Reiki Help Blog :: Oasis Reiki Dojo

I have been fortunate through the years to train some great people at my Reiki dojo. This was evident again the other day, when the discussion was the subject of the previous post, The Mystery of Cosmic Light. As part of the presentation, I had prepared a list of qualities that reflect the light. Let me first cover those, in no particular order.

The light is always warm. It’s never cold or distant. It invites us into positive experiences. There isn’t an inner light that is negative. Light glows and is always pure. There isn’t a murky light in healing or meditation. It radiates and permeates all the spaces of the body and our being. When we make ourselves available to self-existing light, it’s freeing and we feel alive. The light is life! Another reason it’s freeing is that light is always open. We may contract to the light for various reasons, but there’s no contraction in the light itself. It’s expansive and infinite. The light goes on and on. In its expanse there’s much peace and we feel greatly comforted. And light heals. There’s no doubt that light heals. It’s light that heals. The light is life force and love. We can also wear it like a protective garment, and carry it like a protective shield.

As part of the Reiki Training I provide, I offer a lot of mentoring and support. One format this takes place is a practitioner-only meeting every month, a dojo meeting. And often in these meetings we crowdsource wisdom by sharing and listening.

Last week I asked participants how they were going to make the light more visible in 2012. This is what emerged!

• Encourage others: This is in regards to all the people around us. Encouraging people is a natural outgrowth of living a life of spiritual healing. When we ourselves become empowered, healed and benefit in all the ways spiritual practice adds to our life, we’re naturally motivated to lift others and have the resources to do so.
• Open minds: Healing transformation and spiritual growth need a certain willingness and ability to entertain possibilities. Without open-mindedness we don’t leave outdated beliefs and patterns behind. Helping others open their minds to greater realities is a way of sharing the light.
• “Taking care of your own house”: It all starts with ourselves. We have to engage the light first within our being and establish it in our heart and mind, and in our life. Otherwise it isn’t authentic, and we aren’t able to really bring the light into all the spaces the world needs it.
• Being present/mindful: This may seem obvious, but putting it into place and remembering it every moment is quite an undertaking. And it’s a prime way of sharing light. In presence and mindfulness we can drop expectations and judgments, and be with others and life in a natural, open way.
• Just being: This is a state of simply being the light we are. Often we are on the way to becoming this or that. We have to-do lists, goals and ambitions. Those have their place. But constantly being on that treadmill is exhausting!
  
• Smiling: The light spreads so wonderfully when we smile genuinely. It lights up others’ faces and lightens their hearts.
• Selflessness: When we receive so many blessings because of our dedication to our path, it becomes harder to hold on to them selfishly. There’s a natural abundance in blessings and it wants to be part of a domino effect of giving.
• Next generation: These are our kids, and all younger folk. They carry the light of the future as it is. As conscious and compassionate adults, we have a significant role to play in modeling how best the light can be harnessed and embodied.
• Service: This is outreach. Being full, we give. The light passing through us without resistance is limitless and more than enough for anyone who needs it.
• Listening: This is an echo of being present. Both the world and the earth, as well as other people and species need us to hear them! We’re wrapped up in our own busyness and distractions, but with spiritual practice we’re able to lower the noise and focus on the signal. If we listen without filters, the light flows unhindered.

Reiki is light. Life force is light. Ki is light. Light is consciousness. I’m a fortunate teacher to have people come to me to learn Reiki who can articulate and express so many facets of the light in a single meeting, spontaneously. I didn’t ask them to prepare these responses beforehand.

Light that is knowingly radiated into the world has a different vibration from light that is unknowingly brought into life. Light that is knowingly directed carries consciousness. It vibrates at a higher frequency and can directly interact with the consciousness of those whom it affects.

— Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee

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Units of divine light, finer than electrons and other subatomic particles, are the bricks of which matter is composed. All things seen on the screen of the universe are differentiated currents of cosmic light…

— Paramahansa Yogananda

In the physical world objects are illuminated by outer light, not having a light source of their own. Objects can only be seen by the light which reflects off of them. It’s the same with colors. We see the color of a red apple because it absorbs light except for the frequency equivalent to red, which is reflected back to our eyes.

On the other hand, human beings have an inner light. Although housed in a physical form, the human soul provides a source of light from within. Without the soul we’d be hollow, rudderless. Our eyes would be dull; no evidence of light would exist in us.

