The Reiki Cafe 

Dear Eirelassey,
Upsetting is about emotions. Good to let emotions up and out,think about what is underneath.
If one believes in demons, one obviously believes in the occult. The Church has not eliminated exorcism as yet, so a belief in demons still exists though not overtly. Perhaps this is because to believe in God one must admit to the existence of God's opposite? Therefore, the Church is invested in perpetrating the idea of demons for this also lends credence to the belief in God.
Christ is quoted as saying that if we believed we could cast out demons we would be able to do that as well as everything that he did. Why is that so often overlooked? Because it puts healing and spiritual power back into our hands. For some, attempting to heal means playing God. But who plays God when people in positions of respect & authority, religous & non religous, abuse their authority and trust? Reiki elicits in some a fear of humans trying to be God. The symbols & the attunement & the historical secrecy of that process may seem occult. And there are Reiki people that go way out on a limb with far out theories & practices. Would you believe a RM telling me they had brought dead insects & lizards back to life? Maybe those arent zombies & ghosts prowling cemeteries these days but Reiki Masters trying to raise the dead? I am working on a Return Of the Dead Reiki Masters movie script...nothing like some advance free PR! :)
Laying on of hands is what Jesus did & many see it as blasphemy to try & do the same. It is much different than accepted forms of therapy based on scientific principles. A traditional doctor heals with drugs and treatments. Laying on of hands there is not spiritual or healing, it is about examination and fact finding in order to make a diagnosis and calculate progress with treatment. For many it makes sense to them & Reiki does not.
I would suggest thinking about what you believe in & why the tape upsets you. :)
For me, I hope that one day I will come up with an approach that might open up my brother's eyes. The irony is that in our own ways, we are both focused on changing each other's minds!! :) Although well aware that one is responsible for their own thoughts and where they take one, Id be happy just to have him understand my viewpoint, but he is too quick to reject them without any consideration. For him, it is a matter of spiritual principle, what he was taught is the truth & needs no examination. Not much you can do with that attitude.
IMHO, thoughts create the demons we fear. Negative thoughts do more damage than anything else. To me, that is the basis of Christ's teachings. If you think negatively, the thought creates a life of it's own, it eats into your brain & your spirit. When Christ taught that thinking of a sinful act was the same as doing it, it was not about creating guilt for our very human thoughts but recognizing the sequence, that evil begins begins with a negative thought. Any demons are created by negativity and all it's brothers, fear and anger, etc.

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon said on

For some, attempting to heal means playing God.
[. . . .]
Laying on of hands is what Jesus did & many see it as blasphemy to try & do the same.

And yet, there's John 14:12:
"Verily, verily I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he shall do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father." Wouldn't it be nice if "Christians" who charge others w/ blasphemy would at least READ THE BIBLE before speaking?

>IMHO, thoughts create the demons we fear. Negative thoughts do more damage than anything else. To me, that is the basis of Christ's teachings. If you think negatively, the thought creates a life of it's own, it eats into your brain & your spirit. When Christ taught that thinking of a sinful act was the same as doing it, it was not about creating guilt for our very human thoughts but recognizing the sequence, that evil begins begins with a negative thought. Any demons are created by negativity and all it's brothers, fear and anger, etc.

I'm going to drift further off topic here, but I find it interesting that in the Biblical stories, following Jesus' baptism experience and the 40 days in the wilderness, the demons were the first to recognize Jesus as Son of God. See Matthew 8:28-29, Mark 3:11, Luke 4:41. From which, if one accepts the Biblical statements, it seems that at least some Biblical demons aren't the same as humans' mental constructs. Anyway, and FWIW.

Bruce

holobon,

Hi,

Yes, it seems highly unlikely that there were any "demons" on earth, at least, before humans were sufficiently evolved to have the sorts of thoughts and feelings whose energy would generate such nasty though-forms (which, if perpetuated will linger much, longer than an individual's life span). Hence, such nasty energy as we generate in this lifetime may well be waiting for us at our next incarnation. Such is Karma. LOL

Cheers,

RC

Well,thanks for your responses, I do think we will be hearing more from the RC about this so it is important that we all be clear about it.Visit the websitr The Cross and The Veil and then you will see what I mean.

eirelassey,

Hi,

Hear more from me? Is that a request? Or an expectation based on 'faith' of some sort?

