Attaining clarity is a funny thing.  The purpose of attaining clarity is to reach a place of stillness, silence, eternal security, oneness and to essentially become the embodiment of unconditional love.  On the other hand, those are things that do not exist on the material plane and to experience them, one must go ‘in’ and eventually learn to radiate them out.

Is it possible to be in physical form and have multi-dimensional experiences? It is absolutely possible.  What is not possible is to expect to be able to attain such an ability of conscious transmutation while remaining in an environment of a lower vibration – a vibration over-populated by the herd.  If you want to change for the Light-er, you must first purge the metaphysical weight.

Purging the weight is a process of death and rebirth.  It is a process of first accepting and then letting go of perspectives that box you in. Only when you allow these things to die do you create space for rebirth. It’s just like learning how to walk again.

Through this process of acceptance and release, you receive new tools for new purposes.  You can still try to use the old tools to accomplish new tasks, but you’ll eventually find that they don’t work the same way they used to.  In fact, nothing will feel the same as it used to.  The things that once brought you so much joy lead to disappointment and disillusion now.  Once the mind is stretched, it cannot go back to its original form.  You are changed forever.  You may allow the memories of the past to haunt you.  You may choose to try recreating what was once joyful, but nothing tastes nor does it look or feel the same.  All the senses are put to new tests.  The mind is exercised in different ways and the process of change just seems to get faster and more unforgiving. Whoever said that ignorance is bliss had a point.  There’s a temporary bliss connected to ‘not knowing’.

The only time you experience pain from the transformation into Light-ness is when you’ve shifted into a relatively higher vibration while simultaneously continuing to live an existence in tune with a lower vibration.  At this point, it becomes more and more of an effort to ‘balance’ because you’re no longer balancing according to the universal equilibrium. Instead, you’re creating your own scales and conjuring up your own private units of measurement in order to satisfy your egoic desires.  You’re constantly faced with the process of renewal and if you don’t embrace a new perspective of the experiences that come your way, you’ll create pain for yourself. You’ll create a reality of suffering because you will try to exert effort where effort cannot exist.

‘Effort’ is an interesting concept. It’s a deceiving word.  People use the word ‘effort’ with pride.  They believe that it denotes dedication and commitment.  In actuality, effort indicates resistance – it takes place when you’re working against the flow.  If you are working against the flow, you are not working in accordance with the Universal Laws.  You are in opposition to nature.  What is nature’s way of telling us that we are not working in harmony with its laws?  It brings pain.  The source of pain is resistance.

The next time you find yourself exerting effort to accomplish something, observe your mental chatter, ask yourself what you are doing at that very moment, and decide. Do you choose opposition or harmony?

A magical thing happened to me this morning. It’s actually still happening to me now as I write this post. You see, I decided to dedicate some of my attention today to going through messages in my inbox; messages that have been waiting for me for some time now; messages that I wasn’t ready for or open to until now; messages that I am nevertheless extremely grateful to have received. Most of them are videos and links to resources sent to me from friends and family – information that they thought I might be interested in coming across. Most of the time, these messages sit in my inbox for quite some time before I feel comfortable enough to approach them. I think to me, that means that they have great power to affect me, and at some level, I know this, so I wait until the time is right so that I can truly give them the attention they, and I, deserve. Today, I happened to come across a sound that stimulated such a profound feeling of something opening within me that I felt moved to share it with you here.

Sounds are very powerful. We’ve talked about them here in the form of mantras and chants. There are certain frequencies that can be expressed in seemingly simple tones, but that when listened to, create an environment in which great awakening can take place. The ones that I would like to share with you today are frequencies that resonate at 741 HZ. The videos that I will include below include these types of sounds. When I listen to them in this moment, I feel something happening in my Third Eye area. The more I listen to them, the more this feeling expands to fill the top of my head, the back of my head and around my temples and ears. Even my neck feels the impact of the sound. It starts off as feeling of pressure between my brows, but not a physical pressure like when you press on your forehead with your hand. No, this is a more subtle pressure, one felt beneath the surface of the skin, that bores into the depths of my inner site. I know this sounds strange but it’s so powerful. My vision isn’t technically affected in the experience, but at the same time, I can feel that my eyes would prefer not to focus on this dimension. It’s as if they’re asking me to look beyond, to look past the physical, to allow them to rest for a moment in another space, a more peaceful, gentle space. This makes for quite an interesting experience while I’m typing! Good thing I remember the position of most of the keys!

I enjoy experiencing unfoldment in this way. It’s almost like an instantaneous repositioning of my awareness into a deeper place of much greater expanse then any place I’ve been on to this planet. Even the most gloriously wide, open space like a wheat field along a dusty highway or the view from atop an ancient volcano can’t compare to the expanse that exists within us. To awaken this sense is such a healing experience to communicate with our Higher essence with the utmost of grace and reverence. To mingle with your soul while still experiencing the physical dimension is a wonderful reminder that we are so much more than our bodies, our minds, our surroundings. We are one with all. There exists no delineation between this and that. There are no borders, do separation between this dimension and that dimension. It is all a fluid flow of tranquility. Enjoy and God Bless!

Understanding our minds is essential in order to be able to manifest in our lives. It is the key to becoming conscious co-creators with God. With the Law of Manifestation, we understand that everything is energy. If we understand this natural principle, then we get what we want in our lives by learning to use our precious energy to manifest what we desire by transferring this energy from one reality to another.

We do this with our minds. The mind is a process, not an organ in the body, whereas the brain is the sensitive instrument of the mind. Each of us possess only one mind, but it is important to recognize it as having three main levels, or aspects of itself: the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the superconscious mind.

