Welcome Friend; regardless if this is your first visit or you have clocked up frequent blogger miles; welcome! My name is Jay, and it is a pleasure to meet you. To the seasoned blogger this bit will be familiar to you, so feel free to skip ahead; however if you have never encountered a Blog Hop before then let me give you a kind of potted history. The blog Hop is a new name for a tradition that has been around for as long as I have been able to write HTML Code and string a paragraph together and call it Creative Writing. Think of it like an endless circle or chain, where a group of like minded writers and bloggers collaborate on the same subject but give you their unique view or opinion, each one leading to the next one and back the way. To stop anyone getting lost there is a Master List, which is like the index. That index is hosted by The Wrangler (look out for the Tarot one I am co-hosting in September) they have the job of herding the other writers and keeping them on time and track... I make their job sound easy but think of it along the line of herding cats, in the dark through a maze with a mine field underfoot...“...An endless circle or chain ...”
This month the topic for this Reiki Blog Hop is Spirituality and Reiki; A topic that has in its time amongst practitioners and masters alike caused a great deal of divide. On the one side of it you have those that don't believe there is a spirituality to Reiki, it is a healing modality that provides comfort, relief and whatever else the client needs. Thing is there is nothing wrong with that view point because that is what Reiki is for that practitioner and the master who birthed them. As a master I tell my adepts (students) what you experience during that time is personal and private to you and you do not need to share it unless you wish to. Whether I have been a student or the master; from my experience many, not all, have what you could call a spiritual experience. Unless you have read through my entire site or know me through Facebook and the associated pages I run on there or follow the Reiki Box Blog, then you may not be aware of how deep my connection with Reiki stems. I coined the term Sensei a number of certificates and courses ago, the reason why I did that wasn't ego, amouris or to be different but it was because I realised that I have become master in many different disciplines Usui Reiki, Kundalini Reiki, Karuna Reiki as well as Shamballah MDH Reiki and Angelic Reiki. The first thing I say is Reiki, is Reiki, is Reiki; meaning it doesn't matter what name you give it the frequency and light source still comes back to the same place, which in this case is The Universal Reiki Light Source. Now as you can start to see I am actually of the belief that Reiki has at least a spiritual element, should you choose to embrace it! The word Reiki is actually two separate words that were put together when the Kanji was translated into English.“... Many, not all, have a what you could call a spiritual experience...”
Rei: Universal/Unlimited Ki: Light, Living Force, Chi; whether you follow the path of non-spiritual or have a belief that it is spiritual for me, for my sojourn I understand it as something much deeper than spiritual and something more tangible than just a healing system. However that is perhaps because my soul's path has led me to explore through past-life recall my connection to Reiki and my time as Sensei Usui-san; don't misunderstand me, I am not stating anything here as a fact, mainly because within Past Life regression it is all unique to that person. Yes! many of the facts that come from within that state can be further backed up in historical texts, but you can still argue (as so many still do), Usui-san life is documented widely across the internet and books so yeah it could have come from that (if you ignore the fact I am dyslexic and have severe retention issues).
As a practitioner and also master I allow Reiki to simply be and I follow in accord with its wishes. Mainly because I am of the belief that Reiki is a sentient living energy that lives in symbiosis with us; it helps to heal not only other lives but our own as well, it doesn't actually matter if you believe that to be the case or not. I recall one my earliest experiences of the differences in how Reiki is taught, I was under the impression (innocently at that time) that everyone was taught the same way as I had been and at that time I was still understanding my own connection and I made a point that maybe there was a lesson happening or something along those lines and the answer I was given back was sharp to the point. It gave me a pang of oh my maybe the lesson is mine to learn..."... Maybe it's because I am awakened to my Sojourn through Angelic Reiki..."
Looking back on that moment in my memory now, I realise that not everyone has been awakened to the spiritual aspects of reiki, and maybe not everyone will. I think it's maybe because I am awakened to my Sojourn through learning and working with Angelic Reiki that my perceptions have changed. I personally don't understand the distinction between Usui & Angelic or any of the others but there is a subtle divide there...
Reiki for me is my life, it is in everything that I do; from my Tai Chi practise, to the words I speak and type, it is even in the food I eat and the drinks that I have. Recently I have been exploring this deep rooted knowing that I have a strong connection to Ancient Shinto practises; through reading up on Taoism and also Shinto in today's Japan and also going back through Imperialism and Feudal Japanese customs I have realised that Reiki (while not given that name) is there, it is throughout the belief system you just need to know where to look.
