Reiki Week 49 - Preparing for Reiki 2

It has been 8 months since my last post. I confess I haven't done much with Reiki other than use it during meditation. I have continued to heal and even recovered from surgery well in the meantime. I consider my health quite good now, though I have very little stamina yet. It will come. I have had no sense of spirit guides in some time, though my cat still cuddles in for Reiki occasionally so I don't feel abandoned. :)

My Reiki teacher is offering a Reiki 2 class this Saturday. It feels right, like a still pond waiting for a pebble to drop in.

Reiki Week 16 - Clearing

Between my "spirit guide" changing and my hands tingling at the news reports for Haiti, it's time to start working on Reiki II. While I look for a teacher to do the attunement, I've started studying the Reiki II chapters of Essential Reiki. These cover the symbols, distance healing, and Reiki guides.

As I dig into the symbols, I pay particular attention to the Buddhist and Shinto interpretations. For any Japanese person using the Reiki symbols, the emotional intent would almost necessarily be nuanced by the cultural connotations. A westerner either has to be immersed very deeply into the culture (something I am not in any way called to), use the symbols as magical incantations (ditto), or use symbols with equivalent connotations to a westerner - i.e. translate them.

Any translation will not quite match the original, but the nuances from any individual will differ from any other so "matching the original" is not a meaningful criterion. Energy work isn't a language thing, it's an intent thing.

My intent is that my healing work is grounded in Episcopal theology and doctrine. In my tradition, healing is God's work and not any merit of mine. The last thing I need is fodder for ego and vanity. I've already noticed that Reiki sort of works with my intent, but it WORKS when I focus on either the Jesus prayer or God's assurance to Julian of Norwich.

The symbols generally seem to be presented in order of complexity and ease of memorization. Since I'm not doing the memorization in a single-day workshop, I have the luxury of working with them in the order of their meaning. For example, the "clearing" symbol is normally used before the "power" symbol to avoid charging the crud to be cleared out. (Do you suppose we could create vorpal dust bunnies?)

During my meditation times over the past week or two, I've found the healing meditations work better after a chakra clearing meditation. I don't claim this is a general thing, just where my needs are at the moment. This, too, leads me to focus first on the clearing symbol.

So I've started practicing the clearing symbol in conjunction with my meditation, researching in the books and web sites available to me, and even just sitting with it to let it's character emerge on its own ("character" in both senses since I want a translated symbol). I don't actually expect much now other than to be ready for attunement when time comes. Well, and to sense when to move to the power symbol.

Reiki Week 15 - Spirit Guides

I'm not sure what I believe about spirit guides. They might be actual spirits. They might be some inner aspect of myself projected as a separate entity for convenience. They might be imaginary friends. In any case, they seem to be a pretty common experience. There is something there even if we don't know it's nature.

Back on Reiki Day 20, I commented that my long time spirit guide had identified himself and I was having to adjust to the idea. What I had sensed over the prior couple of weeks was a presence standing guard over me, creating a safe zone. The presence felt familiar, like the imaginary friend/spirit guide/sometime companion I'd had since my early 20's. After establishing that link, it morphed and the association was the archangel, Saint Michael.

Having an archangel personally stand guard for one is a pretty daunting idea.

The presence never does anything but stand guard for me, though he seems attentive in his protection. I've gotten used to the idea and even talked with a couple of others who felt the presence of one or more archangels while doing Reiki.

Anyway, I bring it up now because he's changing again. St Michael is giving way to St Gabriel. I don't know if I'm secure enough in my energy boundaries to no longer need to set a watch and am ready to start learning the next thing or what.

And I'm not sure what to make of the morphing business.

Reiki Week 11

I noticed a few days ago (a day I was cold) that my hands don't get warm when I do Reiki. It may be an adaptation because of the headaches noted early on, but anyway it's clearly not necessary. I can feel the energy flow, just none is converted to heat. Which, because it's a hang-up of mine, makes me wonder about the efficiency of the situation. I suppose, though, that the enhanced energy from the feedback that Reiki is working outweighs any loss to heat. : )

Reiki Day 45 - More Resiliance!