A brief outline of what we have been discussing lately follows as a summary aid which you are welcome to refer back to as you progress in your work on the path:

The Conscious Mind

• Our “reasoning mind”
• Utilized through use of our personal power and will
• Used through physical action
• Programmer of our subconscious mind – we decide what we feed our subconscious by being aware of our thoughts 24 hours a day on a conscious level (by pushing out the negative and reaffirming the positive)
• Called the “captain of our ship”
• Referred to as the “President of our Personality”
• It’s task is to use its power of reasoning and discernment in all that we do
• Also referred to as the “gardener” who plants seeds into the subconscious and whatever is planted is what will grow!

The Subconscious Mind

• Our “non-reasoning mind”
• Operates on a more instinctive level
• Serves as a memory bank for every thought, feeling, habit and desire that we possess
• “As above, so below” – what we think and imagine in our subconscious mind is what we will draw to ourselves in our outer world
• Subconscious mind does whatever it is programmed to do
• Think of it as our “servant” – it will supply us with whatever we need as long as we program it correctly
• Most dreams are created through the subconscious mind
• Our physical body will reflect whatever we put into the subconscious. If we worry about getting an illness, chances are that we will create one through constant thought energy, manifesting in the physical.
• Stores our habits, both good and bad
• Stores our developed abilities (e.g.: how to ride a bike)
• Use of affirmations is critical in forming a positive and strong subconscious mind

The Superconscious Mind

• Our “Spiritual Mind” or “Higher Self”
• Our all-knowing mind
• Allows higher level thinking and knowing
• Is the origin of most creativity
• Attuned to Cosmic Will
• Contacted through meditation, some dreams and intuition
• Brings us inner peace and true joy
• When we focus our energies on loving, generous intentions, our superconscious mind will provide us with the continuous flow of ideas and creative energy to help move us closer to our goals

We must utilize our three mind aspects, working in harmony and in unity with one another if we are to become conscious co-creators with God!

In celebration of spring, you are warmly invited to come join in the reflection of the Spirit. This time of rebirth and new awakenings is a perfect opportunity to widen our eyes and open ourselves to seeing more of our Selves. For the next 8 weeks, we will embark on the Literary Exploration of Sadhana, the Realisation of Life by Rabindranath Tagore. Every week, you are most welcome to share your reflection of each of the 8 chapters of this illuminating tome.

The Literary Exploration Series is an opportunity to delve into the world of an author who had the courage to explore the esoteric and share his or her experiences with the world. The first book in this series is entitled Sadhana, the Realisation of Life, first published in English in 1913. Rabindranath Tagore, Asia’s first Nobel laureate, wrote this collection of stories that, as I understand them, aim to demystify the relation of the individual to the universe. They speak of soul consciousness, the ego, love, beauty, and that which has no beginning nor end.

If you would like to read more about the author prior to beginning this audiobook exercise, you are most welcome to begin your introduction to Rabindranath Tagore here. You can also find links to each of the 8 chapters of Sadhana, the Realisation of Life here. Every week for the next 8 weeks, we will reflect upon a single chapter until we reach the end of this literary exploration. You are welcome to join in at any time, and are warmly invited to write about your reflections here by commenting on the weekly posts.

During this first week, we will be reflecting upon Chapter 1: The Relation of the Individual to the Universe.  You may wish to listen to the chapter in full before reading the following reflection, or you might prefer reading the comments below prior to listening to it for yourself. The choice is yours.

Chapter 1: The Relation of the Individual to the Universe

Link to chapter: click here
Length of chapter reading: 38:06 minutes

A beautiful experience – and by that, I suppose I mean the experience of listening to Rabindranath Tagore’s The Relation of the Individual to the Universe, as well as the actual experience of realising life. Although I am not certain the extent to which I have realised my own life, I have to believe that this book comes to those who are ready to reflect upon the process. And, to reflect upon this grand theme of existence, I suppose that one would have had to have already recognised it at some point.

“…for we can never make anything truly our own except that which it truly related to us.”

If it is already related to us, then making something our own is simply the process of recognising a part of ourselves that was there all along.

“We can look upon a road from two different points of view. One regards it as dividing us from the object of our desire. In that case we count every step of our journey over it as something obtained by force in the face of obstruction. The other sees it as the road which leads us to our destination, and as such, it is part of our goal. It is already the beginning of our attainment, and by journeying over it, we can only gain that which within itself it offers to us.”

The way I see it, the first point of view is the definition of effort – fighting against obstruction. The second is the process of going with the flow.

“The man of science knows in one aspect that the world is not merely what it appears to be to our senses. He knows that earth and water are really the play of forces that manifest themselves to us as earth and water. … Likewise, the man who has his spiritual eyes open knows that the ultimate truth about earth and water lies in our apprehension of the eternal will which works in time and takes shape in the forces we realise under those aspects.”

An example of how perception has the power to divide, in this case, the worlds of science and spirituality.

“In art, we strive for originality and lose sight of truth which is old and yet ever new. In literature, we miss the complete view of man which is simple and yet great but he appears as a psychological problem or the embodiment of a passion that is intense because abnormal and because exhibits in the glare of a fiercely emphatic light, which is artificial.”

It is simple to underestimate simplicity.

“Where man tries to push himself to eminence by pushing and jostling others, to achieve a distinction by which he prides himself to be more than everybody else, there he is alienated from that spirit. … in the pursuit of wealth, you really give up everything to gain a few things…”

It is not ‘lonely on the top’ because no one else is good enough to be there with you. It is lonely because on your perceived climb up the ladder, you have forgotten who you are and how to connect to the essence of your Being. We are only alone when we forget that we have our Selves, and within our Selves is the Oneness of All.

