Dear Friends,
A great way to fire up your practice is to get together with like minded people and fellow practitioners.
Come join us for REIKI DAY this Sunday Oct 5, 2014 at Grailville
Reiki Day is for all Reiki practitioners across Cincinnati and Tri-County area to learn, share, grow and have fun together. This year, we’ll meet at Grailville for the 11th time for a full day of Reiki fun!
When : Sunday October 5th
Where: Graillville at 932 O’Bannonville Rd. Loveland, OH 45140 Tel: 513-683-2340, Caravansary Bld
Directions: http://www.grailville.org/home.php?ID=37
Who:
Morning session is for all Cincinnati/Tri-County Reiki Master/Teachers from 9:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M
Afternoon session is for all Reiki practitioners from 1:30 P.M until 5:30 P.M
Cost: $15 for Reiki Master/Teachers (includes lunch), $10 for Reiki 1, 2,3 practitioners. Please bring CASH.
RSVP to Maria Kammerer at attunecincinnati@gmail.com
Get ready for some serious Reiki fun!
https://www.facebook.com/events/570570843052750/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Reiki 1-Shoden Class is full
Thanks for your interest, the Reiki Level 1- Shoden class is full now. I can have you in waiting list, in case of cancellations. The class will be in 3 sections in below dates:
Session 1 Oct 19 1 pm -5 pm
Session 2 Oct 26 1 pm-5 pm
Session 3 Nov 2 1 pm-5 pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/580150252090948/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar
Reiki 2-Okuden class November 15, 2015 9:30am-6:00 pm
Are you ready to take your Reiki practice to the next level? This class is empowered with Japanese Reiki Teachings and introduces the “symbols” as a means to invoke particular energies to help enhance your understanding of the macro and micro Cosmos. You will learn symbols to help you ground to the Earth, balance with Heavens and expand your heart to connect to the whole Universe. This class is a major step in your self-discovery to find what’s hidden inside.
At the end of the class, students will learn how to invoke and use the symbols in daily life as well as techniques for distant healing. A light vegetarian lunch will be served. $175/person
Meditation Retreat in June 19-22, 2015
I am so excited that my teacher Frans Stiene is returning back to Cincinnati in 2015 for a Meditation Retreat that will be open to EVERYONE! You don’t need to be a Reiki practitioner to attend this Retreat. Frans will lead us through 4 days of healing and life inspiring meditations. Frans will be focusing on esoteric Japanese meditations and healing practices that are not often taught, some of these practices can be traced back to 7th and 8th century Japanese spiritual traditions. Frans also often includes some 4000 years old Wu (Chinese Shamanic) practices within these retreats. We’ll stay at Transfiguration center in Glendale, a secret heaven at the heart of the city. Here are more details for the Retreat:
http://us.ihreiki.com/events/detail/cincinnati_meditation_retreat
Hope to see you in one or all of these events!
Love & Light,
Zeynep
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Reiki Newsletter September 2014- New classes, Reiki Day and more...
Dear friends,
Over a year ago, all of a sudden, I lost all my desire to teach Reiki. Believe me, this was a very strange feeling for me. If you took a Reiki class with me, you know how passionate I’m to teach Reiki. I enjoy it so much so that I remember sobbing with joy after my very first Reiki teaching experience and having the deepest sense of gratitude thereafter in each class. There was a big hole when I lost the desire to teach but it was such a clear feeling that I just had to wait and see what Universe is planning for me next. I also knew that I didn’t want to teach one-day Reiki classes anymore. I used to squeeze Reiki 1 classes in a 9-hour-day and it felt like something had to change. I patiently waited and kept on my practice.
I totally believe that when the teacher is ready the student will appear and when the student is ready teacher will appear.
First the desire came to me, I had a short class on “What happens during Attunements” in June. Then I found myself teaching Reiki to two friends at work. Since we were going to do this over lunch, I come up with a 4 month curriculum with 45 minute weekly sessions that includes meditations, hands-on healing sessions, weekly assignments and Reiju.
This will sure be a new way of teaching Reiki for me. That familiar feeling came to me again, and I can’t explain how thrilled I am about this plan.
A month ago we started with initiations, one initiation each week and we’ve just started following the below curriculum.
Reiki 1-Shoden
Week 1 45 min. What's Reiki? How it works? What are the pillars of the system of Reiki?
