Green Tara Mantra

I was on Facebook today and saw a posting from one of my Buddhist Bhutanese friends of a video focusing on the Green Tara goddess. Sure enough, in the comments another friend put the Green Tara mantra/a>, “Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha”.

Tara, whose name means “star” or “she who ferries across,” is a Bodhisattva of compassion who manifests in female form. In Tibetan, Tara is known as “Dölma” (Sgrol-ma), or “She Who Saves.” In particular she represents compassion in action, since she’s in the process of stepping from her lotus throne in order to help sentient beings.

“Tare tuttare ture” is a three word play on her name Tara.

Tare represents salvation from mundane dangers and suffering. Tara is seem as a savioress who can give aid from material threats such as floods, crime, wild animals, and traffic accidents. Tara is therefore said to protect against ordinary worldly dangers….

Tuttare represents deliverance into the spiritual path conceived in terms of individual salvation….

ture represents the culmination of the spiritual path in terms of deliverance into the altruistic path of universal salvation – the Bodhisattva path.

So it is a mantra exalting Tara for the work she does in helping any of us who are willing to do the work be protected on the path to spiritual awakening. Nice!

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Reiki Lost in Translation

Guestblogger Paul Selk and I have corresponded over the past year and I’ve appreciated his informed perspective on Japanese language, culture and history. Paul supported Colin Powell’s recent guestblogs on the translation of the Reiki kanji, and here he offers more perspective on how much is lost when we translate Asian culture and language into American English. –

Having read several times about the issue of using the original kanji in Japan — that they don’t even use the simplified kanji to write Reiki, due to rei being spooky — I wanted to find out how the Chinese felt about the old hanzi (Chinese equivalent of kanji), to see if the same spooky feeling was there.

I sought the help of some Chinese friends, immigrants who know English pretty well, but still have some trouble with it. Tony is in his 30s and Wei is in her 50s.

I thought it would be an interesting experiment, since Chinese people have the same psycholinguistic processing as Japanese people and for the most part use the same pictograms. Neither of my friends know anything about Reiki practice, so that wouldn’t influence their responses.

When I showed them the old and new hanzi for ling (rei), they nodded and said, “Oh, ling.” I asked, “These two hanzi mean the same thing, but do you feel anything different with them?”

Tony looked at the paper and said, “They translate same, but not mean same.”

I questioned him to make sure I understood this point correctly, and he was quite clear that although the old and new hanzi are translated into English the same, the old and new hanzi have different meanings to Chinese people.

He pointed to the new hanzi and said, “This is for smart people.” Wei said the other hanzi is “for old people.”

In order to explain (for lack of words in English), Wei described the types of people who still use the old hanzi by acting them out. She rolled her eyes up, eyelids fluttering, held her hands out like a zombie and started talking about spirits coming and telling her what to do, walking around the restaurant like Frankenstein. It was very humorous.

Wei got serious when she mentioned the palm reader, and said, “She look at your finger, and she tell you, ‘you have lucky day,’ or she look at your finger and say to you, ‘you going to be sick.’ Then she say, ‘that will be 50 dollar,’ but you no get nothing from her. You save your money!” Wei said that the old people who use that hanzi talk about spirits.

By this time I was laughing, but I stopped when Tony said the old hanzi for ling was “bad.” Tony explained that the old hanzi has this negative connotation because it is connected to people who believe in ghosts.

What it came down to is that with the old hanzi there is a feeling of superstition. By “smart people,” they meant people who are rational, who don’t believe in superstitions.

I did mention practicing Reiki to my Japanese neighbor once, she looked at me cautiously and seemed to move back a little, so I haven’t mentioned it to her again.

Do you speak Japanese? If so, please click here to add your comments, especially if you are a native speaker.

Cassia Beck’s Chinese Lanterns print is available on Etsy.

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If you liked this, you might also like:
What Does the Reiki Kanji Mean?
Writing Reiki

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Magic is relative

It's true. I feel magical. I feel like a super hero of healing. I just feel like there's something magical about being able to be a part of a healing process for someone across the world who experiences it and feels better. And I also love teaching others to do the same. 


But, I realized, it's not magic. The only reason it is magical is that science doesn't have an explanation for it. Think about it. Before the microscope was invented, the idea of germs was "magic". If someone had suggested that germs are responsible for illness, it would have been interpreted as little magical sickness fairies that no one can see go from a person's cough to another person's body and make that person sick. And scientists would have scoffed. And then, poof, the microscope is invented, germs can be seen so science deems them real, and it's accepted. Science can now study germs, identify different ones, and determine the specific treatment for each. 


One day, this will happen for Reiki and other healing energy methods. In fact, once some scientist actually invents a way to see the human energy field and how it's affected, big changes will happen. They will find a way to measure "frequencies" of Reiki and other healing energy. They will work to determine which healing energy frequency works best on which malady. Doctors will write prescriptions for people to see Reiki Master X because she has 6.79 ReikiOhms of energy, which is effective for such-and-such a condition. There will be tests, measurements, experiments, and a lot of excitement. Then will come regulations, licenses, and health insurance coverage with reps suggesting this or that practitioner. Next will follow science attempting to synthesize Reiki energy into a pill. Or perhaps they will take another look at homeopathy and Ayurveda, and measure the way a person's energy field changes frequencies when the person meditates. Wow. Can you see this future?


Right now, scientists scoff. And what we do is labeled as "pseudoscience," "metaphysical," "faith healing," "placebo," or...magic (in a rather sneering and derisive tone). But the growing numbers of people studying Reiki and receiving health benefits from Reiki are strong enough to make waves. These waves disturb those who need tools to convince them something is real.  


I'm honored to announce that The Ohio Board of Nursing has approved my Practical Reiki for Nurses class to offer 8 CEs. This class is taught online so that anyone with a computer and internet access can be part of it. This class offers Reiki training through Master level, and a method that is simple and directly applicable to nurses, caregivers, massage therapists, occupational therapists, and anyone working in a health care field. After taking the class, one can teach it to others. It's nice to see there is some evidence that western medicine is getting tired of waiting for the scientists to acknowledge Reiki, and are taking their own initiative.  


So about that "magic" idea...there is a part of me that really thrives on the magical beauty of it all. But even if it becomes commonplace, the beauty still shines. I mean look at it this way - the power comes through us. The power is not in a tool or a pill. It's innate, completely organic, and benefits emotions, body and spirit. It's MORE than any tool or pill can claim right now. The self-awareness that comes from giving and receiving Reiki is more profound than anything science, psychology or western medicine has to offer. 


That's why I'll never stop believing in the magic.

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Standing on the Ground in Sandals

One of the books that I most recommend to my students is Clintin Ober's Earthing: The Most Important Health Discovery Ever? because, as Ober explains, 

"the surface of the Earth contains limitless healing energy. Science has discovered this energy as free-flowing electrons constantly replenished by solar radiation and lightning. Few people know it, but the ground provides a subtle electric signal that maintains health and governs the intricate mechanisms that make our bodies work-just like plugging a lamp into a power socket makes it light up."

