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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Reiki perspectives: Reiki rambling

Does your introduction to Reiki healing make people want to try Reiki, or want to run? If you think your friends don’t hop on board because Reiki is so whatever, think again. It may not be Reiki at all. It may be you. Or rather, what you say and how you say it.

Read more...

Editors Note: You may see a pop-up invitation from Pamela Mile's website to sign up to receive Pamela's free weekly Reiki posts in your inbox. The pop-up window can be closed by clicking the X in the upper right corner.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Reiki room: Aliquippa, PA


The Reiki room at Wings O' Change

Reiki Master Diane Jarecki submitted these two photos of the Reiki room that she and her husband share in Aliquippa, PA.

Diane says: "In our Reiki room we have all of our tools, like the Singing Bowls and crystals you see on the shelves my husband built for them in the far left corner of the room. Our smaller tools like Enspirels and Barromean rings are on the shelves of the bookcase, along with our books on spirituality, healing, and other related topics.

Under our table, we have a large pyramid of Malachite and some other crystals to help with the healing energy, like Prehinite for detoxification and flourite for eliminating chaos. This room is decorated with color and whimsy, like a flight of butterflies above the doorway and the Fairy Tree (a real piece of walnut we dragged out of the woods) you see in the far right corner.

Although we treat our animal clients in their home environment, this is a place our dogs love to relax while we do self-healing, hold Healing Shares, or treat human clients."

Thanks, Diane!

To submit a photo of your Reiki room, your own or shared personal or professional space for Reiki meditations or practice, please attach them in an email and send to reikiroom @ thereikidigest.com.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Animal Reiki Friday: Your Reiki room and a new poll

Rexie at home where he received Reiki treatments that relieved symptoms from an unspecified neurological problem

Last summer we ran a contest to see who had the best Reiki room, the place where you practice Reiki or meditate. We got a lot of great submissions and the feature was so popular we decided to continue it indefinitely. But we didn't get any submissions from the animal Reiki practitioners out there! Today, we're calling on you to submit a photo of your Reiki room and to answer a new poll about where you treat your animal clients. To submit your photos, please send them in an email to reikiroom @ thereikidigest.com.

A new poll

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The weekly waka

Spring
seemed late in coming,
cold days
and unrelenting rain -
a pessimist's delight

by Beth Lowell



To submit your waka, please send it in an email to waka @ thereikidigest.com. Be sure to include the word "waka" in the subject line.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Classes and gatherings in NYC and London with Pamela Miles

Advertisement

Are you looking to improve your skills and deepen your Reiki practice? Pamela Miles is offering this Summer lineup of classes and gatherings in New York City and London.

Communicating Reiki NYC Sat, June 18
This workshop will help you sharpen your communication skills, clarify your understanding, and deepen your practice. This class is open to all Reiki students and practitioners, at any level, from any practice style.

Reiki Precepts Retreat NYC Sat, July 9
Reiki lineage founder Mikao Usui considered the Reiki Precepts an essential part of daily practice. Today they are too often overlooked. Join Pamela on Saturday, July 9 if you are ready to dive deeper into these jewels, which Usui referred to as the Secret to Inviting Happiness.

Medical Reiki in London Sept 10/11
Even seasoned Reiki practitioners and health care professionals face challenges bringing Reiki into conventional medicine. This seminar teaches you the skills, information and proven strategies you need to succeed. Read this article to see what you will learn

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Reiki perspectives: What is Usui Reiki?

How do the practices of the three main Reiki lineages (Usui, Hayashi and Takata) differ, and what do they have in common? Hyakuten Inamoto, Hiroshi Doi, and Pamela Miles discuss their Reiki practice and perspectives here.

Editors Note: You may see a pop-up invitation from Pamela Mile's website to sign up to receive Pamela's free weekly Reiki posts in your inbox. The pop-up window can be closed by clicking the X in the upper right corner.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Music Review: "Soul of a Mountain"


First inspired by the soothing shores of Kauai, Hawaii, composer/musician Jeff Gold writes music to relax by. His "Soul of a Mountain" CD includes 11 acoustical arrangements using piano, guitar and flute. As comforting as a cup of tea on a rainy day, Jeff's music has been helpful in reducing over-stimulation in autistic children and fans (including this one) report that animals like it too.

