The Reiki Cafe 

Hi All,

This is a cross-post with a post I put up today on Healthy Pages Reiki Forum - just trying to gather info on this...

Just wanted to get some feedback on the idea of using Reiki symbols as meditation objects. I read all over the place how some people seem to think that once you have 'internalized' the main function of the Reiki symbol (like makiing a distant connection without actually invoking, visualizing or drawing the distant symbol) then you can pretty much dispense with it.

It seems to me that perhaps this is a rather shallow way of working with the symbols. Symbols - Reiki or otherwise are multi-functional and multi-dimensional it seems to me and to throw them away once you have mastered their most basic function seems a little short sighted (unless of course you have no interest in what else they might have to offer beyond their most basic function).

Does anyone else use them as objects of meditation at all and if so, what effects, realizations, energetic qualities have come up as a consequence? I am interested as I always tell my students that beyond the basic functions of the Reiki symbols which are pretty easy to master, there is a life-times journey of meditating on these fascinating and incredibly powerful symbols which can and will take you deeper into a journey of self-exploration with Reiki.

Most of course don't bother with this - meditation can be perceived as hard work when the desired results don't manifest almost immediately. I would in fact be more inclined to the view that the symbols are in the first instance meditation tools and only secondarily capable of connecting to different attirbutes and fucntions of the Universal Energy Field.

Any thoughts??

Blessings,

Steve

Steve,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- when you were first attuned, did you do so to have the symbols for meditation or to do Reiki??

>:-}}

- for myself, if one wishes to use them primarily for meditation?? Fine.

- but, it is essential to remember that meditation, whether on Reiki symbols or breath or one's gerbil is not 'wishful thinking'

- by the way, do you have any direct, business connection to Healthy Pages Forum??

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Hi,

Thanks for your response. Nope - I have no connection to Healthy Pages other than as a Forum member (fairly new one at that) and have a classified ad on there for my book as it is a free listing.

As to why I did Reiki. No - I did not go to the class to just get symbols, but I would ask what exactly is your definition of 'doing Reiki'? Doing Reiki is not as far as I can see simply about putting hands on and working in a healing context. Working with meditation is also in my system of Reiki very much a part of the idea of 'doing Reiki' (or rather, meditation is a part of doing Reiki...not that all meditation is a Reiki pracitce of course) - in fact I would say that meditation is far more a component of doing Reiki than working in a healing context. This is of course all to do with orientation to practice and the particular tradition one comes from I guess, so there is room for different perspectives on this.

Would be very interested in others views on this really.

Blessings,

Steve

Steve,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- if you wish to advertise or promote your book you are welcome to do so at our Resources and Announcement pages

- the discussion Boards are for just that - discussion

- for myself? Meditation is largely for self-improvement (though there are practices for others with meditation components - Kundalini Yoga has some, for example)

>:-}}

- Reiki is, at its best, Hands-on whether for oneself or others (compassionate action has some part in the latter - as does making $$$ in some cases)

- Reiki for the self is well, self-centered - yet healing oneself may lead to a larger capacity for compassion

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Apologies,

I was not aware that I was promoting my book here. Have already gone to the Resources etc but was just trying to clarify my position vis a vis Healthy Pages as there was obviously a question over this. Many apologies again. have been out of the loop re Reiki forums for a number of years due to being overseas and very little PC access and am really just starting to find my way around them again. I joined this Forum a few years ago - near the start of it I think and am just searching through stuff on here and seeing how things have changed, developed and what the latest talk is and what concerns there are amongst the Reiki community at large

I am however genuinely interested in this discussion subject if anyone wants to join in. To be totally upfront re my interest in this subject though:

1/It is an area that I am genuinely interested in as I think it is largely overlooked and not given sufficient credence within Reiki circles generally.

2/ It is the subject of a chapter for a new book and may well form a part of a third planned book though these are not written, not sold to a publisher, not available at all so you can't get them anywhere! But this discussion if anyone wants to engage may well colour/influence/provide food for thought for my writing on this subject.

Many apologies - feel like I am walking on egg shells here..

Blessings,

Steve

Steve,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- no worries

- I have heard of Reiki bubbles (I hope I am not bursting any) - bagl - but not Reiki eggshells (hopefully we are not being ovaprotective of our discussion Boards)

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

No problem!

No bubbles burst here and I have successfully avoided all the eggshells too (too many nights watching David Carradine walk on rice paper I think...)..