“We are immersed in His consciousness – body and soul. It is through His consciousness that the Sun attracts the Earth. It is through His consciousness that the light waves are being transmitted from planet to planet. Not only in space, but this light and life, this All-feeling Being, is in our souls. He is all-conscious in space (or the world of extension), and He is all-conscious in soul (or the world of intention).

“Thus, to attain our World Consciousness, we have to unite our feeling with this all-pervasive infinite feeling. In fact, the only true human progress is coincident with this widening of the range of feeling. All our poetry, philosophy, science, art and religion are serving to extend the scope of our consciousness towards higher and larger spheres. Man does not acquire rights through the occupation of larger space nor through external contact, but his rights extend only so far as he is real, and his reality is measured by the scope of his consciousness. We have, however, to pay a price for this attainment of the freedom of consciousness. What is the price? It is to give one’s ‘self’ away. Our soul can realise its ‘Self’ truly only by denying its ‘self’.”

Poetry, philosophy, science, art and religion are all mechanisms through which we are invited to expand our awareness – to open our Eyes and see more of that which is hidden from the physical eyes. It is like the proverbial buffet table:

“Treat these words as various dishes laid out on a buffet table. Pick and choose what looks and tastes good to you. It is for you to decide what food agrees with your digestive system. None of this is for your acceptance or rejection. None of us get brownie points for what we believe to be true; only for what we apply.”

Devotion to one religion, admiration for one poet, appreciation of one artist or one school of scientific thought is constructive if we realise these beliefs for the duration that they benefit us and are willing to eventually let them go for new realisations. It is attachment to any one philosophy, to any one belief or perspective that is futile to the development of our World Consciousness.

“Compared to his ego, the rest of the world is unreal, thus in order to be fully conscious of the reality of All, one has to be free himself from the bonds of personal desires. This discipline, we have to go through to prepare ourselves for our social duties, for sharing the burdens of our fellow beings. Every endeavor to attain a larger life requires of man to gain by giving away and not to be greedy and thus, to expand gradually the consciousness of one’s unity with All, is the striving of humanity.”

Knowledge only becomes power when it is shared. I must be humbly honest with you that I do not know why I am writing this blog, where it will lead me, or what I am supposed to do with it next. But, what I do know, unequivocally, is that we are all meant to share with one another. It is not to teach, to preach nor to dictate that I write these words. It is to serve. It is to enable the sharing of experiences, of perceptions and of stories in order to broaden the collective perspective.

The attunement process is a ceremony of spiritual awakening that symbolizes the creation of a new connection between you and the Universal Source of Light that aligns you with your Highest Good. You can imagine it as being similar to the process of turning the dial on a radio to find a station. During an attunement, you are ‘tuned in’ to a different station. In other words, you are being attuned to a higher frequency.

A Reiki attunement must be given by a Reiki Master. A Reiki Master is someone who devotes themselves to attaining and maintaining a very high frequency of energy respective to the general masses. A Master’s connection to the Universal flow of energy is high enough that he or she can create a stronger connection between you and the Universal flow. After the final attunement, a person is technically labeled a Reiki Master, but the process of attaining Master-hood takes an undefined amount of time, depending solely on the person.

One of the unique characteristics of Reiki is its tradition of attuning people to the different levels of vibration that are represented in each degree. During the first degree, you receive four attunements and the second and third degree each require one attunement. Attunements are short ceremonies in which the Reiki Master performs a sequence of acts that connect you to a greater flow of energy. The ceremonies create an energy pattern around you when the Reiki Master imprints symbols into your aura. Your energy frequency immediately adjusts to the higher frequency represented by the Reiki symbols. The attunement is permanent.

Remember the definition of Reiki. It means ‘Universal Life Force Energy’. When someone says that they work with Reiki energy, it doesn’t mean that they are accessing a special kind of energy.

I work with Reiki energy = I work with Universal Life Force Energy

There is no distinction between ‘different types of energy’. There simply is energy, or there is no energy. There is no ‘good energy’. There is no ‘negative energy’. Once you realize that everything is energy, you begin to fully understand what the attunement process is and what being a Reiki practitioner means.

There are many sources that will tell you that the purpose of an attunement is to allow you to access ‘Reiki energy’ in order to heal a person or a situation. This is misleading. The purpose of an attunement is simply to give you greater access to the Universal flow of energy. What you choose to do with this new connection is up to you although it is important to recognize that wanting an attunement in order to heal others or to heal a situation are secondary desires.

You will not be able to heal anyone or anything until you begin to heal yourself.

To heal means to balance.

Until you balance yourself, your ability to balance elements around you is limited.

Enlightenment is a two-way process. You are invited to share your experiences of attunement with others who have gone through it and/or who have questions about it by adding your comment here Why don’t I start by sharing an attunement experience with you…

I was attuned to master level in Toronto, Canada – although I was slow to start and tried to ignore that inner voice for as long as I could…because of fear.

My whole attunement process took approximately 2-3 years. I had intensive periods of lessons and attunements with my teacher. These were followed by longer periods with little-to-no contact with him during which time I was encouraged to put the teachings into practice and to observe the changes that were to take place within myself, in my life and to those around me.

I was not encouraged nor deterred from giving Reiki sessions to others. My teacher was supportive throughout the process. I was often reminded that free will was a governing Universal Law and I had the choice each step of the way.

As I became more and more comfortable with the changes that came with this process, I began to hear that little voice in my head more often…although I wasn’t as afraid of it anymore. I noticed myself being inspired to try new things and face fears that I knew were holding me back. I took Kundalini Yoga classes which I thoroughly enjoyed, and opened a Reiki practice that allowed me to give Reiki sessions and attunements to others.

