Articles on Reiki Ryoho Page 8
Reiki and Responsibility (part I) by Light Published in the July 1999 issue of "The Messenger"
Are Reiki practitioners as "care-givers" responsible to anyone? Do Reiki teachers have any responsibility to their students? Are we as individuals responsible to humanity as a whole? Are we responsible for anyone but ourselves? What is our responsibility to the infirmed who seek "healing"? These are timeless questions, asked by each person at important spiritual junctures in their lives. So what are the answers to these and other questions that face each "bodyworker" and/or "care-giver"? Where and from whom do these answers come?
We will try to supply a reasonable answer to these and perhaps a few other questions that we have been asked in our long career as a "caregivers". Our answers are not to be taken as your truth, however… rather as a springboard to the examination of your own values and beliefs as to how you perform in the "healing" arena. We have combined experience as "care-givers" for over 30 years, and these questions have been posed to us many times, as well as in our own personal self-examination of our beliefs. With our continuing spiritual unfoldment, we have seen our answers change and take on new understanding. We want to share these with you… not because we want to be considered experts, but because each of us has a need to express what is in our hearts and minds; to share and help others to be more responsible care-givers. It is in sharing our truths that each of us learns who we are, individually and collectively.
We have closely examined the word "responsibility"... dictionary definitions of the word include "a duty, an obligation; care/cure of souls; accountability". Webster defines it as "the quality or state of being responsible". Personally, we lean toward "the ability to respond". To us, this means that one has the wherewithal to choose a response to any and every stimuli/action presented to them. This can only come through knowledge, experience, thought and caring. Responsibility is different from a reaction. A reaction is "resistance or opposition to a force, influence, or movement, especially a tendency toward a former and usually outmoded political, social order or policy". By comparing these two definitions, one can conclude that a reaction is a repeated, learned habit/trait/behavior, and a response is a fresh, new choice, based on availability of details and the weighing of options at any/every given moment in time. So let us look at our responsibility as "care-givers".
First off, we have come to know that we are "Spirit"… a spark of God/Creator, expressing the Divinity within us to the "All That Is". I believe that we are responsible in co-authoring our "reality", as a reflection of Creation. We choose to demonstrate our individual Divine ‘potential’ within the human vehicle/body, and to help others to feel free enough to do the same. We don’t believe we are responsible for anyone else, but we do believe we are responsible to everyone that exists as a part of our "soul family". We further believe that we are responsible for the kind of experiences we have on this planet, individually and collectively. We can neglect our co-creative nature and accept the status of ‘victims’… allowing the randomness of life to determine our experiences. Or we can choose to be conscious/aware co-creators, working within the Divine Plan of Creation to be fully present, enjoying our ‘roles’ and experiences on this unique ‘stage’.
We believe we choose our careers and positions in life; we determine our responses to every experience according to our thoughts, mindsets, and patterns of belief. We believe we have chosen our roles as care-givers and that we have responsibility to all we come in contact with in our daily work/service. We believe we have a responsibility to continue to learn about our trade/service; to learn new techniques and methods, to change and adjust to people’s needs in these ‘quickening times’. We believe that as care-givers, it is our duty to be knowledgeable and informed, enabling us to talk intelligently with other care-givers, with our clients, and even with members of the professional medical community. We desire to offer professional, alternative support to a client’s chosen course-of-action in confronting their imbalances/conditions/dis-eases. We feel care-givers need to be self-educating, well read, and inquisitive, seeking out ever-changing information about dis-eases they will encounter in their work. I also believe that as teachers, we need to continuously upgrade our teaching skills, to tutor students to be self-policing, self-caring about their profession, so they can continue to train others in a similar manner.
We believe that when working with clients, especially those with life-threatening diseases, we need to discuss their dis-ease(s), to explore possible reason(s) for the imbalance in their lives. We think that we should discuss a client’s ‘responsibility’ in creating their reality, including the creation of dis-ease and the possible benefits of holding on to it. If they can come to the understanding that they called forth a condition(s) for the lessons contained within, they might come to understand that they can also create health and balance as easily. In order to do that, we care-givers must understand and demonstrate this principle, so we can help the client take control of their healing process, to make intelligent decisions about their treatment of choice, whether medical, complementary or both.
