Reiki Shares

Just over a week ago I attended my first Reiki Share since completing my Level lll, Master/Teacher course and was invited to participate by being one of the Empowerment givers.

Reiki shares are opportunities for qualified Reiki practitioners from all levels and (in many cases) any tradition to get together, share experiences and give and receive healing between each other. What takes place at a share varies from group to group and depends a lot on the tradition of the organiser.

The share I attend lasts just over 2 hours and is held once a month. We start by exchanging introductions and news then generally have a short time where we either try a new exercise or learn about something which is appropriate for any level of practitioner. This is followed by the Hatsurei Ho exercise, sending Distant Healing and individual Empowerments (Tandai Buddhist Blessings). We have a short break for refreshments, then divide up into pairs to give and receive healing.

I felt very humbled to be one of the Empowerment givers for the first time.

eunice7

By on Tuesday December 11th, 2012 at 09:00 in Reiki, Reiki Shares - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Go Quietly …

This Sunday’s quotation comes from Baba Ram Dass.

"The quieter..."

When I took the photo in the quotation image, I was totally mesmerised by what looked to me like flames in the sky. Time stood still as I watched the cloud patterns changing until eventually the ‘flames’ disappeared from view. During that time of quiet watching, I became very aware of the energy of the sun and its interaction with all the elements around it. I became quiet and the universe spoke it’s wisdom to me.

eunice7

By on Sunday December 9th, 2012 at 09:00 in Mindfulness, Quotations, Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Slowing Down!

Slowing down would appear to be a strange thing to do right now. My head is spinning with all the different things I want to do and try, but instead of rushing in like I normally would, I’m going to step back and assess and meditate. Does that sound crazy to you? I don’t know how it sounds, but whenever I think about it my mind goes into panic mode thinking, ‘you can’t slow down, you’ll never get anything done!’

So I think the first thing I have to do is a brain dump! Have you ever done one of those? You take a lot of small pieces of paper and write down all the things in your head, one thing per piece of paper, then you start to categorise and organise the pieces of paper. One pile for urgent stuff, one pile for regular stuff, one pile for mini projects, one pile for big projects etc – you get the idea?

The next stage is to schedule and organise the piles. It might sound like an awful lot of work, but surprisingly it doesn’t usually take that long and I can guarantee that by the end of it you will have a clear head and a new sense of purpose.

So I’m off to give it a try!

By on Thursday December 6th, 2012 at 09:00 in Mindfulness, Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

A New Journey!

Just over a week ago, at the end of over a month of home study, I attended a two day Masters Course of my lineage and gained my Masters/Teachers Certificate. It was an amazing weekend. My experience of the Reiki Energy is so much stronger now!

In a way it feels wrong to call myself a Reiki Master. Normally when you get to the end of a course of study you feel as though you have completed something. I’ve come a very long way since I set out on my journey into the world of Reiki, and my life has changed in a multitude of ways, but instead of feeling that I have reached the end of a journey I feel as though I am just at the beginning of one.

The Masters course has made me aware of how little I know, and unlike many conventional courses, to gain more knowledge I must practice and experience things. I can’t just read a book about it. So the learning will be a slow process! As I wrote that, I was reminded that living in mindfulness does slow things down.

I would love for you to travel with me on my new journey while I attempt to share some of the insights I gain along the way.

eunice7

By on Tuesday December 4th, 2012 at 09:00 in Mindfulness, Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Make Haste…

This Sunday’s quotation is attributed as a ‘Zen saying’.

Make Haste...

Zen sayings are notoriously obtuse – so what does this one mean?

I think we can learn a lot about the meaning of this saying by thinking about the life of the insect in the photograph. Insects are always busy, but they never rush. They each have their allotted tasks. Their lives follow the rhythm of nature.

Now I’m not suggesting that we become like insects, but if we try to live in mindfulness we will find it possible to get everything done without any of the stresses involved in racing against the clock. By living mindfully, each thing we do becomes our only focus for its duration making it totally possible to make haste slowly.

eunice7

By on Sunday December 2nd, 2012 at 09:00 in Mindfulness, Quotations, Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Hand Positions

There are several different schools of thought regarding hand positions in treatments. They are all equally effective making it a matter of personal preference and or lineage tradition.