After about a year and a half of advertising myself as a Reiki practitioner – all in the name of empowering others with the benefits of Reiki, I decided to close down shop. My personal experience made me feel that offering Reiki in exchange for money tainted the process and actually limited to flow of energy. This is my experience, and I am by no means saying that this will be the case for everyone.

Since my first attunement, I progressively learned more about energy and made the conscious choice to apply what felt right. After experimenting with different approaches, I decided that rather than singing in the streets about the ‘miracle of energy’, I would respect the fact that everyone chooses for themselves and took the indirect route of simply providing the information to others through my site.

The origin of Reiki can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Tibet. The technique was reintroduced in the mid 1800′s through the experiences of Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan. Historically, the tradition of Reiki was passed on through word of mouth. Regardless of our current methods of communication, there is a great desire to keep the mysteries of Reiki secret.

Dr. Usui’s story…

Dr. Usui was the head of a Christian Boys School in Kyoto, Japan. In 1822, after giving a sermon, Dr. Mikao Usui was approached by two seminary students who asked him to explain how Jesus did the miracles of healing and whether or not he could perform the same miracles. Dr. Usui was not able to give the students an answer.

The confrontation with the students became a turning point for Dr. Usui as he began his lifelong quest to uncover the source of ancient healing techniques. He left Japan, came to America and studied at the University of Chicago where he earned a Doctorate degree in Theology. He searched the scriptures to uncover the secret of how Jesus and his disciples healed the sick and performed miracles, but he did not find the answers he sought during his time in America.

Upon his return to Japan, it occurred to Dr. Usui that the Buddha performed the same miracles as Jesus. He, too, had a great control of energy and channeled the power of God and the Universe. Dr. Usui began asking the different Buddhistic sects if they could perform the miracles of healing the body that Buddha performed. The Buddhists felt that healing the Spirit and healing the body was not always directly connected. They concentrated on the Spirit, and not on the body. They left the healing of the body up to those in the healing arts.

Dr. Usui eventually found himself at a Zen monastery. He asked the head monk: “Do the Zen know how to heal the body?”

The monk explained that they concentrated on healing the spirit and there just wasn’t enough time to teach the physical healing of the body.

Dr. Usui requested that he be admitted to the Zen monastery so that he could study the Buddhist scriptures in search of the key to physical healing. He was admitted and so began his study.

Dr. Usui first studied the Japanese translations of the Buddhist scriptures but did not find the explanation he sought. Then he learned Chinese so that a wider range of Buddhist writings would be available to him, but still to no avail. He was later guided through his meditations to learn Sanskrit so that he could read the original Buddhist writings. After reading the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhistic Sect, he discovered what he felt to be the keys to healing. Dr. Usui found the symbols, formulas, and description of how Buddha healed.

Nearing the end of his search, Dr. Usui had uncovered the knowledge he was seeking but he still did not have the power to heal. He discussed this with his old friend, the monk; they meditated upon the path to take. They were told that Dr. Usui should go to a designated place upon the holy Mount Kuri Yama. There he was to fast for twenty one days and meditate to seek the power to heal; during this time he would receive enlightenment and Spiritual clarity.

Dr. Usui climbed Kuri Yama to a certain level and found a place that faced east. Since he had no calendar, he gathered twenty-one small stones and placed them before him. Every morning he awakened before the sun rose and would throw away one of the twenty-one stones to keep count of the days.

Each day he meditated and fasted. On the twenty-first day, Dr. Usui awakened to a darkened morning. It was like a new moon day, when no light shone in the heavens before the breaking of dawn. When he awakened he could not even see his hand in front of his face. He found his way to his meditation spot and picked up the last stone. Dr. Usui prayed before throwing the last stone off the side of the mountain. He asked God for confirmation of his findings and asked to be given the enlightenment of how to use it.

As he threw the final stone off the side of the mountain, a light appeared far off in the east. It became brighter on its approach , frightening him. Dr. Usui fought the urge to run as a voice in his head reminded him, “You have searched for years and years, and you have meditated and fasted for twenty one days. You have asked for enlightenment and confirmation, and now you want to run away from it?”

Dr. Usui quieted his intellect and said, “No, if that light is for me, I accept the enlightenment.”

The light became very bright and streamed across the heavens and hit him directly in his third eye. For a moment he thought he had died and ascended into heaven because he had never before been in such a euphoric state. He saw many bubbles in all the colors of the rainbow, and then a powerful white light, followed by golden Sanskrit letters, the secret formula of the Universal Life Force and how to contact it. They came to him one by one, commanding him to memorize and preserve them.

Finally the bubbles, the light and the Sanskrit letters disappeared. Dr. Usui felt rested and full of life and energy. He jumped to his feet. He wanted to hurry back and tell the monk his exciting news. In his rush, he stubbed his toe on a rock. He reached down to comfort the pain and to stop the bleeding. He found that the pain and the bleeding quit very rapidly and realized that something was different about the energy in his hands; they had become very hot.

After healing his toe, Dr. Usui continued his pilgrimage down the mountain. Soon he began to feel hungry, so he stopped at a home that served travelers and ordered cold rice and cold tea. In a few minutes, a Japanese girl with a bandage wrapped around her jaw brought Dr. Usui his meal. She told Dr. Usui that her tooth had been aching for days. Encouraged by his own phenomenal pain relief Dr. Usui asked, “May I give you a healing?” She accepted his offer gladly. He put his hands around her jaw and within moments the pain and swelling started going down. She was very happy and went to tell her father.

Dr. Usui ate his meal and went to pay the papa san. He reached into his pocket to get some coins out, but the papa san said, “Thank you, sir monk, but I cannot accept the money. You have rendered unto my daughter a service for which I do not have the money to pay. Please accept the food in exchange for the healing services that you have rendered.” Dr. Usui accepted the food in exchange for his services and continued his journey home.

