Twofeathers Reiki

Decisions… Decisions

This experience we call life is filled to the brim with decisions. During every waking moment, we are faced with more choices than we can possibly comprehend.

We are often simi-or un-conscious of the threads of life we spin with each thought or direction of thought our minds take. Some decisions are merely reactionary; some are carefully and methodically made. Some major resolutions are brought about by a culmination of seemingly inconsequential decisions and most have small conclusions intertwined in their process.

All that we are and have experienced is embodied in every single decision we make and each decision creates a new experience. Until we make any decision, we have no real idea of what the experience will be. Thus, we never really make mistakes; we only create experiences we either like or dislike.

The only difficult part of this concept is agreeing to the facts that:

  • Each of us is really free to make any choice we want to.
  • We can create change by choosing to do so.

What does that have to do with health, healing and Reiki?

Ultimately, all decisions direct our lives as to whether or not we are going to get sick with certain diseases, and to a degree, whether we are going to place ourselves in positions that could lead to accidents, or be in environments where catastrophes can happen.

It is very difficult to accept that our choices are responsible for whatever happens to our body. No one wants to believe that he or she might have chosen their car accident or their cancer, or to be responsible in any way for any upsetting incident in their life. In fact, the realization of this responsibility is invariably painful. But it is this understanding that can help to explain the intricacies of the healing process.

Whatever our background or experience in health or in healing, it’s important to begin to understand this complexity. Just as one decision builds on another to create disharmony, disease, etc, we can build a new set of choices which will determine to what degree we have chosen to be healed.

Takata’s advice was to do regular and consistent Reiki sessions for a chronically ill patient. Consecutive Reiki sessions give the body, mind, emotions, and the spirit a chance to come together in a relaxed and energized state. A chance, as it were, to rethink individual and collective decisions on some (or every) level. An opportunity, in the quiet, to sort through past selections and experiences. All of this can occur without the practitioner or the client being aware that it’s happening.

I believe that what we see as “miraculous healings” are actually the coming together of this energy, Reiki, which facilitates the re-balancing of a total being, and any individual who has decided on all levels to accept and hold onto that balance. For some persons, this moment can be instantaneous, and a miracle is announced. We hear and read of these frequently. For most of us, the degree of re-balancing comes steadily or in small increments, and this is what we see in ourselves and our Reiki practices.

On some occasions, we will see a transformation during one session, but then a gradual return of the original problem. The body might have been willing, but the emotions or thoughts or attitudes were not ready for the change.

Just as it is with any decision to create a new experience, we cannot know what the experience is until we make the decision to do it. Any movement from one habit or view of life to another cannot be known to its fullest extent until we decide to do it and accomplish it.

Remember always, just as this decision to create disease is personal, so is the decision to create health. Each person will do it in their own way. Some of us may decide as we are expected to. Others of us may make the ultimate healing decision to let loose of this life experience.

Keep in mind then that as practitioners or for ourselves, we are only present to facilitate the decision-making process by channeling Reiki and being present without judgment.

Excerpted from: Reiki in Everyday Living

The Human Energy Field

Although each of the techniques I have studied has a slightly different perspective on the human energy field and the mechanics of how it functions and how it interacts with our physical and emotional well-being, there are some areas of general agreement.

The following is my summary of the underlying assumptions of energy work, as described in various healing manuals. Not all of the authors I have studied would agree with all of the points below, but these points do seem to represent a common denominator amongst the systems.

The Auric Field

  • A dynamic, vibrating energy field is present within our physical bodies, and surrounds our bodies as an aura of energy. The invisible field extends at least a few inches above the surface of the skin.
  • Some of the authors describe several layers to the auric field, extending as much as three to four feet out from the physical body.

Direct Experience

The energy field can be experienced through physical senses, especially touch and sight.

  • “Seeing” energy.

Several healers report an ability to see energy. Some see a shimmering haze around the body (the aura). Others can see colors which indicate illness or disease. Some use high sense perception to see the structures of chakras, the health of the organs, the flow of blood through the body, etc.

  • “Feeling” energy.

When someone tunes in to his own energy or when he scans another person’s energy field, he can feel physical sensations such as tingling, heat, “magnetic” force, vibration, or currents. These are usually felt most strongly in the hands. When a healer focuses intention on sending healing energy, the client may feel similar sensations.