Week 2 45 min. What's energy? Human Energy system – 3 jewels- Joshin Kokyu Ho
Week 3 45 min. Hands-on Healing
Week 4 45 min. Reiki principles: Just for Today, Do not get Angry
Week 5 45 min. Reiki principles: Just for today, Do not worry
Week 6 45 min. Reiki principles: be Grateful
Week 7 45 min. Reiki principles: work hard
Week 8 45 min. Reiki principles: be compassionate
Week 9 45 min. History of Reiki
Week 10 3 hours Group Hands-on healing practice session
• Students practice Joshin Kokyu meditation and self healing every day
Reiki 2- Okuden
Week 1 45 min. What are Reiki symbols? How they’re used?
Week 2 45 min. CKR +Jumon
Week 3 45 min. SHK +Jumon
Week 4 45 min. HSZSN + Jumon
Week 5 45 min. Japanese Reiki Methods
Week 6 3 hrs Chanting and Hands on healing practice session
• Students practice meditations and self healing every day
Now I plan to expand this curriculum, yet in a slightly different model with 3 x 4 hour-block teachings for Reiki 1. The purpose is to allow students to absorb teachings using pillars of the system of Reiki; Reiki principles, mantras, meditations and hands-on healing, supported with frequent Reiju’s and meditations. The 3 classes will be held on below dates (thought we’re flexible to change the dates with mutual consent of students).
Session 1 Oct 19 1 pm -5 pm
Session 2 Oct 26 1 pm-5 pm
Session 3 Nov 2 1 pm-5 pm
Let me know if you know anyone who is interested in joining these sessions. I’ll also have a 2 hour free Introduction to Reiki class. Later, if you choose to join the 3 class-pack, the total fee will be $150.
Free Reiki Refresher Class on Sunday September 28, 2014 1pm-3pm
The class provides an overview of Reiki as a system of self-improvement and explores pillars of the system (precepts, meditations, hands-on healing, symbols and attunements). There will be time for any questions you might have on your practice. If you took Reiki in the past, this is an excellent chance to boost your practice. If you’re new to Reiki, this is a great chance to understand what Reiki offers.
REIKI DAY IS COMING October 5, 2014
Mark your calendars for October 5, 2014. Cincinnati Reiki Day happens twice a year. It is a chance for Reiki Practitioners from all lineages to come together to practice Reiki, make Reiki friends, and have fun!
The morning session is for Reiki Masters from 9:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M Cost $15 cash only, includes lunch.
The afternoon session is open for all levels of Reiki practitioners from 1:30-5:00. Cost $10 cash only.
Don’t miss this event, RSVP to Maria Kammerer at attunecincinnati@gmail.com
Here is the FB event. Hope to see you all there!
https://www.facebook.com/events/570570843052750/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar
Last but not least, if you want to further deepen your Reiki practice my dear friend Sundar is teaching another 1 year course. This is also what inspired me to teach a class over couple weeks. Sundar’s class is ultimate deepening of the practice!
Program: Support your spiritual journey with Reiki
Description: Reiki, most commonly known as an "energy healing" system or modality in the West, actually has its roots in Japan in the early 1900s, and is first and foremost a path to realizing one's true nature, with healing as a wonderful "side effect". This program is designed to support your personal spiritual journey using traditional Japanese Reiki teachings. Unlike conventional "Reiki Classes", or "Reiki Courses" which are taught over a single day or a weekend, this program is organized as a continuous series of instructional or experiential learning, and practice sessions, taking a student practitioner incrementally deeper into their spiritual practice as well as into the practice of healing. As such, this program would be of great appeal and value only to the serious seeker who is eager to deepen their practice through structured learning, increasingly deeper experiential understanding, and steady and consistent practice sessions, under the guidance of the facilitator as well as the presence and participation of fellow students.
The Facilitator: Sundar Kadayam has trained with some of the world's leading Reiki teachers since 2001, and is currently training with Frans Stiene, internationally acclaimed Reiki Teacher and co-author of classic books such as The Reiki Sourcebook and The Japanese Art of Reiki. With Frans' help, he has deepened his personal healing and spiritual practice since 2007, and provides guidance to other seekers who yearn to deepen their practice. He is NOT a "Reiki Master", and he knows no one in the world who is one, at least not yet!
The Format: Student practitioners will meet with the Facilitator approximately every two weeks (with due accommodations for key holidays and any other important milestones) for two hour sessions as part of a group, and partake in instructional or experiential learning interspersed with practice sessions. The spiritual teachings and practice are drawn from traditional Japanese Reiki, and are designed to take the student practitioner incrementally deeper into the practice. Students will also benefit from periodic spiritual blessings drawn mainly from the Japanese Reiki tradition and occasionally through ancient Indian traditions. The format allows for ample time to share learnings and experiences, for Q&A, and to receive individual guidance on the evolving practice.
