Reiki Help Blog :: Oasis Reiki Dojo

Many spiritual teachings are structured like a tree.

If Reiki were a tree, its trunk would be the meditative teachings of Reiki; hands-on Reiki would be one limb; and the precepts Usui left behind would be Reiki’s living tissue. This was explained in great detail in a previous post: Modern Reiki.

Today we’ll look at Usui’s Reiki precepts again. Since they are the living tissue of the teachings, it’s important to dwell on these simple words again and again. Not only dwell but bring them into full focus in our lives. The translation used here is:

For today only: Do not anger—Do not worry

Be humble

Be honest in your work

Be compassionate to yourself and others

Let me first quote from the previous post:

Without anger, conflicts would be resolved and new ones circumvented. Without worry, fear would end and we wouldn’t exacerbate suffering. Humility is respect and the willingness to include all viewpoints. Honesty; would there be a worldwide financial crisis if there was honesty?

And compassion. Compassion is both a prerequisite and condition of enlightenment. In compassion there’s no separation, no other, no stranger. Compassion is the true democracy! Enlightenment is a state of Oneness. If there’s compassion, there’s understanding and appreciation. Compassion unifies and in that unity we find enlightenment.

Enlightenment isn’t only a spiritual pursuit. There can be enlightenment in government, technology, business, science and social systems.

In delving deeper into these simple words, we have to consider that translation from Japanese, a language based on ideograms,  leads to rich interpretations; aphorisms are pithy and packed with meaning; and such concepts are layered in meaning.

Copyright Usui-Do Eidan

For today only: We mostly understand a day to be 24 hours in the Gregorian calendar which defines our lives. This is fine for what it is.

However, here we’re considering ‘today’ as also ‘this moment,’ ‘this duration,’ ‘this task,’ this activity,’ or even ‘this interaction.’

If you’re serious about your Reiki practice as a spiritual one, a path not only a healing practice or worse a modality, then you understand that it’s lifelong.

A life and a path is made up of moments. Before you’re intimidated by what is asked of you, stop, breathe and take a moment to consider both how fleeting and how endless it is.

You don’t have to master For today only, today.

Do not anger: Anger is an afflictive emotion and we all have it. It’s hurtful to those it’s directed and to person who is angry. It creates suffering for everyone. Sometimes righteous anger is justified, but in the end anger is never skillful or successful.

Anger heats up the mind and it makes mistakes, and anger shuts tight the heart. With and overheated mind and closed heart you’re a danger to yourself and others. Anger can also escalate to rage.

Whereas if a higher feeling state like love is cultivated, when it escalates it leads to bliss!

I feel Usui isn’t only saying don’t let anger prevail, but also heal your anger. This is a major undertaking. Anger is pernicious and insidious. It hides under layers.

Start today with some smaller angers and move onto bigger ones.

Do not worry: Let’s start with the worst case scenario…when worry escalates it becomes fear and/or anxiety. Worry as it is hangs around, niggling away and ruining your outlook as well as inner environment. Worry is powerful in its constancy. It’s a mindset that traps and holds hostage.

It holds hostage your physical, mental and spiritual energy without any purpose. For instance when faced with a dangerous wild animal, fear has a purpose. Escalated fear and ordinary constant worry which are baseless cause more harm than do good.

Worry is a creation of the mind and indicates that your mind is leading you, instead of you leading your mind. The mind is powerful but worry is an unskillful use of its power.

Be humble: Often recommended, seldom understood. Every other avenue that influences daily life tells us to be loud, boastful, self-aggrandizing and to stand out. We cringe at humility. It seems weak and wimpy.

It’s actually a fearless act to be humble because all self-promotion is really a way to hold fear at bay. And it goes further to change your orientation to non-ego. In fact humility is another way to stay in the present, for today only…If you’re not ego driven then the trappings of ego aren’t there either which removes fear and limitations.

Be honest in your work: On one level this is integrity, which starts inside with yourself and extends to all your expressions in your life and the many ways you touch people.

‘Honesty’ in this sense also means consistency, commitment and sincerity, and these apply to your spiritual ‘work.’ Transformation is real. It’s available and occurs, but not without the practitioner partaking daily in the teachings and practices.

And if the ground of your being is transformed from ‘honest’ practice, then the work you have outwardly in the world will be honest as well.

Be compassionate to yourself and others: This is the big one isn’t it?! It also brings the others full circle.

Compassion is a win-win, skillful means always. It’s inherent whenever Reiki is practiced. In fact, Reiki practice teaches about compassion in a visceral way; it’s felt and its qualities are understood.