These sensations can be further amplified through specialized breathing techniques and exercises. This indicates that we can consciously influence our energy field and other people’s energy fields with our attention, thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Scientific instruments are able to measure some aspects of the energy field, and some effects of the energy field on other systems; however, some aspects elude measurement with current technology. The field shares many common aspects with electricity and magnetism (see Oschman for discussion) but it is not yet clear whether biomagnetism is exactly the same force as the human biofield, or just a closely related phenomenon.

Energy movement:

  • Energy appears to flow through the body in predictable patterns, similar to river currents or magnetic polarities (though various techniques are not necessarily in complete agreement about the direction of these flows.)

This energy is carried through our bodies along definable pathways (aka meridians, nadis) that can be most easily contacted at certain identifiable points along the body (aka acupuncture points). There are certain centers on our body which appear to act as gateways for the interaction between our energy and environmental influences (aka chakras, emotion centers, dan tien).

  • The energy field is connected with the breath.

Energy can be increased by consciously controlled breathing. Breathing moves energy through the body.

Sources of energy:

The general belief is that there is an unlimited supply of universal energy that all humans have access to, as long as our energy pathways are clear and balanced. Some theoreticians view this in scientific terms, others in spiritual terms.

  • This source may be referred to as God, or Cosmic Energy, or Divine Source.
  • Our energy field can be equated with the “spark of life.” It is the animating force that gives and sustains life.

Some ways we access energy:

  • Breath.
  • Food and other environmental influences.
  • Inherited karma.
  • Meditation and other conscious connection to the energy.

Types of energy:

Some systems differentiate between heavy and light energy or between yin and yang energy. Neither energy is harmful or bad, but it is important to keep the energies balanced.

Human beings are open energy systems. We are continuously exchanging energy with other people, animals, and the environment. Our fields are in constant flux and change. A normal healthy body has a continuous flow of balanced energy.

Blockages and Imbalances:

We are constantly exposed to energy from our environment and our experiences which is incompatible with our energy, and which could throw our field out of balance. In a normal, healthy energy system, we are able to release these incompatible energies immediately. However, if we are already unbalanced, our energy systems may absorb them.

  • Blockages and imbalances in the energy field can manifest as mental, physical, emotional, and/or spiritual disease.
  • Physical injuries can cause damage to the energy field that may remain even after the physical injury has healed.

This may account for some cases of chronic pain. Energy medicine can effect significant results with releasing the long-term energy blockages caused by the physical injury.

  • Emotional traumas can also have long-term impact.

If we continue to hold the emotional trauma in our energy field, the blockage may eventually manifest as physical illness. This is why energy work on physical dis-ease often leads to release of long-held emotional issues.

Emotions and Consciousness:

The energy is associated with emotions and consciousness. It is involved in the creation and experience of emotions and spiritual experiences.

Some argue that the field is the connection between our bodies and our consciousness, some define the field as the same as consciousness, some believe the flow of energy can be equated to the flow of emotions through our bodies.

Gerber has a complex taxonomy for energy, including metabolic energy, bioelectrical energy, biophotonic energy, and subtle bioenergies (divided up into ch’i, prana, etheric energy, astral energy, mental energy, and higher spiritual energies.)

Other terms for Energy:

There are several names for this field. In traditional cultures, it is called by names like Mana in Polynesia, Prana in India, Qi in China, Ki in Japan, and Hucha and Sami in Peru. Modern healing techniques refer to it as the Biofield, Life-force energy, Physioemotional Field, Body Energy Field, Vital energies, and Subtle Energies.

Source: Transition To Parenthood

Questions To Ask A Reiki Master

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Finding the right person from which to learn the healing art of Reiki, and receive the Reiki Attunements can be confusing and a little intimidating at first. Here is a list of questions compiled by William Rand that will help guide you in your search for the right teacher for you, and give you a better understanding of what it is they offer in their classes.

If you are already a Reiki Master, and offering classes, this list of questions can serve as a guide as to information you might want to provide in your flyers, class materials, and brochures.

  • How long have you been working with Reiki?
  • What training have you had?
  • How often do you teach?
  • How do you personally use Reiki?
  • What is your lineage?
  • Will this training initiate me into, or progress me within the Usui lineage?
  • What qualifications are required to take Reiki Training?
  • What do you cover in your classes?
  • How many hours of class time is included?
  • How much time is instructional, and how much is hands on practice?
  • What are the specific things I will be able to do after taking the training?
  • What are your fees, and will I receive a certificate and a manual?
  • Can I take notes and tape record the class?
  • How many symbols (if any) will I learn?
  • Is there a Reiki support group in my area or can you help me establish one?
  • Will you openly support me in being a successful Reiki practitioner or master?
  • Do you have a positive respectful attitude toward other Reiki practitioners and masters, regardless of lineage or affiliation?