Being aware of the difference between being "grounded" to the earth's energy and being "ungrounded" is important, especially to those who work with healing energy. See, we spend so much time connected to the higher vibration of healing energy, that after a while, we can feel a little "floaty." Some may start to feel forgetful (ever been an "air head"?), clumsy, or just really distracted. All of these feelings and results are because we need to get our energy fuuly back into our bodies. 


If this sounds strange, think of being on a boat for a long time, and then coming back onto land. It feels weird, right? That's because we got temporarily used to being gently rocked around on the water instead of firmly anchored to the ground as usual. Same would happen if we spent about 30 minutes walking around on a bouncy trampoline, and then got back onto the land. Temporary physical disorientation occurs. A similar thing can happen if we spend a lot of time working with higher chakra energies. This means meditation, Reiki, or other intuitive practices. 


Come to think of it, even "monkey mind" can take our awareness away from our bodies. (We all have times of the day with monkey mind - it means that our thoughts are chattering away constantly as we try to remember everything we need to do, what was said before, where we're going next, and how to handle various issues, on and on.) When we find ourselves dropping things, bumping into door jams, and stepping on objects on the floor, it's a signal that we need to stop and ground our energy, bringing our awareness back into our bodies. The best way to do this is by connecting, intentionally, with the energy of the earth.


If we could walk around barefoot all the time, we'd be more naturally connected with earth energy. It would help immensely with being more grounded and receiving the healing benefits of this energy. Interestingly, the Reiki method that I teach, Practical Reiki, is developed from Kundalini Reiki. Kundalini Reiki combines the earth energy with the Ki energy from above, and the healing properties are enhanced and strengthened by this combination. So the benefits of earth energy are found in the healing method I teach and practice. 


That's where these unique and brilliant sandals come in. Juil is a new company that understands the concept of grounding, and they've taken it to the feet. They realize that sometimes we need to wear shoes. But shoes have soles that are typically made of rubber or other insulating materials which separate us from the energy of the earth. The folks at Juil have developed sandals that have copper conductors beneath the toes and heels, connected inside the leather sole. The conductors sit on the outside of the bottom of the shoe, so every step brings the grounding effect to the wearer, allowing her to be grounded while wearing shoes.


I had the privilege of testing out a pair of Juil sandals. Many thanks to the folks at Juil for sending me a pair to test and review. Since I work at home much of the time, I wore them comfortably around the house. The best part is that we're having an unusually warm winter, so I even had the chance to walk around outside a little in them. I'm totally looking forward to the summer when I can just live in these sandals. 


First of all, they are really comfy. They fit nicely and the leather straps are smooth against my feet. I noticed the benefits the most when I was intentionally grounding my energy after Reiki healing sessions or meditation. I really did feel like it was easier to feel more present faster than when I'm sporting my Keds or Bearpaws. All I had to do was think of bringing my energy down into the earth and back up into my body and I had an instant sense of being HERE, now. I think, besides doing the grounding exercise barefoot, the Juil sandals were the next best thing.


So if you're interested in supporting a company that wants to support energy workers and those who are just becoming aware of the benefits of connecting to the earth, check out Juil.com. I also love that they've started a Soles for Souls program, where they donate a pair of shoes for every pair sold. Companies that do good like this are so awesome!


By the way, they're also coming out with sneakers soon. This Midwest girl will be ready to click and place my order when that happens!


Happy grounding.

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World Healing TODAY

Before you put that xbox headset on, I have an important Reiki announcement.

After 3 years of holding World Healing sessions on ‘Sunday prior to the full moon’-day, Astrid Lee is switching our monthly meditation & healing sessions back to the ACTUAL Day of the Full Moon, just like we did in the beginning of this initiative.

Holding the sessions on the actual full moon day feels intuitively prefect, so personally I am pleased time has come to switch back again. I am sure that it also will meet people’s social calendars much better. The scheduled one-hour sessions for 2012 will be as follows:

World Healing Sessions:

Tuesday, 7th February (yes, today)
Thursday, 8th March
Friday, 6th April
Sunday, 6th May
Monday, 4th June
Tuesday, 3rd July
Thursday, 2nd August
Friday, 31st August
Sunday, 30th September
Monday, 29th October
Wednesday, 28th November
Friday, 28th December
+ 2013 dates are already posted on the blog.

World Healing Time

Unless I hear from you that you’d like to see a time shift also, we’ll keep the timing as is, i.e. 6-7 pm Paris/Rome/Amsterdam time = 9-10 am San Fran/Vancouver time = noon- 1 pm New York time.

Sign up at We Are One World Healing

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This Funny Role

This blog is a chronicle of my awakening to the power and energy of Reiki.
I invite comments, questions, advice, and shared experiences.

Read, comment, share, enjoy.

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The Meditating Brain

We live in a time when scientific research is finding the same results that the meditative traditions have clearly explained, advocated and shared with humanity through the ages.

Meditative awareness has three primary qualities. The first is calmness, the second openness, and the third harmony. — Tarthang Tulku

How does calmness show up? Meditation has been found to lower the stress hormone cortisol, lower blood pressure, and heart and respiratory rates. Studies have also found less gray-matter density in the amygdala, a part of the brain that plays an important role in anxiety and stress.

Openness can be interpreted in many ways. One might be “empathy” which is a critical factor of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a set of skills and qualities which is significant all on its own: it increases our ability to manage our life and its pressures, and relate to others in a socially positive way.

Back to empathy itself:

Not too long ago, we thought of the body as a machine and the brain as some sort of computer that ran the show. But much recent research indicates that the brain is essentially a social organ with its cells and pathways wired for empathy, for experiencing the joys and sufferings of others as if they were our own. Our brain, our hormones, and our immune system are an intimately related care-connection system.

— Stephen Post, PhD [follow this link to a complete breakdown of how this actually works]

Let’s look at the meaning of “harmony.” Here’s a dictionary definition: “The quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole.” That about sums it up. Being stress-free, relating to others in a meaningful way, and making friends with ourselves and life in general through increased emotional intelligence all lead to harmony. Harmony feels good and leads to clear, better decisions and choices.

Harmony is the secret principle that controls life; without it life will disintegrate. Your breath flows and your health is vibrant as long as your bodily organs work in harmony. But if there is discord, disease ensues… This is equally true in any type of organization—any structure that has interacting parts, from nature as a whole to human relationships to corporate businesses… Harmony is the soul of organization…

— Paramahansa Yogananda

Speaking of health, recent research has shown that meditation reduces the experience of pain in the brain. It does this better than morphine! Not only is the intensity of pain reduced, but how the entire experience of pain is felt and perceived.

One major network in the brain has been identified as the default mode network or default network. This is “a network of brain regions that are active when the individual is not focused on the outside world and the brain is at wakeful rest… The default network is an interconnected and anatomically defined brain system that preferentially activates when individuals focus on internal tasks such as daydreaming, envisioning the future, retrieving memories, and gauging others’ perspectives.” (Wikipedia)

The other network is the attentional network. “The attentional network is usually focused on something external, such as a manual task. The default network is involved in internal chatter and daydreaming.”

Usually the two networks are active when one or the other is inactive.

“But meditators are using this default network in unusual and novel ways,” Catherine Kerr, PhD tells WebMD. “People who meditate don’t get lost in mindless negative chatter. Meditation protects you from repetitive negative thinking, which puts you at risk for depression.”