Compassion leads to understanding which leads to unity. In unity we find a greater degree of enlightenment because we feel “at one.” Feeling one with yourself, others, the environment, the cosmos and the Divine is one quality of enlightenment.

Fortunately with compassion you don’t have to be enlightened to feel and benefit from it, and help others through it.

Compassion blesses everyone equally. It can remain as such or for the dedicated practitioner, compassion can lead to unity states of consciousness, which in turn deepen compassion.

How do you contemplate, engage and learn from the Reiki precepts Usui Sensei placed at the core of his teachings?

In his book “The Formation of the Noosphere” (1947), Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote:

No one can deny that a network (a world network) of economic and psychic affiliations is being woven at ever increasing speed which envelops and constantly penetrates more deeply within each of us. With every day that passes it becomes a little more impossible for us to act or think otherwise than collectively.

The term noosphere was coined from the Greek word for mind “noos,” adding to the biosphere (animate) and geosphere (inanimate). This essentially mental place could only have arrived at a time when technology can shrink the world and its distances. While there is still misinformation and prejudice about cultures and lifestyles, overall we seem to better understand each other, and at least in spiritual circles, reach out in compassion.

Meditational and healing link-ups made possible by online connections have enabled us to generate positive energy and intention for many situations we normally would not be involved in, let alone know about. The unique nature of Reiki has played a big part in this.

At the same time there is an incredible acceleration in all walks of life, stress is rampant and meaningful belonging is elusive for many. We also have escalating world crises and a general lack of planetary peace.

Despite our rising spirituality our times often reflect meaningless violence, cynical values, nonacceptance of diversity, and a lack of sense of place. The predominance and pervasive influence of scientific materialism has largely negated anything transphysical (metaphysical). It’s precisely in the search for place, belonging and meaning that Reiki can play a crucial role.

I would like to suggest a new sphere — Onesphere — to indicate our transpersonal (spiritual) dimension. While we have concepts for physical and mental spheres detailed, mapped and accepted, our transpersonal habitat is still under scrutiny, doubt, attack and bad press.

What the Onesphere can do for us as individuals and communities is misjudged, misreported and often too easily dismissed. Yet it is the home that we can carry around, the home that gives meaning, real security and purpose. Without the Onesphere, all other spheres would be bereft and perhaps nonexistent.

Spheres are circular, like our planet, and thus create connection as well as unity. The entire sphere of life is deeply unified. Where we belong is where everything else belongs — we share a common home. That humans are the supreme expression of life is sheer, illusory arrogance.

In the unfolding process of Reiki we have a great opportunity to heal a basic separation from the Onesphere of life, with all of its richness. Meaninglessness and existential homelessness are the result of severing ourselves from the deep ground of our essential nature.

When we consciously swim in the “Onenergy” of life in the form of Reiki, our spiritual roots are reinforced, nourished, and reminded that possessions or accolades don’t bring happiness.

The entire scope of Reiki is truly connective. Whether it’s self-Reiki or working with another, this gift brings us treasures hidden in the unseen.

Reiki is like a key that unlocks the unseen and makes it available as a part of daily experience. It gives us a knowable sense of support and significance. Events are no longer arbitrary or random and this eases our neuroses.

We feel that we can contribute to the world in a blessed way and be full in return. This is true of nonlocal (distant) Reiki as much as any of its applications. In fact the very experience of flowing Reiki beyond time and space is possible thanks to the Onesphere.

In this sense nonlocal Reiki is its own place, sense of belonging and meaning. Reiki removes limitations. It provides the ability to feel and care for anyone or any situation we choose to give our attention.

The more we choose compassion and giving, the richer our existence, the larger our home becomes. It’s as if we could be friends with all six billion plus of the world’s population. Then there are all the other spheres of creatures, minerals and stars!

Reiki honors life and when we experience that honor we derive life-sustaining meaning and belonging. We realize it all makes sense.

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The first part of this post ended with:

“Yet, there is a greater field which enables us to experience and share finer, elevated feelings. Love, kindness, compassion, empathy, or as the Dalai Lama calls it “warm-heartedness” all come from a spiritual field that encompasses and influences us. Of course to really receive this benefit, we must put in the time for sincere spiritual practice.”

Now we will look at some of the subtleties involved in energetic integrity, through the lens of Oneness. Oneness is an essential model of reality that can be quite heady, so let’s simplify and break it down. Oneness says:

1) You are one with yourself.
2) You are one with others.
3) You are one with your environment (where you live and work).
4) You are one with Nature and all of its lifeforms.
5) You are one with the Planet.
6) You are one with the Cosmos.
7) You are one with the Divine.

