My thoughts/questions about reiki

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Hi,
I was attuned -by myself- a number of years ago following meeting someone in real life who had told me about it. So.. for anyone wondering if solitary attunement is possible without paying anyone for it -I- would say it is.

Why call it reiki though?

I have a problem with the name 'reiki' being very centric to one geographical location in the world, as opposed to using another name or finding something similar in other places. If it is a real phenomenon then it must exist elsewhere. So what else could it be called if not reiki? My belief is that by calling it reiki you are isolating what is otherwise a trans-national experience, which transcends boundaries of language.. it is something which is purely empathetic. And centralizing the name geographically to a particular culture or place or person limits the appeal from others.

I heard about someone named Dr. Wilhelm Reich who wrote a book called The Cancer Biopathy where he talks about something he calls the discovery of the orgone and a function of the orgasm relating to human biology/energy/electricity.. or something.. and he was convinced that this energy could be gathered and used for the charge and discharge of patients with intention to alleviate cancer. He believed that cancer resulted in the energy pathways of the body being 'clogged'.

Does this sound familiar?

It is precisely exactly what is espoused by reiki masters and practicioners. So, why isn't he being acknowledged by people in reiki circles if he was correct and was describing the same thing?

I'm sure people could find other examples. Is there a commonly used english word that describes the same phenomena not relating to any particular system or belief or style which is a more general term? 'Energy' being a bit too vague.

There is also a lot of veneer, philosophy or beliefs relating to karma and other jargon interfering with my understanding of the true factuality (I just made this word up) with regards to the extent of possible 'meaning' to reiki. Besides being able to send emotions, emotions being good, and pleasurable or painful, what else is it?

I also got into reiki without clearly understanding why I wanted to do it. My belief is that because I have a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome i felt it was a way (I understood this on an unconcious level) to empathize with others. Aspies have deficiency in gaging the emotions of others from body language. Reiki 'fixes' this problem if it is a real phenomena. I suspect it is but never really had many people verify that they were effected by my presence nor ability. My partner and I suspect we have had transference but we're not sure. I see it as possibly something I could use as a sort of survival tool to socialize with the world around me that I would otherwise have trouble with. And that perhaps because I am a sensitive person in nature that I am 'born' with this 'gift'.

Nobody gave me reiki I feel that I discovered it.

[sidney33]

This is my view it’s scientific however I have a strong belief in the SHIN Buddhist Philosophy and not as a religion this is written by Marguerite Schenken.and not a bad way to view it. Sidney.
The Physics of Energy Medicine
Marguerite Schenken
The energy in our bodies connects us to all of existence through the unified field. At the subatomic level we are exchanging electrons with the universe constantly. At this level of existence we have no distinguishing characteristics from anything. Eastern philosophies describe this vital energy, called chi, as similar to, but more subtle than, electro-magnetivity. This is the meeting point of Eastern philosophy and Quantum Mechanics.

Physics

Energy is present before manifestation. Energy precedes matter just as thought or feeling precedes action. The relativity theory created by Albert Einstein tells us that mass is nothing but a form of energy. Atomic physics reveals that subatomic particles have no meaning as isolated entities, but can only be understood as interconnections. Quantum theory reveals a basic oneness of the universe. It shows that we cannot atomize the world into independently existing smaller units. For all of the distinctions we make between ourselves, the piece of paper on which this is printed, and the cup of coffee we drink as we read this, they are not distinct. They are all one and that one is energy.

Eastern Philosophy

Approaching energy from another perspective, we turn to Eastern philosophy. The Veda, an ancient Indian text, has an abundance of knowledge pertaining to the constructs of life. The Veda labels this energetic vibration vrittis. Inaudible to the human ear, vrittis is experienced through the nervous system energetically and then the mind interprets it and may translate it into action. When living beings channel this universal energy, chi, or vrittis it circulates throughout the meridians, nourishing our tissues.

Energy Medicine

Energy medicine replenishes and harmonizes the vital energy of the body by re-circulating energy in our meridians. In the Jin Shin Tara Approach, we do this by placing our fingertips on two energy centers, places where the meridians flow to the body’s surface in greater abundance. When we feel the pulsation of the energy harmonize on these two centers, we continue to progress to a different energy center. A series of points are called a flow and each flow has a specific intended function.

For example, when we do a liver flow we are affecting the chi (universal energy) of the liver. It enhances the energy on the periphery of the body, travels through the body via the meridians, and nourishes the liver with life force. This process becomes a meditation, where the spirit is directed through the body and the communion of our spirit and soul heals our psyche. When we begin healing ourselves, we want to start at the energetic level.

When we attempt to heal our bodies without recognizing the spirit, we hide our real dis-ease or dis-comfort in our lives. We become trapped in our present beliefs. When we treat ourselves with energy medicine, our bodies become a conduit for chi and our spirit becomes aligned with our actions.

The Soul/Spirit Connection

When we receive insight from our spirit we are open to life. It supports us in our actions and comforts our souls. The spirit is an airy component and the soul is watery. When the spirit rests with the soul, they harmonize each other. We discover the outward search for spirit is truly an inward quest for our soul. When our spirit’s energy disconnects from our soul, we have few possibilities besides our previous habits, choosing to live in ignorance because our spirit searches for wisdom outside of ourselves. When the connection is blocked, it creates fear in the soul. When we act in union with the unified field, called yoga in Sanskrit, we obtain a self-referral feedback loop. Through the loop, our actions are reflected upon by our spirit and we evolve from our previous behavior into a lively creative being. This effortless embodiment of our spirit allows us to accomplish our heart’s desires.