An encouraging finding in many of these studies is that the measureable benefits of meditation are available to use with relatively short training, and positive effects remain well after each meditation period. In fact, certain ways of being and thinking can become lifelong. Meditators “may have formed a new default mode: one that is more present-centered (and less “me”-centered), no matter what they are doing.”

We sometimes regard meditation as an activity of pacifying or calming the mind, but it is also a way to gather and direct it. We gather the energy from hearing, seeing, feeling, and so forth, and place it very steadily on one object…

— Sakyong Mipham

Meditation increases concentration. It leads to better decision-making by removing emotions that may cloud clarity. Self-awareness is boosted because meditation works in the area of the brain associated with it. Several studies have shown that there’s a greater activation in the left prefrontal cortex as a result of meditation. This area is linked to positive emotions and greater responsiveness to negative events. Other research indicates that meditation may help with insomnia.

Why isn’t the whole world meditating?!

In this culture, if we sit and do nothing, people think we’re strange. In places like Tibet, where there is a tradition of meditation, sitting still is considered to be courageous. People appreciate that when someone meditates, they are working with their own mind, which is challenging. All of the pain and pleasure that we experience stems fundamentally from the mind.

— Sakyong Mipham

Even so, companies such as General Mills, Genentech, Google, and Prentice Hall are using meditation in the workplace. While the reasons for doing so may be more about their bottom-line (participants have reported greater satisfaction, productivity, communication, and clarity), such use mainstreams this ancient practice which is obviously so very beneficial.

At the same time, it’s very important to remember the real purpose of meditation:

Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. It is the means for fathoming all the levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within. Meditation is not a part of any religion; it is a science, which means that the process of meditation follows a particular order, has definite principles, and produces results that can be verified….

The goal of meditation is to go beyond the mind and experience our essential nature—which is described as peace, happiness, and bliss…

Meditation is a practical means for calming yourself, for letting go of your biases and seeing what is, openly and clearly. It is a way of training the mind so that you are not distracted and caught up in its endless churning.

— Swami Rama

Related:

The Ins and Outs of Meditation

Meditation Reveals…

Put on the Brakes with Meditation

The Life of Meditation

Why Do Humans Meditate?

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What Does the Reiki Kanji Mean?

In the first article of this series, guest blogger and Reiki master Colin Powell shared historical background on writing the Japanese language. In Part 2, he unlocks the deeper meaning of the term Reiki.

If we look at Usui’s Memorial Stone (at right) or early Reiki certificates from the 1930s, we see the phrase Reiki Ryoho written in the original kanji characters. This is how Mikao Usui and Chujiro Hayashi would have written it. Some of the more traditional Japanese styles of Reiki are now using the original kanji, or at least teaching about it.

There is, however, some reluctance to use the original Reiki kanji in publicity material in Japan because, although the memory of Usui Reiki Ryoho all but disappeared after World War 2, an awareness of Reiki has resurfaced in an unusual way. Many Japanese people, especially the younger generations, have become aware of Reiki through popular entertainment.

Japanese anime films and manga comics portray Reiki as a magical force or a sword of great power, even though the actual kanji used is different. Between that popular misrepresentation of Reiki and a meaning of the original Reiki kanji that carries connotations of spirits, ghosts and psychic phenomena, Reiki teachers in Japan have to be careful not to give potential students the wrong impression about Usui Reiki Ryoho.

That brings us to the question, what does the original kanji for Reiki actually mean in regard to the practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho?

In the kanji for rei (see below), we see the canopy of heaven from which four drops of rain (ame) are falling into three containers or mouths (kuchi). The symbolism of water is very significant spiritually in that it is endlessly adaptable. Water is responsive, changes form, and flows easily around obstacles, but when necessary, water also has the capacity to slowly dissolve obstacles and carry them along.

Below the rain and containers, a shaman, usually a female (miko), stands on the earth, arms outstretched and tassels hanging down.

As mentioned in Part 1 of this article, the Japanese kanji are actually derived from Chinese characters. If we look at the earlier, Chinese interpretation of this character, pronounced ling in Chinese, (see below) this is sometimes broken down into just two parts: drops of rain (also pronounced ling), in which the mouths are interpreted as large raindrops,1 and a shaman, witch or sorcerer, pronounced wu in Chinese.

We can even break down the character wu further (see below), into the work (gong) of two people (ren written twice). If we look at a still earlier version, for example in a seal script,* we can see that the work the two people are doing is praying or dancing. Further, the two people shown are mirror images and may represent that it is necessary for the shaman to balance her dual human nature (spiritual and material) in order to perform the work of praying for rain.

The kanji for ki (see below) consists of the radical, kome or rice, surrounded by a vapour or steam (also pronounced ki), representing the steam given off when rice is cooking in a pot.2 The character for ki was originally written as three wavy lines, which symbolised air or breath3 – ki being something that could not be seen but could cause change and be felt.4 We see that there was originally a sense of ki being more like an invisible vapour or atmosphere that could be felt, or the breath of life, rather than being life force energy.

Putting this symbolism together, we have a representation of the trinity found in many diverse spiritual traditions: Heaven, Earth and Man, known as Ten-Chi-Jin in Japan.

In the kanji for rei, which on its own means spirit, soul, ghost, divine, sacred, the rain symbolises life-giving energy from heaven in the form of water, collected in the three containers or mouths where it can directly revitalise mind, body and spirit.

The shaman acts as an intermediary between heaven above and the earth below, where the energy-giving rice grows and provides mankind with sustenance and energy from the earth. Thus, the heaven energy combines with the earth energy in the heart of the shaman, allowing her to become fully balanced as a unity and realise her true nature.

This is the spiritual essence of Reiki practice: the Reiki practitioner or teacher, through Reiki practice, balances her own mind and body (or spiritual and material aspects), just as the shaman does.

If we look at the modern kanji for Reiki (see below), much of this rich symbolism is lost. There are no containers or mouths to hold the rain from heaven, and no shaman. The rice grains, which in the original kanji give an impression of radiance, have been replaced with what looks like a dagger or an X, which implies cutting off or cancelling the energy from the earth, symbolised by steam.

If more Reiki teachers taught the deeper symbolism and meaning of the Reiki kanji, students would start with a greater understanding of Reiki practice, leading to a more profound experience for teacher, practitioner and client. The system of Usui Reiki Ryoho is much more than a hands-on complementary therapy.

How do you think we might best write the term Reiki in our publicity material, according to the original or the modern kanji? Click here to share your thoughts in a comment.

*Seal script, or more correctly in this case, small seal script, is even older than the usual kanji (Chinese: hanzi) used today. It developed from characters carved on bronze objects  (which in turn developed from etchings on oracle bones), and dates from around the 3rd Century BC. Since the characters were etched onto metal, they tended to be quite simple and fairly angular. Nonetheless, seal script often manages to capture an element of flow, and sometimes includes curves. Eventually the script became used on seals (chops, stamps or signets) as a way of signing or sealing official documents or works of art, which is where derivatives of seal script can be seen today, as a rectangular or circular stamp, usually in red ink.

References:

(1) http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=%E9%9C%9D

(2)http://www.mts.net/~bodnaryk/KanjiListOnline.html

(3) http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterEtymology.aspx?submitButton1=Etymology&characterInput=%E6%B0%94

(4) http://damo-qigong.net/qi-theory.htm

Thank you to Paul Selk for his support with resources and fact-checking.

