Meditation & Reiki: A Winning Combination

This article was first published on the web at this link: Reiki Rays

Preparing for Meditation

Meditation connects you to the Cosmos 

Humans tend to over-think, over-analyze, over-process and over-exaggerate. It's an affliction of the mind, the ego. The ego is constantly threatened with annihilation, so it clings to conditioned thinking with a ferocious, white-knuckled grip. It's not easy to let go of all the extraneous garbage that clogs up our mindscape and sometimes renders us immobile, because fear (anxiety) is debilitating if we allow it to be. Meditation helps us to quiet the mind. 

Perhaps it will take a bit of time for the quieting of our mind to come about. Prior to any meditation session, it’s helpful to calm yourself with Reiki energy first. Now that I’ve obtained the Holy Fire® Karuna Reiki Master certification, I use the powerful Kriya. But previously, I always used CKR to prepare for my meditation session.

When going into a meditative session, ego will attempt to disrupt us at times by creating agitation and unease. Simply allow your thoughts to come in without judging them or giving them an audience. Allow the thoughts to come in, acknowledge the thought and don't give the thought any more time or energy than that. If it seems your mind is running away with thoughts, bring your attention back to your breathing. 

Quieting the Mind

Allow your thoughts to flow in & out without judgement 

Focus on each inhalation of breath deep into the lungs, as well as each exhalation through up and through your lips. Calm and relaxed. Calm and relaxed. In that way, your mind becomes quiet one thought at a time. There are other ways to quiet the mind, as well, but the preceding explanation is simple and effective.  

Meditation can be taught to your clients who have anxiety issues, bipolar disorder, PTSD and other mental health issues. Meditation helps us to relax, to expand our consciousness, and to ease unwarranted fears and anxieties. It's a most effective remedy for those who are interested in quieting their minds naturally without using drugs, chemicals or any other extraneous or unhealthy methods.

Meditation, when practiced regularly, can change anyone’s Life dramatically. If you're a non-believer, one who thinks he or she cannot meditate or who thinks you cannot let go of anxiety without the use of pills, chemicals or other unhealthy means, continue doing what you've been doing, by all means.

When you're tired of living as you have been, beating your head against the brick wall over and over and expecting different results ~ perhaps you'll seek out a person who can help you learn to meditate effectively. 

Meditation has changed my Life exponentially. It can change anyone’s Life for the better when practiced regularly. Try it. You've got nothing to lose ~ except your fears, anxieties and agitation. 

Peace, Love & Light to all ~

Reiki Nurse 

Visit me on the WEB at Reiki's Mystic Circle 
My first book is available NOW! Reiki's Book

Tossing Out the Old: Happy New Year 2016!

The celebration of the New Year each year on January 1st has always been such a special time for me, ever since I was a young child. The memories of having been shooed off to bed on New Year's Eve, especially on the years that it was our parent's turn to host the annual NYE party at their home, has imprinted delightful images on my Heart. On New Year's morning, my brothers, sisters and I would creep into the kitchen to feast on the leftovers of the adult NYE spread. That means that chips, dips, shrimp cocktail, onion soup, and other appetizing treats awaited our eager mouths and rumbling tummies. It was the perfect breakfast to start the New Year off right!

The New Year has always been a simple, symbolic time for cleansing and purging of all the negative energies that have accumulated throughout the preceding year. Over the years, I've developed a ritualistic burning of some of my old journals in honor of having transcended the negative, toxic memories of the past year. Sometimes, the old, dark, haunted memories of childhood steal their way into my brain, as well. Those memories are welcomed, accepted, and released during my ritualistic burning of 'old things'. Each year, the childhood memories get less and less, and the newer, less traumatic memories become light, airy ash that effortlessly float away on the breeze of Time. 

Reiki has remained a grounding force in this ritualistic process, and I simply introduced Reiki energy into my burning ritual one year by blessing the entire process, and introducing the symbol of my choice (Chokurei) into the mix via drawing it into the fire. Reiki energy is the healing energy of the Universe, and its powerful effects are far-reaching and sometimes subtle, sometimes conspicuous. No, the fire didn't spit and sputter and otherwise dance with glee when I drew the symbol into it. Reiki energy chose to be mindful of the seriousness of my process, and it simply and subtly infused my ritual with healing, loving energy. 

One of the most precious things anyone can do for oneself at the turn of a New Year is to reflect upon the past year and think about ways that certain situations could be remedied or rectified by changing his or her perspective about it. Our perceptions are what force us to look at any given situation and judge it as either 'negative' or 'positive'. In reality, nothing is good or bad. Everything simply IS. We are a race of beings (human beings) that harbors a need to compartmentalize and group things together, and our intrinsic fluidity is compromised when we begin to do so. If we simply allowed things to BE, we wouldn't have the urge to group everything and everyone together, and everyone would be happy with what they create on a daily basis. Or so I theorize. 