Upon returning to Kyoto, he went to tell his friend, the monk, what happened. He asked for advice on what to do now that he had received the keys and the energy of healing. He wanted to learn more about its use and how to develop it and as such he was directed by the monk to meditate on it.

From his meditation, Dr. Usui was guided to go to the beggar kingdom in Tokyo. This kingdom was controlled by a beggar king. Dr. Usui went to see the beggar king and asked if he might live there to heal the sick and the afflicted. The beggar king admitted him, but did not believe Dr. Usui would succeed in healing the beggars.

For the next seven years, Dr. Usui worked on healing the sick in the beggar kingdom. He worked from daylight to dark, healing the young and old alike and saw many beautiful results take place. He began to understand how Reiki flowed through him into others, and how the body became well.

One afternoon, Dr. Usui took a walk to the edge of the beggar kingdom. He saw a young beggar who looked familiar. He asked if the beggar knew him, and the beggar said, “Of course, Dr. Usui. Do you not remember me? I am one of the first beggars you healed.”

Dr. Usui said, “I healed you and you are still a beggar?”

The beggar looked back at him and said, “Oh, Dr. Usui, yes, and I did just what you told me. I went out to the temple to receive a new name, went to society and began dealing with my karma, doing just what you told me to do. I even got a job and soon married, but it was too much responsibility. So, I decided that I would rather be a beggar. That way I wouldn’t even have to be responsible for myself.”

Dr. Usui was greatly upset, and thought, “What a terrible thing I have done. Perhaps the churches were right, the physical is not enough – the spiritual has to also be healed. Never again will Reiki be given away, always will there have to be an exchange of energy.” He decided to immediately leave the beggar kingdom.

As he walked back to the monastery, Dr. Usui was greeted, in Spirit, by the teachers who had greeted him on Kuri Yama. At this time he was given the Five Spiritual Principals of Reiki:

These five principals created significant changes in Dr. Usui’s subsequent healings. He realized that he had been giving healing away without requiring the healee to take any responsibility for the healing or for maintaining the healed state. There had not been an exchange of energy for the services rendered. The new teaching provided spiritual concepts to be integrated with the physical aspect of the Reiki energy.

Dr. Usui got a torch and lit it, and went walking in Kyoto. He was stopped and asked why he was carrying a lit torch in the middle of the day with the sun brightly shining above. He replied that he was searching for people with hearts full of love but who were sad and sorrowful and did not know the true light. He invited people to come and hear about Reiki. In this way he started teaching Reiki throughout Japan and gathered a following of sixteen teachers. During these travels he met Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a Naval Commander in the Naval Reserve. He came from a well educated and well to do family. He met Dr. Usui in the marketplace holding a lit torch announcing his lecture at a nearby temple. Dr. Hayashi was very impressed with the sincerity and conviction of Dr. Usui. When asked by Usui to accompany him in his travels, Dr. Hayashi agreed. And they traveled together teaching and healing. Dr. Usui made his transition in 1893, after asking Dr. Chujiro Hayashi to see that the Reiki teachings were preserved.

Dr. Hayashi continued in Dr. Usui’s tradition, traveling, teaching and dedicating his life to Reiki. He opened a clinic in Tokyo near the Imperial Palace. It consisted of eight beds in a large room, two practitioners per patient. One would treat the head and the other would be on the right treating the stomach area, then both would treat the patient’s back. The practitioners all worked here doing healings. They would also go to the homes of sick people for house calls.

This was just prior to World War II when it became clear that Japan would enter the war. Being a Reserve Officer, Dr. Hayashi knew he would be recalled to duty and would therefore become responsible for killing many people. He felt this would be impossible based on his spiritual convictions and decided to end his life. Before passing on, he trained two Japanese women. One of these teachers stayed in Japan. The other, Mrs. Hawayo Takata, of Hawaii, was made a Reiki Master in 1938, prior to Dr. Hayashi’s death.

<h4>A brief story of Mrs. Takata…</h4>
Mrs. Hawayo Takata was born in Hawaii, on Kauai, on Christmas Eve 1900. Originally of Japanese descent, she went to Japan in the 1930′s to inform her family of the death of her sister. While there she became very sick and was hospitalized. The doctors were going to operate, and as she was being prepared she kept hearing a voice saying “Operation not necessary.”

Eventually she jumped off the table asking “Is there another way?” The doctor had a sister who had been cured of dysentery at Dr. Hayashi’s clinic and suggested Mrs. Takata talk with her. The sister brought Mrs. Takata to the clinic and her treatments there began. After Mrs. Takata became well she wanted to learn this healing method for herself. However Dr. Hayashi was not willing to teach her because she was a foreigner. Through the good graces of her doctor, Mrs. Takata was able to persuade Dr. Hayashi to train her in Reiki. This training took a year and brought her to what we would now call Reiki Level II. Thereafter, she returned to Hawaii.

In Hawaii she learned the lesson of having the recipient perceive value in receiving treatments. She treated a neighbor but did not charge, and this neighbor did not value the treatments and did not become well. She treated another relative and this time charged, and this relative did stay well. Thus the tradition of charging for Reiki treatment was reinforced.

In November 1936, Dr. Hayashi came to Hawaii for a speaking tour to promote Reiki. During this time he trained Mrs. Takata to teach Reiki, thus making her what we now call a Reiki Master. Before leaving Hawaii he asked her to come to see him when he summoned her.

