How to clear a room

The vibratone is a humorously named and perhaps even funnier looking bell instrument that in my mind is perhaps the best sound cleansing tool I have used.  The link above is where I got the photo and also has sound samples.  I first heard about it being used for energy work about a dozen years ago from Chilean shaman Luz Clara who also uses the scared sounds of the qultrun drum in healing ceremonies.

I loved it and have used it since.  The bell is struck by a mallet and the hole can be covered and uncovered for an other-worldly effect.  You can "point" the bell at your client while striking the instrument and covering and uncovering the aperture.  I like to circle the client or go over the aura or outside the body outline.  I find the tool also effective for space clearing, especially if there are any smoke sensitivities and white sage or other smudging herbs cannot be used.

Reiki and Reiki treatments in of themselves do not require cleansing and in fact are cleansing to the practitioner as well as the client.  Reiki can also cleanse and clear crystals, a room, or any tool.  Before and after treatment, I do think it's nice to clear the room for everyone's comfort and it is useful for grounding and bringing everyone back to the present moment at the end of treatment.  I find the Reiki emotional symbol very helpful, but I do incorporate sound and other techniques for space clearing.

acceptance

I was dismayed by a post that mentioned the "people of Walmart" website.  I had never heard of this site and when I looked it was just as hurtful and shaming as you might imagine.  Clearly smug, there are people taking mostly secret photos of often overweight or differently dressed people followed by horrible comments.  All I could think was that I wish people could be more accepting of others and not feel the need to humiliate or hurt.  It's probably judgmental of me to feel this way, but I can't help but think that we have all been bullied and that it is rather chimp-like to proceed to find someone perceived "weaker" to showcase.  Some of the photos are defiantly proud and I applaud those photo subjects for being free to be themselves without approval or reservations.

All of this is to say, when we are giving Reiki, I think it is important and affirming (for ourselves, Reiki doesn't require this), to find what is beautiful and unique about the person before us and also what is the same or common for all of us.  Without exception, people look so amazing when they are receiving Reiki. Their faces relax, really relax, and you can feel the tension of having to fit in lifting.  Sometimes the face will look like a person from another era and we are reminded of lineage and of the passage of time.  Giving Reiki is giving acceptance and we all benefit from this sort of embrace.  Can we look at people on the street with Reiki eyes and hearts?  Send a little distance Reiki rather than a smirk?

Catholocism

Though I studied the earlier levels with other Reiki masters, my master teacher for the final level was my mother, who is also a very devout Catholic.  It makes me sad to think she now feels conflict using Reiki to heal.  It's been, I think, over a year since the original pronouncement, and since then many have felt they can't share Reiki publicly.  Here is a recent video of a nun who sharing Reiki.

I'm sure everyone's thoughts today are on love and in reading various blogs this morning, it is clear that in the vintage and cooking blogs I tend to read, Valentine's Day and pretty cards are the focus.  My favorite thought for today came from The Kitchn in a lovely post by Dana Velden

Here's a Hafiz poem the blogger cited:

With That Moon Language

Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, 'Love me.'
Of course you do not do this out loud,
otherwise someone would call the cops.

Still, though,
think about this,
this great pull in us to connect.

Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye
that is always saying,
with that sweet moon language,
what every other eye in this world
is dying to hear?

-Hafiz

Oh, if we could just BE the love we wish to see and experience in the world, what a world this would be!  I  think Reiki affords us an amazing opportunity to BE that love.  When you send Reiki or give a treatment, you also experience Reiki.  Your heart is never wilder or freer.  You are never more yourself, yet you are never more connected to another or some aspect of this earthly experience.  Amazing...

Medical Stigmata

Just for fun, look at the palm of your hand you use to write (the sending hand in palmistry representing the present and the future), and glance at the mound immediately under the pinky (Mercury) finger.  Do you see a series of several little vertical lines especially toward the ring finger?  if you do, you may have an "aptitude for medicine, whether conventional or alternative, and tend to concentrate particularly on healing" (Peter West, 1998) often called the medical stigmata.