RELATED READING:
Writing Reiki (Part 1)
Reiki Is Not a Word

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Writing Reiki

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We’re Off for the Weekend!

Image via Wikipedia

Since we returned to the states I have had to really look at my schedule. I started out working afternoons, but realized quickly that most people who work and have kids cannot drop everything and come to a mid-day appointment. Then I tried evenings, but then people get stuck at work or with a child emergency and cannot come out. So now I work mornings, but end up working 6 days a week.

This weekend I am officially off through noon on Monday! Hubby and I will put on our Fedoras Hats in this beautiful pre-spring weather and go out! We are strolling our neighborhood, seeing The Artist at battery Park (literally, since it’s a silent movie), and going out to dinner at Kutcher’s Tribeca. Smiley is at The Wagging Tail for the weekend, so we can actually sleep in. So nice!

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Everything Is All Right…Isn’t it?

My client emailed, clearly fried and in pain, hoping for a last minute opening.

Once on the table, her deep sigh launched a litany of stresses. It was not time to suggest silence.

Another sigh.

Reaching for resolution, she said, “I know everything is all right. Everything is going to be all right.”

I let her words hang in the air a few moments.

“Which is it?” I asked.

Her expression turned quizzical.

“You just made two very different statements,” I said. “Is everything all right, or is everything going to be all right?”

She laughed and confirmed, “Everything is all right.”

When we are truly present in the moment, Today only, we know everything is all right. We can feel it. The rightness of each moment is palpable, there for us to experience when we give the present moment our full attention.

“Everything is all right” centers us.

“Everything is going to be all right” projects us out of the present into an unattainable future fantasy, leaving us powerless, joyless, lost and vulnerable.

Everything-is-all-right doesn’t mean it’s spiritual to be passive. Not at all. There are times that require an active response.

How can we know whether to be still or take action?

Start with the stillness of your practice. Once we connect with:

Today only,

Right now,

Everything is all right,

We are better able to recognize if action is required, and to take action with skill and compassion.

Being present relocates us from a fantasy fixing land into a place of powerful, joyful creativity.

How has connecting with the present transformed your experience of life, and of yourself? Please click here to share with us in a comment.

_______________

Come explore the sweet power of the Reiki Precepts on Saturday, July 14: Inviting Happiness. Click here for more information.

If you liked this, you might also like:
Reiki Field of Dreams
Today only
Headed toward Healing
Manhattan Reiki
Spiritual Practice: The Trail Starts Here

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Establishing a Spiritual Backbone

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.

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Everything is Here

Last month, I went to a training in Controlled Remote Viewing. CRV is a technique that was developed and used by the military to get information about classified things by using the intuition in a very controlled, structured way. It's also been known as "psychic spying." I was trained in CRV with a group that was interested in its applications for healing. 


I learned basic CRV, yes. But the real lesson that came from the training is much more meaningful to me. Here's what I have realized:


1) All of the information about everything -really EVERYTHING- that there is to know about everything is here, right around us. 
2) We can find out everything we want to know by learning to ask and learning to translate the information we receive.
3) Scanning someone's energy, psychic channeling, giving tarot or card readings, CRV, tuning in---these are all methods of asking for information and receiving that information.
4) Translating is how we bring the information we want to know into our conscious mind through our intuition. (From the right brain to the left).
5) There are many ways of learning to sense and translate this information into understandable answers. All we need to do is decide which method to learn and practice. 


When I work with Reiki, I use my hands. My intuition gives me messages through my tactile senses - called being clairsentient - which comes in the form of physical sensations of tingles, warmth, prickles, etc. Each sensation has a meaning, and through experience, I'm learning to understand what each one means. For example, one sort of tingle means a person is experiencing grief. One sort of prickle means there is pain in the area. Moving my hand over someone while Reiki is flowing allows me to receive these messages via my tingles - and I translate the messages into meaning that I can understand and discuss with my Reiki client. The tingles are the language of my intuition, and I'm learning it as a baby learns to talk -by being immersed in it and learning to discern the different nuances and attach meaning to them. 


When I'm scanning someone's energy, I'm asking for information about the state of the person's energy. Where is there pain, blockages, overactivity, etc.? This information comes to me, I translate it, and can dialogue with my client about what I sense. I feel the sensations change during the session and I know that the recipient has received what was needed for this session.


CRV is a process of asking for information too. There is a Target, which represents the information the viewer wants to receive details about. The viewer doesn't know much, if anything about the Target at the start, and so all information received via the intuition is written down, and through the process of relaxing, tuning in, and writing, lots of information comes forth about the target. It's a very structured way of doing the same thing - asking for information and bringing it onto the paper. It's not psychic training - it's learning a language. They call it a martial art. But it's still the same idea - the information is out there and we can retrieve it.


Try asking a question at the start of the day, and ask for the answer to become apparent to you by the end of the day. Don't ask the BIG question - don't ask for The Meaning of Life, for example - but something simple as "Should we have chicken or fish for dinner?" and don't forget to add that you'd like to have signs showing you the best answer by the late afternoon. Then just go about your day. At some point, you'll notice something. Either a chicken or a fish reference will pop into your mind or experience. For example, a chicken restaurant commercial will come on the radio as soon as you turn it on. Or someone with a fish symbol on his car will be driving directly in front of you. And you'll notice. That's the important part. This is just another way of asking for specific information and receiving it. (And it's fun!)


I teach my students to learn to identify and then tune in to their clairs - their own naturally strong way of receiving intuitive information. Because it's here. 


It's all here.

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Healing Art

This weekend starts Asia Week here in the Big Apple, with galleries around town sharing Asian Art collections in special weekend open houses. Five galleries have Japanese exhibits.

Reiki master Susan Mitchell and I had a sneak preview of the luscious Sacred Sutras and Profane Pledges exhibit at Scholten Gallery.

We left feeling refreshed and uplifted, much as we feel after a Reiki treatment.

Japanese art is of special interest to non-Asian Reiki practitioners. It can save us from our minds, reminding us that Reiki practice arose from a cultural perspective quite different from our own.

The goal of spiritual practice is to live in the open space of the present moment (Today only). But the mind — and perhaps particularly the Western mind — abhors open space.

The mind plasters our practice with assumptions and clutter that can keep us from dropping into the spaciousness revealed by simple, dedicated practice. The busyness and ambition of Western culture has generated many benefits, but simplicity — that magnificent spiritual gem — is not among them.

Please take the time to enjoy these images, perhaps with your hand on your heart.

Savor the beauty. Let its pure pleasure stop your mind and uplift your state.

The poem in the Zen scroll above left reads:

If you want this moon
I will give it to you
try to capture it

The poem at right reads:

I have forgotten
it is time to leave
intoxicated by the flowers

The reality of healing is supported by science, but healing remains, after all, an art.

And art is also healing.

__________________

Bringing the healing art of Reiki into conventional health care relieves the suffering of so many patients, families and staff. There are spaces in the 4-day Medical Reiki intensives in both NYC (March 29-April 1) and Atlanta (April 11-15). Please click here for details.

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What is ‘Spiritual’ Practice?