As dangers of World War II neared Japan, Dr. Hayashi appeared to Mrs. Takata in a dream asking her to come to Japan. Upon arrival in Kyoto, she found her teacher taking his naval uniform out of storage. With the coming war he knew it was a matter of time before the Navy would call him out of retirement and he would be asked to perform actions he was not capable of doing due to his spiritual development. At this time he passed the leadership of Reiki to Mrs. Takata. He gathered all the Reiki Masters, announced that Mrs. Takata would become the leader of Reiki, and then revealed he would kill his physical body by bursting three of his blood vessels. And as he continued speaking to this group on Tuesday, May 10, 1940, the blood vessels burst and he died.

Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii and continued using and teaching Reiki. Eventually she moved to California, using and teaching Reiki. She did not teach other masters until 1975, and before her own death in 1980 she trained 22 Reiki Masters. Mrs. Takata initiated the following 22 people as Masters: George Araki, Dorothy Baba, Ursula Baylow, Rick Bockner, Patricia Bowling, Barbara Brown, Fran Brown, Phyllis Furumoto, Beth Gray, John Gray, Iris Ishikuro, Harry Kuboi, Ethel Lombardi, Barbara McCullough, Mary McFadyen, Paul Mitchell, Bethel Phaigh, Shinobu Saito, Virginia Samdahl, Wanja Twan, Barbara Weber Ray, and Kay Yamashita.

There are many Reiki Masters in the world today. These individuals dedicate and commit their lives to living, being and perpetuating the universal life force of Reiki. The honor of assisting in the harmony and balance of the Universe and providing others with a means of balancing their body, mind and spirit is what Reiki Masters are ordained to do.

“Rei meaning “a ray of light” or “universal soul” and Ki meaning “universal life force energy” or “radiating energy”.

When the Japanese characters are combined, they present the concept of “universal life-force energy”.

The history of Reiki is a story of a man discovering his ability to connect to a powerful source of energy and transferring it through himself to others.  Over time, Reiki has become known to many as a healing art.  People associate it with a therapy that involves the ‘laying of hands’ on the body and healing physical ailments.  In many ways, these things are true, but Reiki encompasses much more, and you will learn as you begin to experience the process, that there are many unspoken benefits that must simply be experienced in order to be understood.

What Reiki Does

Reiki works on all levels affecting us. It will naturally begin to assist you in releasing limiting belief structures about yourself and the world around you. Instead of dwelling in the past or worrying about the future, you begin to embrace every aspect of the now and live in the moment. Emotional outbursts stabilize, and you become less vulnerable to the shifts of your ego personality. Your motives and the motives of others become clearer, and you better understand how things happen for a reason. Your thoughts don’t run aimlessly in your mind and you learn how to focus energy specifically on those thoughts that you want to become your reality. Those affected by increased flows of energy often choose to no longer allow fear to run their lives and they gradually detach from dependencies.

When you integrate your mind, body and spirit into one harmonious flow of energy, you begin to leave behind the fears and ego-centred motives of a world of pain, and enter into a higher state of consciousness that brings health and prosperity to all facets of your life.

Physically:

Reiki speeds the mending and recovery process.

Why?
Everything is energy. Your body is simply energy. If there is a blockage through which energy cannot flow freely, an imbalance exists. Your body will (at first) gently tell you that you have created an imbalance by exhibiting pain. When you sense pain, you can choose to ignore it or to heal it. You can also choose to recognize that your body has communicated an imbalance, and with the ability to tap into a greater flow of energy, you can choose to rebalance yourself. When you bring balance back to yourself, any imbalance that existed is released.

Mentally:

Reiki relieves stress (stress=imbalance), and softens a crisis mentality by alleviating the mental pressure without losing the integral importance of the lesson.

What does that mean?
You will see things differently. You will begin to see a bigger picture of any situation: your point of view, the perspective of others, and any other factors that are involved in any situation. You will understand why you are creating your thoughts, the way they develop and how to identify them consciously before you freely release them. You will notice that you have more choice about what you think and do because you will be able to approach any situation at a slower speed (so to speak) and decide what to do before you are in the middle of things and feel like there is no way out.

You will understand why people act the way they do. You will find it easier to be compassionate and understanding. You will catch yourself in a moment of wakelessness and see that you always have the choice to do what benefits the Highest Good. You will ultimately be able to understand why things happen the way they do, and what you can learn from every experience.

Emotionally:

Reiki helps to resolve tangled emotions and purifies your emotional state of being.

Why?
Your emotions are a very big part of who you are. Sometimes it’s tricky to maintain a balanced emotional state, and there are even people who ‘loose their mind’ because they let their emotions run wild. Reiki helps harmonize emotions in two ways. When participating in a session, you subconsciously train your thoughts to calm your emotions. This will allow you to identify your emotions clearly, sensing which feel right and which feel out of place. The unconscious process that takes place when you tap into a more powerful energy flow also works on balancing you while you sleep. The process is gentle and healing.

Spiritually:

Reiki opens us to the presence of the divine. Aligning us with our spirits is one of Reiki’s most profound affects. The process attunes us to our own spiritual being and puts us in harmony with the Creative power.

What does that mean?
This is the most abstract benefit of Reiki. To explain this concept, let us work from the outside in. You have a body, but you are not your body. When you have a feeling about something, or when a creative idea comes into your mind it is not because your finger or your knee told you so. Thoughts of inspiration and guidance come from a very special place. They come from the real you, that little voice inside of you that is heard only when you are still enough to listen. Reiki creates a clearer connection to the real you, connecting you more closely to your spiritual self.

The beneficial affects of Reiki are only limited by the person who is receiving. When you realize the limitless potential of Reiki, there is nothing that can prevent you from achieving what you now see as the impossible.