Other living things can be said to be structured the same way, or at least interact with available external light such as the case with plants and photosynthesis.

“Nature emits a light, and by its radiance she can be known. But in man there is still another light apart from that which is innate in nature. It is the light through which man experiences, learns, and fathoms the supernatural.

Those who seek in the light of nature speak from the knowledge of nature; but those who seek in the light of man speak from the knowledge of super-nature.” — Paracelsus

The sun is the greatest provider of light and heat to the world, and artificial light has made it possible for life to go on even at night. Humans absorb and use different components of sunlight through the eyes and skin. The production of vitamin D is one example. Another is how light travels into the eye where retina sends nerve signals to the visual cortex in the brain. From there light also travels to the limbic system, which has a role in emotion, learning, memory, and sexuality. The hypothalamus is also stimulated by light, and is linked to both the autonomic nervous system and the pituitary gland.

Color and light have also been used in healing since ancient times:

The priests of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and China used color or colored light in many of their healing practices. Sunlight therapy was a common medical practice in historic Greek, Chinese and Roman times… — Richard Gerber, MD

Matter can exist in different states such as solid, liquid, and gas. In actuality solids, liquids and gases are different vibrations of the One Light. This primordial light is sound, light, heat emotion, thought, matter and all other things and processes that exist in the universe.

The omnipresent light of Spirit evolves all creatures and forms and forces in the universe, and sustains them by the continuous manifestation of that light. — Yogananda

Then there is the light of awareness. Spiritual light is the fundamental light of consciousness and awareness.

In the heart of every person is a spark of light, the secret of divine presence. This is the seed of our consciousness. Without this light there would be no consciousness. — Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee

The true nature of the human being is light. It’s an inborn light. Being self-reflective, it can show the way. It leads to understanding and wisdom. It ignites the mind and the heart. It’s the light that enables us to evolve. Within it is everything we need to create, improve and prosper.

The light is there in everyone. Some recognize and know it more clearly and powerfully. Those with a greater light quotient can utilize it to help others and the world. Each person has the capacity to increase their light, whether it’s by facilitation from another or direct awakening. Awakening is the dawning of light in the darkness of ignorance. This ignorance isn’t related to education, but the knowing of the true self, and the nature of reality.

We all know intuitively that light is a positive force, an on an empirical level we can see how important light is in nature and our surroundings. Light makes crops and vegetation of the earth grow. We can observe houseplants follow the light, turning their leaves toward its nourishment…

Spiritually light is central to many traditions, celebrated at festivals and other commemorations with candles, decorative lamps, or sacred fires. Light is associated with divinity in several faiths…

Despite our attempts to describe it, absolute light transcends the limitations of space, time, measurement, or concepts. It is inseparable from the enlightened mind and total openness.

— Tulku Thondup

When life is easy, let’s shine the light. When life is hard, let’s shine the light. Whether it’s meditation or laundry, the light is there. Let’s hold space for it every moment.

Holding the light is a singular act of power.

The light is on every moment, switchless, wireless. Awareness ignites this truth, so every activity is graced by it. We’re illuminated from the inside. The source of all light is subtle. Even so, it’s observable and we can wield it. We can use it for good.

In 2012 how are you going to make the light visible and where will you direct it, in what will you invest it?

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2011 is drawing to a close. It’s been quiet on this blog, but everything that this blog is about also appears on my Facebook and Twitter. In January of this year, I started curating the topic Mindful Spiritual Healing on scoop.it. Web curation is hot and a fantastic way to group together the best information on a specific topic. On the righthand sidebar (if you’re on the blog) you see a scrolling slider of the latest items added to this topic. Below, some of these are highlighted and directly linked. Also below, you’ll find widgets to my Facebook and Twitter (not sure if these will appear in a feed reader or in your email.)

How Meditation Might Help You Control Your Weight

The Neurobiology of Bliss—Sacred and Profane

Meditation May Prevent Psychiatric Disorders, Study Suggests

Selfless Gratitude

8 Astonishing Benefits of Walking

5 Ways To Enhance Your Emotional Intelligence

Psychology and Spirituality: One Path or Two?

And in this Season, whatever Holiday (Holy Day) you celebrate may it warm your heart and spread happiness to you and your loved ones. May you also have the healthiest and most prosperous New Year!

With the opening of the New Year, all the closed portals of limitations will be thrown open and I shall move through them to vaster fields, where my worthwhile dreams of life will be fulfilled.