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.

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.

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How to Learn Reiki

Image via Wikipedia

I often have people ask me about learning Reiki. And my first question is always, “Why do you want to learn Reiki?” For many people simply getting Reiki treatments is plenty for them. They will most likely not self-practice or treat others and choose to simply pay for the treatments. Now, I always love to receive a Reiki treatment, but am also the type of person who wants to do things myself. So when I realized that Reiki was easy to learn, easy to practice, and oh so powerful and effective, I wanted to learn how. After all, I deal with people in pain in my Pilates practice, have a hubby with back issues, and needed a focused meditative practice for myself.

And that’s what I look for in my students. An actual reason why they want to learn reiki and why traditional Usui reiki, which is a whole path onto itself. It’s the difference between doing a Google search for “car loans” or one for “car title loans denver,” which will each give you different results. I prefer the more defined structure of the second search phrase, but others like to wade through more stuff. There are many paths of Reiki.

I recommend finding a Reiki teacher you connect with, whether distance or local. Receive a few treatments, do a little research, and take the path that seems to work best for you. Just remember that Reiki is primarily self-healing, and through healing ourselves we can serve others.

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Best...job...ever!

Today I had a very wonderful and amazing experience. While it's something I've done before, stepping back and looking at the gestalt of it, I'm blown away with amazement and gratitude that I am offered the opportunity to be a part of this work - it's nothing short of incredible.


Today, I gave a Team Distance Healing to a woman in Congo, Africa, with my Healing Team friends, Tom and Cher. 


Last night, my internet connection went out. I was on the phone with AT&T Uverse Tech Support from midnight until 1 am, trying to get it fixed. It didn't get fixed, and a tech was dispatched to arrive late this afternoon. I knew we had this appointment for the healing session, so I took my computer to a nearby coffee shop to use the wifi. 


Then I thought about what was happening.


Tom is in Texas. Cher is in California. Our client is in Congo, Africa. I was in a coffee shop in Ohio. We met up on Gchat, via Gmail. Together, we connected with our client's energy, scanned and talked about what we felt and sensed in her energy. We found things, we sent healing to clear them, we used the techniques that we were trained in. We felt the difference happening. Cher told us what she saw, Tom responded and I did too, and we felt the changes. Cher channeled a beautiful, applicable and inspiring message from our client's Guides. We all could sense when the session was complete. We felt like we had really accomplished a lot. 


So there I was, just outside the coffee shop, at a little table. People were walking by. But I was involved in this incredible experience and the outside world just kept moving along. 


I typed up the report of our session, plus the guidance received, and emailed it to the client. Within 30 minutes, we received an email from the client verifying that what we had done had been powerful for her, and that she felt lighter, loved, supported, guided, and ...better. "Like dancing" she said. 


I am filled with joy and gratitude to be part of this experience. 


I feel like a super hero. 


What is more magical than this experience?? I can't think of anything. Real magic, this work. 


I have the best job ever. 


And I had to share the experience with you just because ...well, there's nothing like it.


We are capable of so much beauty, healing, magic, connection, intuition, and joy. And most of us, most of the day, walk around oblivious. It takes moments like the hour I spent this morning to be a powerful reminder of this truth. And I love being a part of it.


I told my dad on Friday night at dinner, we are connected to everything. We have access to all of the information in the universe. We only need to learn the methods necessary to train ourselves to receive the information we seek. 


Two weekends ago I was in Delaware for training in Controlled Remote Viewing and its applications for healing. I realized, it's all about accessing information. All of it. Just the act of connecting to another's energy and observing will activate a healing process. And intention amplifies that process. It was fascinating and just served to validate what I already have experienced. I also was taught that the more people who are "psychically" accessing a target, the stronger the signal will be. That also validates that healing with a team is more powerful than alone. But I already knew that too. Today is another perfect example of that insight.


So I need to blog because I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude for the privilege of doing this work. For all of you who also give Reiki, you know how I feel. For those of you who haven't yet learned it, I would be honored to teach you, advise you, and help you discover that anyone can learn this too. I'm not special, I tell people. I just learned to do something extraordinary. You can too. 


If you are interested, contact me. I'm here to help. 


Love.

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HCG for Weight Loss?

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You probably have heard of the HCG diet, where extremely low caloric intake is combined with injections or oral administration of Human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG. I have a few friends who tried HCG injections Austin under a physician’s supervision and not only did well in terms of losing the weight quickly, but have also managed to keep it off. On the other hand I have watched people mid-diet as they are extremely sick and week from such low calories and no sugar. Look, you will lose weight on any extremely low calorie diet. But to play around with hormones to control the hunger response is a taking things a bit too far, in my opinion.

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Reiki Space

Image via Wikipedia

I often think about what my ideal Reiki space would look like. Even now, I generally do Reiki in other people’s homes or in studios where there is a pre-done treatment room for Reiki and massage. Luckily I am allowed to make small adjustments and tweaks to things (and everyone keeps a two step stool on hand so I can reach everything I need), but not to create the whole experience.

First I would buy a table that was very comfortable and the perfect height for me to work, and some lovely blankets and pillows for people to relax. Soothing lighting, an iPod dock, some essential oil in a diffuser…. I can see it!

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The Doctor Is In (the Home)

From a conventional health care perspective, primary health care happens outside the home. In the US, primary care providers (PCPs) are physicians (usually family physicians or internists), physician assistants, or nurse practitioners.

PCPs provide basic health care, both routine prevention (typically screening and lifestyle counseling) and treatment of illness that does not require a specialist. When a patient requires care from a specialist, the PCP makes referrals and remains on board to coordinate care.

But how can primary health care be given outside the home? Isn’t real primary health care what happens at home? Why can’t a responsible adult be her own primary health care provider, and think of her doctor as a resource to use as needed — and likely needed less?

Given the dire condition of the health care industry, that would seem to be a primary place to refocus.

How can we orchestrate such a turnaround, from people neglecting their health for years and then expecting  doctors to put Humpty-Dumpty back together, to people engaging in their own care day by day, protecting their health and well-being while they still have them?

It’s not enough for people to be informed, they have to feel empowered, to know that their efforts will bring benefit. And many people have to feel better before they can feel empowered.

That’s where Reiki practice can make a difference, and often make a difference quickly.

People start feeling better when they start practicing Reiki self-treatment. When people feel better, they make better choices. It’s that simple. Reiki practice opens the door to many other health-promoting choices.

How can we help the mainstream public take Reiki practice seriously? Since most people take health care advice most seriously when given by their doctors, let’s reach the mainstream public through conventional health care.

That may sound far-fetched, but I have a plan, one that can be easily implemented by credible, well spoken Reiki practitioners.

Are you with me?

There are so many instances in which Reiki treatment can help patients whose health, for a variety of reasons, isn’t well managed by conventional care. Having a Reiki practitioner available in those situations makes it easy to demonstrate the effectiveness of Reiki practice.

First we have to get more Reiki practitioners in the health care door. It might be the door to the hospital, or it could be the door to your own doctor’s office.

Extending the scope of health care is in everyone’s best interest. Let’s do it.

How has your Reiki practice improved your health care? Please share in a comment below.