I’m not someone who signs up for a lot of e-mail newsletters. I enjoy subscribing to blogs because of their variety of content mixed with the personal musing of their authors, but newsletters usually seem to be filled more with advertisements and event announcements then meaty content. I suppose I liken them to weekly columns (blogs) vs. the classifieds (newsletters).

That is, with the exception of one ‘newsletter’ that I have been receiving for years. Once a month, a new Beacons of Light – Reminders from Home broadcast pops into my inbox. The delivery usually comes at a time when I get more emails than I want to read, obligations demand more of my time than I am willing to give, and ‘work stuff’ outnumbers the ‘fun stuff’. Regardless of all that though, the Beacons are always a welcome change of pace.

Rather than being a traditional newsletter, Beacons is a transcript of a channel that is conducted monthly. It’s delivered in numerous languages (and they’re even looking for more volunteers to translate the messages and make them more accessible to others) and are even in video format now. I like to digest it word by word, at my own pace, sometimes reading it once over during a three day period as I reflect upon its multi-layered messages. All this isn’t to say that I resonate with all that is presented in the broadcasts, but I do find comfort in reading a story, experience or perception shared by someone else that so closely resembles my own. In a world that still places so much emphasis on the physical, it can be easy to wonder if you’re ‘crazy’ for feeling that something ‘different’ is happening in the world lately.

I believe in magic. I know it to be true. Synchronicity is magic. Love is magic. Dreaming is magic. Perhaps you will find magic in this month’s broadcast too…

I understand something now that I didn’t understand as I was in the midst of the experience itself. You see, I have recently experienced the Shakti energy in my life. It cleansed, it took away, it cleared out the energies that would not be able to support the higher vibration that I am moving toward, into and through. Shakti (Kundalini) is the destroyer as Shiva is the creator. At some point, the two energies meet, they mingle and dance together until the time for the second comes. The second, the Shiva, the creative part of the journey – it has started for me again. I reached a point in which I was loosing the spark of joy, my passion for things was fading, I was seeing the loss around me, the sacrifice, the cost of change and transformation, and I was getting too tired. Too tired to hold on to what was no longer there, so tired of feeling the pain of loss, and too tired of trying to fit the old me into the new place in which I have found myself. Then I prayed. I prayed for the Universe to guide me to the passion and the joy and the creativity of life once again. Not even two days later, I felt the spark again! I felt it, and because I was so afraid of not feeling joy in each day, I drank in this new vital energy and ran with the inspirations I was given. Sometimes action takes courage, and at other times, it just takes the intention to want to change – the knowingness that there must be change.

One of those sparks was this blog. I have been pushing writing out of my life the moment I felt the strength of the written word. I think the potency…the power…the alchemical magic of writing was so overwhelming that I just simply wanted to run away from it…because I didn’t understand it…I didn’t know where to begin… But, when someone with the inspiration to create blocks off every outlet to express creativity, there is an eventual suffering – a suffering that comes from not letting creativity flow and blossom and heal everything it touches. It is magic, and magic deserves to breath, it deserves to be honored.

I have been asking for the opportunity to shine light everywhere I can. I believe this is part of one of my sacred contracts in this life. I have been waiting for the opportunity, but because it meant so much, on so many levels, when it did come, it scared me away with its possibility! The power – my power – my Higher  Power – was showing itself to me, and I ran away. I have been carrying this fear with me for a very long time although I still don’t really understand why because shouldn’t something so beautiful and so magical as the awareness that anything is possible be, in theory, easy to embrace? After all, isn’t that what we all want? Some proof that there is more? Some sign that we CAN?

Lord, use me as an instrument of thy peace so that I may assist you in bringing Heaven to Earth.

When I was living in England, I would say this prayer to myself as I walked to work each morning. It would help me find peace when I was nervous, or stressed, or sensing that I was loosing perspective of the bigger picture. Maybe it can help someone else out there, so I share it with you now, in this moment.

So…I fill my cup with LIGHT and FUN and LAUGHTER and I sip from my cup as much as I want…because…I am amazing, I am brilliant, I am the Creator of my existence and all my choices reflect my Brilliance because I am in Command!!!

Love and Light!!

Kundalini and I have a peaceful relationship. I have read the experiences of many others who have had spontaneous Kundalini awakenings that have…caught them off guard.

To me…
Kundalini is force.
It is intense, focused and merciless.
It is throbbing, pulsing and whirling.
It is unseen yet unmistakably felt on this side of the veil.
It is multi- and omni-present.
It is simple, subtle, supporting and sustaining.
It is nurturing, natural and native.
It is complex, cumulus and cohesive.
It flows, spins, shoots and thrusts.

Polarity.
Attraction.
Magnetism.
Unification.

When awakened, Kundalini is the fire of life that weaves itself through our energetic essence, mingling with the chakras, melting obstructions and exploding life into all it touches.

Whether it be through yoga, meditation or spontaneous awakening, Kundalini is a force of indescribable potency, intensity and union with all that is.

What is your relationship with Kundalini Shakti?

Instructions

How do you think the instructions would read? Do you think tying your shoes is a complicated task? At this stage of my life, I think it’s pretty easy, but I see toddlers trying their hand at pulling and tucking and twisting those laces with no success and I realize that not everything is easy for everyone.

Instructions on how to tie your shoes would be pages and pages long. They would have to describe what was right and what was left, how to hold the laces, wear to pull them and how to twist them. In the end, the instructions would require diagrams and footnotes and references and possibly even appendices. All for what? To teach you how to do what you will eventually learn on your own.

Instructions all share a common element. They always tell you what someone else already knows. Reading a set of instructions is essentially like reading someone else’s success story. No matter how many times you read them and how well you memorize them, instructions will never do the work for you. It doesn’t matter whether you understand the instructions because until you realize the concept as your reality, it’s still someone else’s story.