Often reminiscent of Windam Hill's Winter and Solstice collections, Gold's soothing melodies can be heard in spas around the world, and you can hear it at home, too! Click the  Soul of a Mountain - Jeff Gold  button to listen and purchase "Soul of a Mountain", or click below to find it on Amazon:


Friday, May 13, 2011

Our gratitude for your patience

The email edition of The Reiki Digest has been delayed to due technical difficulties. We'll waste no energy on worrying or getting angry about it, or being too hard on ourselves (or the makers of technology); rather we will work diligently to correct the problem. We wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The weekly waka

One Wednesday Morning
the cat chases a rabbit
blossoms are fading
how did this happen so fast,
everything heavy with green?

by Beth Lowell

Waka Poll Results

Our April 13th waka poll that asked how often practitioners incorporated contemplation on waka in their practice is now closed.

33% answered Often
11% answered Seldom 
56% answered Never

Never? Really?

Thursday, May 05, 2011

The last of the falling petals: Waka Fest 2011 comes to an end

Cherry blossom season passes all too quickly no matter where one lives. It's difficult to pinpoint just how long the season lasts since it's dependant on location, climate and unexpected weather conditions. In Japan, cherry blossom season started on January 19 in Naha, but today is the average opening date for the season in Sapporo. After the petals start to appear, it's only two short days until trees are in full blossom. After a week, the decline begins. You can catch some beautiful photos of cherry blossom season and the calendar for average opening and full dates throughout Japan here.

And here's the last falling blossom of Waka Fest 2011:

Pink cherry blossoms

Greet the spring with joy and hope
The world rejoices
Till they drop, their beauty gone
Like the world eclipsed by war.

by Pearl Bouton

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Please welcome guest editor Susan Mitchell


Dear readers,

Please join us in welcoming May's guest editor, Susan Mitchell!

Susan learned Reiki from Hawayo Takata in 1978. She was director of The Reiki Alliance for eleven years and spent seven years as an editor at Reiki Magazine International. Susan has a Reiki practice in Coeur d’Alene, ID and a retreat house where she and her husband offer classes and workshops.


Susan’s article was inspired by Colin’s piece last month on Reiki Shares.

The Reiki Clinic at Harding Family Center

First clinic flyer February, 2003
By Susan Mitchell

In 2002, Reiki Magazine International ran a story about Reiki clinics in New Hampshire. Barbara, my partner at Reiki Healing Arts, and I were inspired by the idea. Two other Reiki friends had similar fantasies so the four of us joined forces, wanting to see if a public clinic would work in our community.

Our mission was two-fold: We wanted a way to give back to the community by offering Reiki treatments for people who were not able to afford complementary care. We also imagined the clinic as a way to introduce Reiki to people who were curious but hesitant to make an appointment or take a class.

Getting started

We were hoping to find a neutral location and a community sponsor. Folks in semi-rural north Idaho are known for being conservative and cautious. We weren’t sure if anyone would even consider sponsoring something as “unusual” as Reiki.

As we thought about all the possible locations in Coeur d’Alene, we were attracted to a homey and bustling community center run by North Idaho College Head Start, the Harding Family Center. This 1920s former elementary school in the older part of town is full of life—Head Start, Running Start, the North Idaho Council on the Arts, high school driver’s ed, on-going community theatre auditions and rehearsals, they all meet here. It seemed to us a perfect match.

We wrote our proposal and awaited the director’s reply with a bit of trepidation. He was enthusiastic. They would give us a classroom one night each month. In exchange, we agreed to charge nothing. Over the years, we’ve started accepting donations and those monies support Head Start programs.

We contacted our Reiki students and everyone we knew who did Reiki to build a volunteer pool. Then we sent out press releases, listed the clinic in all the local community calendars, and put flyers around town. People began calling for appointments and the clinic opened in January 2003.

Every few years, the local paper writes an article about us. Nine years later, we’re still going strong and following our original format.

What it looks like

The clinic runs from 6-8:30 p.m. one evening a month. The first half hour, the volunteers have a check-in and we set our intention for the evening. If we have new volunteers, we review the hand positions we’ve adopted. It’s been important to us to provide a standardized treatment experience so clients know what to expect regardless of which volunteers treat them.