You may be thinking, “This sounds nice but what does it mean?”

1)  You are one with yourself, a holistic being composed of:

• An energy template
• A physical body
• Emotions
• Mind
• Spirit

These are designed to work seamlessly as one unit, as long as you are alert, awake and present to each one. Everyone has natural strengths. Some are athletic, some intellectual, some great meditators, some show good emotional intelligence. It doesn’t make for a well-rounded and happy life, however, if your meditation doesn’t also lead to the ability to balance your checkbook, your intellect gets in the way of opening portals of perception, or you are a mindless jock.

Self-awareness and the insights it yields which lead to integration is what truly unifies you. You become aware of the parts that need attention, bring them up to speed and integrate all parts into a smooth-functioning whole.

We also tend to abandon ourselves as a result of wounds. You have to journey back home to yourself and once again inhabit all the parts of your being.

2) You are one with others, even though encased in your skin it looks like you’re separate, with several feet between you and everyone around you. How much more this distance seems when people are many miles away or from different cultures of which you know nothing. Right?

Without getting into all kinds of esoterica, let’s see how it’s true that you are one with others: Every single person in the world wants to be happy, healthy and safe. Beyond culture, status, education and career we all want the same core conditions and qualities. It couldn’t be simpler.

3) You are one with your environment (where you live and work), which retains the emotions and thoughts of everything that is experienced there. The spaces we occupy become part of us. Your cubicle, bedroom and living room say a lot about you. Often outer space reflects inner space. If you’re not in energetic integrity with yourself, your outer environments will also be disharmonious. Similarly, cleaning, clearing and beautifying a room will have a positive mental and spiritual effect. There’s a relationship between the human and the spaces we occupy.

4) You are one with Nature and all of its lifeforms, because life is a circle. Where do dead animals go, an elephant for instance? First on the scene are larger scavengers: jackals, vultures, and hyenas that possess a unique ability to crunch and digest bones. Then come smaller carrion-eaters, including insects. The excrement from the scavengers and the detritus from their endless feeding fertilizes the soil beneath and around the carcass. This causes vegetation to grow and draw a veil over the final residue; instead of the body being lowered into the ground, the ground rises over the body.

Humans are inextricably linked to this circle and are at the top of the food chain, which really means we have more responsibility, not just consumptive and destructive power.

5) You are one with the Planet, for without the Earth you would not exist! It is the Earth that provides the surface and gravitational pull on which you build your home. It is the Earth which grows your food. It is the Earth on which roads are built so you can visit family. It is the Earth and its atmosphere which gives you water, of which you are composed in two thirds. You can breathe on Earth.

You are one with the Earth. Your body is composed of elements all found on Earth.

6) You are one with the Cosmos. Yes it’s vast. Yes it’s unknowable. Yes it makes you feel like a speck. You’re still one with it. What else could be the truth about this? You’re swirling in it on your own planet. A planet that was born from cosmic forces. The cosmos prettifies your night sky and gives you a sun to make life possible. The cosmos provides a continuity too, a reassurance. Sirius the “dog star” (brightest star in our sky) is nine light years away;  Orion Nebula is 1500 years; Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 is million years.

As you begin to open your portals of perception, it becomes increasingly tenable that the universe is not random. There is meaning and order in the universe and thus in life. Loss of meaning is a sure way to step out of energetic integrity. The void created by not having a sense of belonging is many times filled with a hungry attitude of “those with the most toys win” and all manner of addictions and personal aggrandizement.

And this continues to reinforce a deeply entrenched material consciousness in the human psyche. A material consciousness that refuses to at least consider the possibilities of Oneness.

7) You are one with the Divine. A living master, Dattatreya Siva Baba says, “Love is God.” In other words when you feel love, you experience God. The word “God” is a button-pusher for many, but everyone can accept and relate to love.

The Divine is unlimited and doesn’t have to be “God.” You can relate to the Divine in any way that is comfortable for you. This doesn’t mean that you’re deluded into declaring that a self-destructive behavior is your Divine! Creativity, skills and talents, beauty, great art and music, loving sex, charity, good leadership, solid education; there are just so many ways to be Divine.

Everything you’ve read here so far is an expression of the Divine. To be fully human is to be One! If we stay in separation we victimize ourselves and remain small. A small worldview produces small results, and keeps you stuck in unnecessary and unreal drama. Drama is a fool’s trap. Drama is a blame game. When you point the finger, three fingers are pointing back at you, and you have the option of pointing your thumb UP.

