Coming Home

One of the nicest parts of going away to visit people is the coming home at the end of the visit.

Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy every minute of being away, spending time with friends and family who I don’t get to be with very often, visiting new places, travelling down unfamiliar roads. In fact if I spend too much time at home I get to the point where I can’t wait to go journeying again.

So why is the home coming so special? One of the biggest reasons for me is the ability to get back into my early morning exercise and meditation routine. I always mean to carry on while I’m away – but somehow it rarely happens! And because I try very hard to be compassionate towards myself, I tell myself it doesn’t matter…. but it does. I really miss the discipline. So it really is good to get back home and be able to return to my daily routine.

Silence

This Sunday’s quotation comes from Mahatma Gandhi.

Most of us are guilty of thinking too much, talking too much and worrying too much – I know I am! In addition, we surround ourselves with external noise – music, tv, radio, films, games, the list goes on. That’s why meditation plays such an important part in spiritual advancement. It takes us out of the bustle of everyday life and allows our bodies, minds and souls to drink from the deep wells of collective intelligence and life source.

Reiki Meditation

In the Japanese Reiki tradition, meditation was the central practice, considered essential if anyone wanted to progress on the path to spiritual enlightenment. This continual meditation, which comprised the daily practice of mindfulness and a wide range of energy exercises, by balancing and clearing the student’s energy system made it possible for them to carry out self-healing and treatments on others.

Mikao Usui’s students were taught to meditate daily on the five precepts and it was believed that this meditation alone had a greater effect on the students spiritual development than any of the other traditional practices.

When Reiki travelled to the west with Mrs Takata the emphasis changed from spiritual enlightenment and self-treatment to treating others. The use of Formal Hand Positions together with the Reiki Symbols more or less replaced the meditation practices of the original tradition as a means to connect with the Reiki energy.

Today in Western Reiki, although there is a move back towards teaching the original meditations, the main emphasis is on receiving attunements, practising self-healing and using formal hand positions together with the Reiki symbols to treat others.

Meditation

Meditation, the process of creating a quiet mind and connecting to higher consciousness, is a recognised tool in the process of relaxation. It is also used extensively by people wishing to enhance their spiritual awareness and development. For a Reiki practitioner, it is an essential part of their daily routine.

Reiki meditations focus on awareness of breathing patterns, energy visualisations and simple mind focusing techniques. An example of mind focusing techniques is the Gassho meditation.

The Gassho meditation requires the practitioner to place their two hands together in the prayer position, close their eyes, and focus their attention on the point where the two middle fingers touch. Should the mind wander, as it usually does, the response is to gently press the two middle fingers together which effectively refocusses the mind. Why not give it a try?

Self-Treatment

When Mikao Usui originally taught Reiki, it was as a self-treatment and personal enlightenment system. Reiki practitioners are taught the importance of meditation, daily energy exercises, and self-healing practices during their first level course and this forms the basis on which they build their practice. The reason for this is that practitioners are simply channels for the Reiki energy and as such they need to maintain those channels in order for the energy to flow freely through them.

Anyone can learn to channel the Reiki energy. The training is available to everyone regardless of whether or not they wish to become a practitioner. Many people study Reiki levels 1 and 2 simply so that they can learn to treat themselves and their families.