Reiki Learning Center @ www.ReikiLearningCenter.com

2007-02-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

I just attended a wonderful evening with a gentleman who channels a higher energy called O'Brien. He was delightfully amazing. The gentleman's name is Michael Traub and he has been capable of channelling O'Brien for over 20 years, and his eloquent, nonjudgmental answers have helped people all over the world. I would strongly recommend checking out this beautiful being's ability to help others who ask for his help.
www.members.cox.net/obriensays

2007-02-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

Just this week, I started a meditation class at a favorite yoga studio in Phoenix, and my instructor is amazing. I have homework of doing a meditation of counting breath in both morning and evening, which I love. I have been committed to meditation for years, but, like everyone else I know, I am all too human at finding reasons to not totally devoting my full abilities to it. I do find it's easier when someone else is calling the shots and telling me what to do when it comes to mediation. It needs to be mindless for me before I can become "mindless" in meditation.I have enhanced my meditative state while doing Reiki, allowing me to be a better channel or vessel to a stronger Reiki level, and increasing my intuitive response to my clients. Amazing how just a little new instruction can have such a swift impact. Thinking about it, I have found so many workshops, books, instruction from others in such things as yoga to have a direct influence on my Reiki practice. For instance, I am currently reading "Ask and It Is Given," by the Hickses, and the Law of Attraction so well described in the book made a huge impact on me in understanding patterns in my own life. Understanding how doubt, pessimism, and worry can attract the wrong energy and wrong worldly reality, I am even more committed to a clear, quiet mind before, during, and after Reiki, so I don't unintentionally bring something to the table neither my client nor I desire. I'm well aware of the divine nature of the Reiki energy itself, but that does not exclude the attraction of less-than-divine energies into a room where human beings gather, for whatever the reason (including Reiki). Now, I can see a more powerful response from clients with the little changes I am making in ME and my philosophy to live by.

2007-02-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Why did I start this blog? I find that I have so many beautiful individuals that love discussion of spirituality- my students, clients, patients in my practice, people I bump into at the bookstore, my sister, friends, the list goes on. The topics covered here are not meant to be narrowly scoped for only topics related to Reiki, but, frankly, Reiki has created such a turning point in my life, this wonderful healing method is certainly a main feature. I feel comfortable letting the blog find it's own path... starting with one subject and ending much later solving a different issue. The truth is, ALL is related. Connection or union exists between all souls. All topics are, somehow, related also. So we may have to find out together where this blog is going to lead us. Namaste----- Barb