We offer half-hour sessions by appointment. We currently fill three tables per session—sometimes we’ve had as many as five—and two to three volunteers are treating each client. The lights are low, the music soft. Beyond our quiet classroom swirl the center’s activities. Last month, a group of college-aged actors belted out tunes to their upcoming musical. It can be a bit wild and yet this juxtaposition of sacred space in the very midst of daily life is a particularly sweet quality of the Reiki clinic.

Giving and receiving

Clients are welcome to come as often as they want. Some people attend for years. While they sign an initial waiver, we ask nothing about their medical or personal history, only their name and phone number. Over the years, as we visit with clients before or after sessions, we often learn what has brought them.

People are finding relief from chronic pain, the side effects of chemo and radiation, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, asthma and allergies, to name a few. Some come because they are struggling with emotional upheaval or chronic stress. We’ve seen time and again—and still continue to be amazed—the benefits that result from receiving even one treatment once a month. About two-thirds of those we treat have visited the clinic more than once. A small percentage eventually learns Reiki and a few have become clinic volunteers.

Like our clients, the volunteers keep coming back. A small core has been there from the start. We’ve become a community, looking forward each month to spending time with one another doing something we love.

Nine years running is a testimony to what we each receive. Clinic evenings consistently end with comments about the intimacy and vulnerability we share with strangers. We still marvel that people who know nothing about Reiki sign up for a public clinic, lie down in a classroom with others they don’t know, and allow us to put our hands on them.

Reiki clinic brings us an on-going reminder that no matter what is going on in our lives or in the world, there is a deeper truth. We experience how close we are to everyone and how alike we all are. We bear witness each month to the human longing for connection and healing.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to start a clinic in your community, I’m happy to share our materials with you. Feel free to adapt them to your specific needs. You can email me at susan @ reikihealingarts.com and I’ll send you the set.

Hay House, Inc.

The Reiki Roundup

Cleveland, Ohio, USA: Once completed, University Hospital’s state-of-the-art Seidman Cancer Center will offer cutting-edge cancer care and incorporate Reiki in its integrative treatment program. SCC board president Nathan Levitan describes the philosophy, “I liken our care to two parallel railroad tracks – one is conventional interventional therapy like chemotherapy and radiation and the other is the supportive components that come from integrated medicine. One complements the other.”

San Luis Obispo, CA, USA:
The ADDept Center teaches kids and parents how to live with, and manage, the symptoms of ADD and ADHD. The center has found Reiki particularly helpful in reducing anxiety so that kids can begin to participate in their own care.


Miami, Florida, USA: Dr. Eugene Ahn, a University of Miami oncologist, advocates for the vital role of consciousness in healing. Dr. Ahn wants to see more treatment modalities like Reiki that encompass the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels of human experience.


Islamabad, Pakistan: I loved the enthusiasm in this story and the image of an Islamabad high school introducing students, friends, and families to Reiki at their spring festival.


London, U.K.: Well-known Mirror columnist Sue Carroll was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She approached Reiki and homeopathy with a cautious cynicism Both have become integral parts of her journey.


And for our canine friends—

Boston, MA, USA:
Five star dog hotels, with Reiki therapists on call and knock-out city views, are popping up around the U.S.

Beaufort, Louisiana, USA: 
Tracie Korol, a Tufts University-certified canine behaviorist and holistic practitioner treats dogs, while their people wish they could be her clients. Tracy provides the canines with homemade food, massage, and Reiki.

Gaiam.com, Inc

Celeb-Reiki

Pure gossip: Gary Goldsmith, Kate Middleton’s (in)famous uncle, has turned to complementary therapies to ready himself for the royal wedding. In addition, his man-cave mansion, La Maison de Bang Bang, now offers residents hatha yoga and Reiki.

Sounds True, Inc.

Music we love to practice Reiki by: “In a Distant Place”

I first heard R. Carlos Nakai playing with Tibetan flutist Nawang Kechog in Tucson, Arizona. I was attending teachings with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. One of the sessions included an offering of dance and music for His Holiness.


It was a warm evening and we sat outside under a full moon. Nakai and Kechog played this ethereal, haunting music incorporating Tibetan bells, horn and chant and backlit by rock outcroppings soaked in moonlight. Unforgettable. Pure enchantment.


“In a Distant Place” from R. Carlos Nakai and Nawang Kechog captures some of that magic with flute, drum, horn and Tibetan chant.


Editor’s note: If you look for this album on iTunes, search for “In a Distance Place.” They misspelled the title. Or you can just click on the In a Distance Place - Nawang Khechog, R. Carlos Nakai, Various Artists, Will Clipman & William Eaton button to listen and find out more.