— Paramahansa Yogananda

Pamir Kiciman

Neuroscience is discovering that the brain has a ‘negativity bias.’ This is because processing danger signals is more important to survival than processing signals that are safe. This seems like a sensible adaption of the brain in early humans. We no longer live in constant danger to our survival. It seems some of our primal fears have survived into modern times, though perhaps they have morphed and may not be so recognizable.

"Intuition comes from within; thought, from without." — Yogananda

Humans today have money worries. Money is the primary way our society is setup to ‘secure’ survival. Humans today are afraid of not being loved; of not being successful; of not looking a certain way. We’re not facing wild animals anymore, instead they’re inside! And the triggers for negativity are still there, albeit they’re sanitized, complicated and hidden under layers.

The result is what scientists call a “negativity bias” in the brain. It’s like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. This is a great strategy for passing on gene copies – which is the engine of biological evolution – but a lousy one for quality of life. The brain is tilted toward survival, but tilted against happiness. — Rick Hanson

You may wonder what chance there is to be positive if the brain is wired this way. It gets worse:

…the more we practice reactivity to our fears (e.g. from small fears to PTSD), the stronger the neural connections in our brains become that make us more likely to be automatically reactive to our fears. Or, the more often we practice automatic negative thinking, the stronger the neural connections become that lead to more automatic reactivity toward automatic negative thinking. — Elisha Goldstein

The good news is that the same is true for positive thinking. Neuroplasticity works both ways. The brain is malleable and it can trend positive or negative.

 …it is the simultaneity of firing (within a few thousandths of a second) of neurons that are connected with each other that leads to strengthening existing synapses – which are the junctions between neurons – and to building new ones.

For example, if you routinely dwell on your resentments and regrets, the neurons involved in that particular mental activity will fire busily together, and automatically start wiring together as well. Which will add one more bit of neural structure to feeling discontented, mistreated, angry, or sorrowful. On the other hand, if you regularly focus on the good facts around you and inside you – like your own good qualities, such as patience, determination, or kindness – then the neurons involved will wire together, stitching more resilience, hopefulness, confidence, and happiness into the fabric of your brain and your self. — Rick Hanson

All well and good. We can mold our brain. Much admired, researched and fawned upon, the brain is near deity status. However, the brain is still a material object, an organ. There are two other levels to our existence than the physical. These are mind and spirit.

Mind isn’t physical matter, but it is subtle matter; it’s ethereal and luminous. The mind isn’t limited to the confines of the brain. Every cell of the body has mind in it. It also goes beyond the body in the exchange of ideas and how thoughts live in our creations and relationships. The mind is mobile in its nature and influence. It’s local with the body and personal experiences, but it’s also nonlocal in its reach, what it influences, and what can influence it.

Since the mind is not the brain alone, it can be used to train the brain, and also to make choices moment to moment. The mind is able to observe our autopilot reactions and impulses. Observation is the first step to modification and change. The mind can help us to stop being victims of past patterns that have been wired in the brain by life experiences, heredity, and by the way we ‘view’ these experiences, in other words our attitude toward them.

It’s best if the mind itself is informed by something other than itself.

Generally, we think that the mind dwells in either the head or the heart. The head us the center for the outer mind that works through the senses. The heart is the center of the inner mind or feeling nature that transcends the senses. The brain is no more than a screen on which the energies of consciousness from the get reflected… This is not the physical heart but the core of knowing deep inside ourselves. We should not confuse this center with a physical location. It pervades all our mental activity. — David Frawley

The brain becomes what is fed to it, positive or negative. The mind can oversee that what the brain engages is healthy and productive, if awareness is cultivated. The question remains, how accurately is the mind perceiving. Ordinary mind processes input from the senses. The senses are prone to dullness, error, bad habits, and a host of other filters that can be delusive.

The senses and the mind are the outer doors through which knowledge percolates into the consciousness. Human knowledge filters in through the senses and is interpreted by the mind. If the senses err in perception, the conclusion drawn by the understanding of that data is also incorrect. — Paramahansa Yogananda

The next time you’re overcome with negative thoughts and feelings about yourself, your life, your circumstances, realize that these perceptions may not be true at all. Even if there are some real issues to deal with, negativity certainly won’t find you solutions. Most often, even if your perceptions have a tinge of truth, negativity takes on a life of its own and colors events darker than they actually are.