It is always good to clarify rules from time to time and I will endeavour not to sully the good name of this forum by stepping over the line...

so.....WHAT ABOUT REIKI SYMBOLS AND MEDITATION THEN??? HAS ANYONE ANYTHING TO SAY ON THIS OR NOT??????? lol

Perhaps I shall think up another topic and start another thread...

Blessings,

Steve

Dear Steve,
I do not try to meditate while doing Reiki. I just do Reiki. Although sometimes I do go into a relaxed, meditative state and feel high or spacey enough to have to ground myself afterwards. Meditation is important though and is a great practice.
peace,
Prosperity

Hi Prosperity,

Yeah, I think it is quite a common experience for a practitioner to go into a sort of meditative state whilst doing a treatment on someone and this is a good state to be in I think. For a couple of reasons: Firstly, I think it sort of gets you out of the way of the energy - or more importantly gets your mental processing out of the way of the energy and I think that the client gets a better treatment as a consequence and also I think it has beneficial effects for the practitioner.

I cannot believe that there seems to be so many people about who think it is ok to just chat with the client or just run off at the mouth generally whilst giving a treatment though - surely a meditative state if possible is preferable when engaged with this process?

I use the symbols also to meditate on - not always - but sometimes and I find that there is a huge energy rush in this practice. Other effects also, but the main one being a sense of massive energy all around me, in me and a part of me - like being at the centre of a ki-bomb that has just gone off..amazing feeling. At other times it feels like - well...nothing...just expansiveness I guess...and peaceful. But this is not whilst doing a treatment at all. This is sitting meditation..

Blessings,

Steve

Greetings! And a brisk whack of the kyosaku...

Blessings,
Aronaya

Otoharo!

When I begin meditation, I go down, like in an elevator. There are times when i do the CKR mentally. It is not a thought to do, it just happens on its own.

finality

The Japanese Art of Reiki advocates meditating on the symbols. I keep meaning to get round to it!

Kiga

Hi Kiga,

Don't nkow about the Japanese Art of Reiki, but yeah, it is a good practice and you will get a lot from it. Give it a go!

Blessings,

Steve

budho,

Hi,

Throw the symbols away? From what I have read here since joining in suggests that many Reiki folks collect attunements (and, thus symbols) much the same as people collect Beannie Babies or olde bottles or coins or??? And one cannot simply throw away the symbols. However, I have been told that attunements can be un-done. And, one does not need to draw or visulaize symbols to do Reiki once one is sufficiently practiced and connected to the flow of energy. But this in no way degrades the symbols, afterall.

But, to suggest someone else's practices are shallow?? Hmmmmm!

As for meditation? Great practice!! Meditate on the Reiki Symbols? Sure, why not. Meditate upon a scrying bowl? Why not.

:)

Overall, I would say you have not given this matter nearly the mindful consideration it deserves.

Cheers,

RC

Hello,

Well, yes - lol - you are right, people do indeed seem to collect Reiki symbols or symbols that are purported to have something to do with Reiki, but this is really not at all what I was talking about in terms of 'throwing them away'. Of course, clearly Reiki people do not 'throw the symbols away' either figuratively or metaphorically, but they are it seems with some people dispensed with at some point(not those perhaps who collect symbols as you suggest). Dispensed with in terms of their practice of Reiki. Dispensed with in terms of having an active conscious part in their engagement with the system. This is what I meant in terms of 'throwing them away'.

I wouldn't know about attunements being undone. I have not heard this before and have no evidence one way or the other and it is not really to do with the idea of symbols and meditation as far as I can see.

You have implied an attack on someone or some group of people that is not there and was not intended in terms of your reference to my comment on the shallowness or otherwise of others practices. When you have a rather complex meditation device with energetic qualities and you only use it to connect to the energy and then dispense with it in terms of conscious use within the system, then it does indeed seem to be a rather shallow practice unless of course, as I have said, this is the main or only focus of your concern in your practice.

To suggest that meditating on the Reiki symbols is akin to meditating on a scrying bowl is...well..a bit dismissive of the point of this thread. A scrying bowl may well be a good thing to meditate on, I wouldn't know, as good as the next thing, but it is not as far as I know (and I know little on this subject) designed for meditation whereas the Reiki symbols are in part designed for this purpose though very few use them in this way. Most simply use them to connect to energy and then drop them from their practice. Though I am discovering via other forums and sources that indeed there are those (many it seems) who do use them for meditating on as a regular part of their Reiki practice and see this practice as an intrinsic part of that practice.

Apologies for the lack of mindfullness!

