The Reiki Cafe 

Mostly for Mike and Firekeeper,

I really enjoy the message boards you’ve set up at the Reiki Cafe, but when I finally did take the time to sign up and create a user profile for myself the question about ethnicity put me off a bit.
It seems strange to me to even ask a question like that, although it seems very American to me [I know I feel biased, just saying that :-))], but I’ve seen the same categories listed before in US media, from Cosby to CNN
And the categories listed at the Reiki Cafe: African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Caucasian, Latino, Native American, are rather US oriented if you think about it.
I feel there’s a danger in using categories like that, because you can never fit everybody in. I mean what about native Greenlanders or the Sami people from Scandinavia? Or what about Africans who are not American, why not American/non-American Caucasians as well. And are people from the Middle east Caucasian? Or people from let’s say India, are they ethnically Asians? I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, but categories like these seem to reveal more about the people who made them up (or the cultural perspective of those who made them up) than the people being categorized. Once you start to think about it, don’t you feel you only get really tangled up?
And as for myself; with Asian skin and European, perspective of life, values cultural identity etc, where would I fit in? [I’m adopted from Asia, brought up in Sweden by Swedish parents]
Yes, I know “Other” is an option given at the Ethnicity question as well, and that I didn’t even have to leave an answer at all.
But my main question is; why is the question of ethnicity even there? Was it put in out of sheer habit? Or is it supposed certain purpose? Does somebody’s skin color really tell us anything of importance about someone else?

I only want you to consider this issue from another perspective.

No offense intended. Only hoping for an enlightening discussion.

/Dreamlight

Dreamlight,

Namaste.

I cannot speak for our esteemed webmaster, but.....

...perhaps some find importance in declaring their ethnicity?

reiki all around,

all blessings,

firekeeper

Giving importance to stating ethnicity based on categories that only apply on US citizens does not seem to go with the stated spirit of the Reiki Cafe, I qoute:
"This is a place for an open sharing of knowledge and universal acceptance of others."

In a universal place, ethnicity shouldn't matter. Of course, anyone who feels it is important to let others know the color of their skin should be free to do so. But by having the question in the user profile form enodorses the usage of placing people into categories that have more to do with race than ethniicty, ie. skin color rather than culture.

Personnally I believe culture and common values affects each individual more than the genes that define the color of the skin. And

Dreamlight

dreamlight,

namaste.

It is said that our genetic make-up, skin color, and ethnic birth (and of course so much more) are all expressions of the Karma we brought with us into this life.

So, is ethnicity irrelevant?

reiki all around,

all blessings,

firekeeper

There are reasons why I still haven't found a religion or philosophy that my heart can fully embrace.

a thought like: "It is said that our genetic make-up, skin color, and ethnic birth (and of course so much more) are all expressions of the Karma we brought with us into this life."

is yet another reason...

Applied on ethnicity I find such a thought very dangerous. Hasn't it been abused enough already considering colonialism, apartheid, WWII etc?

I went to a Waldorf school (Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy, Eurytmi) for 9 years (grade school) I very much enjoyed the spirit of the school.

But later I was digusted to find out that Steiner once stated that the human races have reached different levels of enlightment. Among his listings Asians were said to be lazy, another category this, and another that.... Who was he to know that?

I am wondering: if you stretch the thought of Karma to its extreme, would we end up somewhere where there is no need for compassion? I mean if physical, mental or spiritual injuries or difficulties all can be explained by Karma - People only get what they deserve.
You've got cancer, or you have been born as a member of minority that might be treated unfair? Well it only serves you right??

Then what's the meaning of kindness, , respecting and helping others, trying to free ourselves from ideas that constrain us or endorses stagnation?

I'd like to believe in humanity, kinship that includes EVERYBODY in THIS life, regardless of skin color, or culture. I'd like to believe that it's all there if we look beyond the surface. That we’re all equal, and then ethnicity wouldn’t matter

Dreamlight

dreamlight,

Namaste.

You are not alone in wanting the light of that dream. :-}}

Is skin color the only "basis" for bigotry?

All religions are masks humans put on Source. These masks help people identify with others (a need of all social animals).

These masks also blind them to who and what is behind different masks.

These masks are part of each person's Karma.

These masks are also part of Humanity's Collective Karma.

:-}}

Reiki all around,

all blessings,

firekeeper

This is the answer I should’ve written from the start.....

>I cannot speak for our esteemed webmaster, but.....
>...perhaps some find importance in declaring their ethnicity?

... and some people certainly find it offensive to be asked about what racial category they belong to. Especially when it serves no practical reason for anyone to know it.

