Being Honest

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to being honest (precept number four) just lately. Thinking about the less obvious ways in which I am not always quite as transparent as I think.

Yesterday, when I was taking a picture for my daily photograph blog, I chose to post a self portrait taken from behind. It occurred to me that it was a good analogy for the things I like to hide from myself, but which are clearly visible to others. I’m very good at pretending the things I don’t want to see, don’t exist. How about you?

Be Honest…

Precept number four says, “Be Honest in Your Dealings with Others”. This quotation from Walter Anderson reminds us that it is equally as important to be honest with ourselves.

Never the easy option!

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.

Happy New Year!

I’ve set the broad outlines for the year, now I’m working on the detail. The 5 precepts will be featuring prominently in my life and will underpin everything I do.

Meantime, from North Yorkshire – I wish you all a Very Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas!

“In your now…”

This Sunday’s quotation is taken from the words of Abraham – Hicks.

During the month of December, it is customary to look back over the year that has just gone to see what we have achieved, while setting goals and expectations for the forthcoming year.

I’ve been busy setting up my goals for next year, building on from my achievements of this year. How about you?

Holiday Time!

Are you ready for the holiday? What are you looking forward to most? Or are you dreading the feeling of isolation caused by all the emphasis on belonging?

It can be a very difficult time of year for many people – people who live alone through choice, those recently bereaved, either through death or divorce, and those who although surrounded by family and or friends, still feel isolated for some other reason. It’s very easy to see these people as a burden at this time of festivities.

I have decided to set aside an hour on Friday evening to send distant healing to anyone in need this Christmas. If you would like your name added to the healing book, just write “Healing for ……. (persons name)” in the comments at the end of this post.

Christmas…

I love this time of year, reflecting on the Christmas story of the light coming into the world bringing love, hope and healing to all. This year my reflections have included all that I’ve learned since I started travelling on my Reiki path. It has made me realise just how closely linked the two pathways are.

The Christmas story tells how God loved the world so much that he sent his only son to bring heaven to earth. To experience this, a person needs to shift the focus from their material way of life and centre their being on loving, helping others, giving thanks to God for all things and allowing the Holy Spirit to assist them in the healing of themselves and others.

The Reiki story is about one man’s search for enlightenment. He discovered that to experience enlightenment it was necessary to focus your life away from material things, homing in on self knowledge, thankfulness, compassion and practices of energy exercises to allow healing to take place within and without each person.

I’d love to hear how your ‘Spiritual Story’ compares with these.

“The more light…”

This Sunday’s quotation features the words of Shakti Gawain.

When I took this picture from my front room window this week I was reminded that light has many ways of manifesting into our lives – we just need to be aware, to practise mindfulness.

In Japanese

The spoken word is a very powerful tool, something which is recognised by many spiritual traditions including Christian, Hindu, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Every word we speak out loud has an impact on the universe just as every thought we think has an impact on our personal world. In recognition of this, spiritual traditions have taken ‘Sacred Sounds’, combined them and made them into Mantras which have great impact when spoken or chanted.

As part of it’s Buddhist heritage, Mikao Usui taught the five precepts and a series Kotodamas or Mantras, all of which required the student to chant them repetitively in order to obtain the benefits. The precept meditation was chanted daily, morning and evening, and was thought to be one of the most powerful tools in assisting the student on their spiritual journey. The Kotodamas or Mantras were chanted to assist the student to contact the various levels of Reiki Energy.

During the last two Reiki Shares I have attended, in an attempt to get closer to Mikao Usui’s original practices, we have been learning and chanting the five precepts in Japanese. I found this video on YouTube of Hyakuten Inamoto Sensei teaching the pronunciation of the Japanese words.

These are the words in Japanese:

	Kyo Dake Wa	Just for today
	I Ka Ru Na	Let Go of Anger
	Shin Pai Suna	Let Go of Worry
	Kansha Shite	Be Grateful
	Gyoo Hage Me	Be Honest in Your Dealings with Others
	Hito Ni Shinsetsui Ni	Be Compassionate to Yourself and Others

We found it a very powerful and moving experience. Try it for yourself.