The Reiki Cafe 

Dear Boddho1,

I really was interested in what you had to say. I think your contribution to this board could be very significant and whorthwhile. I hope you won't be discouraged about posting here, I'd really like to hear from you, you seem quite knowledgable.

Blessings,
Roxy

Hi Roxy,

Yes, thank you for your response. I had sat here at my PC to edit my last post, but instead will leave as is and put up a new post. I retract what I said in the previous posting vis a vis my unwillingness to have anything to do with this thread as you and a couple of others have said some very interesting things that I would like to take the time to reflect on and offer some thoughts.

That said, this post has now caught me at an astonishingly busy time for a couple of days I think and so I cannot do justice right now.

What I will say here is that I recognise that everyone, and I very much include myself in this, is not perfect. We all make mistakes, say things we should not, make judgements about others that perhaps we have no right to make or are inappropriate.

I do this for sure, and I often later reflect on the fact that I have perhaps done someone an injustice for making a judgement about them or whatever. It sometimes saddens me to discover for myself that I have still so far to go and so much to learn.

I started this thread as I think that as a community of spiritually minded people, meditation might be something that Reiki people in general would perhaps be interested in - in this instance meditating on the Reiki symbols - a method amongst many useful ones that could be employed.

In fact I think that meditation is something that on the whole many more people in the Reiki community at large might find a very useful adjunct to their practice.

Apologies to RC in advance but I am going to say this in any case:

I am also rather astonished at the very high levels of protectionism over lineage and traditions that there is in some parts of the Reiki community. I am astonished at the high levels of aggression and confrontation that there is in some parts of the Reiki community. I have become very aware of this in terms of some elements of the Australian Reiki community in particular in recent weeks, but I am sure that there are others and not bound by geography.

All of this for me suggests an overwhelming need for a practice like meditation for Reiki people. Fine if they do not want to engage with this. But I think the Reiki community could well do without confrontation, protectionism, aggression etc and a lot more understanding, love, community and even friendly exchange of fire if necessary. Meditation is one practice that could bring this more amicable state of affairs about.

So yes, got to dash, and will get back to you for sure and ponder some of the points on the thread.

Many blessings - you too RC.

Steve

It's very much a chicken and egg thing isn't it?
Or maybe a kind of a man dreams himself a flower, a flower dreams itself a man; what is real.
wish I had something constructive and maningfully insightful to add to this thread, but here goes.
As part of my reiki training, then and now, having experienced much teaching and training, using different symbols and energy systems, I find that I've overloaded on all the symbols and such, gotten very confused to where I'm at, so I've pulled back from 'asking' to be a channell for those systems, and stopped using any other symbols, exept usui reiki symbols in any work I do.
i.e.: Gotten back to basics.
Simplicity is best.
Maybe someday, I'll 'ask' for the other symbols and energy systems, but for now, I'm only going to 'ask' for reiki.
I hereby place all other such in the hand of God, as I understand it.
It's a small comfort.
Just sitting seems like a good way to start.

buddho1,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- the protectiveness you mention sounds to me, at least, to be another incarnation of tribalism

- aspects of which certainly involve being very circumspect about traditional (sacred??) information

- and, being wary of 'outsiders'(or potential usurpers??)

- to the extent this reflects the history and development of human nature, I am not at all astonished

- clearly, becoming a Reiki practitioner or teacher does not automatically evolve us beyond this very powerful heritage

- so, I think we need to be careful in referring to ourselves as more evolved folk or that we work with higher vibrations or whatever terms are applied these days

>:-}}

- and, in suggesting others are aggressive, it is always important to remember that such attributions may well reflect a certain amount of projection

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Fantastic thread! Sometimes one starts a subject that leads on to another subject which is maybe the subject more necessary to discuss for our spiritual growth and learning at that moment. Do we try to keep bringing the thread back to what it was originally meant to be? or do we flow to learn new things from what arises?