Reiki and Responsibility (part II) by Light Published in the August 1999 issue of "The Messenger"
I have seen many care-givers do and say some pretty irresponsible things in the name of healing:
So what are some of the responsibilities of being Reiki practitioners? Well, in my opinion, responsibility rests with each student of Reiki. It is the student’s responsibility:
By no means are the above suggestions the sum total of all responsibilities in practicing the art of Reiki. But it is a fair standard in which to look at your own practice to see how you might be able to improve yourself and the quality of your work. I think that we have been handed quite a "responsibility" by Creator; through the agents of Sensei’s Usui, Hayashi, Takata and all previous Reiki instructors. We stand on a threshold of a new level of consciousness, with responsibility unlike any time before… that of the healing/wholing of all the people of Earth. This is only going to work if we dedicate ourselves to living the principles of Reiki, pulling together in presenting Reiki to every sentient life form. I commend to all Reiki practitioners the monumental task that lies in our foreseeable future.
Everything is a Choice! -- Reiki and Responsibility (part III) by Adonea Published in the August 1999 issue of "The Messenger"
We as Spirit/Soul are responsible for everything in our lives including the diseases we have, birth defects, emotions and even our death.
Everything is a choice! How we feel (to what degree, how long or short a period of time), what actions we take (actions, re-action or non-action), what we say and think (lovingly or otherwise), where we go; even doing nothing is a choice. Therefore we are ultimately responsible for everything that happens in our lives. "We" are Spirit/Soul and Personality/Ego occupying a physical vehicle. Our Personality/Ego has freewill, therefore, it can make choices that override what our Spirit/Soul chooses to experience. Personality/Ego can choose to follow inner directions (gut feelings, intuition, directions from our Spirit/Soul) or not. As Personality/Ego grows in understanding, the things we choose to experience/feel change and move closer to the experiences our Spirit/Soul has chosen.
Those who perceive themselves as victims (and all who see victimization of any kind) have not yet come to the understanding that they create their reality by their thoughts, words, deeds/actions and emotions; and that they always have a choice. Similarly FEAR is a major creator of situations, bringing to a person's experience that which they fear; so eventually they will make new choices. The acronym for FEAR is Future Expectations Appearing Real.... helps shed some light on the importance of where we place our thoughts.
When we begin to understand these concepts, we become responsible for our lives and can no longer claim to be a victim of (or place blame on) a person, place, thing or situation outside of ourselves.
We as Spirit/Soul choose the parents we want to be born to for genetics, looks, and basic training for our experiences in this lifetime. That includes birth defects (see the movie "Simon Birch" for example). Birth defects are limitations for us to overcome or that help us to gain strength of convictions. They are also filters which help us maintain our connection to Creator/God.
Lets look at one victim situation for a moment; a person gets shot by a random bullet while walking down the street. That person made the choice to be on that particular street at that moment, to follow that route to their destination; they could have easily chosen another route, or not gone to that particular destination at that time, or any number of other possible choices. Now, that bullet may kill the physical body which means that they as Spirit/Soul will once again experience the fullness of who they are and the Divine Love of Creator/God. They may then choose to come back into body (reincarnate) to continue experiences on Earth. Or maybe that bullet dis-ables them which means their life experiences will be limited; they will most likely slow down, go within, connect with Spirit/Soul/Creator and their understanding about "life, the Universe and everything" will grow and mature. Or they may choose to feel sorry for themselves, play on other's pity, wither and die. In which case they have the chance to play this earth plane game again if they choose. It is important to understand that any choice is OK; none are bad or wrong. Each choice takes us on a different path of learning, growth and understanding some paths are direct and others meander, but all bring us closer to knowing Who and What we "truly" are.
Now another potential scenario. We are a parent or spouse of the person who gets shot by that stray bullet and our beloved child/mate dies. If we understand that our life is based on choices, our Spirit/Soul lives on forever and we know that our beloved is now with Creator/God experiencing Divine Love and Joy; then we may grieve because we miss our beloved. When the physical body dies the Spirit/Soul re-joins Creator/God or goes to "Heaven" which is a Joyful/Loving experience. When we know this, we are happy that our beloved is in a better place, then our grieving is short-lived. Long-term grieving is self-absorption without regard for those who have made their transition.
Here are a few books that we recommend on this subject:
In all of these situations Reiki through its' gentle, loving support can help us to ease trauma, pain, grief, or self-pity and help us to understand our lessons and purpose in this reality.
Reiki and Responsibility (part IV) by Adonea We are still discussing the topic of responsibility, in this article we will talk about broaching the subject of responsibility with our clients and in other situations in which we may be called to do Reiki.
Many people with chronic conditions who make an appointment with a Reiki Practitioner, have often exhausted all avenues in main stream medicine. They have tried everything known traditionally and received little or no relief from what ever ails them. They may have lost faith in traditional medicine. They are ready and willing to try new methods and open to new concepts. So, it may be possible to broach the subject of responsibility (the part they took in creating their illness).
