The Reiki Cafe 

How can we distinguish between imagination and messages or contact with spirit? I often get visions when doing Reiki but as someone pointed out it could be imagination? Does anyone else feel this and how do they deal with it?
Love and light
Ally

Dear Allycat,
When new to Reiki, I was encouraged to share what I experienced during the share portion of Reiki circle. Not knowing any better I did & found that it embarassed some people & made others nervous. Some will not be comfortable if they "interpret" that you can read their thoughts. I never read anyone's thoughts but that is not an unusual fear. If they worry about what you might pick up they may actually try to block some issues. What will they see if they can see into me, will they see.....? What worked for me was getting past the images, accepting them as part of the process of Reiki without needing to understand what it means. If the recipient asks what I saw I will often tell them. When new to Reiki,was astounded by what the recipient related to me as it often correlated to what I experienced. However, I have held back when it was very negative or should I say, when I "interpreted" it as negative. ( though the grim reaper seems negative it may have symbolized an experience or connection with one who passed over) People can jump to conclusions & it may not be healthy to share dark images. It has been proven that a doctor telling a patient that they only have 6 months to live can initiate a self fulfilling prophecy even if that estimation or the fatal diagnosis is later shown to be incorrect. And, as has been said, how does one know that one is not seeing our own projections? When several practitioners are working on someone, sharing what everyone sees can result in an unconscious desire for a consensus of experience & individuals may unknowingly shade their interpretation to fit in with the others.
If you want practice, Reiki another Reiki practitioner & share info back & forth. You can also ask your Reiki recipient if they had any experiences they want to share & silently compare that to your own. With experience you will develop your comfort zone.

peace & joy,
holobon

Otoharo!

Holobon has sid it all!

I can share a little about how we did in our small group. when it was just my soul mate and me, we were entirely open about what we saw and felt and sometimes heard. Usually however, we just saw dark energy that we stayed with until it cleared. However, Xaris recommended that we move on to all positions rather than waiting for the !energy in any one position to clear.

In the groups I shared during the year of apprenticship, we usually did not share. The point was just to be with the energy. So many hands on was terrific!

finality

ally,

Hi,

Using empirical (or quasi-empirical) methodology is not a priori antithetical to spiritual endeavours and can help us. In the case you cited, since the name Maggie obviously meant nothing to you it would have been useful to ask the client if Maggie had any significance. Depending on the answer, one can try to sort out the imagination issue. That the client mentioned the name first is useful as well but my preferenc, at least, is to offer the inquiry ahead of getting the information. For myself, in these sorts of cases if someone asks me a question that I was going to ask or provides information to me before I ask for it, I am more likely to consider the other person's 'sensing' as valid (especially if it is not a solitary event) than if I say something and the other person replies that he\she had the same thought.

This sort of 'verification' process also helps us in not sloughing off some 'thought or image' as merely imagination when it might be other than that.

:)

Cheers,

RC

Well to me it often has a different feeling. Some experiences are powerful enough i can't dismiss them as imagination. Other experiences felt more like imagination but ended up being a real valid thing.

But the "feeling" isn't always reliable for me either. So i just go with what feels right and see where it leads. I can always stop, turn around, and go back in the opposite direction : )

Otoharo!

I keep noting what was said in conversations with God when trying to differentiate between imagination and input. God asks back, "What is imagination, anyway?" Perhaps imagination comes from the same place that reality comes from, who know?

finality

Who is to say what our reality is?
I love CWG. xx
Ally