Why do we as people pick out the comments that may have offended in peoples passages??? I feel that in order to commuicate with utter perfection our throat chakras must be finely tuned. So as we are not all perfect beings with perfectly honed communication skills it is sometimes very difficult to express ones best intentions and ideas through what we write without perhaps saying something that may offend... I feel that all that is said is highly important. The people that point out our commuication errors i suppose helps us to reflect on the way we write things and express our ideas. But also it is important to draw on the positive comments made and points of interest in what is said in order to help tune more finely our throat chakras. Its all very PC isnt it... sometimes its nice to let things pass over and understand that we are not perfect by any means... and commuication is a fine art!

RC? you said : "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."

I think this comment is quite nasty and hurtful. i think Budho has tried to commuicate his feelings without trying to offend. His intention is good... and maybe he has slipped up in your view and offended u in some of the things he has said. Commuication is a fine art!

Thanks. x

Namaste Buddho.
You are the one who seems upset and making assumptions.
Sorry you are so defensive .
peace,
Prosperity

roxylady,

Hi,

You may find sweeping and critical generalizations of\about others acceptible or, at best, insignificant enough to overlook, but I do not; and, especially when they occur at a forum such as this which is predicated upon and dedicated to civil discussion. It is one thing directly criticize a specific individual who may take issue with the assertion or lodge a complaint with WebMaster if feeling directly offended; it is quite another to speak disparagingly of groups of people (which, by the way, might include others who participate in this forum).

Now, since you have suggested the comments you attribute to me are hurtful, I have to ask: in what way were you hurt by them? They were, afterall, directed rather specifically to another party, not to you or at 'a lot of people'.

But, I am hopeful that the essentially interesting aspects of the thread can be carried forward without further acrimony.

Cheers,

RC

Otoharo!

I am experiencing more and more response (I am stimmied to find words for this that I respond to) It seems like Spirit is the only answer. And I mean that Spirit includes my meditaions, using symbols, pondering, These do not separate out. It feels a complete bundle of beingness. As long as the head is not involved.

I want to comment also on this truth that mind is in every cell of the body. It is also outside us, in the atmosphere, in all that surrounds us inclosing us in this oneness of all things including spirit.

I am surprised even when a discussion seems to center around separating one thing from another.

Mind feels like an embrace, an all inclusiveness. In this perspective, how can we pull out meditaions to even look at it, let alone symbols?

It is revealing to me that as I type these words, the feelings compliment them, and I am uncomfortable even in the discussion of separateness.

finality

Dear Boddho1,

I, for one, do not find any of your posts offensive, neither do I feel you are coming across as defensive. Indeed, your diplomacy is much to be admired. Nor do I feel you are projecting.

I often have been disturbed by the lack of spiritual values in some people who consider themselves to be spiritual. I do find in such people, the less pleasant aspects of the Ego.

Blessings,
Roxy

roxy,

Hi,

I agree whole-heartedly. It is Ego that works so hard to keep us from admitting to our short-comings. I also would offer that projection, as a largely unconscious process, is not easily detected by those who attribute negative qualities (or absence of more positive qualities such as being spiritual, I suppose) to others. But, perhaps in this day and age there is bit more latitude in the sort of behavior that is acceptibly called spiritual?

:o)

Cheers,

RC

Dear Steve,

I have quite enjoyed your posts and I do hope you stay around a bit.

You said...

>I am also rather astonished at the very high levels of protectionism over lineage and traditions that there is in some parts of the Reiki community. I am astonished at the high levels of aggression and confrontation that there is in some parts of the Reiki community.

I couldn't agree more. The confrontational tactics and agression I have seen displayed in parts of the Reiki community have really turned me off. Internet forums are rife with such conflicts that seemed fueled by anonymity. Truly it can be disheartening (to me, at least). I have no desire to label others more or less "spiritual" but it does seem to me that if love, compassion and tolerance for others' ideas doesn't exist in spiritual communities, where would it exist?

There is also a good bit of alpha male chest-thumping to be witnessed whenever a new dog jumps into the pen. I hope you can weather that bit and share some more of your insights with us.

Lesley

lesley,

Hi,

There are alpha males around here? Where? Who?

lol

But, in the service of some notion of the equality of the sexes, perhaps we should also mention the 'status' known as alpha female (Wild Kingdom and all that).

