Reiki Help Blog :: Oasis Reiki Dojo

I tire easily of the word “energy.” It’s overused, a giant umbrella under which gather a hodgepodge of concepts! It’s in use with the populace in general, and especially in spiritual circles as well being a darling of Reiki folk. Obviously energy exists, it’s pervasive and important. The more we understand it, wield it in balance, and relate to life at this subtle layer, the better off we’ll be and so too the planet.

The ‘energy’ we’re talking about isn’t metabolic energy, which is what the physical body uses for its everyday functioning. Instead it’s subtle energy, a core level complex system and driving force. All of life and creation has energy at its core and perhaps this is why it’s become so popular to say, “everything’s energy” and leave it there. But if it’s so central, doesn’t it ask us to know more about it?

Cyndi Dale explains energy very simply as: “information that vibrates.” She also states: “Information with a speed faster than light is received as subtle energy…Information that moves at the speed of light or slower is received…as sensory, and will impact physical reality.”

Scientific research has proven that everything energetic contains information: data that tells an atom whether it should occupy a kidney or outer space…. Besides “being informed,” energy also vibrates…. Vibration is produced in the form of amplitude and frequency: oscillations that generate more energy. These oscillations carry information that can be stored or applied. The information (as well as the vibrating oscillations) can also change depending on the nature of a particular interaction. All of life is made of information and vibration. — Cyndi Dale

Now we’re getting somewhere! It seems ‘energy’ is housed in a greater field of vibration. A subtler source of energy is vibration.

… all healing starts with oscillation, which is the basis of frequency. Frequency is the periodic speed at which something vibrates. It is measured in hertz (Hz), or cycles per second. Vibration occurs when something is moving back and forth…. Everything in the universe vibrates, and everything that vibrates imparts or impacts information (the definition of energy). To broaden our discussion of particles and waves to include health, we can define health as the state of an organism with respect to its functioning at any given time. — Cyndi Dale, The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy

The disadvantage of framing Reiki as energy is that electricity is a form of energy too. There’s also mechanical, magnetic, chemical and thermal energy. Well, Reiki has an impact on the body’s electricity, magnetism and chemical/hormonal firings.

It also greatly influences our mind, and has a huge spiritual influence. Thus, we have a conundrum. A conundrum that’s best answered by moving to yet another layer. Notice how reality is layered and there’s a spectrum; there’s always a spectrum.

Behind changing mental fluctuations is a constant awareness, an unbroken sense of self or being, an ongoing ability to observe, witness and perceive…. Therefore the mind itself is not awareness…. Awareness, unlike the mind, has no form, function or movement. It is not located in time and space but stands apart as their witness…To know this awareness, we must learn to go beyond mind, which means to disengage from its involvements. This is our real work as human beings and the essence of the spiritual path… — Dr. David Frawley

In terms of the map that’s emerging here, we can say that ‘awareness’ houses ‘vibration’ which houses many kinds of ‘energy.’ This is simplistic, yes, but at the same time it helps to grasp the big picture. When you give yourself Reiki, or meditate using one of Usui Sensei’s authentic methods, you don’t dissect reality, you have an experience that leads to an overall effect. That effect penetrates all levels of being, concentrating where you need assistance the most at that time.

Over time you notice that you’re transformed. Not in one area, but in all. Reiki is able to effect such change because it originates at a meta layer.

The following posts detail a lot of what’s been discussed here:

• Reiki as Consciousness
• Reiki as Consciousness II
• Reiki as Consciousness III

If you have any questions, please ask in comments and I’ll respond.

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One of the delights of being on Twitter over the last two years, and more recently on Facebook is the genuinely talented, real and sincerely spiritual people I have met.

Sue O’Kieffe is one of these wonderful souls. We’ve stayed in touch consistently online since meeting a year ago, and it’s my great pleasure to introduce her visionary mandala art to you in this interview. When I first saw Sue’s work, I was immediately struck by its beauty. Every piece spoke to me and transported me to a magical world. You’ll get a chance to see for yourself in a sample slideshow below, but make sure you visit her blog and delve into these images. You can find her at Sacred Circle Mandalas.

Sue’s mandala’s are nature-based. She creates her layered artwork from photographs she mostly takes herself. She then listens for the plant’s spiritual story. The end result is richly textured work that draws you into its fine detail and keeps you engaged with a variety of interlocking images that have depth and resonance.

Spiritualizing the causal layer of existence is the most significant world healing work of our time. I wrote briefly about this after the quake in Haiti, and will revisit the subject. And mandalas do just that: Transform at the causal level.

Without further ado, here is my interview with Sue O’Kieffe:

There are many ways to create mandalas. What draws you to Nature as the basis of your mandala art?

I have created hand drawn mandala art, as well as mandala collages, but creating from nature speaks most directly to my spirit. Nature has always been my primal mother. I receive nurture and sustenance from her and have since I was a child. I love the detail of nature, and how much love I feel when I interact with her. My intention with my nature inspired mandalas is to show that love, so that others will feel that love and know how much love is always available to them.

Is Nature a big part of your spirituality?

Yes, of course.