2007-02-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

Feeling dissatisfied:I have had an almost identical discussion with two new friends recently about discontent in one's life. The feeling of discontent, in which there could be more, should be more, to what life is giving us, is a commonly experienced "problem." I've been there, at least in some sense, when it came to religion. I had grown up going to the small Catholic church of my small Nebraskan home town every weekend (daily in the lower grades- we must have been awfully bad), assuming this was an unquestioned part of life and living- Church. Then, moving to Phoenix and going to a larger city church where I was an anonymous parishioner, I experienced a true emptiness when attending mass every Sunday, as though there was no point to it all. Going to the church in my neighborhood, I listened to a cynical priest who seemed intolerant and unwelcoming, followed by near death in the parking lot where everyone raced to beat their fellow man to the exit. There had to be more to religion than this. Lack of compassion, lack of community, lack of love.Then, in 1996, my sister gave me the book "The Celestine Prophecy" shortly followed by "Conversations With God," "Ishmael," and others. These would be my introduction to thinking of "my world" in a whole new light. Over these last 10 plus years, I have reached an understanding or developed a realization that I am completely responsible for the outcome of my experience, meaning I am not a victim of my circumstance, but the sole creator of it. In some ways, it sucks to have no one to blame. But the liberation of knowing that I hold all the cards and get to choose my life is worth the lack of scapegoats. I've known many people who externalize blame onto another individual, family, childhood, or a group of people, defined by their political/racial/ethnic orientation. I'd love to same I am guiltless of this, but I clearly remember blaming all ills in my life on a former boyfriend, on an unethical boss I worked with for one year, and, to some extent, on my wonderful sister's popularity. The ability to blame is always there. The choice to not blame but to look inside is a huge step in spiritual growth. I am not saying there is wisdom and spirituality in staying in an abusive marriage or honor in accepting any unhealthy relationship, but I believe in attempting, daily, to admit my role in each exchange I experience, accepting my part whether a choice was made with pure love or lack of. So, my answer to battling the war of life's dissatisfaction: First, recognize your choices and contributions in the matter and don't cop out with the victim excuse. Then, make the decision to change what can be changed (job, relationship, health, school), or, if situational changes can not be made, change your attitude. When I first began reading "The Teaching of Buddha," and writings and interviews with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I remember learning the importance of Right Thinking. Deciding each and every day to make each and every action complete with good intention. For instance- if I hate my job of waitressing because I find it unfulfilling, and therefore I hate my customers, the first step, in my interpretation anyway, is to look at each patron with love. Purposely sending love to those sitting at my tables would make me see them less as enemies and more as fellow souls I want to take care of and to bring light and love to, even if for the time it takes to serve and consume one meal. If one were to go through the motions of being compassionate, seemingly hiding their real feelings of resentment toward coworkers, customers, neighbors, etc., they would be disappointed in the ability of others to still "feel" the true intention and become negative in response. Right Thinking implies that even if your actions are moral, you still have spiritual work to do if your thoughts are not pure, directed from Spirit's love, as opposed to Ego's fear. After years of drinking and smoking, my body would develop high blood pressure, heart disease, and probably more. If after having a scary episode of a mild heart attack, instead of sinking into a depression about how unfair life is in allowing a hard-working soul like me to have something so horrible happen just because I had a couple little vices, I should look with appreciation at the mild infarct as what it is...... a wake-up call. A reminder, albeit a strong reminder, that I am not doing things in my best interest. In forgiving myself the mistakes I've made that led up to my health problems and then thanking my nurses and doctors for their kind attention, the fear, which is not a useful emotion, will dissipate as a much more proactive attitude of love and forgiveness will surface. Allowing a lesson to be learned with an open attitude lacking judgement will do much to facilitate satisfaction in the simplicity of life's greatest gift, the gift of pure Love... a gift that has been there the whole time during the storm of our discontent.

2007-01-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

Different topic altogether: publishing my book.

Although I am often quite introspective, as is shown in my two previous blog entries, my life is filled with humor and mishaps. I wrote a fictional comedy that is less fiction than I care to admit. My book is a fictionalized account of how my husband and I met and fell in love, with many elements being heavily fictionalized. But the most embarassing stories are mostly based in truth, as my sister was mortified to discover. The book details and elaborates on all the insecurities I've dealt with during my dating days. Although I love to convince myself that I am completely past all those trivial insecurities, I must recognize the reality..... I am not cured of all my very human downfalls. That's where the humor comes in. Why the hell should I, you, anyone determine to take life so damn seriously? Like I've said, I know I have that introspective side that sounds so knowledgeable and enlightened and intelligent. The fact is I STILL have my moments, days, or weeks that could have been better. That's okay! Our imperfections keep life fun as long as we are here. I embrace mine more and more, realizing that without my flaws, life would actually suck.

2007-01-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Human virtues are simple, yet can be so difficult to acquire. The virtue of "Love" is something we are all familiar with, right? But consider how often our love is conditional. We love our spouse/significant other, but expect their love of us to be expressed a certain way. We could love our children more, if only they would follow our religion, not date someone of a different race, etc. I am certainly not implying that one should accept a relationship in which they are abused or repeatedly taken advantage of. You must first and foremost love yourself, keeping yourself safe. But projecting love is about so much more than projecting expectations.

Please consider this as you silently send love to your chosen recipient. Fill your heart center with pure, whole love. Truly feel it in all of you. Then send it to the person you love, and, as memories or realizations of your friend's imperfections and errors come to mind, infuse these thoughts with love and forgiveness, helping your mind to see though your heart. Let go of the analytical side in which criticism is constant. Forgiveness achieved will feel as if there is nothing to forgive. That is pure love.

