Reiki Help Blog :: Oasis Reiki Dojo

The ability to receive doesn’t get much air time. Giving, that’s all over the airways. Receiving not so much. That’s why for August I picked it as the topic of the monthly dojo meeting I have with my Reiki practitioners. It resonated overwhelmingly and I’m sharing some of that here, as well as other thoughts about it since.

While I write, I’m listening to NPR’s stream of the Newport Jazz Festival. This too is a form of receiving through the ears and the soul. As a longtime jazz aficionado, I’ve never been to this historic festival but since I’m open to technology and noticed updates on Twitter about the streaming, my weekend is being enriched.

Receiving is traditionally pooh-poohed. Probably because it’s a developing nation, Hindu spiritual teachers invariably advocate feeding the poor. In Christianity there’s the ethic of charity. Even in social media, the blogosphere and new business models, the mantra is give, give, give! And giving is vital. Giving is a great way to live. It’s necessary, powerful and inspirational. We’d be nowhere without givers.  The question is, can there be true giving without also receiving?

Culturally, morally and spiritually we’re programmed against receiving. There’s a lot of judgment against receiving. It’s deemed unsavory. Receiving has been made “wrong.”

• Help and serve others.
• Share and give.
• Don’t be selfish.
• If I accept something, I’ll be expected to return in kind.
• Accepting something is a sign of weakness.
• Be self-sufficient.
• Don’t be indebted to anyone.

This is all one-sided. The ‘flow’ is absent. Without flow there’s stoppage, blockage, constipation and rigidity. We become dry and humorless. Our edges get sharper and sharper and pretty soon everyone is pointedly staying out of our way!

And it goes against natural law. Flow can’t be one way. Penetrating and yielding, action and stillness, the lingam and the yoni, giving and accepting, speaking and listening, pushing and pulling…the list is endless.

Another layer of this is that we all have broken parts, parts that say, “I don’t deserve,” “This will never happen for me,” “Everyone else has better luck!”

The universe will fill your cup — if you carry a big cup, a little cup, or a thimble! — Sonia Choquette

There’s this too: Imagine you’re a person who has a one-way flow, outward…You like to meditate, enjoy spiritual practices, are into healing, want to be a better human being. Yet after sincere attempts your practices seem to hit a wall, time after time. There’s an opening, a great sigh and then the same humdrum returns. It’s discouraging and confusing.

The divine qualities you so want to engage can’t enter if you’re ability to receive needs work. If that’s the case, take that into your practice, bring the light of awareness to that until there’s a balance. Then see how your inner experiences broaden. Notice the wisdom and power that comes through, the sweetness of unattached love, the mesmerizing light and arcing joy.

Rumi says it really well:

Open the window of your heart

Do not worry if our harp breaks
thousands more will appear.
We have fallen in the arms of love where all is music.
If all the harps in the world were burned down,
still inside the heart
there will be hidden music playing.
Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die
we have the spark that starts the fire.
The songs we sing
are like foam on the surface of the sea of being
while the precious gems lie deep beneath.
But the tenderness in our songs
is a reflection of what is hidden in the depths.
Stop the flow of your words,
open the window of your heart and
let the spirit speak.

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I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while. At the end of 2009 when I was posting quite a bit about climate change, several subscribers chose to unsubscribe right after those posts were published. One can’t know of course, but one of my thoughts was that perhaps they felt the subject matter of this blog and climate change are not related. I’d like to share exactly how they are in fact related.

Climate change is a part of the ecology of our planet, and it’s in this ecology that we live. It’s not so much about a specific aspect of our ecology, but the “placeness” of it. If we’re talking about spiritual practice, well…We practice in this place, this earth, this moment. As for Reiki specifically, there’s this Reiki One-Liner from the first 50 published:

Reiki is an inner and outer ecology.

We live on holy ground. The only version of humanity that doesn’t recognize this is the technological, urban, gadget-obsessed, bot-like iteration. All other versions of humanity, modern and ancient know that this place, this cosmic home is holy ground.

Many times when I get out of my car in a parking lot and walk to some store in the endless sprawl of strip malls, I make a point to wonder what lies under the tarmac. What was here before? What wilderness would I have encountered here even fifty years ago?