Stabilizing our awareness in the unchanging unbounded level of our existence, which is where our spirit resides, allows for all possibilities to be available to us. The greatest level of influence is available at this subtle level of creation. Quantum Mechanics calls the subtle level of creation the unified field, Taoists call it the Tao, Christians and Jews call it God, Muslims call it Allah, Rastafarians call it Jah, It is called Brahma by the Veda; but it is recognized as the essence of life by many.

Yoga Verse: She no longer bound to her body, her soul freed from the mind, was like a bird freed from it¹s cage.

Marguerite Schenken is a Jin Shin Tara Approach practitioner in the Humboldt area.

Cheers Sidney.

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Thank you
I misworded some things i dont think my attunement came from nothing but it is hard for me to name names without anyone having come up to me and telling me, that night on the __, of __ you were ___ and i __ etc

i call it empathy i feel strong emotions when i have continued experiences with it. but its hard for me to attribute names to things.

Anton Szandor LaVey, in his Satanic Bible, very briefly skims over the practice of reiki in "On The Choice Of Human Sacrifice". It is probably the weakest poorest written part of the book. He had a chance to expand on a lot of topics he was talking about in that section and didn't elaborate on much. Due to my lack of interest as a teen in what he would call 'Greater Magic' I never bought his companion book 'The Satanic Rituals' which might have went into more detail.

At the time I think LaVey was at the mercy of being in the shadow of Aleister Crowley and LaVey adopted his satirical almost cruel style of writing. LaVey was certainly a lot more brilliant than Crowley though. LaVey tried really hard to ground his beliefs in the occult to the real world. At every opportunity he had LaVey tried to look at psychological statistics or evidence for real ways of achieving things - what he called 'Lesser Magic' - something Crowley never tried to achieve or draw distinction from. LaVey didn't spell it with a 'k'. LaVey's advice was to beeline to what worked. He wrote a whole book, 'The Satanic Witch' instructing women on how to entice men with innuendo of sex. LaVey was a skeptic which is why he is a fascinating author to read. So disappointing that people have looked over him for so many years because he predominantly reads well and sounds rational, which is probably very contrary to someone's initial impressions or expectations.

The supposed purpose in performing the ritual of sacrifice is to throw the energy provided by the blood of the freshly slaughtered victim into the atmosphere of the magical working, thereby intensifying the magicians chances of success.
The "white" magician assumes that since blood represents the life force, there is no better way to appease the gods or demons than to present sufficient quantities of it. Combine this rationale with the fact that a dying creature is expending an overabundance of adrenal and other bioelectric energies, and you have what appears to be an unbeatable combination.
The "white" magician wary of the consequences involved in the killing of a human being, naturally utilizes birds, or other "lower" creatures in his ceremonies. It seems these sanctimonious wretches feel no guilt in the taking of a non-human life, as opposed to an human's.
The fact of the matter is that if the "magician" is worthy of his name, he will be uninhibited enough to release the necessary force from his own body, instead of from an unwilling and undeserving victim!
Contrary to all established magical theory, the release of this force is NOT effected in the actual spilling of blood, but in the death throes of the living creature! This discharge of energy is the very same phenomenon which occurs during the heightening of the emotions, such as: sexual orgasm, blind anger, mortal terror, consuming grief, etc.[/b]

Etc?
Seriously?

He's getting obnoxiously close to reiki in those paragraphs. He's on the mark. He's going in a great direction here.. and then.. gets into a giant tirade about what Satanism isn't. He had a great opportunity to expand on his philosophy there and he doesn't give himself many opportunities to do that in that part of the book. Such a shame. He's also very vague here when he is about to get into what HE would actually do in ritual. What he's saying there is that the sacrifice of oneself to appease one's choice of deity is not through suicide or physically endangering yourself he is saying you can achieve it better and more distinctly through your emotional release.

That's reiki. What I just paraphrased from LaVey is at the heart of what reiki is a discharge and charging of energy through release of ones of emotion or otherwise ones will or intent. And yea like I said above it is disapointing to read that chapter waiting for him to elaborate on what actually applies to his philosophy of Satanism. He gives scant detail on what he was trying to say here.

I came back to this section of his book years later and understood after knowing about reiki and working with it what he was trying to say there. I read his book so long ago (11yrs ago) that my memory was fuzzy on some of the less clear aspects of his philosophy. I really think he makes a mistake in that way he wrote that section of the book he really did have a chance to explain ritual magic right there and in a more coherent way throughout his books in general but he tended to disbelieve in it himself. He was more interested in writing about his pet lion or his keyboards the majority of the time, or what the 40s were like, etc... He's not what people think he is at first glance.

*

Going back to this chapter I wanted to quote something else quickly just because it is amongst his more infamous funny pieces of the book,

"No wonder these tittering pustules of "mystic wisdom" must stand within protective circles and bind the "evil" forces in order to keep themselves "safe" from attack - ONE GOOD ORGASM WOULD PROBABLY KILL THEM!"

heh.. one of my favorite bits couldn't resist.