___________________

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Join me for the Medical Reiki 4-day intensives in New York City March 29-April 1 and Atlanta April 12-15. This will be an intimate time of learning practical skills and strategies to bring Reiki practice mainstream without whitewashing its inherent spirituality. You’ll leave with deeper conviction and understanding, and knowledge that will inform your personal health care choices.

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Who Is My Reiki Master?

I hadn’t seen Rosina Wiltshire since she moved from New York City some years back. It was a delight to reconnect when I arrived in Barbados to give my Medical Reiki seminar. Rosina’s intriguing saga of how she found her Reiki master came up in conversation, and she agreed to share it in this short video.

I’ll be blunt: Rosina is a remarkable woman. She served at the United Nations for 14 years in various capacities around the world, and put her doctorate in political science and international relations to good use as a university professor for more than 20 years (I envy her students).

When Rosina was leading the UN meditation group of the The World Community for Christian Meditation in New York City, she attended a retreat in which group leaders explored the commonalities and differences between Christianity and Buddhism with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Rosina has practiced Reiki since 1993, and was initiated as a Reiki master in 1998. She brings insightful analysis and heartfelt care to all she does. But don’t believe me: watch the short video and see for yourself. If you receive this as an email and the video doesn’t show, please click here to view it.

How did you choose your Reiki master? Please click here to share your story as a comment.

If you missed the Medical Reiki seminar in Barbados, don’t fret. Come to a Medical Reiki intensive in New York City March 29 – April 1 or Atlanta April 12 – 15. Click here for more information.

Are you part of our Reiki, Medicine and Self-Care community on Facebook? Join our daily conversations about Reiki practice and communication to broaden your perspective, deepen your understanding, and strengthen your communication skills.

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Reiki Games and Videos

There are some fabulous reiki-inspired games and videos that would be wonderful to watch on a large screen plasma toshiba regza 32rv635db TV. Deepak Chopra recently designed a game called Leela that helps with focus, concentration, meditation, and healing and looks awesome on a bigger screen! We know visuals like mandalas can help our brains look inward, and that’s what these games and videos will do as well.

View the original article here

The Healing Way of the Urban Healer

In the rich history of cross-cultural healing traditions, the healer was responsible mostly locally with his or her art. The world was simpler, less crowded, there was more isolation and globalization hadn’t emerged. The healer was the tribe’s health care system. He or she was also an integral part of the entire functioning of the village on all levels. The healer was consulted not only in personal matters, but matters of the tribe, its identity and relationship to nature, the world, and others.

© Pamir Kiciman 2011

Little of this has changed today. Modern medicine has emerged and marginalized the healer somewhat, not because it’s more effective but because it has huge financial backing. However, there remain isolated tribes where the tradition of the healer remains consistent with historical models. And there are healers in urban culture who follow in these same footsteps.

What has changed is that the village has become global and the tribe is now nonlocal. Issues at hand are much more complex. What the healer heals and how has shifted.

Today’s urban healer must be a global citizen. The healer’s primary sphere of influence may still be his or her ‘tribe.’ Yet, the evolutionary stage of planet Earth and humanity is demanding that the healer becomes a healing presence in the world, and not only during a healing session.

Today’s healer carries the healing presence moment-to-moment so that there’s patience and deep seeing. This prevents reactions to a headline or personal situation. In the face of personal and global events, the healer responds in the world, rather than reacting to the world.

Being able to see below the surface allows a healer to be even-minded and take the long view. The short view is full of attachment, agenda and outcome. It’s limited, reactive, nonresponsive, and reductionist. When events are considered from the reduction to a headline, a corrective and healing response is out of reach. The healer waits and sees, until all factors emerge to be considered.

The cultivated healing place inside is a compass and firm ground which lets the healer remain calm and nonreactive. The healer responds thoughtfully. Thoughtful response is a quality of the awakened Heart. The awakened Heart is primed by practice. Healers practice not to get somewhere, but because it’s the crucible of change.

Healers practice not only with others, but first with themselves.

Once the Heart awakens, it has ready access to universal wisdom and compassion. Universal wisdom and compassion further helps the healer to be responsive, enduring and consistent. The healing way is living from a healing place inside and being a holder of a healing worldview.

The Heart is a place where events can be considered with patience and nonattachment. Nonattachment is a vehicle for clarity. This Heart isn’t the organ of the heart, or the heart of human emotions. It’s not physical at all. It doesn’t really have a location. This Heart sees whole. It’s awake to the eternal. It has shed any bitterness. It’s alive in the moment and pulses in scared rhythm.

It’s the very Heart of Life and it’s available to everyone, healer and nonhealer alike. In fact, we’re in an evolutionary cycle where healing is being asked of everyone.

Please find much more about this subject here and scroll down.

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!

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Year-end

2011 is drawing to a close. It’s been quiet on this blog, but everything that this blog is about also appears on my Facebook and Twitter. In January of this year, I started curating the topic Mindful Spiritual Healing on scoop.it. Web curation is hot and a fantastic way to group together the best information on a specific topic. On the righthand sidebar (if you’re on the blog) you see a scrolling slider of the latest items added to this topic. Below, some of these are highlighted and directly linked. Also below, you’ll find widgets to my Facebook and Twitter (not sure if these will appear in a feed reader or in your email.)

How Meditation Might Help You Control Your Weight

The Neurobiology of Bliss—Sacred and Profane

Meditation May Prevent Psychiatric Disorders, Study Suggests

Selfless Gratitude

8 Astonishing Benefits of Walking

5 Ways To Enhance Your Emotional Intelligence

Psychology and Spirituality: One Path or Two?

With the opening of the New Year, all the closed portals of limitations will be thrown open and I shall move through them to vaster fields, where my worthwhile dreams of life will be fulfilled.

— Paramahansa Yogananda

Pamir Kiciman

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Remember to Breathe While Shopping

If you are anything like me, the holiday season is simply tough on multiple levels. Over the past 4 years hubby and I worked like crazy every “Festive Season” at Parrot Cay. Always at 100% occupancy with lots going on. Basically, there was no time to shop or party.

Now I am in New York City in the middle of the great shopping season. You would think we were getting paid to acquire stuff (and no, I do not consider a good bunch of calvin klein coupons to be compensation ) at the rate we buy. I can remember that feeling of needing to shop and being on shopping deadlines, and I am so trying to avoid it this year!

My advice to you this season is to remember to take some time for self-care. Breathe, relax, go out for lunch with your best friend, and don’t sweat it!

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Why Do Humans Meditate?

When we think of meditation, we most often think of it as originating in the Indian subcontinent. This is fairly accurate, although not the whole picture.

The earliest known reference to meditation in the region is found on one of the seals in the ruins of civilizations which existed prior to 1500 BCE. Chinese forms of meditation have been known to exist long before the seventh century BC. Siberian and African shamanic cultures hold even earlier precursors to the Asian meditative arts. In the West, meditation took on the form of contemplative prayer, with an unbroken tradition of mysticism from the NeoPlatonists through the medieval mystics. In our day and age, meditation is being studied scientifically for its effects on the brain.

In Sanskrit the generic term for meditation is dhyana, which refers to both inner contemplation, and the intermediate state between concentration on an object (dharana) and complete absorption in it (samadhi).

The general consensus is that humans have been meditating for 5000 years or so, and probably even longer than that. Why? Why do humans meditate?