Be aware of how you feel about their answers and if they are responding in a loving manner that is supportive and empowering. Listen to your heart and you will be guided to the right teacher.

From: The Reiki News, Autumn 2002

The 21 Day Clearing Process

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I like to compare the initiation process in Reiki to a vortex of Universal Energy pouring into the crown chakra. At each level of attunement, the vibratory rate is heightened, and you are able to tap into a higher, wider channel of that Universal Energy.

Some may experience this shift immediately, expanded color consciousness, a buzzing or heightened sensitivity in the crown center, or a sense of floating or light headedness. (It is important to remember to remove all jewelry, watches, and barrettes prior to any attunement as metals may create discomfort in the chakra areas.)

In order for the vibratory rate to be raised with each attunement, there has to be a clearing of old patterns and thoughts that inhibit the growth of the consciousness. This clearing takes place in an orderly fashion, proceeding up the axis chakras one by one:

Week one consists of one day each for the chakra center of the root, spleen, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and then the crown.

Week two begins at the root chakra and proceeds day by day up to the crown center.

Week three is a repeat of the other two. (This is the same cycle and procedure for healing acute dis-ease in others. It is best if they are treated for twenty-one days straight to clear the chakras three times each in order to remove old patterns and pain.)

I like to compare this chakra healing (clearing) process to a check mark. When making a check mark, you have to go down before you can go up. This process may prove to be uncomfortable for many people. As the blocks that are preventing your progress are brought forward, they are released by your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies.

The effects that you may experience are wide spread, and could range from irritability and crying to the inability to eat low vibration foods (like red meat). You may also be unable to tolerate negativity of any ki8nd.

Please keep in mind that this process is detoxifying your life. What you may feel as various degrees of discomfort during the 21 day “clearing” or “cleansing” cycle creates more space for transcendence. You experience a sort of Shaman’s Death, so to speak, to go far beyond the self.

Each attunement is life-altering. I ask that you embrace the 21 day clearing cycle as a glorious opportunity for soul growth. Honor the process and be kind to yourself.

For my sources see: Recommended Reading

The Reiki Attunements

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An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student by the Reiki Master during an attunement process. This process opens the crown, heart, and palm chakras and creates a special link between the student and the Reiki source.

Its use is not dependent on intellectual capacity or spiritual development and, therefore, is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.

The process of attunement is what sets Reiki apart from every other form of laying on of hands or touch healing. It is the attunements themselves that are Reiki, and without this process – which must be passed directly from Teacher to student – the healing system is not Reiki but something else. The attunement is not a healing session, it creates the healer.

The attunement does not give the receiver any thing new; it opens and aligns what was already there. The process is much like plugging in a lamp in a house already wired for electricity. When the healer puts hands down with the intent to heal, the light is turned on.

The Reiki attunement is a powerful spiritual experience. The attunement energies are channeled into the student through the Reiki Master. The process is guided by the Rei or God-consciousness and makes adjustments in the process depending on the needs of each student.

The attunement is also attended by Reiki guides and other spiritual beings who help implement the process. Many report having mystical experiences involving personal messages, healings, visions, and past life experiences.

The attunement can also increase psychic sensitivity. After receiving a Reiki attunement, students often report experiences involving:

  • Opening of the third eye
  • Increased intuitive awareness
  • Other psychic abilities

Once you have received a Reiki attunement, you will have Reiki for the remainder of your life. It does not wear off and you can never lose it. While one attunement is all you need for each level to be attuned to that level, additional attunements bring benefits which include: refinement and increased strength of the Reiki energy one is channeling, healing of personal problems, clarity of mind, increased psychic sensitivity, and a raised level of consciousness.

The Reiki attunement can start a cleansing process that affects the physical body as well as the mind and emotions. Toxins that have been stored in the body may be released along with feelings and thought patterns that are no longer useful.

After the attunement, all that is necessary for the use of Reiki is to place hands on the person to be healed with the intention of healing. The Reiki energies will begin flowing automatically.

For my sources see: Recommended Reading

The Evolution of Reiki

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The Usui System of Natural Healing has evolved over time. In its current state it is much more organized and structured than the simple, flexible, intuitive method practiced by Dr. Usui.

