WRITER'S BLOCK?

Let me tell you, it's not easy coming up with something new every week, or every other week to write about here. I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with something snappy and innovative, and nothing is coming - ack!  So I decided to just write and see what comes out. Here goes - I taught an Usui Reiki Level II class this weekend and realized that this weird thing keeps happening whenever I teach a class where it's brought to my attention that a lot of the techniques that I teach my students, I'm not doing myself anymore. This forces me to go back and start adding things back in, like using a Reiki Box, or doing Distant Reiki Healing using the Candle Flame Technique, or putting symbols into my hands while doing Reiki on my clients or myself, or Reiki'ing my food, or Reiki blessing all the water I drink, etc. Or an idea will come to me as I am teaching them how to use Reiki symbols to clear, program and charge a crystal, like should I be doing this with every crystal I use or wear?  Do all the crystals I use in a crystal grid, for example, need to be programmed before I put them in a grid? So the old saying "While we teach, we learn" by the Roman Philosopher Seneca is very true!  When you teach something, you are always learning something new yourself. I find myself saying "Wow, how did I forget that?" many times in classes. (I write all the manuals I use for teaching Usui Reiki and update them constantly).

ARE CHAKRAS TO "WOO WOO"?

I recently read a blog post from a very well known Reiki Master Teacher who pretty much asked all of us Reiki Practitioners to not be bandying about the "C" word to our clients or students, or any body else in the public domain.

I am referring to the CHAKRAS. As I read these words, I sort of heard that noise you hear when someone takes the needle off the record in the middle of song hastily - eeerrrrrrrrrrccccccccccczzzzz".

Not talk about the chakras?  WTH?  In my world, talking about the chakras is a big part of what I do. I teach pendulum classes that how my students how to tell what direction they are spinning in (for learning chakra balancing techniques). I talk about them all the time to my clients and students, they are an integral part of the attunement process in all Western Reiki attunements I perform, I write about them in blog posts and articles, and I advertise techniques that I do to open, clear and balance them on my website.

Apparently this person feels they are a little too "woo woo"  and if we Reiki Practitioners want to be taken more seriously by the Western Medical profession,then we should tone down the "woo woo."

Sorry - NO CAN DO! Chakras do exist, that has been proven (read Hands of Light by Barbara Brennan), and of course let us not forget the Vedic texts that go back to 1,500-50 BC, or the Upanishads. Chakras play a huge role in whether the whole being is humming along, or just clunking along. 

Personally, I am not trying to get the Western Medical Profession to either accept what I do, or to impress them. I am just trying to bring balance and healing to anyone who asks for it, in the ways that I can, that get results time and time again.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Another person just came to me to be retrained in Reiki because their last teacher did such a piss poor job at it and they felt cheated. This happens all the time! But thank God, they want to give it another go.

I kid you not - probably once I month this happens. It really burns me up and makes me sad all at the same time. Somebody who is just out to make a fast buck xeroxes a couple of pages from some Reiki book (if that even), does some kind of attunement, charges a hefty fee and doesn't even provide a decent amount of hands on training, or worse yet, doesn't even provide them with self-treatment diagrams, or diagrams on how to treat others.

Why do I get so worked up about it?  Because it gives the rest of us really sincere and devoted Reiki practitioners and teachers and Reiki a bad rep.  If you go to one of these half ass classes and plunk down your hard earned cash and walk out of there thinking, well that was sure a joke or a big waste of time, it's going to leave a bad taste in your mouth and you are not going to be too inclined to do your daily self-treating, work on others and really get the healing benefits of this miraculous and astounding healing system and bad mouth it to everyone you meet.

And that rubs me VERY WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!  And reinforces my feeling that Reiki needs to be regulated so this kind of fiasco doesn't happen to anyone else ever again, and Reiki is really given the respect it deserves!

PLEASE do your research!!!!!!!!!!!!   Reallllllllllly check out the person you are considering working with to become Reiki. How long have they been in business> This will give you a gauge as to whether or not they are well established because they are doing things right! Read their testimonials. MEET WITH THEM!!!! It's important to "feel their energy", what kind of vibe do you get from them?  Do they feel like they are in their integrity and "know their stuff" or they just bluster and no substance?  Have a Reiki session with them - you'll really get to know if they know their stuff then!  Maybe even ask to see their manual!!!!  Possible you could even ask if you can contact some of their students to see what they think of their teacher.  Do your homework! Don't just go to anybody!