Also available on Amazon:

The weekly waka

Beth Lowell, Reiki Digest Managing Editor, authored this waka. I like the image of "birds before sunrise singing." At my house, this pre-dawn sound signals the shift into spring.


birds
before sunrise
singing
a thousand hungry shoppers
in the morning marketplace


by Beth Lowell

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Waka

Beyond anything,
Even the most distant stars,
Lies everything,
From fragile cherry blossoms
To finely crafted caskets.

by budo adana


Waka fest continues for another week here at The Reiki Digest. To submit your waka or cherry blossom inspired art, please send it in an email to waka @ thereikidigest.com.   







Monday, May 02, 2011

A brief hanami history

How did the celebration of the cherry blossoms begin? What did they signify through time? What does Sakura actually mean? And most importantly, what's for lunch? This article tells all, down to the traditional menu for a hanami party picnic.

It's Waka Fest here at The Reiki Digest, a month-long celebration of both waka and cherry blossom season. To submit your waka or cherry blossom inspited art, send it in an email to waka @ thereikidigest.com.

Personal practice Monday: Be true to yourself

By Deborah Flanagan

Editor's note: This article is excerpted from Deborah Flanagan's March 16, 2011 newsletter.

"No more words, hear only the voice within." --Rumi

As I've discussed in past newsletters, the system of Reiki offers five precepts (or rules to live by). The third one is "Be true to your way and your being."

This precept is about trusting your internal guidance and finding your unique way. Reiki helps engage our inner resources, the answers we so often seek already lie within: we don't need to go outside ourselves. So often clients ask me what I noticed during the session but it's more enlightening to hear what clients themselves discovered during a session--they usually have the answers they're asking me. Being true to your way happens when you start trusting yourself.

It's also interesting to notice how the precepts build on each other: you can't be true to your way if you're feeling angry or worried (Precepts #1 Do not bear anger, and #2 Do not worry.)

An Exercise

Take a minute or two to think about what you do or need to do to support yourself so you can be true to the light that makes you special and different from anyone else.

Try writing it down. Journaling is about tapping into your inner wisdom and internal guidance and you can uncover and discover many answers this way.





Sunday, May 01, 2011

For your Reiki Room . . . from Gaiam

A special advertising feature from Gaiam, provider of information, goods and services to customers who value the environment, a sustainable economy, healthy lifestyles, and personal development.


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Need help establishing boundaries in your Reiki space? We recommend this natural, flexible bamboo screen from Gaiam to define any area you wish as sacred space. In fact, we can personally endorse it, since we use one in our very own home practice space. ($229)




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"Even outside of the building it was full of pairs of shoes of the visitors who had come from far and near."
-- translated from the memorial stone of Reiki founder Mikao Usui by Hyakuten Inamoto

Many of us keep our Reiki spaces, and even our homes, shoe-free zones just as Usui did. If there's no good place for shoes outside your Reiki space, maybe you need a place for them inside.



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This chair is a great place to do your daily meditations and Reiki self-care. Stylish, comfortable, and ergonomically correct. ($299)




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Whether you're treating a client or doing daily self-care, it's good to have a clock handy to help you (and your clients) stay on schedule. This portable Enso Clock offers programmable countdown and interval timing (up to 50 intervals at a time), with the sounds of Japanese and Tibetan singing bowls. ($99)

And if you prefer the sound of chimes, check out the Digital Zen Alarm Clock ($136):

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Both clocks are also perfect for yoga, qigong, or simply waking up in the morning.icon


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Austrian Crystal Pyramidsicon ($24-$36)

Add another dimension to your space with a 40mm or 50mm crystal pyramid.



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iconMirror Frame Hooks icon (set of three, sale $19.99)



Your guests and students need somewhere to hang their coats, hats, and bags, don't they? And don't forget a safe, respectful place for any jewelry that might get in the way during a treatment:

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When clients take their place on your Reiki table, good pillows can make all the difference in comfort. If you have a client with chemical sensitivities, this organic cotton/wool pillow can allow them to relax without worry. Naturally resistant to mold, mildew, dust mites and bacteria.


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Organic Cotton + Wool Pillow
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After your client settles in, add an organic quilt for even greater comfort, and you're ready to begin the session:



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