:o)

Cheers,

RC

judgmentalisim, where would we be without it.
So if people find offense in some others words, maybe it's because there is a grain of truth in the matter, ergo hurt feelings. I've been warned not to stray where negative vibes abide, and here I am doing just that.

Sayonara

Blessings,

I would like to attempt to still the negative vibes in this thread for Jag and everyone.

First of all, before I forget - again - I want to thank Aronaya for the wack with the kyosaku! Much appreciated I am sure.

Roxyart you asked about whether meditating on the different symbols gives rise to differences in the meditative state. Well, I am not sure that you could really say that there would be a difference in the meditative state as such - though we are all individual and so nothing is set in stone on this - I think that most probably - at least this is my experience and that of others I know -is that working with the different symbols gives rise to different qualities or states of mind within a uniform meditative state - if that makes sense. The arising of emotions, energy, thoughts, feelings as a cosequence of meditation can then modify the meditative state which in turn can modify that which arises. It is a chicken and egg situation really - energy follows thought.

If you have difficulty holding the image, then perhaps this technique might work for you:

1. Draw your Reiki symbol nice and big on a piece of card.
2. Sit for meditation and get relaxed. Normal relaxed breathing.
3. Gently rest your gaze on the image of the symbol for a while.
4. Try to avoid engaging with thoughts as they arise. Just notice them and let them go.
5. Return your gaze to the symbol whenever your thoughts stray
6. Be aware of how you are feeling. Be aware of any sensations in any part of your body.
7. After a few minutes of gazing at the symbol, close your eyes and try to visualize the symbol. You could place it at your 3rd Eye (in the centre of your forehead) and see it there.
8. If this is difficult to visualize, then open your eyes again and gaze at the image for a while. Then try to internalise it again.
9. Do not engage with the thoughts that arise. Just notice them and watch the symbol. Notice what comes up for you - if anything.
10. Be aware of any sensations that might arise in any part of your body.
11. Do this meditation for a minimum of about 15 mins.

Aronaya, yes, you raise I think an important point in one of your posts: and I think this in some ways relates to what I have said on the other thread in relation to the ego: the ego loves to meditate. It's goal is to become the world's best meditator in some senses, but this is really not what we meditate for. Just sitting is I guess a much better way of approaching this practice as it tends to have less of the baggage of the word 'meditate' about it. I think as we meditate it is good if we can get to the place of not really having a reason for meditating at all or not really caring too much on the outcome. If we start to empower meditation with desire and striving then we are not necesarily being mindful of the arising of the mind in its true state. Yes, so it seems to me that this is a good point to make: chop wood, carry water indeed. Is not your following description however vis a vis the way you infuse your whole body with a symbol, precisely this meditating on the symbols? I wouldn't want to suggest that in what I have suggested as a worthwhile practice on this thread that it is some how special and outside of the simple practice of holding a symbol within. Does it matter where? In the head or projected to another part of the body? Energy follows thought.

On the gerbil question: I think that actually mindfulness on anything when truly achieved is simply that: mindfulness and it matters not how it is arrived at. Surely the ego would like to proclaim however that its route to mindfulness via the complex practice of meditating on a gerbil is far more worthy than the simple technique of meditating on a Reiki symbol?

If the meditative object is the projection, and the mindsource is the projector, which one are we trying to illuminate? Surely we are trying to illuminate all? Is not the projector itself a projection? Is not the mindsource if we see it as such a symptom of our dualistic thinking - projection and projector are one and the same and only dualistic thinking creates the arising of conditions that give rise to the state of two being an emanation of the one - thus dualistic thought. OK - I lost myself there - I am not going to take Plato on 'He/You are right' is the path of least resistance here....I feel another wack coming up..

Yes, I think all of life is an opportunity to develop mindfulness and if we engage in Reiki therapy then there is as much opportunity in that to develop our mindfullness as in any other situation. So yes I think that the state of mind that can arise in this is very much like a meditative state - just being present in the now. th is is the beauty of the Reiki system I think in that without even having a conscious desire to do so, we can just through our concern for others develop ourselves spiritually and make progress. An amazing system isn't it?