When working in hospitals, emergency situations and so forth; Reiki is easily done with out words; simply allowing. Alternative thought concepts can gently be introduced when the person is wondering why them (they are asking for answers). If they don't ask it is often better to say nothing, just allow the gentle Reiki energy to balance and transform them.
In the case of imbalanced/hurting/grieving people who have not asked for the help of a Reiki Practitioner it is not in our best interest or theirs to talk about alternative concepts. In fact, in most cases they will not want to know, or be open to anything new, including Reiki hands-on..... yet. At this point we can send distance Reiki unconditionally for their highest and best good and allow it to do what it does so beautifully; nurture, comfort, console, balance and whole them on every level.
The environment of teaching Reiki is quite a bit different then client/practitioner. As Reiki Teachers it is important for us to educate our students to the best of our ability. If we understand the concept of responsibility and choice (most Reiki Master/Teachers do), and our student is ready then it is our obligation to elucidate on this subject. If our student is not ready to learn about responsibility, furthering their education beyond First Degree Reiki may not be in their highest good. Better to wait until they begin questioning about why "things" are happening in their life. Then talk to them about responsibility and take them to Second Level. Each degree initiation can bring on a cleansing/purification; if major life situations are addressed during the cleanse - without the understanding of the students responsibility in creating these situations - it is likely that the student will blame the Reiki for causing their "pain" and toss it aside.
Every person and situation is unique, so as practitioners or teachers who are introducing new ways of being, it is our responsibility to be open to our inner-directives (inner-guidance from our Highself). Knowing/feeling from a place of Unconditional Love and Compassion what is appropriate in every situation. What our Divine Highself sees as right action, may be very different from what our conscious mind perceives in the same situation. If we cannot discern the difference it is appropriate to just do Reiki and allow the Divine Intelligence of Reiki to work.
Surgery and Reiki by Light Published in the September 1999 issue of "The Messenger"
What can Reiki do for surgical procedures? How can I use Reiki to assist me in the healing process before and after surgery? Does Reiki really heal? Is there a proven Reiki technique to help me if I am to undergo surgery? These and similar questions have been asked of us many times, and we will try to address them in this article.
We both have come to see Reiki as much more than a "healing technique". We feel that Reiki is a spiritual discipline that will help an attuned practitioner to learn to access greater amounts of Chi or Ki energy, and with continued practice, this energy will begin to build within and around the practitioner, even to replace lost original Chi/Ki. When a practitioner begins to feel his/her aura expanding, and when others notice that the practitioner is having more energetic influence on the world, then there is sufficient energy to begin to work with other people. Until this point in one’s practice, the Reiki practitioner should primarily work on their Self… doing a minimum of one hour of self-treatment daily to all 12 of the standard hand positions. This has the effect of purifying and detoxifying the physical vehicle/body, and increasing the amount of Reiki energy that can move through the practitioner’s meridians/pathways. When a practitioner then lays-hands onto a recipient/client, more energy can be transferred and greater changes will occur in that person. So, the question "Does Reiki really heal?" would have to be answered by a "No". But it does have an accumulative effect in the person receiving it, which can start a purification/detox in the body, which can then help the immune system to become stronger, helping to rebalance organs and systems that may have been in stress and/or pain.
With this understanding, let us look at the effects that surgery has on a body, and how Reiki can assist in the process of "re-balancing". When a bodily organ or system is distressed, and if the immune system can not muster enough energy to move it into another stage of healing, then an organ can become infected, abscessed and may need to be removed surgically. This usually requires quick, emergency action and the immune system being low of energy, the body often has difficulty in triggering the healing process. This is where Reiki comes to the rescue. Performing Reiki treatments for 3 or 4 consecutive days helps to store enough energy in the body’s endocrine glands/immune system to begin the purification/rebalancing process, but it can also help the immune system prepare for the hardship of surgery. The same 3 or 4 day Reiki treatments immediately prior to surgery will store enough energy into the body so the immune system can draw upon it to fight infection and to start the process of healing. If at all possible, it would be advantageous to the surgical patient to receive Reiki during the actually surgical procedure….hands-on or distance treatments. It is highly advantageous to perform Reiki on the patient immediately after the surgery, while the patient is awakening from anesthesia in the recovery room. If that is not possible, then Reiki should begin as soon as the patient is returned to his/her hospital room following recovery. Reiki treatments are most helpful if performed for the first 3 or 4 consecutive days following surgery. Usually a patient that is healing well will go home in the second or third day after surgery. Any additional treatments at the home of a recovering patient are helpful, but the three days before and following surgery that are most crucial to the healing process.