LaRoux (1993) asserts that the palm of your writing hand is what you are currently doing in your life, while the on the palm of the other hand (the receiving hand) is where you can see the influences of your past and childhood.  I also think it represents the talents you were born with.  So look at your receiving hand and see if the marks are there.  If they are present on the receiving hand but not the sending hand, you may have some tendencies as a healer but may not be manifesting them in the present to their fullest potential especially to benefit humanity.

Webster (1994) also has an interesting interpretation of these fine lines, "People with a medical stigmata have an empathy for all living things, and have a healing touch.  They often gravitate towards one of the healing professions.  Consequently, you will find this marking on the hands of good doctors, nurses, ..., and anyone else involved in the helping professions.  Bear in mind that if someone has become attracted to one of these fields with the aim of making money rather than helping others, he or she will not have a medical stigmata."  Reiki does not require an innate healing touch as the ability to channel Reiki comes from the transmission of Reiki attunement through your teacher and the Reiki lineage.  You may not have grown up in a Reiki family but are part of one now.

I don't have a source for this (I may have heard it from my grandmother), but I remember hearing that if the lines radiate out from the pinky your talent may be healing children (I wonder if it extends to animals too?) and if the lines are more toward the inner side of the pinky more toward the ring finger, your talent was more with adults.

Please remember, this is not specific to Reiki but the healing arts in general.  Reiki flows effortlessly through us once you have gone through the attunement process.  I have looked at many, many hands and have noticed that both those who work in traditional fields (doctors, therapists, etc.) or alternative therapies (massage therapists, light healers, etc.) do tend to have these marks especially if they are passionate.  I've noticed teachers may have these marks too.  So, it's just something to look at and consider.

Gassho and Reiji-Ho

My pondering continues in regard to certain hand positions spontaneously producing Reiki and I remembered Gassho.

From Usui & Frank Arjava Petter's book, The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui (1999 English ed.), "Gassho literally means 'two hands coming together'" and Petter goes on to explain the Gassho meditation which was used each time at the beginning of meetings with a noticeable increase in energy occurring when practiced in groups.  The meditation is very simple.  You place your hands together in front of your chest (prayer pose) and focus your attention on where the two middle fingers meet.  He cautions you may experience energy phenomena such as your hands or backbone becoming very warm.  This seems to in some ways explain what is going on in yoga class sometimes with Reiki as yoga asana practice is often a precursor to meditation.  My yoga teacher also often has us focus on our middle finger in a variety of asanas.

Petter goes on to explain that Reihi-Ho is a set of 3 short rituals that can be conducted before a Reiki session.  The first step is to assume Gassho posture while closing your eyes and connecting with the Reiki power by asking.  Repeat the wish 3 times.  If you are 2nd degree or higher, you can use the mental-healing symbol sealed by the power symbol.  The second step is to pray for the recovery and health of the patient on all levels.  Step three is to hold your folded hands in front of your 3rd eye (6th chakra) and ask the Reiki power to guide your hands where energy is needed.  There is the connection to the upper chakras I also wondered about.

I hope you have a peaceful and Reiki-filled day...

Chakras

Being semi-snowbound today, I had plenty of time to reflect more on how reiki seems to flow so naturally at times during activities such as yoga.  I found this video and it has also made me consider the role of the third eye (perhaps where our soul resides!).  I really also enjoyed the idea that the first position is like a reset button that helps to clear out le junk.

light

Sometimes you need a little light in your life.  In having reiki in my life for over a decade,that bit of extra illumination always feels like it is there, always available.  I would like to learn more about others' experiences with reiki and to grow spiritually and emotionally.  Reiki has taken me places I had never dreamed possible, and seems to imbue all aspects of my life and other practices such as yoga.  I am by no means an expert in yoga, but I have noticed when doing certain asanas especially with hands in prayer pose, that reiki seems to begin to flow very naturally and unconsciously, making my hands super hot and bringing a state of extra well-being.  Is chi re-aligning?  Are the heart and/or crown chakras open and just vibrating in an open state?  Or is it a mini-peak experience where you are part of the One and all is right in the universe?