The Duration: The program is uniquely designed to provide continuous learning, experience and growth opportunities for approximately a year.
The Cost: The program is free. The facilitator will accept any heartfelt offers at each session.
Class Size: Class size will be limited to 10 students.
The Requirements: As mentioned above, this Program is designed for a serious seeker, and as such requires the student practitioner to attend the meetings regularly, and to commit to their personal practice between meetings. If you would like to be part of this Program, you would need to complete a short questionnaire via email. Given that the class size will be capped at 10 students, the Facilitator may reject the participation from an interested individual at the onset, or even during the Program if individual participation or commitment is poor.
The Questionnaire: Please contact the Facilitator at skadayam@presevo.com to express your interest in attending the Program, or to follow up with any questions you may have. You will receive a short questionnaire via email response, and you can send back your completed answer for review. The purpose of the questionnaire is to allow the Facilitator to better understand your background and your motivation and commitment to attend.
Enjoy one of these options to deepen your practice and keep your fire of the practice burning!
Love & Light,
Zeynep
Over a year ago, all of a sudden, I lost all my desire to teach Reiki. Believe me, this was a very strange feeling for me. If you took a Reiki class with me, you know how passionate I’m to teach Reiki. I enjoy it so much so that I remember sobbing with joy after my very first Reiki teaching experience and having the deepest sense of gratitude thereafter in each class. There was a big hole when I lost the desire to teach but it was such a clear feeling that I just had to wait and see what Universe is planning for me next. I also knew that I didn’t want to teach one-day Reiki classes anymore. I used to squeeze Reiki 1 classes in a 9-hour-day and it felt like something had to change. I patiently waited and kept on my practice.
I totally believe that when the teacher is ready the student will appear and when the student is ready teacher will appear.
First the desire came to me, I had a short class on “What happens during Attunements” in June. Then I found myself teaching Reiki to two friends at work. Since we were going to do this over lunch, I come up with a 4 month curriculum with 45 minute weekly sessions that includes meditations, hands-on healing sessions, weekly assignments and Reiju.
This will sure be a new way of teaching Reiki for me. That familiar feeling came to me again, and I can’t explain how thrilled I am about this plan.
A month ago we started with initiations, one initiation each week and we’ve just started following the below curriculum.
Reiki 1-Shoden
Week 1 45 min. What's Reiki? How it works? What are the pillars of the system of Reiki?
Week 2 45 min. What's energy? Human Energy system – 3 jewels- Joshin Kokyu Ho
Week 3 45 min. Hands-on Healing
Week 4 45 min. Reiki principles: Just for Today, Do not get Angry
Week 5 45 min. Reiki principles: Just for today, Do not worry
Week 6 45 min. Reiki principles: be Grateful
Week 7 45 min. Reiki principles: work hard
Week 8 45 min. Reiki principles: be compassionate
Week 9 45 min. History of Reiki
Week 10 3 hours Group Hands-on healing practice session
• Students practice Joshin Kokyu meditation and self healing every day
Reiki 2- Okuden
Week 1 45 min. What are Reiki symbols? How they’re used?
Week 2 45 min. CKR +Jumon
Week 3 45 min. SHK +Jumon
Week 4 45 min. HSZSN + Jumon
Week 5 45 min. Japanese Reiki Methods
Week 6 3 hrs Chanting and Hands on healing practice session
• Students practice meditations and self healing every day
Now I plan to expand this curriculum, yet in a slightly different model with 3 x 4 hour-block teachings for Reiki 1. The purpose is to allow students to absorb teachings using pillars of the system of Reiki; Reiki principles, mantras, meditations and hands-on healing, supported with frequent Reiju’s and meditations. The 3 classes will be held on below dates (thought we’re flexible to change the dates with mutual consent of students).
Session 1 Oct 19 1 pm -5 pm
Session 2 Oct 26 1 pm-5 pm
Session 3 Nov 2 1 pm-5 pm
Let me know if you know anyone who is interested in joining these sessions. I’ll also have a 2 hour free Introduction to Reiki class. Later, if you choose to join the 3 class-pack, the total fee will be $150.
Free Reiki Refresher Class on Sunday September 28, 2014 1pm-3pm
The class provides an overview of Reiki as a system of self-improvement and explores pillars of the system (precepts, meditations, hands-on healing, symbols and attunements). There will be time for any questions you might have on your practice. If you took Reiki in the past, this is an excellent chance to boost your practice. If you’re new to Reiki, this is a great chance to understand what Reiki offers.