Our limiting thought patterns and our EGO can both be great obstacles in getting out of our own way at times. Our EGO wants to keep us stuck in social thinking patterns, no matter how unhealthy and limiting these patterns can be for us as Spiritual beings. We need to learn to discern what is good for us and what isn't so healthy for us. There are some, as the 12 Step literature and other spiritual books have pointed out who are simply constitutionally incapable of being aware of their own mind, and seeing their own part in situations. And that in and of itself is a type of affliction of Spirit. When we can not reconcile our thoughts and our actions, it's difficult to truly know who we are at the Core. 

We are all born with Love at our Core. Unconditional Love. Daily gratitude is key in the source of your Joy. Be grateful for everything you are, and everything you choose to be.

I want to wish ALL my readers a Happy, Healthy New Year in 2016! 
May your Love expand and your Energy heal ~

Reiki RN

Some Reiki Information

There is so much information about Reiki on the Internet, in libraries, in bookstores, and in other media today, it can be very confusing and sometimes daunting, even for experienced practitioners. This post is being written from my personal point of view about REIKI, how it has slowly permeated every area of my Life since I was Attuned in the late 1990's, and how it has opened new avenues for healing in my personal wellness, as well as in my clients and patients lives.

Dr. Mikao Usui

Chujiro Hayashi

Hawaya Takata

I was Attuned with Reiki Levels I & II in the Usui Rhoyo Tradition. My Reiki Master teacher, Vicky Walsh, was Attuned by Reiki Master John Gray, who was one of the first 22 Reiki Practitioners Attuned by world-reknowned Reiki teacher,  Hawaya Takata, who brought Reiki to the United States in the 1930's after being healed from a serious and potentially fatal illness in Japan with Reiki, rather than with surgery. Mrs. Takata learned and was Attuned to Reiki by Chujiro Hayashi, who had been Attuned previously by none other than Dr. Mikao Usui. Therefore, my practice with Reiki is considered '3rd generation' for whatever that means. When I teach and Attune students in the practice of Reiki, I was taught to include the 'family tree' from which I was Attuned.

John Gray

To make my long story short, I was introduced to Reiki in the early 1990's in Portland, Maine, but did not become Attuned until January 1997. I adore Usui Reiki, and any form of Energy Work, for that matter. It is widely available to anyone, anywhere. Usui Reiki is a practice of self-healing, and the more a practitioner uses Reiki on him- or herself, the more attuned to this healing energy he or she becomes. I did not understand the importance of self-Reiki until much later in my post-Reiki years, and it has helped me to blossom immensely.

Usui Reiki is the original Reiki energy, rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in the 1920's, but there have been many other forms of Reiki discovered over the last 50 or so years. This blog mostly refers to Usui Reiki, as that is the traditional Reiki practice I was taught and attuned in. My Reiki Master teacher is also a Karuna Reiki Master, but this blog will primarily focus on Usui/Tibetan Reiki.

The results of receiving a Reiki treatment are enhanced health and well-being, among other benefits. Human beings are energetic bodies, and receiving a Reiki treatment balances and soothes chaotic energy systems, as well as balancing the Chakra system if the experienced practitioner is in tune with his or her client. A person who treats himself and others feels a renewed sense of well-being and energy, and a lightness that can not be explained, nor can it be matched. Reiki can also be projected across time and space, as energy never ceases to exist, according to physics. Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed. When Reiki is projected across time and space, it is called Distant Reiki, or Distance healing.

Distance healing can be as effective as hands on healing, but can be performed from long distances. Reiki energy knows no boundaries and transcends time and space freely. Reiki goes where Reiki is needed, so the premise of laying hands in particular positions is moot, and is usually an intuitive practice. Although Reiki teachers, such as myself, will teach hand positions to students, a responsible Reiki teacher will also let his or her students know that Intuition plays a key role in hand placement.

There are five spiritual precepts for daily living that were handed down from Dr. Mikao Usui as part of the oral tradition of Reiki. These precepts are as follows:

Just for today, do not worry.
Just for today, do not anger.
Honor your parents, teachers, and elders.
Earn your living honestly.
Show gratitude to every living thing.

Reiki translated from Japanese Kanji to English

These precepts are simplistic and if everyone tries to live by them, the world will become a more peaceful place to live. I use Reiki in the course of my days at work, while working with patients, and sometimes with colleagues. I strive to treat myself to Reiki on a daily basis, as well, especially in recent months. I was always encouraged to treat myself daily (by my Reiki Master teacher) but at times I'm a slow learner, and in recent years and months, as I stated previously, I've become more aware of the profound effects of self-Reiki.

More about Reiki and its healing properties and energy in upcoming posts, my dear readers.

For now, I bid you all adieu. 
Namaste, my friends ...

Reiki RN