This phrase 'do Reiki' also keeps coming up and is a big factor in orientating to this subject it seems. I know what is meant when you say in your post 'do Reiki' and so I can understand where you are coming from when you see the idea of meditating on the symbols as being outside the concept of doing Reiki - or that is the way it appears in your comment. If doing Reiki is hands on healing then how does a practice of meditating on the symbols figure in that? Well, I think it can, but that is another subject altogether. I think what is important here is the definition of 'do (ing) Reiki'.

I would offer another definition of 'doing Reiki' and one that involves meditating on the symbols. I have sort of mentioned this already I think. When I meditate on the Reiki symbols, I am doing Reiki. Just as much as when I do hands on work with a client. I am doing Reiki in both instances - so I don't see this as a bolt on or add on to the system - something extra, but at the core of an engagement with the system. I guess it would have been helpful if I had been clear about my definition of doing Reiki at the start.

I am not however in this thread debating definitions or engaging in a semantic debate but wondered quite simply if anyone had any interesting experiences in meditating on the symbols (ie, from my perspective, from 'doing Reiki'). Scrying bowls are an irrelevance to this and are indeed an add on.

Apologies all if you thought I was attacking your practice. I think a careful reading of my first two paras in the first post on the thread will show that this was to do with concepts within Reiki and not with the actual practice on the ground done by people. Concepts and reality rarely match up and people will have all sorts of ways of engaging with the symbols and on different levels and have profoundly different relationships to them. If you took offense at my comment then I am sorry for that - truly, and am happy that the previous poster has raised this issue. Mindfulness is needed indeed! I stand by my intent wholeheartedly though, but will pay attention to how I word things more!

This thread is about experiences with meditation however. Well, maybe someone will have had a go and can put up something of interest on here. If not, then maybe I have encouraged you to have a go at a practice that perhaps you had not considered before. Don't get the idea though that on the one hand you can meditate on the Reiki symbols and on the other you can meditate on scrying bowls or gerbils or whatever, as if it doesn't make a difference. It does. Just try it and if you stick with it, you will see that there is a very big difference. The symbols are simply not interchangeable with any other old object for meditation as is being suggested. I would say that they are intrinsically and primarily for the practice of meditation. I haven't quite worked out what a gerbil is for...lol

Anyway...moving on...

Blessings,

Steve

Dear Boddho1,

It seems an interesting practice, meditating on the symbols. I think I would unable to keep visualizing them long enough to go into a meditative state.

Are there differences in the meditative state according to what symbol is your object? I imagine meditating on the DKM
could be quite powerful.

Blessings,
Roxy

Otoharo!

We meditated on the symbols when I was going through the year of training for reiki III. That was a part of our practice. Now it is that I use the symbold to help me meditate!

finality

Dear Steve, welcome to the robust and healthy debate that is the Reiki Cafe! People are known to speak plainly here, mostly within the bounds of courtesy, though sometimes in the heat of dharma battle the warriors do sustain the occasional flesh wound. It seems in this thread we all are pouncing on your premise -- great fun all around!

On meditation and Reiki, my thoughts:
- I am a terrible "meditator", cannot focus on any imagery for more than an instant
- This, I have realized, is because I spend so much thought energy hiding from unpleasant truths
- Reiki self-treatment helps me calm from the fear of these truths
- So, maybe, someday, I'll actually be able to sit down and do what others call meditation
- This, perhaps, is a self-deprecating exaggeration -- I have found great solace in hours of shamata and tonglen (but still, if I ever manage to truly meditate for even 10 seconds, that will be the thunderclap of awakening!)

From another angle:
- my first adult brush with organized contemplative practice was Zen Buddhism, which at the time purposely avoided the term "meditate" (zazen meaning "just sitting")
- what are we trying to do, anyway? Become great meditators? Or discover the truth of ourselves? If certain approaches we call meditation can help bring me closer to that truth, sign me up! If not, I'll try something else. "Chop wood, carry water".

Yet another perspective:
- often I will sit and infuse my body with one or more of the symbols, then simply be mindful of what arises. This can make a big difference for the day ahead, or the dreams in sleeptime.

On the gerbil question:
- I speculate it would be far more difficult, and far more metaphysically rewarding, to be able to meditate on a live gerbil and hold its every detail of touch, sight, smell, sound in mindfulness; than to hold one or more of the symbols in mindfulness.

If the meditative object is the projection, and the mindsource is the projector, which one are we trying to illuminate?

Whether meditating or doing Reiki, it is all practice. When I write this, it is practice. When I wash dishes, it is practice. When I sit quietly in the morning, at night and at noontime, it is practice. When I teach class, it is practice.

