Reiki Help Blog :: Oasis Reiki Dojo

There’s a trend these days to read, follow, and quote authors and well-known figures in the world of spirituality. Watching a video or listening to a podcast are also popular. There are teleconference calls of every spiritual stripe. You can attend a multitude of seminars and workshops. Access to self-improvement information, spiritual and healing know-how, and empowered living is at unprecedented levels.

At the end of the day and upon awakening, however, we are left to our own devices, and we are still the same person before doing any of the above. It’s a good thing that we don’t have to travel to faraway lands and try to find elusive teachers. It’s a good thing that this information is establishing itself in humanity’s psyche. And although still not mainstream, there’s a definite tip in that direction.

On the other hand, without actual personal practice, it’s all a cop out.

None of the information we’re able to take in these days has any impact unless it’s internalized. And internalizing isn’t ‘being more compassionate’ because the Dalai Lama suggests it. In fact it’s near impossible to be any of what’s suggested through various sources unless and until we have an established and regular personal practice at home.

Contemplative practice is not based on belief, but on intrinsic confidence and understanding. — Sakyong Mipham

Understanding comes as a result of spiritual practices, chiefly meditation. We undertake such practices for spiritual development. Unless we develop spiritually within, no outer experience or knowledgebase can have any real impact.

Many people become dependent on the ‘high’ of a seminar or audiovisual program. While attending, the program seems miraculous, life-changing. But when it’s over there’s a slump, a let-down. To counter this, the next seminar seems highly attractive. And the cycle continues.

In this scenario there’s no steadiness, no deepening. No real groundwork is laid inside the person. There’s no foundation, nor scaffolding; no interior chambers to rely on, nor ladders to the next elevation.

Something else happens in true spiritual practice.

… meditation also means to cultivate basic human qualities, such as attention and compassion, and new ways of experiencing the world. What really matters is that a person gradually changes… We develop a propensity toward altruistic behavior and the cluster of qualities that give us the resources to deal with the ups and downs of life.

— Matthieu Ricard

Practice doesn’t develop ephemeral qualities, like only reading or attending a seminar can. Practice develops enduring spiritual qualities that enhance both our nonphysical self, and the life we live in physicality.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Whatever you do mindfully is meditation.” This is true. But without actual practice the mind is not mindful, the mind doesn’t present its best version, it isn’t an aid to us but an obstacle. We have to sit silently and engage other spiritual practices too so the mind can exhibit its luminosity.

If we don’t practice, we operate at a nominal human level. If we do practice we operate at a more conscious level. We become fully human. Practice makes us conscious. This isn’t the kind of ‘conscious’ we become upon waking up in the morning. It’s self-awareness. It’s the awakening to the many levels of reality and possibility. It’s becoming conscious to consciousness.

Consciousness as a lattice for reality, stores and gives access to qualities that bring out the highest expression of our humanity.

Human qualities often come in clusters. Altruism, inner peace, strength, freedom, and genuine happiness thrive together like the parts of a nourishing fruit. Likewise, selfishness, animosity, and fear grow together.

— Matthieu Ricard

What we sit with, what we allow, what we let accompany us in life internally and externally grows together. Left on its own the mind falls into all manner of patterns. What we want is neither the high of an intense program or impactful book, nor the low of habitual self-defeating patterns. Instead we need the steady thread of continuity and depth, of regularity and constant return to the storehouse of spiritual qualities and resources.

As we meditate, we simply sit straight and watch the breath. So what does that do? It creates space. In fact, the technique itself is just a trick. The main point is to recognize all these thoughts and distractions that are constantly bombarding us. We still get angry, but we know that we are angry. When we are angry and know it, the anger has a lot of humor. With that kind of anger, we have more control.

— Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Practice betters us by revealing all we have inside. We originate as a whole, then through life experiences we fragment and focus on the fragments. We’re not the fragments. We’re the Whole. Practice shows how this is so and how to source our life from wholeness.

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Bamboo makes a great symbol for spiritual living. It’s sturdy and strong, but also flexible without being easily breakable. These are all qualities we need in our spirituality.

Bamboo is hollow which can represent the hollowness of being a conduit of the divine for healing, compassion, guidance, wisdom and awakening for self and others.

Bamboo is a perennial evergreen; it has leaves every season. Life is full of seasons. Even within a calendar season, our own life may go through more than one ‘season.’ Evergreens shed leaves while producing new ones. Similarly, we need to discard the old and dysfunctional for the fresh and empowering. Like a bamboo’s leaves we benefit from being self-renewing.