I work alot with Archangel Metatron and for long enough I would always separate when I was working with the Angelic Kingdom, the quarters in my Wiccan/Pagan work and also when I am speaking to the Kami I would make a distinction there as well, however in the last week or so during my Tai Chi practise, I come to see there is no need to separate them! In Ancient Shinto Practises when someone passes into the Spirit, their essence or soul is greeted by the Great Kami, who then transmutes (for want of a better way to say it) into the ways of being Kami. In Western Spiritual beliefs, it is similar the soul is greeted and welcomed into the spiritual worlds, just as in Wiccan/Pagan belief system they are welcomed into the Summerlands.
The interesting thing here is that when Pagan/Wiccan are forming the circle they call to the Quarters. These Quarters were once known as The Archangels of The North, South, East, West and also Spirit as well. Now I realise that you may think I am off topic, however not really. When I am working or getting ready to work I will use Reiki symbols such as Sei-Hei-Ki for cleansing and clearing but I will also call to the Kami and Watchtowers as well while doing so; as I said Reiki is in everything that I do... I come to learn that while it is a deeply simplistic way of being it is also one of the most profound methods of healing known, if you are open to those aspects.
"... Reiki's roots stem into Shinto, Tao and Buddhism ..."
I think a lot of how we approach the Spirituality and Reiki connection comes down to how we are birthed into Reiki; I never used to think or even allow that concept enter into my consciousness and unless I am actually organising workshops or Usui Reiki Days. I also think that when the topic comes up, much like the spirituality connection to Reiki, there is this almost territorial or wounded lion attitude as if I am insulting someone or saying I am better (which I am not and never have) so I avoid having the conversation, when all I am really trying to do is understand the differences, as there maybe something within it I can learn from or maybe there is something that mutually we can benefit from...
When I say birthed that is exactly what it is - at least for me - I take the practise of Reiki teaching, quite seriously but I am not a task master when I am doing it. I make the day easy, simple and light but also make it a learning environment and professional one as well, just like when I do my Reiki Sessions. I take the same approach to Angelic Reiki facilitating but the difference is I allow myself to be guided in what needs to happen at the right time. In both instances I believe that a form of spiritual rebirth takes place, a person goes through something profound and personal. In many ways they are birthed. Just go with me while you are reading this, try not to attach any thoughts or judgements because what I am about to lay out here is my own perceptions from within the Past Life state...
When I went for the Past life recall it was a present and also something that I was called to do (as I am being called again to go through another one). I went through to a life time that I understand now to be Usui-san; it was a simple up brining, working in the Dojo until I was old enough to go and become a monk within the Buddhist ways. I spent many years training and upon my 21st year I was required to do a spiritual pilgrimage to one of the most sacred mountains in most of the older faiths from Japan and China. I walked for some days up the mountain and eventually reached the meditation shrine and temple. It was during the meditation I was taken to the place that Buddhists call Nirvana; in this space the Kami/Buddha showed me a way to heal, this method was ancient and had been forgotten but needed to return to earth. Upon my return I left and began the journey home, I met a young woman who had blistered hands from farming and so I healed them, this was a hands on healing and when I was finished the blisters were all but gone. I learned upon returning to the temple that I had been away almost three months rather than the few weeks I had thought. The Sensei of the temple was very ill and I also healed his ailments. The Sensei then took me to the oldest part of the library and showed me records that detailed this old healing system. Hence the birth of Reiki as it became known. Granted much of this is known and some could be discerned as my own meditations but there is now documented evidence that does show that Sensei Usui-san was trained as a Buddhist monk and further to that historical records in Japan also show that Shinto, Tao and Buddhism all have a common ancestry, so even though it may have through time lost its spiritual roots (along with Shinto as well) it is there and in manys ways ready to be awakened again.
Although Reiki as taught in the Western world has removed a lot of the spirituality from it, we are beginning to understand that this was mainly because in the era that it was brought to the West spirituality was only thought to be religious doctrine dished out on a Sunday from a pulpit, 'where the devil made her do it' and 'he is a good and holy man' covered every sin conceivable (and others that we only read about with the lights off...), we are realising now in this era of awareness and awakening that spirituality is perceptive and unique to the person, so not everyone is going to see Reiki as a spiritual philosophy or have an awakening from it, but that said I am running an Angelic Reiki workshop and new practitioners will be birthed who might well have profound spiritual experiences from this weekend, but that is the nature of this frequency of Reiki..."Spirituality is perceptive and unique..."
Thank you for stopping by my blog and reading my entry for the Reiki blog hop; I welcome your comments, feedback on a post is appreciated by writers like as myself as it encourages to reply, write more and be more engaging and creative.
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