living thing to every other living thing is not just an idea but a way of living. This way includes all beings as part of a vast family and calls us to be responsible for this family and care for the land with unconditional love and responsibility.
I just signed up to the new Earth Hour website for 2008 and I thought you might like to take a look and possibly sign up too. Earth Hour is on 29 March 2008 at 8pm, and it looks like it’s going to be really big. So far, as well as Sydney, there’ll also be Chicago, Tel Aviv, Manila, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Brisbane and Toronto all turning off their lights for an hour in the name of preventing global warming. And I’m sure there’ll be more cities by March. Sign up for Earth Hour with me by visiting and join the movement.
Also check out the informational & inspirational video below…
Graphic video warning!
Largest Recall of Ground Beef Is Ordered
New York Times
By ANDREW MARTIN
Published: February 18, 2008
A California meat company on Sunday issued the largest beef recall in history, 143 million pounds, some of which was used in school lunch programs, Department of Agriculture officials announced.
The recall by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company, based in Chino, Calif., comes after a widening animal-abuse scandal that started after the Humane Society of the United States distributed an undercover video on Jan. 30 that showed workers kicking sick cows and using forklifts to force them to walk.
The video raised questions about the safety of the meat, because cows that cannot walk, called downer cows, pose an added risk of diseases including mad cow disease. The federal government has banned downer cows from the food supply….(read the rest).
No matter how you feel about the presidential candidates, where your loyalties are, how jaded or inspired you may be about the state of the world, this is one of those time-outs we can take from the barrage of statistics and exit polls and talking heads on the boob tube. (This is a video and it seems videos don’t always show if you’re reading this blog’s feed or get the email version, so please click on the original item to see the video on the blog itself.)
As Reiki originates in unity consciousness, so its practice also engenders the same. Let’s understand how this happens. Earth and Celestial Ki are polar expressions, rather than being dualistic. There’s a subtle distinction. Duality is one or the other, two oppositional forces that are separate. Water in the refrigerator is cold; water boiled in a kettle is hot. It’s tough to jump from these directly to warm. Yet introduce polarity and the possibility of blending hot and cold appears. Polarity is the balance between two complementary states. It’s the in-between state that can take us from duality to unity.
Cold water has it’s uses, as does hot water. Earth Ki is specific in its qualities, as is Celestial Ki. In Reiki we work with each specialty for our betterment. We also have the significant opportunity to blend the two, to become One. The perfect balance between the polar energies of Reiki leads to unity consciousness.
And this is where healing really occurs. Whether you’re practicing on yourself (hands-on or Reiki meditations) or another, that practice is not symptomatic relief, but the essential change of consciousness. Symptomatic relief is part of the package, but it’s a surface effect. Reiki often surprises people with its power. Knowing Reiki is spiritual healing in its purest sense brings its power into perspective.
Yet in the everyday practice of Reiki this high-minded underpinning is just that, operating subtly, not asking you to have assimilated any of the above.
Reiki is so very user-friendly. Its effects are palpable, it’s warm and compassionate, noninvasive and supportive, portable (consciousness and hands go with us everywhere!), widely applicable, carrying and bringing out wisdom, having no known contraindications, and always improving quality of life.
Reiki isn’t only a healing art, but a total enlightenment program. The previous material deals with this, and it will be addressed again.
Let’s now look at some of the more everyday applications of enlightenment in a Reiki context. These are just as important as satori or self-realization, because we have a world and populations to care for and be in relationship with.
Properly understood and practiced Reiki is an agent of social change. At one point I was relentlessly solicited by environmental organizations. Each day I would get 3-4 pieces of mail. This was before the advent of the Internet. After a while, I took all that mail and practiced nonlocal Reiki on it.
It developed a deep connection for me between all the troubled areas of the Earth, endangered species, and all environmental concerns. I was able to observe the whole planet as a living being; noticed the Earth’s ley lines; and the accumulated negativity in the Earth’s energy field.
Most remarkably, after a few weeks of nonlocal Reiki for the Earth, the solicitations, which had continued throughout, entirely stopped. Entirely!
I then knew that I had fulfilled my part. (Our part is constantly renewed–I still work with/for the Earth.)
Nonlocal Reiki is commonly practiced for individuals. It can be practiced also for the promotion of values, progressive ideas, ideals and visions, the empowerment of citizenry, social projects and cultural progress.
In all these areas, the groundwork obviously has to be done too, the activism, all the tangible components need to be in place. But at a meta level, through Reiki, there’s access to this power that heals burnout, opens minds and hearts, removes obstacles, stimulates and encourages, and deepens the good.
Reiki practice is born and honed in its meditation methods or hands-on application, but it doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t stop at all.
Related:
Reiki as consciousness Part I
Today I’m grateful for children’s books and how enriching they have been to my son and I. I had stopped reading fiction fifteen years ago as my spiritual path grew (just didn’t have time for it). Having majored in English Literature, this was a departure for me. With the birth of my son that changed. And we’ve discovered some gems. We’ve read many really good, really amazing ones, books that make you think and fill your heart, and some forgotten but cherished anyway. These books are so well written, enjoyable for adults too and go beyond being fiction alone. Here’s a partial list you may enjoy especially if there are kids in your life (don’t have to be your own).
THE GREAT KAPOK TREE by Lynne Cherry. This one teaches about how nature’s balance is interdependent by using the Kapok tree as home to the many creatures who depend on it, and each other. It emphasizes preservation.
HOLES by Louis Sachar. A very unusual and original story about a kid wrongly accused, sent to a corrupt boys’ camp, with past generations in his own and other characters’ families adding to the richness. The movie is equally good, one of the best from page to screen.
HOOT by Carl Hiaasen. Don’t bother with the movie unless you’ve got nothing better to do. Superb, fast-paced writing, great humor, environmental preservation theme and empowering to kids.
A SINGLE SHARD by Linda Sue park. A new author we discovered. Story of the historically accurate fame of 12th century Korean pottery, involving an orphan boy living under a bridge and how he bests the odds, losses his best friend and finds a new family. Many cultural textures too.
THE FIRE WITHIN by Chris D’Lacey. Another author who’s new to us. It’s the first in a trilogy, with a fourth book now coming out. It is about Dragons with lots of fantasy, but it’s really about people, relationships, personal quests and integrity. The writing is top-notch, thrilling to read, humorous, and a very original voice.
Please visit the authors’ websites. I linked directly to the book page, but the sites have a lot of content, are educational, there are activities and other empowering information.
This is part of Nneka at Balanced Life Center’s 2007’s Season of Gratitude.
My posts in the series:
Grateful despite the news
Gifts of acknowledgment