Howcome it seems important to declare your skin color ONLY if you fit into one of the five racial categories that the US government uses to define its own population?

Yes, it is RACIAL categories that are given under the Nexus Café user profile options. They simply reflect skin color or the shape of one’s eyes. Not ethnicity which is based on common culture, and not genes. For example, the Jewish community is open to anyone regardless of skin color. Croats, serbs, bosnian muslims etc in former Yugoslavia, are all caucasians, but different ETHNICAL groups.

Dreamlight

>All religions are masks humans put on Source. These masks help people identify with others (a need of all social animals).

>These masks also blind them to who and what is behind different masks.

>These masks are part of each person's Karma.

>These masks are also part of Humanity's Collective Karma.

Well, when was the last time you contemplated upon the thought that the idea of Karma is simply part of a religion? That it may suggest a true meaning, but that it in itself is a mask?

Don’t you ever feel that explaining EVERYTHING by refering to Karma is like choosing the easy way out? (thinking of the way you tend to use Karma for everything on the Reiki- board)

But I do like the idea of a collective Karma.... :-)

Dreamlight

dreamlight,

Namaste

:-}}

Karma is not the way out - not even the easy way out. In a manner of speaking it iswhat "keeps us In" the cycle. :-}}

Masks indicate accummulation of karma.

We are part of Collective Karma.

The "way out" is to resolve individual and collective karma.

Religion is one way to begin.

:-}}

Reiki all around,

all blessings,

firekeeper

dreamlight,

namaste.

It seems your anger has had a chance to ripen a little.

I will double check, but I do not think one is required to state their ethnicity which is not the same as "race".

If it is required, then I suspect that the webmaster may have some thoughts on the matter.

Some people are proud of their heritage and should also have the choice to say so or not.

:-}}

Reiki all around,

all blessings,

firekeeper

There are mainly two reasons why I have questioned the purpose of the Ethnicity question in the Nexuscafe User Profile. Please note that I have never claimed that it must be filled out, I know that it can left blank. But simply I questioned why it is there at all. No other web community that I have been to has asked about ethnicity.

1. As a non-American, the terms used in the questionnaire are to me associated more with racial categories rather than ethnicity (as in a common culture tradition). Thus, although I know that the terms used in the questionnaire are accepted as politically correct within North America, I do find them offensive.

2. The options in the questionnaire exclude a vast number of people, and peoples :-), outside North America. If the purpose is to allow people who wants to proudly declare their cultural heritage, it might not be satisfying enough to simply declare “Other”. A more open alternative could be to let the users type in whatever they want here...

To avoid further confusion on the meanings behind the words “ethnicity”, “race” and the categories listed in the questionnaire, and attempting to be objective let’s see how they are defined in a contemporary dictionary. It is always useful to now and then contemplate upon the ideas, values and perspectives behind the words that we use. Especially if we use them to define each other and ourselves.

Below are unabridged definitions from: The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Edition. Oxford Univeristy Press Inc, New York 1999.

My comments in *asterics*

Ethnic
·adj. 1. of or relating to a group of people having a common national or cultural tradition. 2. denoting origin by birth or descent rather than by present nationality: Ethnic Albanians. 3. characteristic of or belonging to a non-Western cultural tradition: Ethnic dresses 4. (archaic) heathen. · n. (chiefly N. America) a member of an ethnic minority
DERIATIVES ethnically (adv.) ethnicity (n.)
ORIGIN, Middle English (denoting a person not of Christian or Jewish faith) via ‘eccles’. Latin from Greek ethnikos ‘heathen’, from ethnos ‘nation’.

Race (2) [ Race (1) refers to running etc]
1. each of major divisions of humankind, having distinct physical characteristics. - racial origin or distinction. -an ethnic group. - a group descended from a common ancestor. 2. a group of people or thing with a common feature. 3. (Biology) a distinct population within a species; a subspecies.
ORIGIN 16th century via French from Italian, razza, of unknown ultimate origin

African American
(chiefly US) · n. an American of African origin ·adj. of or relating to African Americans.

*All people of African origin do not live in North America, and are therefore not Americans. What if you want to declare that your origins are African?*

Asian
· n. a native of Asia or a person of Asian descent · adj. of or relating to Asia its people or languages.
USAGE in Britain Asian is used to refer to people who come from (or whose parents come from) the Indian subcontinent, while in North America it is used to refer to people from the Far East

Pacific Islander
·n. a native or inhabitant of any of the islands in the South Pacific, especially an aboriginal native of Polynesia

*What do this vast number of peoples included in these two categories (that are put together as one in the questionnaire) have in common? Language, cultural traditions, or religion? Does declaring membership to this category really say anything about a single person’s heritage?*

Caucasian
· adj 1. relating to or denoting a broad division of humankind covering peoples from Europe, western Asia, and part of India and North Africa, - white-skinned; of European origin. 2. of or relating to the region of Caucasus in South East Europe · n. a Caucasian person.