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.

–Buckminster Fuller

Before delving into this subject, it may be useful to outline what ‘energy’ and ‘integrity’ mean in this context. Where we relate to energy most easily is the energy we use to function through the day, and the energy that powers our various devices and machines. The first is specifically described as metabolic energy and isn’t what is being referred to here, although it too can be enhanced by having overall integrity which will be detailed below. And the second is an even more material form of energy, which is also not the subject of discussion, although again having inner integrity can bring about better energy solutions in the world, and there are several posts about that on this blog.

The energy in question here is subtle or spiritual energy. It doesn’t exist in the electromagnetic spectrum. Yet it does exist and powers all we are. It has been given various names which all coalesce to a single meaning: Life energy. Reiki is a life energy teaching.

Integrity is used here to mean the quality of being whole or united and of being unharmed or sound. Further, integrity reaches into who we are and how we live: a consistent set of principles that determine our thoughts, words and actions.

Another premise is being employed as well: The physical body’s biochemical molecules are a form of vibrational energy. Einstein’s E=mc² and quantum physics can be looked into for a working knowledge of this, as well as various wisdom teachings including Reiki.

I teach my students that Reiki is a form of energetic integrity, that this isn’t the type of learning normally provided us in our schooling or other training, and as such Reiki Training is highly unique and beneficial. But I want to expand the scope and talk about the tremendous value of energetic integrity. Reiki directly helps to create energetic integrity because of its special access to an energetic level of reality, but any authentic wisdom teaching worth its salt can. And that is the caveat: find a true teaching and practice it sincerely to return yourself to a sound and whole state.

All manifestations in the material world, together with our own deeds and creations have an energetic blueprint that acts as both ground and springboard.  Therefore, energetic alignment is integral to bringing about the highest versions of yourself and your impact on the world. Disease has energy behind it, as does health. Giving is of a certain energy, looks and feels very different than taking. Drama comes along with certain disharmonious emotions, while detachment is much less burdened. Sincerity feels one way and insincerity always catches up with you.

Since energy is primary toning, strengthening, balancing and harmonizing yours means results are clearly noticeable in all parts of you and all areas of your life. Air is present everywhere, just like energy. Energy can be likened to air: we know it’s there when a tree sways in the wind or we feel a draft on our skin. Although energy is invisible to normal perception, it can be sensed and densifies into tangible human experiences.

It can also be likened to water which collects at the lowest point. Beware where you put your energy. Energy like water can flow through bottlenecks or around blocks, but repeated obstacles cause it to stagnate, as does repetition of unhealthy physical, mental and spiritual personal patterns.

In the vibrational model of human existence and the nature of reality there are layers of subtler gradations. For humans, we begin with the densest which is the physical body. Surrounding and interpenetrating it is a subtle field known as the etheric body, which occupies the same space as the physical but which vibrates at a higher frequency, and on which the physical is based.

Then each with progressively higher and finer vibratory rates we have the emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. Surpassing and containing all of it is Consciousness which is the subtlest, most highly vibrating, all-permeating and crucial, yet least understood component of our makeup. Consciousness is the prime Energy.

Often Consciousness is confused with the functioning of the brain. Here it doesn’t mean the chemical, and electrical signal-processing of the brain and it isn’t limited to the brain. Not only is it everywhere in the body, but it’s also part of the universe.

One of the most common analogies used to describe the Buddha-nature is space itself. This analogy has three aspects. First, just as space is omnipresent and yet is unpolluted by everything it pervades, similarly, Buddha-nature pervades every sentient being without being in any way tainted. Second, just as galaxies and universes arise and pass within space, so do the characteristics of our personalities arise and pass within Buddha-nature. Our sensations arise and pass away; Buddha-nature continues. Third, just as space is never consumed by fire, so this Buddha-nature is never consumed by the “fire” of aging, sickness, or death.

–B. Alan Wallace

Consciousness is also very much an integral part of the human heart. While the physical heart is far more intelligent and sophisticated than originally thought, it is the heart space that has a direct link to Consciousness that is referenced here.

Just as we limit Consciousness to the brain, we limit our understanding of emotions to neurochemical reactions in the limbic system or the emotional centers of the brain. Yet, there is a greater field which enables us to experience and share finer, elevated feelings. Love, kindness, compassion, empathy, or as the Dalai Lama calls it “warm-heartedness” all come from a spiritual field that encompasses and influences us. Of course to really receive this benefit, we must put in the time for sincere spiritual practice.