2007-01-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about Forgiveness. Having practiced Reiki daily for years, I've gone through different levels of awareness, leading me to focus on different aspects of my Reiki practice at different times. In the last year, I have repeatedly explored in further and further depth my understanding with the energy of the Reiki II symbol HSZSN. This beautiful symbol is typically thought of as the Distance symbol. When I first learned Reiki, I used it like a time-transport, to help erase time and space so "I" could deliver the healing effects of Reiki to the person, situation, or time-period of choice. I would not actually use HSZSN directly for healing since I viewed it's energy in such a limited and utilitarian fashion. Thank goodness I love to read and attend classes, since one of my favorite teachers helped me to understand what this powerful healing symbol is really all about.HSZSN is an energy, symbol, and mantra of Oneness. In the truest sense, this energy does not help you to "connect" with a person or situation of a different time or place, but helps you to become One with your chosen recipient. To become One means to forego any sense of separation. Only from a state of complete love can anyone fathom becoming one with just about anyone else. In a typical day, count the number of irritations, big and small, that you could do without. The frustration of being passed by a speeder on your right, reading typos in the paper, a late delivery of your lunch to your table when you have to return to work. And these are only the impersonal irritations. What about the annoyances of fellow co-workers, bosses, clients, administrators? These are people who know you on both a professional and personal level, and, even though you may like them, chances are you've internally rolled your eyes at their actions and behaviors from time to time. Have you had a disagreement with your spouse, boy/girlfriend, or ex? Are you feeling obligated to spend time with your in-laws, when you'd rather be spending your time doing something else? Are you waiting for your children to get out of a bad "stage" before you have to give them away?Let's face it. Life hands us a ton of challenges EVERY SINGLE DAY. Without question, learning to handle what life delivers makes much more sense than waiting endlessly for these unwanted problems to disappear. And, of course, there's always that little annoying matter of putting things into perspective. Feeling guilt or shame for being annoyed by Bob at work who keeps stealing your soda from the lounge refrigerator, when in fact bigger, unbearable atrocities are endured by millions throughout the world by people who may have nothing left. (Pick a situation here- the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge killing fields of Cambodia, the People's Liberation Army's cruelty to Tibetans, survivors of rape, abuse, torture, attempted murder, starvation, disease, warfare.)The truth is ANY of these feelings of irritation, anger, annoyance, resentment, and even self-inflicted feelings of guilt create separation... separation from Spirit or The Source. Creating separation actually causes these ill-felt emotions throughout each and every day. Creating oneness, a sense not only of connecting to another person or people but of being one and the same as others, allows a healing affect. Being angry, regardless of how you express it (even if you choose not to express it), drives a rift between you and another soul. Recognizing you are One with All, the need to be angry at another person is lessened by the knowledge that this would result in being angry with yourself. Feeling unified with others compels a need to forgive rather than blame. Forgiveness, so often just a word, helps a person to achieve an amazing level of consciousness. Discussing forgiveness can understandably lead a reader to immediately think of some of the worst things that have happened to them, with a strong sense that this piece of their history certainly deserves no forgiveness. This attitude of needing to hold onto hatred is the first item on the list to send forgiveness to. If some of life's hurts create too much pain to forgive immediately, practice with smaller items. Pull out your forgiveness tools at work, at the dry cleaner's, at the bagel store. Be thankful that you will never have a short supply of opportunities to learn to forgive! The more you see all these so-called problems as chances at honing your skills in forgiveness, the less separation you will experience, leading to a truer ability to become One with another person, no matter how much their actions offend.With this practice of forgiveness, I have found more power in my usage of HSZSN. Reiki or any spiritual practice is not about the "tricks" that go with them. Showing off an ability to do some amazing metaphysical tricks that most people have never experienced puts the focus in the wrong place, hurting the process. It is not unusual that truly becoming One with others can create an impressive psychic or intuitive increase. Don't let the bling-bling of spiritual practice distract you from your goal. Learning to connect with others means the lessons of love and forgiveness on many levels have taken place. Use humility, such an honorable attribute, to keep you focused on the importance of your practice (or life in general).Regardless, my use of forgiveness, my projection of love to others and myself as though we are One, have created a welcome shift in my constantly changing Reiki and Spiritual path.(Thanks to Gary Renard, author of "Disappearance of the Universe," for helping me to understand the meaning and necessity of forgiveness.)

Just for today, Do not anger, Do not worry, Be humble, Be honest at your work, Be compassionate with yourself and others.
Namaste-Barb