What do you think is the cost of humanity’s departure from Nature and how can we re-engage her?

Nature gives so much and a big portion of humanity just wants to use her. When we figure out that everything is connected, that we do NOT have dominion over the earth, that God speaks to us through nature and is in nature, and that God is part of us, then maybe we will stop destroying a part of ourselves when we destroy the world around us.

What is the relationship between art and spirituality? Is art for art’s sake enough, or do these times demand art with purpose?

Well, I know I could not create art just art’s sake. It’s unfathomable to me. Whether or not people have a spiritual base or acknowledge it in their art making is their path and their choice. I think people are attracted to spiritually based art because their souls cry out for it. We need to be surrounded by visions of something greater than ourselves.

If you’re reading this in email, you may need to click back to the original post to see the slideshow.

Do you personally work with your mandalas after they are completed, or is any spiritual/healing/creative benefit only part of the art-making process?

I benefit on so many levels from art-making; it is a birthing process and an act of healing. Up until this point, I have pretty much created mandalas for those who are attracted to the energy and love that they offer, but I have not personally spent much time working with them after they are done. Recently I completed a mandala that is a representation of my True Self. The story around this mandala is a whole other interview! My intention is to work with my True Self Mandala as soon as it is framed sometime this month, to see what it has to share with me.

I know how much creating mandala art has opened me up to something greater. It is not like I say to myself “I create mandalas so that my consciousness will be expanded.” I create mandala art because it is my calling. A few years ago I realized that I was part of a larger tribe of mandala makers; we are all here to spread light and love and healing. It is such a honor to be part of this greater whole.

What effect do your mandalas have on other people? What feedback have you received?

The consistent feedback that I receive about my mandalas is how good they feel looking at them. They feel love and connection. They are in awe. They feel uplifted and inspired. I have received comments such as “When I’m feeling discouraged, I go look at your mandalas on your blog,” or “I purchased this mandala because it spoke to my connection with my father,” or “I’m recovering for by-pass surgery and I want this mandala near me to remind me to take care of my heart.” I also hear a lot of “wows.”

Do you have any final words about the times we’re living in?

When you get stuck, take a deep breath. Then another. Dance, drum, find something to raise your energy levels. Forgive. Love yourself. Love one another. Express gratitude. Feel joy. Expect magic. Find what brings you meaning. Live with purpose. Serve others. Be happy.

Thank you Sue!

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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!

If you are new here or haven’t subscribed yet, please subscribe via email. You can also friend me on Twitter.

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

If you are new here or haven’t subscribed yet, please subscribe via email. You can also friend me on Twitter.

This is a partial list, more will be posted under the Healing resources category.

Feel free to forward this list to anyone who may benefit from it. Each book is described briefly, but it’s value can’t possibly be conveyed. These are all “gold.”

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

Richard Gerber, MD

An encyclopedic classic on energetic healing according to the ancients and how it complements today’s allopathic medicine.

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

Rudolph M. Ballentine, MD

An encyclopedic resource dealing with some of humanity’s oldest healing traditions and how we can benefit from them today.

3- Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System As a Path to the Self

Anodea Judith

A unique, in-depth look at the chakra system and how we can use it to help us in practical, everyday terms.

4- Ayurveda and the Mind

David Frawley

Explores how to heal our minds from the subconscious to the superconscious, along with the role of diet, impressions, mantra, meditation, yoga and many other methods to create wholeness.

5- The Healing Power of Mind

Tulku Thondup

The uncomplicated exercises and insights presented provide an important link between body and mind that strengthens the immune system and reinforces health.

6- The High-Performance Mind: Mastering Brainwaves for Insight, Healing, and Creativity

Anna Wise

The best book on brainwaves and how to use them to your advantage.

7- The Complete Book of Chinese Health & Healing: Guarding the Three Treasures

Daniel Reid

A remarkable book on Chinese medicine, meditation, and related subjects.

8- The Healing Power of Illness: Understanding What Your Symptoms Are Telling You

Thorwald Dethlefsen, Rudiger Dahlke

Indispensable resource for making sense of your symptoms.

9- The Creative Visualization Workbook: Second Edition

Shakti Gawain

The classic work on the power of visualization.

10- The Four Levels of Healing: A Guide to Balancing the Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, and Physical Aspects of Life

Shakti Gawain

Addresses all levels of being for healing and fulfillment to be real and complete.

11- Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of the Americas

Alberto Villoldo, PhD

Reveals the concept of working with the “luminous energy field” that surrounds our physical bodies in a practical, easy-to-understand format.

12- Kitchen Table Wisdom & My Grandfather’s Blessing (2 Volume Set)

Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

Wisdom from a doctor who trains other doctors how to be healers again.

13- The Healer’s Manual: A Beginner’s Guide to Vibrational Therapies

Ted Andrews

An excellent primer on the subject.

14- Teach Only Love: The Twelve Principles of Attitudinal Healing

Gerald Jampolsky

Profound teachings on the healing power of love and forgiveness.

15- The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler

In this guide toward personal happiness, His Holiness the Dalai Lama offers great information in regaining lost happiness.