It is to answer the fundamental question of “Who am I,” and related to it, “What is the purpose of life?” Meditation is essentially the quest for understanding and meaning. It’s a way for humans to find their place both in a cultural and cosmical context. And it has the added dimension of self-understanding which leads to an improved life.

Meditation is the process of self-discovery. On one level the meditation experience shows us the patterns of our lives—how we have carried on our emotional characteristics since childhood. But on another level it frees us from these patterns, making it easier for us to see our inner potentials. — Tarthang Tulku

All traditions from which the meditative arts are sourced include in their core a profound psychology. This is a psychology which is part and parcel of the wisdom that these traditions hold, and which the practitioner can also access.

When we look backward at the patterns of our thoughts, we can sometimes observe and identify the deceptions created by our self-images. We can learn to see through the mind’s posturings and pretenses and through all our explanations and excuses. We can realize we are still just playing games and are far from genuine self-knowledge. — Tarthang Tulku

When we improve our own life within first, then outwardly this has a ripple effect in our own household and from there in expanding circles in the rest of society.

Meditation is actually prescribed by more and more doctors. And there’s interest in meditation as a way to curb heart attacks. At the same time, the real value of meditation seems to be in this:

The animal has no power to analyze its condition and its environment; only man has that rational capacity. As such, man is meant to use that power to improve himself and to get the most out of life. Superior intelligence was not given to the human being merely to be used to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner; marry and beget children. It was given that man might understand the meaning of life and find soul freedom…. Beyond all the books that are written, it is God’s Book of Nature that remains the most difficult to understand. But the whole creation, including the chapter of human existence, can be read when God becomes a teacher. — Paramahansa Yogananda

If the word “God” is challenging, replace it with anything else that works for you.

Having first-person knowledge about our own workings, the workings of Nature, and to be free from bondage to pain, suffering and delusion is invaluable, the ultimate prize. Meditation imparts real, useable wisdom. It lets us know we’re not little egos stuffed into physical forms that are designed to perish. With meditation we have a way out of our maddening thoughts and burning emotions. Our sojourn here is not a dicey game.

When we spend conscious time with our breath on a daily basis, with our consciousness, and our heart, we relate to life as a part of life, instead of separate from and afraid of it. This brings about a knowing that compassion is a worthwhile investment, awareness and consideration of ‘other’ whether other is human, species or planet, is beneficial for all and the entire journey can be enjoyable, meaningful and beautiful.

This is the world in which I want my child to have his future. How about you?

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Comfortable Sleep

I have been raving about my mattress and bedding ever since we moved into our new apartment in September. While I tend to like more rustic bedding with darker less finished woods, we went a bit more modern urban in our brand spanking new apartment and building. Our bedroom is a nest. A big comfortable Queen size bed (we have had King before and found it too big) with lots of comfy pillows, soft, high thread count cotton sheets, and an extra blanket for me because I am always colder than hubby. I sleep better than I have in years and feel better too!

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Great Sun Buddha

Wisdom is a cornerstone attribute of life and quality living. The previous post laid down detailed groundwork on the nature of wisdom and its many permutations. ‘Perennial wisdom’ and ‘wisdom traditions’ have been mentioned many times here. These mean a systematic worldview that has been with humanity through the ages. It’s a worldview that holds true cross-culturally and has a set of common tenets. These tenets are universal.

Buddhism is a one of the world’s wisdom traditions. To illustrate just exactly how a wisdom tradition works and why it’s so precious and significant, let’s look at one buddha and the inner workings of related teachings. The Japanese names are going to be used since this is a Reiki blog, but Sanskrit versions will also be given.

This is an image of Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana) in the Kongo-kai (Diamond World) who makes a Chike-in sign (entering the world of Buddha's wisdom) in front of its chest. Dainichi Nyorai is the central deity of the Kongo-kai Mandala that represents the structure of the spiritual world in esoteric Buddhism.

Variously known as the Great Buddha of Universal Illumination, Cosmic Buddha, All-Encompassing Buddha, Life Force of the Universe, Spreader of Light in All Directions, or Great Shining One, Dainichi is a ‘celestial’ buddha. Buddhism teaches that there are three bodies (kayas) or manifestations of enlightenment. Of these dharmakaya is that aspect of the Buddha which is unchanging and eternal, referring to the essence of awakened being, absolute buddha nature. It’s the basis of all existence, including human. It’s also the spiritual body or “truth body” of all buddhas. This is Dainichi Nyorai, and where the ‘cosmic’ or ‘celestial’ reference comes in.

Dainichi is said to be omnipresent and all things, like the air we breathe, with all other buddhas and deities being emanations of Dainichi.

The first virtue of Dainichi Nyorai is the universal radiance that dispels darkness, with the ability to destroy suffering and despair. The second virtue is that this radiance has neither beginning nor end, and that the light of wisdom is like the sun, which always shines regardless of whether it’s day or night. The third virtue is an ability to enlighten living beings, and that great compassion is the parent of life which continues to nourish all living beings at all times.

Dainichi Buddha corresponds to the historical Buddha’s first turning of the Wheel of the Law in Deer Park in Sarnath, India. This is where the historical Buddha gave his first sermon after attaining enlightenment. The Turning of the Wheel is a metaphor for the teaching of the path to enlightenment.

One of the ways that wisdom comes into play is in understanding the mind of enlightenment and its various facets. The “five buddha families,” is an ancient Buddhist system of doing just that. The buddha families are traditionally displayed as a mandala. Each buddha in the mandala embodies one of the five different aspects of enlightenment. These manifest themselves as enlightened qualities as well as neurotic states of mind. The buddha families clearly present a complete picture of both the world of enlightened mind and the world of ego.

Traditionally, at the center of the mandala is Vairochana [Dainichi Nyorai], lord of the buddha family, who is white and represents the wisdom of all-encompassing space and its opposite, the fundamental ignorance that is the source of cyclic existence (samsara). The dullness of ignorance is transmuted to a vast space that accommodates anything and everything.

In the east of the mandala is Akshobya [Ashuku Nyorai], lord of the vajra family, who is blue and represents mirror-like wisdom and its opposite, aggression. The overwhelming directness of aggression is transmuted into the quality of a mirror, clearly reflecting all phenomena. Vajra is associated with the element water, with winter, and with sharpness and textures.

In the south of the mandala is Ratnasambhava [Hosho Nyorai], buddha of the ratna family, who is yellow and represents the wisdom of equanimity and its opposite, pride. The fulsomeness of pride is transmuted into the quality of including all phenomena as elements in the rich display. Ratna is associated with the element earth, with autumn, with fertility and depth.

In the west of the mandala is Amitabha [Amida Nyorai], buddha of the padma family, who is red and represents discriminating-awareness wisdom and its opposite, passion or grasping. The intense desire of passion is transmuted into an attention to the fine qualities of each and every detail. Padma is associated with the element fire, with spring, with façade and color.

In the north of the mandala is Amogasiddhi [Fukujoju Nyorai], buddha of the karma family, who is green and represents all-accomplishing wisdom and its opposite, jealousy or paranoia. The arrow-like pointedness of jealousy is transmuted into efficient action. Karma is associated with the element wind, with summer, with growing and completing.