The following is a description of the evolution of the Usui System of Reiki:

  • During his mystical experience on Mt. Kurama, Dr. Usui received the ability to do Reiki treatments, the Reiki symbols, and the ability to pass Reiki on to others.
  • Later he added the Reiki Ideals and the idea that one needs to receive compensation for a treatment.
  • Dr. Hayashi added the standard hand positions, the three drees and the attunement processses.
  • Mrs. Takata added the fee structure.
  • The required waiting periods between classes were added by several of Mrs. Takata’s Masters after she passed on.

After Mrs. Takata’s transition, a few teachers began making changes in the way they taught Reiki. Most of the changes were beneficial, and included the addition of knowledge and healing skills the teachers had learned from other systems or had acquired from inner guidance.

However, some changes were restrictive, making it more difficult for students to progress. Some took the Third Degree and divided it into several small parts, calling each new part a new Degree and charging additional money.

Often, the fact that  the Usui system had been modified was not mentioned and when their students became teachers, they began teaching what they thought was pure Usui Reiki when in fact it was not. In this way, many varieties of Reiki have developed with some thinking they have the only authentic version of Reiki when actually what they are teaching is a modified form.

For my sources see: Recommended Reading

Reiki Comes To The West

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Hawayo Takata and Dr. Hayashi

Hawayo Takata was born at dawn on December 24, 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants and her father worked in the sugar cane fields. She worked very hard as she was growing up. She eventually married the bookkeeper of the plantation where she was employed. His name was Saichi Takata and they had 2 daughters.

In October of 1930, Saichi died at the age of 34 leaving Mrs. Takata to raise their two children. In order to provide for her family, she had to work very hard with little rest. After five years she developed severe abdominal pain, a lung condition and had a nervous breakdown.

Soon after this, one of her sisters died and it was the responsibility of Hawayo to travel to Japan, where her parents had moved, to deliver the news. She also felt she could receive help for her health in Japan.

She took a steamship and was accompanied by her sister-in-law. After informing her parents of the death of her sister, she entered a hospital. It was found that she had a tumor, gallstones and appendicitis. After resting several weeks, she was ready for the needed operation.

On the operating table, just before the surgery was to begin, Hawayo heard a voice. The voice said, “The operation is not necessary. The operation is not necessary.” She had never heard a voice speak to her like this before. She wondered what it meant. The voice repeated the message a third time even louder. She knew she was wide awake and had not imagined the voice. It was so unusual, yet so compelling that she decided to ask the doctor.

She got off the operating table, wrapped a sheet around herself and asked to speak to the doctor. When the doctor finally come, she asked if he knew of any other way that her problems could be helped. The koctor knew of Dr. Hayashi’s Reiki clinic and told Hawayo about it. This was something she wanted to try.

At the Reiki clinic, she began receiving treatments. She had never heart of Reiki before and did not know what it was. Using their Reiki hands the practitioners could sense what was wrong with Mrs. Takata. Their diagnosis very closely matched the doctor’s at the hospital. This impressed her and gave her confidence in what they were doing.

Two Reiki practitioners would treat her each day. The heat from their hands was so strong that she thought they were using some kind of equipment. She looked around, but saw none. Seeing the large sleeves of the Japanese kimono one of the practitioners was wearing, she thought she had found the location of the equipment. She grabbed the sleeves, but found nothing. The startled practitioner wanted to know what she was doing and when she explained, he began to laugh. Then he told her about Reiki and how it worked.

Mrs. Takata received daily treatments and got progressively better. In four months, she was completely healed. Impressed with the results, she wanted to learn Reiki. However, it was explained that Reiki was Japanese and that it was intended to stay in Japan. It could not be taught to an outsider.

Mrs. Takata talked to the surgeon at the hospital and convinced him to ask Dr. Hayashi to allow her to learn Reiki. Since Dr. Hayashi wanted to teach Reiki to another woman besides his wife, and since Mrs. Takata was so persistent, he decided that she should be the one. In the Spring of 1936, Mrs. Takata received First Degree Reiki. She worked with Dr. Hayashi for one year and then received Second Degree Reiki.

Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937. She was soon followed by Dr. Hayashi and his daughter who came to help establish Reiki in Hawaii. In the winter of 1938, Dr. Hayashi initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master. She was the thirteenth and last Reiki Master Dr. Hayashi initiated. She, in turn, initiated 22 Reiki Masters before her transition in 1980. That list can be found here.

For my sources see: Recommended Reading

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The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences. ~Carl Frederick

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