I do agree that active use of the symbols has benefit no matter how many years one has been doing Reiki. Each time one uses a symbol, it teaches more of itself and of Reiki. Saying "oh, I don't need to draw the symbols any more" is a kind of vanity.

If I've done well in the above, all my opinions balance each other out, and I am back to the beginning.

You still get a whack of the kyosaku!

Blessings,
Aronaya

Interesting discussion.

I'm not much into meditation in the traditional sense. I just don't seem to be that good at it and only end up frustrated. During healing work, however, I can easily enter a different consciousness...probably much the same as in meditation. I'm also one who believes that everything can be meditation if done mindfully. Full present awareness is all that is necessary to turn any "doing" into "being".

As for "throwing the symbols away". Well, I don't use them near as much as I used to. It doesn't feel like vanity to me and I really don't overthink it. It is what it is. Reiki for me has become far less about what I can/should do and more about being. And as Aronaya said...everything can be a practice...and healing can happen in many ways.

Now, here's a question that I just dig...

aronaya said
>If the meditative object is the projection, and the mindsource is the projector, which one are we trying to illuminate?

Lesley

budho,

Hi,

You keep saying (in so many words): "I don't know".

"I wouldn't know about attunements being undone." And, "A scrying bowl may well be a good thing to meditate on, I wouldn't know". This illustrates my point, precisely, I believe.

:)

It has been observed by one of our 'brethren' here that it is the questions that matter; not the assertions. I have to agree.

:)

Cheers,

RC

lesley,

Hi,

Neither?

:)

Cheers,

RC

Yes, I think I overstated the "vanity" of "throwing symbols away." To be honest, I don't use them quite as much as I did in the first blush of Level II. Was just thinking about folks who boast that they don't "need" to draw the symbols anymore. I guess my thought is, there is value to the mindfulness that goes with drawing the symbol carefully and deliberately, a way of slowing down and being clear about our intent.

I don't use them a lot in table work, personally, but I do use them in the environment around me -- always with due regard for others' permission if it will affect them.

Blessings,
Aronaya

P.S. Please give the credit to Plato for the idea behind the projector quote (The Cave). Thanks!

aronaya,

Hi,

Yes, if one asserts that it is vanity to say one is not using symbols, it seems important to be certain that one is referring to oneself only. Otherwise, one is likely projecting such a stigma onto others which does no one any good service.

:)

Cheers,

RC

buddho,

Hi,

You said in part: "cannot believe that there seems to be so many people about who think it is ok to just chat with the client or just run off at the mouth generally whilst giving a treatment though - surely a meditative state if possible is preferable when engaged with this process?

Who are these "so many people" at whom you seem to be directing scorn or incredulity or??? Are you including folks who post here? If so, then that would include me, would it not?. And I might take umbrage, mightened I? (especially since you know little or nothing about me or my practices).

But, back on subject. Perhaps some clients are, for whatever reason, needing some conversation during treatments (sometimes)? Or are you simply a stump during treatments if the client says or asks something?

I have not read your book, but if it is written in the style of some of your posts, taking cheap shots at those who do not practice as you do, then the likelihood I will open my wallet for it is remote at best.

Cheers,

RC

THanks for your comments RC. Well, clearly I have upset you which was not intended at all. I don't have the time to answer your points in detail. Just an apology for raising your temperature in such a seemingly comprehensive way.

What I don't quite get though is why it is that if you found my very first post on this thread so utterly offensive (and that is the very clear impression I get) why you did not raise all of your objections in one go rather than over the length and time of this thread? You seem to have gone back to it just to find other things to fault - did you not notice these the first time around?

What I have never done in my entire career in working with Reiki is take cheap shots at anyone for not working in the way that I work. Your put-downs of my comments have so far been on the basis it seems that you have taken each of my comments as if I had meant them to be universally applicable. This is not the case and it seems to me that they are generalizations. Not one of your qualifyers in any way negates a thing I said.

Of course, isn't it rather obvious that if a client needs to talk during a treatment that this should be so?? Isn't it rather obvious that the main focus of concern when giving a treatment is to the client and not to anything else?? Isn't it rather obvious that I know nothing of you or your clients?

I see no point in continuing to engage in a thread that has become the subject of confrontation in this manner. Ok -I take on board the previous posters comments that some blood letting takes place on this forum from time to time and I am pretty much willing to engage with this as much as the next, but frankly I see no point in engaging on this level in this thread. I am not up for in any way confrontation that is leading no-where.

This thread was about meditation. I think I shall go and do some and come back another time in another thread.

Blessings,

Steve