:)

I guess it did not occur to you that I might have shot my wad; fired my last salvo; closed the book on the matter; not gotten in the last word.

LOL.

Cheers,

RC

Then again she might have meant Roman Catholics

:-)))))

hugs

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

Rebecca,

Hi,

Nice to see you. Yes, possibly RC referred to Roman Catholics. But, just to cover at least one of the other possibilities (since RC is rather ambiguous), for the purposes of my point, I doubt whether referring to RCs, Greek orthodoxies, Russian orthodoxies, orthodox, conservative or, reformed jews, druids, hindus, mayans etc would make any difference.

Cheers,

RC

Dear Eirelassey,
Years ago I went to the RC websites, probably hit the one you posted. That type of info has been out there for some time. Some info on webs & in books lists Reiki under cults. Since no one tells you these things when you get into Reiki it is quite the shocker to be told that you are utilizing symbols that can be traced to Satan. Had no idea I was so powerful or that others would see me as in danger of losing my soul! Have been told I was hypnotized by Reiki practitioners. :)
The Church has their viewpoint & it is doubtful that anything we had to say to them or to the faithful, with minds made up, would change that. Change in an organization that old & traditional is slow & not always dependant on outside viewpoints. There is a difference between the teachings of the Church and the actual practices of the individual. Now, if you could convince the pope that might change.
Eventually, we accept that Reiki isnt for everyone & that is OK. The important issue is how you yourself feel.
peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

Hi,

Reiki symbols linked to satan? There are tibetan characters for satan that look like Reiki symbols? Even I might like to see such a document out of 'morbid curioosity' even though people can and do twist any kind of inforamtion or story if it helps them grind their axes.

Again, there are those hard core folks in most "religions" who will say that anyone who is not their sort of 'believer' is in league with 'the devil' or is an 'infidel', etc.

And you are right that the long-standing religious traditions have remained that way precisely becasue of the rigidity of the doctrine. Other forms of politics suffer the same disease.

Cheers,

RC

RC.

Good to see you too.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

This has been an interesting thread. There does seem to be a trend within the Roman Catholic church that calls for what I see as restrictive thought. And within the ranks, there is a polarity that has developed. There are groups fighting for an end to mandatory celibacy and for ordination of women, etc. Then there are groups that want to go back to Latin masses and other rule based, ritual based worship. Although I know many priests and nuns who practice Reiki, NOTHING would surprise me in terms of an official stance. It really comes down to what YOU feel is right for you. When I saw the condemnation of homosexuals and the way other things have been officially handled in the RC church, it eventually became too much for me. I left last year and so far, have no desire to go back. I have seen too many good and holy people persecuted. There is alot of fear operating in this institution.
Follow your heart! No institution has exlusive rights to Divinity.
Love,
Feather

Dear Reikicurmudgeon,
The Inquisition, the Holocaust, the Salem witch hunts, the modern day genocides.....we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Stone the other guy, the evil doer, before your own secret desires are made known! It would be better for us to admit that we are not innocents and never have been. Could our fears about aliens from other planets mask an underlying fear that we will meet another species more deadly and secretive than humans? Shuddering thought.....Remember the book,the Scarlet Letter? It is as applicable now as it ever was.
Some may think this is a depressing post & it is not meant to be. We cant make progress if we keep denying who we are and pointing at the other guy. But of course, Im as guilty as the rest. :)

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

Hi,

When I point at 'the other guy' I point at myself.

:)

But, that does not excuse 'the other guy', so to speak, for commiting one sort of atrocity or another. It only means I must be aware that, for other factors, it could have been me.

Cheers,

RC

holobon said on

Remember the book,the Scarlet Letter? It is as applicable now as it ever was.

Maybe another Hawthorne story, The Minister's Black Veil, would be on point.

I guess You've got a point, but your missing mine, maybe because I haven't been clear, more so I've not been clear to myself.
It wouldn't feel good to him, is my point. But each to their own.
I'm okay with it though.
Now.
Theirs a bay gurgling away beside me at the computer next to me, a bit distracting, but puts things in prespective.
So I can't give You the attention you deserve.
blessings

I couldn't be bothered listening to any tape right now, or reading any other reiki or related subjects. I've enough.
Wish you all the best though.