Some practitioners will treat with their hands resting lightly on the clients body, while others will treat with their hands just above the clients body, working in their aura.

Practitioners trained in Eastern lineages tend not to use formal hand positions, preferring to allow their hands to be guided by intuition.

Practitioners taught in Western lineages are generally taught 12 basic hand positions to use in the treatment of others although this does vary. I found some diagrams on-line that had over 20 hand positions.

Similar preferences apply to self-healing. Eastern trained practitioners tend to use visualisations, whereas western trained practitioners use actual hand positions.

By on Thursday November 29th, 2012 at 09:00 in Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Symbol Uses

All traditions agree about the use of Reiki Symbols as a way for the practitioner to connect with the subtle variations of Reiki Energy.

Eastern traditions place a lot of emphasis on the importance of meditating on these energies, either as visualisations or as mantras, to the point where the practitioner feels himself or herself merging with the energy and becoming one with it. This enables the practitioner to make a much stronger connection with the energy when treating clients, but precludes the use of ‘symbol sandwiches’.

Western traditions teach a more formal approach, prescribing set hand positions and symbol combinations for different treatments.

In addition to their use in client treatments, symbols are also used by some practitioners for chakra balancing, space cleansing, protection, and positive affirmations.

eunice7

By on Tuesday November 27th, 2012 at 09:00 in Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Give Thanks

To end November I chose this quotation – a Hausa Proverb.

"Give thanks for a little..." ~ Hausa Proverb ~

Try this experiment. Give thanks for every little thing that happens to you for a day – nothing is too small. Don’t limit giving thanks just to good things, give thanks for bad things as well. At the end of the day you will be amazed by how much more positive you feel. You may be surprised by the amount of good things you notice when you pay attention to the details of your day.

eunice7

By on Sunday November 25th, 2012 at 09:00 in Quotations, Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Symbol Energies

Reiki Symbols are used as a way to connect to the different subtle types of Reiki Energy.

One of the biggest difference of opinion between Eastern Reiki Masters and Western Reiki Masters centres around the question of whether or not students need to be attuned to Reiki Symbols for them to work. Eastern Reiki Masters say it is unnecessary, Western Reiki Masters say it is essential.

Speaking from personal experience, I have not received attunements to any Reiki Symbols – my lineage follows the Eastern tradition of Empowerments – yet I am able to meditate on, experience the energies of and use in treatments all the Reiki Symbols with no problems whatsoever.

Another difference concerns whether Symbols should be used alone or together. Eastern Reiki teaches that they should always be used individually; Western Reiki teaches its students to use them together and make ‘Symbol Sandwiches’.

Traditional Japanese Reiki did not have any symbols. The subtle energies were connected to using Kotodamas or Sacred Mantras. This would make it virtually impossible to mix the energies.

Again speaking from personal experience, I have tried changing symbols for different parts of the body while treating a client and compared it to using a single symbol throughout the treatment. Both my clients and I have experienced far more powerful healings using just one symbol throughout.

Differences aside – both methods work. Reiki energy follows intent. Providing the practitioner intends for the treatment to be for the highest good of the client – it will be! It is up to the student to decide which tradition they wish to follow.

eunice7

By on Thursday November 22nd, 2012 at 09:00 in Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply

Energy Exercises

Many of the meditations taught in traditional Japanese Reiki took the form of energy exercises. They focused on channeling through the use of a mixture of visualisations and mantras.

Reiki courses following the Japanese tradition place great emphasis on these exercises and encourage students to create their own daily space to practice a regular routine.

The first of these exercises to be taught is generally Hatsurei Ho. This cleanses the student’s aura, connects them to the Reiki energy, and opens up and balances the channels for the energy to flow correctly. By practicing it on a daily basis the student gradually increases the strength of their connection to the energy.

Next in order of importance are daily self-healing meditations. These can take a number of different forms depending on the student’s individual stage of development.

Once the students reach 2nd degree they are encouraged to meditate on the Reiki Symbols either using visualisations or the kotadamas (mantras) associated with them.

There are many other energy exercises which students are encouraged to practice including alternative self-healing exercises such as Makoto No Kokyu.

eunice7

By on Tuesday November 20th, 2012 at 09:00 in Reiki - No Replies - Leave a Reply