The treatments can indeed be self-performed by a practitioner who is about to undergo surgery, but it is nice to receive treatments from other practitioners, allowing the mind to relax its focus on the up-coming surgical procedure. Supplement self-treatments with treatments from others, and remember to offer Reiki to others who are about to undergo surgery. And who knows… maybe less surgical procedures will have to be performed in the near future.
Japanese Reiki Techniques by Light Published in the October 1999 issue of "The Messenger"
Adonea and I had the good fortune of hearing about a Reiki workshop being taught in Vancouver, British Columbia. The advertisement stated that a Reiki teacher from Japan would be teaching Japanese techniques. This peaked our interest and after receiving additional details, communicating with the host, sending in our deposit, we were off to the bustling, ethnic-rich, western Canadian city of Vancouver. At the first gathering of participants, we recognized a few faces of people that we had previously met in our early Reiki travels, but there were many other Reiki masters who were unfamiliar. We were issued nametags that helped us to finally put faces with the names of our internet chat buddies that we had communicated with for the past three years. What a thrill... like meeting long lost cousins at a family reunion. The energy was high to say the least. There seemed so much to say/share with many of the participants, but the opening ceremonies were beginning, so we took our seats and listened. As welcoming speeches were made, we continued to look around for a couple of masters whom we were expecting to attend, but we curbed our impatience, paying attention to the descriptions of the weekend ahead.
Rick Rivard, one of the workshop’s founders and coordinators, told how he had been exchanging email with a Japanese student of Mr. Doi for about 6 months, and how he had come to ask if Mr. Doi would consider making a trip to Vancouver to share information with Western Reiki masters. Rick had received some of the techniques from the Japanese student and realized their effectiveness, so desired to make the information available to all who might be interested. The first evening belonged to the host and his fellow workshop coordinators: Tom Rigler and Andy Bowling. They demonstrated several techniques used and taught by Chujiro Hayashi that we had been unfamiliar with previously. It is a widely known in Japan that Mr. Hayashi indeed took training from Usui, had once belonged to Usui's Gakkai organization, but left after Usui's death. He then changed Usui's teachings to fit his own preferences and liking. We were told about and shown Hayashi’s attunement process, his extended hand positions, and were given some thoughts on why he might have chosen to move in a different direction. Each participant received a 74-page manual complete with photos and step-by-step procedures for these techniques, and many more that we were to learn throughout the weekend. What we watched was pure simplicity... poetry in motion. Although interesting, I am sure that most participants were a bit foggy just how these techniques would be incorporated into their present Reiki classes. After demonstrations and a Question & Answer session, we were released for the evening. Most attendees stayed around for a couple more hours renewing friendships and/or making friends.
The next morning came early and we were introduced to Mr. Hiroshi Doi, the Reiki teacher for the weekend, Mr. Yukio Miura, Ms. Yuko Okamata, both students of Mr. Doi, acting as translators and demonstrators of the techniques, and Mr. Akihiko Uechi, who helped translate materials into written form. All had flown in from various parts of Japan. Mr. Doi is a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, the organization of Reiki practitioners begun by Usui Sensei in April 1922. Today there are 500 members, not so many considering the great numbers of practitioners in Japan. To become a member, one must be sponsored by a current member, and voted into the organization. Doi-San went on to explain that there are only six current Shinpi-den level teachers (equivalent to Master/Teacher of Western lineage’s) who teach the three practitioner levels. There are of course many Reiki instructors in Japan, but few that gain membership into the Gakkai. Each level takes many years of practice before one is able to receive higher training. The three practitioner levels within the Gakkai are Sho-den, Oku-den, and Shinpi-den. Gakkai teachers can not seek their own students, but are assigned students who want to learn Reiki from Gakkai members. Training is ongoing; students must attend regular gatherings where they must practice meditation, chant Emperor Meiji's Gyosei (125 Waka poems expressing spiritual truths), practice Hatsurei-ho, receive Rei-ju empowerments, group recitation of Usui’s principles and exchange of hands-on treatments with other students. New teachings are given to a student who shows accomplishment with previously learned techniques. There are 6 ranks of proficiency with the system of natural healing (Reiki), and each student must be able to demonstrate the level of energy they can channel, as well as their proficiency of healing techniques. Usui assigned himself to the 2nd level of energy proficiency, and that became the measure for all other practitioners. No other practitioner has ever gone past the 3rd level of proficiency to date. Although there are teachers (Shinpi-den) who pass on Usui’s teachings, there is continuous dedication to the work of raising one’s vibrations so they can contain and transfer large amounts of sustained Reiki energy.
There will be more information from the workshop in ensuing articles in the month ahead.
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