Otoharo!

Feather, I like your statement that no one has exclusive right to divinity. We all are divine in our essence.

finality

There is not a general consensus on Reiki. I myself know a Catholic nun who is a Reiki Level 2 practitioner and is hoping to become a Reiki Master.

I do think they have a point in that some people who are not mindful or very respectful of the sacredness of what they are doing when they do Reiki or energy work in general may unknowingly comingle with energies that are not beneficent.

I've come to believe that a Catholic Priest is attuned very much the way Reiki practitioners are, and that is how they are able to metaphysically transform the wafer and wine. It is in the tradition of the church to have that power very closely held. It makes sense. Dr. Usui very closely held Reiki, and did not attune a huge amount of people, probably for the same reason.

Just some thoughts. I'm not an expert by any means on this subject.

starlight said on

>I've come to believe that a Catholic Priest is attuned very much the way Reiki practitioners are, and that is how they are able to metaphysically transform the wafer and wine.

Uh, whom have you known who's actually been able to do transubstantiation? And how do you know he's done it?

Bruce

It's well known that Christ had the 'power' some would say that Reiki was that power. But not known as such of course.

Bruce, as I was sleepy and a bit foggy brained when I wrote that comment, I apologize if it sounded more substantial than it was meant to be. When I was growing up as a Catholic, my family was deeply spiritual, and I was not. Therefore I was a sceptic about prayers, communion, etc.--I was not connected to that world. Reiki offered me the link that enabled me to access this, and I was merely equating these two things in a very mild way. I've never had any conversation with a priest about this topic. It's merely conjecture on my part, so don't take it so seriously. I'm no expert on this subject.

So? They don't. But there are ways and means to go around these things.

This is a very interesting post. I only heard once that the Catholic Church did not agree with Reiki but as our local Hospice for the dying run by the nuns have Reiki Healers I really don't believe it. Some people, expecially the older generation have very rigid ideas and you are not likely to change them. I went to Medjugorge last year and discussed Reiki with a priest and he said we have all very raods on our journey. I'll not be stopping doing Reiki because I can see the good it does for people.
Remember the Church is made up of imperfect people and I am one of them.

Coming in late with something probably stated.Catholocism has in it's midst two schools of thought.

There are those like you said who are avidly against it. they often claim that the Church is against it.

However, there are nuns , monks and priests who practice Reiki and have not been ousted.Matter of factly in the Catholic newsletter my mother recieved some time ago it had a positive article on Reiki in Catholocism and mentioned a priest in New York who is also a practicing buddhist.

Hi, I'm new to the boards.

What I can tell you is that the Catholic Church as a whole is not opposed to energy medicine. The Catholic Church in the Phillipines endorses and practices Pranic healing (which has some of its basis in Reiki.) I just saw a video where nuns and priests regularly administer Pranic healing to members of their congregation and encourage people in their community to learn the concepts. The late Pope John Paul II even endorsed it. I find that pretty amazing since Pranic healing is strongly associated with the teachings of Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui, who is revered as a guru by many of his followers/practitioners. That could create a conflict for Catholics, but somehow they seem to be very comfortable with the relationship. If they believed that channeling energy allowed the Devil in, I can assure you it would not have received the endorsement of the Pope. Also, I think we practitioners understand that energy can be used for good or bad purposes, based on our intention. If we are channeling Reiki energy for good, it will do good and those of us who are spiritually inclined will feel connected to God in whatever form God takes in our lives.

I think it depends what part of the world you are in. Some cultures are more open to energy healing/medicine concepts because certain forms were already inherently being practiced (i.e., Native American shamanism) but I have noticed that Western cultures - some European and definitely American Christian cultures - are less accepting of energy healing. Some see the use of symbols as being threatening or antithetical to their spiritual tradition. Mostly this is because of lack of education. After all, we tend to fear the unknown and Reiki is still unknown to many in the West.

A lot of times what helps open doors in people's hearts is to explain these concepts in a way that makes sense to them and their worldview. For example, there is a good site about Reiki for Christians(I think it's ) that describes how Reiki works in terms that are more comfortable for Christians to accept and assimilate.

I hope that helps.