When the brain and a warm heart go side-by-side, then all our ability becomes constructive.

–Dalai Lama

to be continued

Semantics is the study of meaning in linguistics or language. Our everyday language is human-made and we fall into various patterns with it, often letting loose interpretations and mistakes become established ways of communicating. This is even more striking when we use language to describe non-ordinary phenomena. In fact it’s fun to see how inventive we have to become in using a limited language to describe mind-boggling levels of reality. It also takes some subtlety of thought and discrimination to distinguish how semantics can obscure truth.

From the colorful language of quantum physics to the way language is used to frame issues in the current political landscape, semantics very much reflect how we understand life, and where we find meaning. And meaning of course is essential in making life rich, purposeful and gratifying.

Let’s now look at some ways in which the language of Reiki has been put on autopilot. Firstly, autopilot describes a state of unconsciousness, a state lacking normal awareness of self or environment, and we don’t want to be on autopilot in any sphere of life. The semantics of Reiki poses unique challenges as it:

1. Communicates about non-ordinary states of reality.
2. It’s both a noun and a verb.
3. It’s derived from a linguistic system based on ideograms.
4. It has a set of presuppositions and perceptions attached to it.

Reiki is the name of a state of spiritual Unity consciousness plus its energetic display as it impacts and enhances human life in a physical setting. At the same time it points to a nonphysical origination and a return to it. It has also become associated with the set of practices that engender this state of Unity or Oneness, as a catch-all word in common use. Thus we have Reiki the noun and its many levels of meaning, as well as Reiki the verb and its misuse:

• Doing Reiki.
• Sending Reiki.

You can reiki someone or an object, reiki a place, a time past or in the future. You can reiki the whole body or one part. Animals and pets can be reiki’d, as can water and food. Reiki a tree or piece of land, a well or a seed. Reiki your important papers, wallet or checkbook, your car and home environment.

In none of these applications are you doing Reiki. There’s already so much doing in daily life. If you’re doing Reiki too, it defeats its purpose. There’s also a doing mindset. Action is important and when right must be taken, but doing is often not right action because it’s born out of distraction. The doing mindset is materialistic in the sense that it doesn’t allow for being and essence. Doing is a constantly hungry entity that can’t ever complete because its premise is erroneous. Nike says “Just do it.” Radio Shack says “Do stuff.” We are a culture of the busy and project-oriented to our detriment.

Reiki is a state of Be-ing and nondoing. There’s nothing to do. It’s unforced and natural, flows on its own and takes its own course according to your needs and what will grow you. Nondoing has no boundary or specific identity, color or agenda, form or substance. It rests in the awareness where thoughts disappear.

Reiki is also undoing. The undoing of traumas, mistakes and personal dramas; the undoing of material identification and the grip of  physical self over your true nature. Again, no doing is involved.

Next time instead of saying, “Let me do Reiki on you,” or “I’m going to do Reiki on myself” say: Give, share, presence, conduit, call, bring, invoke, flow Reiki.

And the same trap appears when we say, “I’ll send you Reiki.” There is nothing to send! Yes, Reiki is available nonlocally through you, but since it isn’t from you, it can’t be sent. It can only be made available.

It’s very important to always remember that Reiki brings out from within the person an original state of wholeness, balance, harmony and wellbeing, whether it’s shared in-person or distantly. This original state has been termed our ‘true nature’ and it’s a state of Oneness.

In Oneness there isn’t any separation and no need to send Reiki, which can only be presenced anyhow. Distant Reiki simply unifies the practitioner with the receiver. The practitioner is the conduit, but once Reiki flows both are present in the experience together. Nonlocal healing is facilitated at a quantum level, so the language of time and space really doesn’t fit. It’s not a text message you’re sending, an email or package.

Reiki is truly available in the present. The present is no-time and no-space. It can only be experienced in the absence of ego. The words you use to describe and understand Reiki bring along mental constructs that can be helpful or not. If you’re doing Reiki, then you’re time-bound. It becomes another item on your to-do list and no longer a practice. If you’re sending Reiki, then you think you possess it, that it’s yours to send, whereas in fact Reiki simply arises out of the ground of being.

Reiki is most effective when you’re in neutral. Not the drive of ambition, anxiety, or anticipation. Or the reverse of anger, judgment, or condemnation.

Stop doing Reiki. Stop sending Reiki. Practice Reiki. Give and share it. Speak it’s truth, live and be it. Every other lens is a hindrance.

Update 9/4/08:

This post has been republished in the Reiki Digest, a regular roundup of news about Reiki from around the world.