The most important symbology of the bamboo is in relation to developing a spiritual backbone. Whether your path is Reiki or another teaching, having a spiritual backbone is essential. Without it the path becomes unsteady. We waver. Both inner and outer temptations are too great and the path itself is already challenging.

Our spiritual backbone isn’t physical, although strengthening the back to sit for longer periods of meditation is important. Instead it’s about our integrity, resoluteness, and spiritual fortitude.

Someone just starting out on their path may not necessarily consider the long term aspect of it. Today we live longer and healthier lives and our spiritual path is meant to accompany us all the way through those years. There are an unknown number of twists and turns, ups and downs. Nothing is guaranteed and the end is obscured. And at the beginning the path is narrow, even hard to discern.

Given this, the only real ally we have is our commitment.

Our lives, like the ocean, constantly change, and we will naturally face great storms and dreary lulls. How, then, to put our minds in a space where practice is always there, whether tumultuous or in the doldrums? It requires a completely radical view of practice: practice is not something we do; it is something we are. We are not separate from our practice, and so no matter what, our practice is present.

— Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara

It takes spiritual backbone to commit to practice and lifelong spiritual living. This backbone develops and strengthens with the spiritual practice(s) we engage and also shows up for us when we need it, as long as we’ve put the time in. If you’ve put in solid spiritual time consistently and sincerely, your inner core of integrity and fortitude can take over during dry spells, when feeling bereft or challenged, or even just busy. (‘Busyness’ is a trap, however. It has to be recognized and held back.)

We also need this backbone to stay with our practice during such times. Those are exactly the times we need to practice. Spiritual practice can’t wait for idyllic conditions. It’s now or it’s not.

Bamboo has countless uses, from cooking to medicine to textiles to construction. It’s one of the most versatile plants there is. It’s also flexible in this sense, not only for bending in high wind. Life asks of us to be adaptable and resourceful. We’re endowed with many inner qualities, everything we need to face all situations.

Traditionally bamboo symbolizes longevity. This can also symbolize the longevity of our practice. The straight stem of the bamboo is seen as the (spiritual) path itself, and the segments of the stem are stages along the way.

Stephen R. Covey writes this of bamboo:

After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for four years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!

This is significant in spirituality and healing in so many ways. How often do we become impatient with ourselves and/or the process? How often do we mistrust ourselves and/or the process? How often do we lose faith?

In spirituality or healing (which overlap) it’s also commonplace that there are no observable changes or growth, at least not on the surface. This can be discouraging, but if we abandon teachings then it’s like digging up the bamboo seed in the first four years because not much is visible above ground.

Spiritual teachings usually have several different practices, both formal and the overall practice of embodying our learning and growth as we apply ourselves. Reiki certainly has a variety of methods, beyond its most well-known hands-on application. In fact in Reiki and most other authentic paths, meditation is the foundation.

If your self-discipline or dedication seems to weaken, remember first of all, that this is natural and you don’t need to berate yourself for it. Seek inspiration in the form that works best for you—reading poetry or prose that inspires you, communicating with like-minded friends, finding a community of meditators, maybe a group to practice with… If you haven’t been keeping a meditation journal, start one. And keep in mind that no matter how badly you feel things are going, no matter how long it’s been since you last meditated, you can always begin again. Nothing is lost; nothing is ruined. We have this very moment in front of us. We can start now.

— Sharon Salzberg

That’s sage advice. And it can applied to any of the methods in which we have instruction. Let’s summarize how bamboo can be a helpful analogy for the spiritual life:

• It bends but doesn’t break. Curve balls are easier to handle if our fundamentals are strong, and we can also be fluid.
• It’s strong without being rigid. We have a firm base and core which allows us to be soft and yielding when needed.
• It’s hollow. We empty ourselves of preconceptions and expectations so the divine can fill us.
• It’s evergreen. We’re discarding and renewing at the same time; keeping and improving on the good, releasing the not-so-good.
• Bamboo doesn’t give up underground. It develops and incredible root system. Commitment and inner resolve are deep resources we draw from from start to finish.

Each post for the Reiki Help Blog can take anywhere from 1-5 days to write/research, proofread/edit, and post with an appropriate image and formatting. If you leave this space with any value, knowledge, joy or understanding, please consider making a donation of your choice.

Donate to this blog. Thank you!