— Irini Rockwell (brackets are mine)

Correspondingly, Dainichi’s characteristic hand gesture in Japan (although not always) is the Mudra of Six Elements (seen in the picture above as Chiken-in — also called the Knowledge Fist mudra.) In this mudra (hand gesture), the index finger of the left hand is clasped by the five fingers of the right. It symbolizes the unity of the five elements (Goshiki) — earth, water, fire, air/wind, and space/void — with spiritual consciousness.

Wisdom Fist mudra or simply Wisdom mudra speaks to the truth that only by adding the sixth element — mind, perception, or spiritual consciousness — do the five elements become animate. This equates to the Diamond World (noted in the picture above, it’s a metaphysical realm inhabited by the five wisdom buddhas, also detailed above). Put another way, there’s “unity” only when the sixth element is added. Without the sixth element, ordinary eyes see only differentiated or separate forms or appearances.

In summary, Dainichi Nyorai is known as the Supreme Buddha of the Cosmos in Esoteric Buddhist thought, being the source from whom all other deities and everything in the universe emanates, as light does from the sun. The hands form the mudra of perfect knowledge, which holds the power to restrain passions that hinder enlightenment. With the left index finger surrounded and protected by the fingers of the right, this gesture expresses the all-encompassing union of the spiritual and material realms of existence, and how the spiritual gives life to and sustains the material.

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Unhooking from Neural Circuits

The previous post was about practice. Spiritual practice. The practice of meditation. Let’s keep appreciating what practice is and how it changes and benefits us.

“We readily accept the idea of spending years learning to walk, read and write, or acquire professional skills. We spend hours doing physical exercises in order to get our bodies into shape…

“Working with the mind follows the same logic. It will not change just from wishing alone. Meditation is a practice that makes it possible to cultivate and develop certain basic, positive human qualities in the same way other forms of training make it possible to acquire any other skill.” — Matthieu Ricard

Everytime you meditate, you repattern your brain. Everytime you allow beta brainwaves to be reduced, you discover richer depths of your mind. The meditative state extends far beyond the brain. It extends to all of your 50 trillion cells. It extends out into the world. Mind permeates the nonphysical dimension as well.

“All of the body is in the mind, but all of the mind is not in the body.” — Swami Rama

Of all the aspects we’re endowed with as humans, emotions seem to be consistently challenging. It’s odd that this aspect which finds such full expression in humans would be such a knotty area. As much as we’re able to have emotions so fully and with such a range, they seem to confuse us and don’t know how to handle them. We aren’t very good with letting our emotions live alongside us.

There is no question of not experiencing emotions; it’s a question of not being enslaved by them. — Matthieu Ricard

I’ve found that emotions enrich life instead of hinder it when we’re able to find a greater spiritual container for them to exist in. If emotions are left to express in their everyday versions, then we’re left to deal with pettiness, blame, vindictiveness, selfishness, fear, being a victim, and lack of self-esteem. I’ve written about this in the past because so many good people need help in this area. You can read those entries by clicking here, here and here. Today, let’s look at this challenge from other angles.

I define responsibility (response-ability) as the ability to choose how we respond to stimulation coming in through our sensory systems at any given moment in time. Although there are certain limbic system (emotional) programs that can be triggered automatically, it takes less than ninety seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body, and then be completely flushed out of our bloodstream. My anger response, for example, is a programmed response that can be set off automatically. Once triggered, the chemical released by my brain surges through my body and I have a physiological experience. Within ninety seconds from the initial trigger, the chemical component of my anger has completed dissipated from my blood and my automatic response is over. If, however, I remain angry after those ninety seconds have passed, then it is because I have chosen to let that circuit continue to run. Moment by moment, I make the choice to either hook into my neurocircuitry or move back into the present moment, allowing that reaction to melt away as fleeting physiology. — Jill Bolte Taylor

90 seconds, folks!

The only way we can get good at making that choice not to run the same reaction with its chemical, emotional, mental and physiological loop is by practice. It’s not an intellectual choice only, because if it was we’d all be good at it. How many times have you turned into an emotional heap, despite your best intentions? It’s not a choice that can be made because the science makes sense. It’s not a choice that can be made because the therapist recommends it. To disengage from the debilitating autopilot of emotion is a choice that can only be made from a place of realization inside, in the mind and the heart.

Pure consciousness without content is something all those who meditate regularly and seriously have experienced… And anyone who takes the trouble to stabilize and clarify his or her mind will be able to experience it, too. It is through this unconditioned aspect of consciousness that we can transform the content of mind through training… There is great virtue in resting from time to time in pure awareness of the present moment, and being able to refer to this state when afflictive emotions arise so that we do not identify with them and are not swayed by them. — Matthieu Ricard

Emotions don’t have to be ‘emotional.’ If there’s inward stillness, ego agendas, negative emotions, distracted thoughts and negative self-talk are neutralized.

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Being the Silence

Is there such a thing as true silence? Incarnate in the world, probably not. In the most secluded, pristine corner of nature there are sounds, as pleasant as they may be. In deepest meditation, we may still hear our breath or bloodstream. Life pulses and makes sounds. Worse is all the noise of machines and technology. Even worse is the noise pollution we’re bombarded with from media, and the noise that’s in our own head.

This doesn’t mean silence has no value or we shouldn’t aspire to it. Silence is a remarkable counterbalance, one that’s vital for us to cultivate with the understanding that silence doesn’t have to be ‘silent’ to be effective and life restoring. Silence is really an orientation. It’s an inner hub, and flows through all activity, engagement and stillness as long as it’s cultivated.

The problem with the various kinds of noise we have to contend with around the clock is that they separate us from what is whole, true and beautiful in us. Noise keeps us off kilter. It doesn’t allow our naturalness to be, to inform our life. Noise pushes us to keep doing more. Not in a healthy, creative and productive way, but for the sake of doing alone. We do and do until we no longer are, until we walk away from ourselves.

There are many ways silence can touch us. Reading a book is one, especially if it’s poetry like haiku or some other short form. Sitting in nature without any objective. Taking a bath. Listening to quality, inspirational music. Yes, listening. Mindfully. Listening to your own heart. Not it’s beat, although that’s affirming too, but listening to its guidance and perspective. Preparing a meal, consciously, slow food style. Eating consciously, without too much talking. Sleeping in a hammock.

Meditation is of course a primary way to touch silence. Here we notice how unquiet the mind is. It’s constantly churning. Churning and churning, to what effect?

The mind can be quieted. Everything we have at our disposal to lessen the noise is useful. We have to fins ways to be the silence. Otherwise the noise swallows us up and we can’t hear ourselves, each other, life, or the numinous and the mystery. We have to be able to hear the mystery, for as Lewis Hyde says, “The passage into mystery always refreshes.”

Find the hub of silence within that refreshes.

There is an inner silence and an outer silence and a silence that transcends inner and outer, a silence of the breath and a silence of the body, a silence in the absence of words and a silence when the world is quiet, a silence where there is no sound and a silence that can be heard, and there is a silence that is a passage to emptiness, a silence of the mind in which there is no thought. There is a silence which is a response, a silence which is a truer witness than words. — Ralph Davis

Related:

Silence
Silence… again
Anchoring silence

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