I don't know if it is the Reiki, a combination of more tools in my toolbox, an indication of finally gaining ground, or what, but . . .

I had to have emergency dental work followed by an intense week at work. The time in the chair with my head and jaw tilted triggered problems with the disk bulge in my neck. The intense week caused a downward spiral on overall health condition, increasing pain, etc. One week off work plus traction plus Reiki plus exercises plus relaxation meditation plus pain meds for a couple of days and I'm nearly as robust as I was the day before I went to the dentist.

I have put off the follow-up work for a while, though. My doctor gave me Valium for future dental appts, but I'm hoping to consolidate my gains before putting it to the test again.

Now if we can make progress on the nasal/sinus tissues . . . : )

Reiki Day 32 - Implications of Ki circulatory cycle

In pondering my cat's input from day 17, I've noticed a tugging sensation at my wrists. It seemed related to the flow from the energy point at the palms of my hands which directed my attention to the extended diagrams of Ki flow and major/minor chakras.

There's the major energy point/minor chakra in the palm of the hands/feet where, among other things, Reiki healing flows out. The inner wrist/ankle is an energy intake/balancing point, commonly used in acupressure. What if two practitioners join with the palms of each person's hands facing the inner wrist of the other and both start Reiki flowing?

It seems to me that this should join their Ki channels into a single channel with simultaneous energy input resulting in harmonic overtones that would enhance the signal strength (horribly mixing metaphors, but I can't think of a single one to cover). If this holds true, it should extend to any number of people in a circle, probably with the energy flowing in two concentric circles in opposite directions.

I don't see anything like this in the Reiki world. The only group work I find there is multiple people taking turns at the standard Reiki positions. Any given individual is either the healee or one of the healers. Yet everyone says "Reiki goes where it's needed" regardless of the positions. Healers over and over declare that they are strengthened by being in the healing channel. Reiki doesn't seem to be innately unidirectional.

I have heard of some circle work among psychics in fiction, and I believe there is something similar in Wicca. These do entail multiple individuals combining into a larger organism to accomplish something larger. What if that something larger was simply mutual healing within the circle?

I need to find someone to try this out with.

Reiki Day 25 - Hidden Messages in Water

At my Reiki teacher's recommendation, I checked out of the library "The Hidden Messages in Water" by Masaru Emoto. Dr Emoto has studied the crystals formed in water from all over the world and under all sorts of circumstances. He has particularly focused on the effects of resonances - chemical, emotion, energy, prayer, sound, anything he could think of and test.

Three key things: (my wording in all cases)
- the most perfect and complete crystals are formed by the combination of love and gratitude;
- frequency resonance and disruptions are ubiquitous (e.g. changes in atmosphere by a person entering the room);
- large scale resonance transcends distance (e.g. the initial invasion of the first Gulf War appearing in his research results before he read the headlines).

Dr Emoto's conclusion: "I only ask that you listen to and absorb what water has to say--to all of humankind, and to you."

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I wish I'd completed this little book a day or two ago so I could have pondered to the accompaniment of the torrential downpours we've had recently. : )

Some random thoughts and early reflections:
- Bringing a group of people into consensus is like a crystal forming. The first structure appears and then the whole body finds itself in formation. (Warning! The same must hold true for groupthink.)
- I have been debating with my father what drives human motivations. I'm going to have to think about resonance effects to see how that impacts the basic arguments.
- "Resonance" clearly resonated with me throughout the whole book - far out of proportion to how Dr Emoto used it. Yeah, the pictures were pretty, but the words and descriptions of vibration effects practically shouted at me from the page. : )
- "Love and gratitude" is probably what most people would key into, but that was my major insight the first use of Reiki after attunement and in combining Reiki with prayer. This book didn't add into any of that for me.


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Into the Present Moment - Track 15, "Make Me A Blessing":

Lord, make me a blessing to those that I meet
And make me a blessing as I walk down the street.
Oh make me a blessing this day e'en this hour.
Lord, make me a blessing; it lies in Your pow'r.

Lord, make me a blessing at work and at home
And make me a blessing wherever I roam.
Oh make me a blessing, that people may see
That I am a blessing for You are with me.