I just have to look with new eyes to know. Recently I started a photoblog as an avenue of self-expression. Creativity and spirituality are sisters, but that’s for another post. You can subscribe to the new blog just like this one. It’s a growing ode to nature. Here’s a slideshow of the initial glimpses of my neighborhood. Holiness dotted in between the concrete…

(You may need to click back to the original post to see slideshow if you’re reading this in an email.)

This holiness isn’t limited to what’s natural around you. Wherever you are, it’s holy. Your home, the home of a family member or friend, workplace, place you stay when on vacation. Nature definitely has it’s own, undeniable spirituality, but greater than that is wherever you are.

Place is spiritual because it’s where we breathe. Our life is detailed in its locations. Our being is expressed in all the nooks and crannies made possible by the power of gravity.

You may be thinking, “what about nonlocality?” It’s true, we’re not only local, we’re multidimensional. And it’s all spiritual.

This word, this idea of “spirituality…” Isn’t it all-encompassing and all-embracing? If it isn’t, we need to reconsider. When one part is cutoff or hierarchically put above or below any other part, fragmentation ensues.

Personally, my gratitude starts with thankfulness for being here, today, standing on this ground, breathing on this spot. Without those conditions and premise, I’m unable to experience anything else. Sure, my higher Self can, but for me in my body to go along for the ride, I sit here in meditation, contemplation, visioning, Reiki’ng, loving…

If spirituality is all-inclusive, then the care of this place, its appreciation and longevity is under my wing too. Heaven is handled, angels have it under their wings. Earth? Let’s just say, we’re responsible for what we use.

You and I are living in the dimension of form at this time.

Without the body, the wisdom of the larger self cannot be known. –John Conger

Embrace place and see what it yields. Truly.

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. –Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

———
Having provided free content for over two years, the Reiki Help Blog is now asking for your support. Actually, the content remains free, but your support is needed. The button or link below will take you to a secure PayPal page where you can give any amount of your choosing.

Please donate what feels right. Each post is a considerable investment of thought, heart, energy and time.

Donate to this blog. Thank you!

Exactly one week ago, Oasis Reiki (yours truly) and several practitioners I’ve trained shared Reiki at Barry University’s Health Fair, in Miami Shores Florida. The fair was put on by the Division of Nursing.

Our booth was very popular with a constant stream of people all day. Demand was so high that at times it felt like having a few more hands would’ve been extremely helpful. There were five of us there and most of the day we had to seamlessly continue with the next person.

The only real break we got was when the whole fair had lunch. Even then we talked about Reiki and I answered some questions that puzzled practitioners.

It was interesting that before lunch things were a little chaotic insofar as organizing recipients, sticking to first come first served, and crowd patience wasn’t always available.

After lunch, the wait became self-organized! People signed in of their own accord and waited in proper order by the table given us.

This was the influence of the divine energy of Reiki, building up through the morning and really filling our corner, spreading out from there with its balance and harmony.

When I got there first thing in the morning, the thought that appeared independently was: Reiki is the way of gentleness. It is a corner of peace in your life.

This proved to be true all day, starting with the first two practitioners to arrive thanking me for Reiki on their traffic-less morning commute. One also reported: “the night before, during and after I was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace, love, happiness, sweetness, and eternal gratefulness.”

One highlight moment for me was when I felt the movement of an expectant mother’s baby. We helped people who were seeking relief from:

• knee pain
• shoulder and neck tension
• high blood pressure
• digestive disorders
• high cholesterol, headaches
• cataracts
• all over pain
• cervical concerns
• getting ready for surgery
• lower back pain–”amazing how it can work right through a chair”
• rapid heartbeat
• sciatic nerve pain
• low energy and so many more

One practitioner shared this:

One of the last receivers sat on the chair looking a little nervous and incredulous about Reiki. He stated he had lower back pain and high intraocular pressure. I left it in God’s hands…when I stood in from of him to focus on his eyes, a cold, practically tactile and almost painful sensation went through my hands. It was so physical that my eyes opened and I saw how his expression changed to a surprised and excited one (his eyes were closed). The sensations decreased in intensity and when they stopped completely I finished the session. When it ended, he was excited to know how Reiki works.