This is where intuition comes in. Intuition perceives truth directly. Everyone has native intuition. A lot of it is schooled out of us, but doesn’t disappear and so it can be cultivated, to be established again. Intuition is read in the heart. It’s independent of the brain, senses, or mind.

Instead of paying attention to the thoughts that the brain produces, or the habituated thoughts of the mind, get a better handle on your situation by first perceiving from a cleaner awareness. An awareness cultivated by mindfulness. At least use some of the mind’s higher functioning. There’s strength there and clarity.

In time you can bypass the past, any habits that don’t serve, the brain itself and even the mind by being informed at a soul level, working with intuition, honing and trusting it. Negative patterns may still arise of their own accord, however, you’ll be equipped to dismiss them, because you know the truth of yourself.

The cultivation of intuitive calmness requires unfoldment of the inner life. When developed sufficiently, intuition brings immediate comprehension of truth. You can have this marvelous realization. Meditation is the way. — Paramahansa Yogananda

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Living deep in the mountains
I’ve grown fond of the
Solitary sound of the singing pines;
On days the wind does not blow
How lonely it is!

— Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1895)

I came across this poem and instantly recognized myself in it. When a poem can do that, it’s a very significant moment. So I went searching, especially because Reiki has made me fond of all things Japanese. I found gems like this one:

In the morning breeze
a riverbank willow
scatters its leaves
into the flowing waters—
so autumn begins…

According to information available online:

“Otagaki Rengetsu, best known as a famous Japanese poet, was also a calligrapher, potter, and painter. She was born in 1791 into a samurai family with the surname Todo, but was soon adopted by the Otagaki family and given the name Nobu. Having lost her mother and brother at a young age, she served as lady-in-waiting at Kameoka Castle (in present-day Kyoto Prefecture) from the age of 7, until she returned home at the age of 16 to marry. In 1823, after the death of her husband and three young children, she became a Buddhist nun, adopting the name Rengetsu, which means “Lotus Moon.”

Rengetsu moved to Chion-In temple in Kyoto to be with her father, a Buddhist priest. She remained there for ten years until her father’s death, at which time she moved to the countryside. To earn a living Rengetsu wrote Japanese poetry and also produced clay teapots which she often decorated with carved inscriptions or calligraphy of her poems.”

For example the above piece of her teaware has this poem of hers inscribed on it:

Coming and going
I feel neither beginning nor end…
what a strange thing
this heart of mine!

She is best known for her waka poetry. According to Wikipedia:

Waka (和歌, literally “Japanese poem”) or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature.The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from kanshi(poetry written in Chinese by Japanese poets), and later from renga.

The term waka originally encompassed a number of differing forms, principally tanka (短歌, “short poem”) and chōka (長歌, “long poem”), but also including bussokusekika, sedōka (旋頭歌, “memorized [head repeated] poem”) and katauta (片歌, “poem fragment”). These last three forms, however, fell into disuse at the beginning of the Heian period, and chōka vanished soon afterwards. Thus, the term waka came in time to refer only to tanka.

Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki created the term tanka in the early twentieth century for his statement that waka should be renewed and modernized. Until then, poems of this nature had been referred to as waka or simply uta (“song, poem”). Haiku is also a term of his invention, used for his revision of standalone hokku, with the same idea.

Traditionally waka in general has had no concept of rhyme (indeed, certain arrangements of rhymes, even accidental, were considered dire faults in a poem), or even of line. Instead of lines, waka has the unit (連) and the phrase (句). (Units or phrases are often turned into lines when poetry is translated or transliterated into Western languages, however.)

Here’s an example of her calligraphy, inscribed with one of her poems:

In the paddies between the hills on a misty path a human from takes shape: a scarecrow.

Otagaki Rengetsu was prolific; her poems here are a mere handful. When you read her bio, it’s obvious that she actually lived real human challenges. Her poetry and art doesn’t come from some idyllic existence.

That’s why I bow to her spirit, for it remained light as a feather, and gracefully inspirational. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with her creative spirit and humility.

I leave you with two more for her poems.

Waiting
beneath a maple
its colors still unturned—
so happy this morning
with the first rain of winter!

And finally for a spiritual healing focus:

Won’t you open
the lotus inside
and turn
those demons
from your heart?

— Otagaki Rengetsu

Gassho!

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