*Which of these definitions does the questionnaire refer to? If it is the first defintion, does it tell anything about cultural heritage? If it refers to “white-skinned; of European origin”, then how is it not racial?*

Caucasoid
· adj. of or relating to the Caucasian division of humankind · n. a Caucasian.
USAGE the term Caucasoid belongs to a set of terms introduced by the 19th-century anthropologists attempting to categorize human races. Such terms are associated with outdated notions of racial types, and so are now potentially offensive and best avoided.

*An outdated word denoting Caucasian*

Latino
·n. (chiefly North America), a Latin American inhabitant of the United States.
ORIGIN, from Latin America, Spanish.

*Can you be a Latino if you have never lived in the US?*

Native American
·n. a member of any of the indigenous peoples of North and South America and the Caribbean Islands. ·adj. of or relating to these peoples
USAGE in the US Native American is now the current accepted term in many contexts. See also American Indian.

*Would pride in heritage here refer to being native, i.e prior to Columbus? Do all these different peoples share a single common, cultural heritage?
Besides, there are several native peoples outside of the Americas.*

Wow, you actually read through all this!
Or did you just scroll? ;-)

either way,
Namaste

Dreamlight

Wow,

Someone once wrote a story about a man building a fence and everyone wrote essays about all the meaning behind it, how it was all about people isolating themselelves from others and the author got very indignant and stated that none of that was true. It was simply a story about a man building a fence and had absolutly no deeper meaning at all. It's amazing how people read so much into simple things.

The Nexus cafe is going to be a collection of many individual sites (Not just the Reiki Cafe), and many of the people who will be using these sites will be hoping that one of the wonderful people encountered may end up being a romantic partner. Some of the sites will be explicitly personal sites. It makes much more sense both technologicly and logicly to make ethnicity a part of the global user profile as this is not likely to change and it would be quite annoying to keep entering it in for each individual profile as well as wasting space. I have found this thread of conversation to be interesting but making a whole lot out of nothing. All of the extra profile information is optional. If someone wants people to know then they have the option and having an option is better than having no option.

A while ago someone told me that she had met her soul mate on the Reiki Cafe. I thought that was great. The site had a real and direct impact on two peoples lives. While this is not a personals site, there will always be that element involved for any community site and I see no reason to stiffle it.

As for the individual choices, I copied it straight from Yayoo. If you would like to give me a list of all the different ethinicities I can put it in. I simply don't know every possible option. The reason It is a pull down choice and not a fill in is because this way allows me to associate a number with each choice that can be easily indexed in the database. It is a pure technology issue.

Everyone is different and there are many different reasons for using this site. My intention is for this site to be very different from the other sites out there because I think that many of the people making sites are not making them to be as useful as they could be. Someone makes a silly design and everyone else copies it. I'm making my own design and I believe there are many people who think having an Ethnicity field in the user profile is useful. Yes, having a fuller list of choices will certainly be more helpful. If you have one please send it to me. I have a full time job and have been doing this in my limited spare time.

Namaste,

-Mike

Woops, I forgot to add the USAGE note after race that is given the Concise Oxford Dictionary. I am sincerely sorry about that.

USAGE, In recent years the associations of race with the ideologies and theories that grew out of the work of the 19th-century anthropologists and physiologists has led to the use of the word race itself becoming problematic. Although it is still used in general contexts, it is now often replaced by words less emotionally charged, such as ‘people(s)’ or ‘community’

Question: if somebody claiming that black and whites, or more politically correct, African Americans and Caucasians should not mix would be considered a racist – how can those categories be said not to refer to racial groups?

Dreamlight

:-)
I understand the author's indignation.

Yet, any author should keep in mind, that once published the text belongs as much to its readers as the author.

Mike,
you have created a great web site in the Reiki Cafe, filled with light and sharing. Thank you.

Also thank you for letting me voice my opinions.

All I've really wanted has beens to point to another perspective.

Your explanation has increased my understanding of your choices.

Namaste

Dreamlight

Dreamlight,

Namaste.

I am curious why you do not question that "sex", as in gender, was included in the user profile "stats"?

Is it not also a source of discrimnation? And are not people proud of their gender?

Is it not amazing that what people practice and what is written in the dictionary often bear little resemblences?

Ignorance is not bliss - but it can become a pain in someone else's behind.

:-}}

Reiki all around,

all blessings,

firekeeper