The Beginning (my first encounter)….
I closed my eyes and lay back on the bed, my body covered in a
warm blanket, as the sound of some kind of ethnic music, maybe
Chinese, drifted
across the room. I felt very warm, comfortable and relaxed, I
lay there waiting for the massage to start, I waited, no hands
on my body yet, no touching,
but something was moving inside me. Words cannot explain this
feeling, I later came to know it as the Reiki effect, it was as
though something had
grabbed hold of me, and pulled me back toward the centre (of
myself). From then for the next 30 minutes hands were placed on
various parts of my
body, for several minutes at a time, the hands felt very warm,
even hot at times, but never uncomfortable, in fact quite the
opposite.
I am sure we all have those moments when we wish that time would
stand still, that how we feel could last forever, but everything
has an ending, and so
it was with this, reluctantly I had to open my eyes at the end
of the session, and find my way back to the real world, reality
as we call it. After several
minutes silence we started to talk gently, Sue and I about what
we both felt, how the session went and also about other things
she had found in me, but
that is another story, this story in about Reiki, and this was
my first taste of it.
Sue Luffman was the Reiki practitioner that day, and she was
later to become my teacher and friend, I think if I could use
one word to describe Sue it
would be sparkling, she is full of life, energy, wit and
vitality. She also has that look, again this is difficult to
describe in words, it’s a connection you
make with certain people, as though you have known them all your
life, it can happen with strangers you pass in the street, never
to meet again, but it is
something that goes very deep, anyway I digress.. back to Reiki….
The History…
Once upon a time in Japan, a long time ago (about 150 years)
there lived a Dr Mikao Usui, he was a very good doctor but was
also a very curious man,
he wanted to know how he could do his job better. His curiosity
led him down many paths, and was fascinated by the Christian
religion and the stories of
Christ’s miracles, in particular the ones where people were
healed, he wanted to know where these powers came from, and if
he could access them. He
also knew something of the teachings of Buddha, and the stories
relating to him regarding healing, so he inquired of various
sects as to what methods
they used to heal, but found them all to concentrate on the mind
and spirit and no methods or practices for healing the body
(apparently they had been
forgotten centuries ago) which being a Doctor was the thing he
wanted. Despite this he studied Zen Buddhism for seven years, in
those years he dug
deeper and deeper, learned Chinese to read the original Buddhist
texts (although Buddha being an Indian Prince the texts were
written in Chinese).
From there he went on to learn Sanskrit (the root of all
languages) to read texts from ancient Tibetan Buddhists, here he
found what he thought to be the
keys for learning healing techniques. After some meditation on
this it came to him that he should go to a holy mountain (Kuri
Yama, near Kyoto) and
meditate for 21 days, so this he did, taking with him 21 stones
to count the days off. Each day he awoke before the sun, threw a
stone away, and
meditated and fasted for the rest of the day, and each day
nothing happened, no revelation came to him. On the morning of
the 21st day, as he cast
away his last stone, a light grew in the sky, and four coloured
bubbles came to him, each one containing a Sanskrit character.
To cut a long story short
he found that using these characters greatly enhanced his
healing powers, but after a while only concentrating on healing
the body he had another
revelation that told him to heal both spirit and mind, and gave
him the five principals of Reiki, and here they are…
· Just for today I shall not worry
· Just for today I shall not get angry
· Just for today I shall work honestly
· Just for today I shall respect all life
· Just for today I shall count my blessings
Dr Usui then went on to teach others over the years what he had
learnt, and indeed my teacher Sue has a direct lineage going
back to Dr Usui, and sue
taught me and now I am part of that ‘family tree’.
What is Reiki…..
Rei (universal) Ki (life force), is the translation of it, and
the theory goes that a Reiki Healer draws down energy from the
universe and channels it though
their body into the patient, who then accepts as much as they
need. The energy is applied by contact with the seven chakra
centres of the body, and the
contact is made by laying hands on a persons body relating to
the Chakra centres, or holding the hand over those centres. The
use of symbols are also
employed, the ones that Dr Ursi found on top of his mountain,
the symbols are formed by hand movements, and spoken silently.
The patients body
accepts what it needs (both on a physical and spiritual level),
clearing blocked energies, easing the mind, calming the Sprit.
It helps the body and mind to
heal itself.
Treatments can last for up to an hour, and normally a series of
these are required, depending on what is found on the initial
treatment. Reiki is ALWAYS
used as a complimentary treatment, and some Doctors and even
some vets, approve of the treatments (scientific tests were
carried out in America, and
hard evidence was found as to the beneficial effects of Reiki).
It can be used for headaches, broken bones (after they have been
set), even for
emergency treatments, the important thing to realise about Reiki
is that it does no harm, whatever you believe about the energies
involved.
My Experience……
I am now a Level 2 Reiki student, which means I can practise
Reiki, the next level is 3 which is the Master level, when the
time comes to take this I will, I
do not need it to work with patients, but I will need it if I am
to teach it. I have used Reiki on a number of patients now, and
each one has been different.
The Reiki energy can be used on anything, a glass of water to
make it taste sweeter, seeds to help them grow, and once by
myself on my car CD played
which had stopped working, so I gave it a good Reiki and it
worked! Seriously though it is almost impossible to put into
words how it feels to give, or
receive, Reiki, it’s something that you have to experience.
Conclusion/My Thoughts….
I have always thought myself to have a scientific, quite logical
mind, I like to see cause and effect in things, like to know why
things happen, and liked to
keep a healthy scepticism about things, and still do. My initial
encounter with Reiki kind of bypassed all that, and raised a lot
of questions in me, some of
which I am still looking for answers, Reiki was not a great
revelation for me but just another step on this path I have
taken. Whatever you believe,
whatever level it works on, Reiki does work and sometimes you
have to trust your feelings and yourself. Everyday of our lives
we all use Reiki
unconsciously, it is a perfectly natural thing, all my teaching
do is to give that a discipline, a method to use it, and ways of
enhancing it. To me giving
Reiki is a very personal thing, I get quite lost giving it
sometimes, and sometimes the effect can be cathartic (make
things worse to make them better),
all I can say is keep an open mind and give it a try, and you
will then understand why it is so hard to write about this.
I will not give you web addresses for this or books to read,
there are numerous of those out there, I suggest you try it
first and then look these up. What I
will give you is my email address if you have any questions for
me or would like to know more about Reiki dragon33uk@hotmail.com
and I will be happy
to help.
Remember….just for today….
Take care
Stephen Floyd
About the author:
Stephen Floyd a practitioner from England introduces us to this powerful healing art. This article
was first published at http://www.bluewatermusic.net
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