We also saw a high amount of:

• life, work and school stress
• worry
• mental confusion
• family tensions
• grief
• relationship anxiety

One practitioner shared this:

I intuited some sadness, loss, and even scattered energy. Those who were emotionally hurting made me feel more awareness of LOVE flowing through me. I knew they needed healing and wanted it to be powerful for them.

What else can we learn about life, being human and Reiki from this day? Well there’s nothing quite like a good Reiki story. Let me tell you some more, for Reiki’s benefits are far-reaching. One of my practitioners is in nursing school. She’s overworked and her time isn’t her own. Yet:

Later my mom and I spent some time together and she commented how she had been stressed and worried, sad, with a migraine the whole day but suddenly realized she’d changed to a calmed, more positive state with no more headache. She insisted it was my presence. She told me that this state had lasted the rest of the day. Maybe I just felt so blessed with the Reiki experience that I could still transmit healing without conscious intent. I not only felt calmed for the rest of the day but very “awake” too. It’s so easy to “fall asleep” and become connected to this world, that trying to remember to be conscious is very hard and “work” for me. Today, after all that Reiki, I was very awake.

When the fair was over and all other booths had packed and left, we still had a waiting line. Slowly chairs became empty and we starting folding up our stuff too. None of us disagreed that it was an intense day.

I felt great at the end of the day, with a lot of energy and very peaceful. I prayed and gave thanks for this blessing. Since this was my first time giving Reiki intensively, to so many people, I was worried about having enough energy to do this. How little did I know…the more I gave, the more energy I felt!

All in all we gave Reiki to about 125 people, maybe more. Like I said it was intense. Yet so worth it:

Yes, it was rather intense. I did indeed feel peaceful and honored to give Reiki. I felt like time flew! I felt joyful while doing it, and since.

And:

All I want to do, all I ask the universe is the opportunity to help others through love. My dream, my purpose, what I want to do the most, was realized today. I felt this the entire time to the degree that I was almost euphorically happy!

This is the efficient beauty of Reiki. The giver and receiver are both enriched. I wish there was more to report directly from those that sat under our hands. Mostly it was nonverbal, but faces all expressed the mysterious wonder of each brief encounter.

There was the physician who wants to integrate healing with allopathic medicine. There was the woman who waited patiently for me to finish with someone else to find out how we know which areas are troubling the person. There was the young student who simply said, “I really liked it!” but it was her face that I can’t convey here: those words came from a sincerity of soul. There were multiple thanks from the organizers. Then there were moments like this:

One of the ladies I gave Reiki to spoke no English. She was so sweet and spiritual. She communicated with me the whole time using her eyes (this communication occurred with several of the receivers). After the session, she desperately wanted to tell me something. I tried and tried to understand what she meant until I got it…”You prayed for me but I also prayed for you” meaning she knew somehow I was praying for her inside and that she will pray for me too.

What else can be said? It took me a week to distill this experience and I feel so much has been left out. May silence now convey the rest.

“When you help you see life as weak, when you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole. From the perspective of service, we are all connected: All suffering is like my suffering and all joy is like my joy. The impulse to serve emerges naturally and inevitably from this way of seeing.”

–Rachel Naomi Remen

Related:
Anatomy of a Reiki Training

Update 7/31/08:
This Reiki outreach has been mentioned in The Reiki Digest, a regular roundup of news about Reiki from around the world.

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

Nneka over at Balanced Life Center has started 2007′s Season of Gratitude and I’m jumping in!

Today I’m grateful that:

• The Atlantic Hurricane season has been uneventful in my area. Living in Southern Florida, this is big.
• There aren’t any reports about people taking shelter from fires in Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, as there were at the time of Hurricane Katrina.
• There’s been only one reported death from these fires.
• My home and my son are safe.
• Al Gore has stimulated such widespread awareness of global warming and climate change.
• While the fires in So. Calif. may in part be nature rebalancing itself, we’re also informed and empowered to approach our relationship with nature in an entirely new and sustainable way.
• CNN is airing Planet in Peril, today 10/23 and Wed 10/24 at 9 p.m. ET. Although I’m not a major news outlet consumer, it’s significant that the concerns are being mainstreamed and will reach a huge audience. (There are many resources on CNN’s site so make sure you visit.)
• I have the support of all my readers, clients and students.
• Blogging makes a difference and the Internet has power.