It is possible to remember something about Yourself by living vicariously through the experiences of others, but that only brings you a certain amount of the way. Someone else’s words can help us create an environment that stimulates our memories, but if we don’t have a pair of shoes on our feet, there’s not much point in reading the instructions on how to tie the laces.

All that we experience in this world is meant to remind us, not to teach us. The concept of ‘schooling’ does not apply. We have the power to create new truths and to challenge limited thinking but first we have to put down the instructions, and learn to walk without shoes.

Learning to walk

How do we learn to walk? We change our behavior. Think about it! If we’re not doing something right, why not try changing what we’re doing! Change is not scary! Change is natural! What is scary is looking at all those people desperately trying to hold on to something that no longer has a place in their lives. The Universe has a way of blowing strong winds our way to help loosen our grip on what no longer benefits us. But instead of taking the hint and letting go of precisely that which is damaging us the most, we sometimes continue to resist until the day comes when there’s no more time to play around, and we have to make a choice, one way or another. Reaching this stage isn’t always pleasant.

When change happens, it often feels like it happens all at once. It can feel unfair and overwhelming but why does something so natural and inevitable feel so uncomfortable? Well, look at it this way: Imagine a wild bull racing down a gravel road, bucking and kicking and making violent noises. All it wants to do is get away…but from what? It’s actually trying to get away from you! You see, while this wild animal is trying to shake you off, you are fervently holding on to its tail as it flails you from side to side, bashing you against the stony dirt road. You have two options. You can either hold on to the animal that you now know as your only reality, or you can let go and see what happens.

People tend to do something very amusing at this stage of the process. They often convince themselves that holding on to the bull is the right choice and rationalize that the pain and suffering they’re going through as their bones break and their body bleeds is an almighty sacrifice that only the strong-willed can endure. If you ever find yourself reasoning in this direction, get a glass of water and splash it in your face! You’ve obviously forgotten to WAKE UP and your deep sleep is making you delusional!

Pain and suffering are misinterpreted. They are not representations of your growth and development. They are rather techniques that you create to avoid dealing with what is staring you in the face. If you just let go of your false sense of safety and realize that what you believe to be your security is actually your greatest delusion, you’ll stop being thrown around by emotional ups and downs and finally give yourself the opportunity to heal and move on.

Getting a pair of shoes

Once you make the decision to learn the basics of walking, it may seem like you are walking around barefoot for years. We inevitably feel like we’re ready for the next stage of development and begin complaining about our situation. Something to remember is that at any point in our lives, we never see the whole picture and we can be sure that somewhere in the Universe, something is being affected by our actions and all we can do is to continue on our path with open eyes, paying attention to the signs of change, and being flexible when it comes time to alter our behavior. In other words, all we can do is go with the flow! If we’re not flexible when that strong wind of change blows our way, we run the risk of breaking in half.

Along your path of barefoot walking, it may also feel like you’ve read all the lessons, discussed them at length with various people who share your passion to improve, and yet you still keep encountering the same uncomfortable situations or people that never seem to go away, no matter how compassionate you try to be or how determined you are to learning whatever it is that you’re not getting. In these cases, patience is your only graceful option. Most of us aren’t capable of understanding all the intricate details of what goes on in the Universe, so all we can do is trust that when the time is right and we are truly ready, we will get a new lesson or start a new project and our interest will again be peaked. But remember, if you ever feel lost, just ask for divine guidance and listen.

Transitions are almost never obvious to the person transitioning. People around you may notice a change in you, but often they won’t be able to clearly understand the difference in you unless they’ve been through a similar process already. When you shift into a new level of understanding, you may feel empowered, but often the reaction is one of tiredness and surrender. It’s at the moment when you let go of the bull’s tail that you are rewarded for your courage to step into the unknown. The reward can come in the form of a massive shift in your understanding of how things work, but it can be so subtle that it often takes time and distance from the situation to really see what happened. The reason for the subtly is that throughout your journey to learn how to walk, you have been growing and learning to use new tools to assist you on your path. With each step that you had the courage to take, you gained a new answer to a question you did not know you had. That is why you didn’t recognize the treasure in the wisdom you were receiving at the time.

Only when we know the answer do we become aware of the question. You can be sure that all the questions you are asking yourself right now will not lead you to the truth you are ultimately seeking. That is why we spend so long on this path. We are so often distracted by the illusory 5 Earthly senses that we forget that the truth lies in that which cannot be seen, felt, tasted, touched or heard. It comes in only one way and that way is through silence.

Silencing the noise of the outside world will lead you to the silence of your inner world. In the beginning it may seem like there is more noise and distraction in your head than on a Manhattan street in midweek, but that’s just the residue of the world outside. Take some times to unplug the drain and let all the chaos flow out. You’ll be left with a glorious nothing and that’s when the answers that you never knew you wanted will start revealing themselves. It takes patience and courage to go through this draining process, but most of all, it takes discipline because each day that you live your life, you contribute more to the chaos in your head. Once you get used to draining it, you unconsciously begin filtering through it during the day too. You get used to the feeling of emptiness and peace within and you remind yourself how to maintain the environment not only in your quiet time, but also through your busy day. This is what change brings. When we are receptive and flexible to be guided through the natural flow of things rather then by what seems rational, life gets easier.

Once walking bare foot gets easy, you somehow find yourself waking one morning next to a new pair of shoes. You’ll notice that the shoes don’t look as big and complicated as you thought they would. You will also appreciate the value of various parts of the shoes like the sturdy soles that will seem so useful to you now that you have walked with exposed feet and know the hazards that may be encountered on the roads. Through your experiences, you discovered things that you wouldn’t be able to appreciate from the written word.