I think though that there is potential within the system to not only make this progress by default as it were, but to become proactive in that process - if we so wish. Meditating on the symbols would be one way and this is what I mean by not throwing the symbols away. We all get to the point eventually where that conscious drawing/visualizing process that we do straight after 2nd degree gives way to an intuitive ability to just 'hook up' to the energetic qualities of the symbols in giving a Reiki treatment. Do we at this point throw them away? Put them down@? Not refer to them? This is where we miss the chance, if we want to be proactive about our spiritual journeying, to get a lot more from them. Meditate on them!

Aronaya made a point either on here or the other thread about the appropriateness of a method for the individual and this is I think really important. Some may find that meditating on the symbols is a pointless or fruitless process. Others might find it exhilerating and liberating. If the symbols don't work for you in terms of meditation, it means only one thing perhaps - this is a chance for you to find that which does resonate with you. Maybe something else would be a better focus. Try a gerbil. You won't know unless you give it a go.

On another tack I wanted to respond to Firekeepers comments on this thread also.

Yes, I think I would agree with you that this protectiveness is an aspect of a deeply ingrained tribalism. I don't think that we can get away from this very easily. Human nature has been continually characterized by this quality of tribalism and so, astonishment is probably not appropriate even within the realms of the Reiki community. It is nonetheless sad that this is the way of things. Spiritual practice should at least hold up the hope that as individuals we might be able to negate to a degree or another our connectedness to this primitive need to gang together and gang up on others. One would hope that within spiritual communities that there is a striving at least on a personal level to make this happen, and when it doesn't then an acknowledgment of failure and a redoubling of efforts perhaps.

Again, yes, the ego loves the idea of that particular individual being better, more advanced, more adept, more spiritual than anyone else. This is where danger lies in the spiritual community I think. The ego always needs to be kept in check and watched like a hawk. Even in humbleness the ego finds solace in being the most humble, the most amenable, the most loving or compassionate -whatever the quality is that we aspire to, the ego will do whatever it can to hijack it and claim it as its own. So yes there is a danger in proclaiming one is the most spiritually advanced, but also beware of the inclination for being the most humble and allowing others to be the most spiritually advanced ahead of you!!

Thanks Roxylady for your kind words in your post - much appreciated indeed. Blessings.

Prosperity, I am not sure what you mean about making assumptions. Can you enlighten me please as to what it is you are referring to? Sorry can't be any clearer than that until I know what you are commenting on.

WEll, that was a long post and all I have time for now, but I just wanted to address the most pertinent of other's comments on this thread. Finality - yes, you are of course right - at least this is my belief. I could not say for certain on the evidence of my own experience that all is indeed one, but my intuition tells me this and my practice points in this direction and so I work in duality with the concept of one-ness as my guide until I have the proof for myself - this is, I guess all each of us can do until we get there.

Many blessings,

Steve

Namaste Steve,
You mentioned that you were sorry you were upsetting people when they didn't seem upset to me. You were assuming you knew what they were feeling and it seemed like as another person mentioned, that you were doing projection of your own feelings of anger unto others.
peace,
Prosperity

Ah..OK...see where you are coming from now. Troule is, I felt no anger towards anyone on this thread. Total bemusement arose a few times though along with perhaps defensiveness on ocassion and perhaps some sadness, but no anger, so that wasn't being projected as far as I am aware.

Blessings,

Steve

jaguar,

Hi,

Well, ta ta, then.

But, remember, one will never find happiness unless one carries it along on the journey. This also holds true for bad vibes. We all may bring those with us as well.

:)

Cheers,

RC

Goodness Goodness..

so much discussion ...meditate if you want to..the Reiki Master book from reiki.org recommends meditation on the symbols as does the Book on Karuna Reiki sooo if William Rand et al and Laurelle Shanti Gaia meditate with on symbols..well..hey ...cant be all that bad..i have found meditaiton on symbols ..improves my 3rd eye focus..improves visions,,improves guidance during my giving reiki.. some people have told me they have special affinity for certain symbols..you know..the ones were are all "collecting"..holds true for me..a tibetan soul star symbol of myosinyen..that seems to give me a lot of insight..(higher self symbol..so thereya go.)..just my thoughs..lol

Blessings, stargazer7