REIKI DAY IS COMING October 5, 2014
Mark your calendars for October 5, 2014. Cincinnati Reiki Day happens twice a year. It is a chance for Reiki Practitioners from all lineages to come together to practice Reiki, make Reiki friends, and have fun!
The morning session is for Reiki Masters from 9:30 A.M. until 12:30 P.M Cost $15 cash only, includes lunch.
The afternoon session is open for all levels of Reiki practitioners from 1:30-5:00. Cost $10 cash only.
Don’t miss this event, RSVP to Maria Kammerer at attunecincinnati@gmail.com
Here is the FB event. Hope to see you all there!
https://www.facebook.com/events/570570843052750/?ref_dashboard_filter=calendar
Last but not least, if you want to further deepen your Reiki practice my dear friend Sundar is teaching another 1 year course. This is also what inspired me to teach a class over couple weeks. Sundar’s class is ultimate deepening of the practice!
Program: Support your spiritual journey with Reiki
Description: Reiki, most commonly known as an "energy healing" system or modality in the West, actually has its roots in Japan in the early 1900s, and is first and foremost a path to realizing one's true nature, with healing as a wonderful "side effect". This program is designed to support your personal spiritual journey using traditional Japanese Reiki teachings. Unlike conventional "Reiki Classes", or "Reiki Courses" which are taught over a single day or a weekend, this program is organized as a continuous series of instructional or experiential learning, and practice sessions, taking a student practitioner incrementally deeper into their spiritual practice as well as into the practice of healing. As such, this program would be of great appeal and value only to the serious seeker who is eager to deepen their practice through structured learning, increasingly deeper experiential understanding, and steady and consistent practice sessions, under the guidance of the facilitator as well as the presence and participation of fellow students.
The Facilitator: Sundar Kadayam has trained with some of the world's leading Reiki teachers since 2001, and is currently training with Frans Stiene, internationally acclaimed Reiki Teacher and co-author of classic books such as The Reiki Sourcebook and The Japanese Art of Reiki. With Frans' help, he has deepened his personal healing and spiritual practice since 2007, and provides guidance to other seekers who yearn to deepen their practice. He is NOT a "Reiki Master", and he knows no one in the world who is one, at least not yet!
The Format: Student practitioners will meet with the Facilitator approximately every two weeks (with due accommodations for key holidays and any other important milestones) for two hour sessions as part of a group, and partake in instructional or experiential learning interspersed with practice sessions. The spiritual teachings and practice are drawn from traditional Japanese Reiki, and are designed to take the student practitioner incrementally deeper into the practice. Students will also benefit from periodic spiritual blessings drawn mainly from the Japanese Reiki tradition and occasionally through ancient Indian traditions. The format allows for ample time to share learnings and experiences, for Q&A, and to receive individual guidance on the evolving practice.
The Duration: The program is uniquely designed to provide continuous learning, experience and growth opportunities for approximately a year.
The Cost: The program is free. The facilitator will accept any heartfelt offers at each session.
Class Size: Class size will be limited to 10 students.
The Requirements: As mentioned above, this Program is designed for a serious seeker, and as such requires the student practitioner to attend the meetings regularly, and to commit to their personal practice between meetings. If you would like to be part of this Program, you would need to complete a short questionnaire via email. Given that the class size will be capped at 10 students, the Facilitator may reject the participation from an interested individual at the onset, or even during the Program if individual participation or commitment is poor.
The Questionnaire: Please contact the Facilitator at skadayam@presevo.com to express your interest in attending the Program, or to follow up with any questions you may have. You will receive a short questionnaire via email response, and you can send back your completed answer for review. The purpose of the questionnaire is to allow the Facilitator to better understand your background and your motivation and commitment to attend.
Enjoy one of these options to deepen your practice and keep your fire of the practice burning!
Love & Light,
Zeynep
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
What happens during Reiki Attunements?
The most mysterious part of the system of Reiki is the attunements. Knowing few Reiki Masters confused about some of the new systems of Reiki and especially about the attunements; I felt like I need to share how I see and practice attunements with the purpose of empowering any confused Reiki Masters to feel confident in the way they practice attunements.
So, here I put a disclaimer that, everything I’ll write here solely reflects my truth and my own understanding (with my limited human mind) filtered from my own experiences, tendency and inclinations. These are accumulated knowledge from my studies with my teacher Frans Stiene and how I see and practice Reiki. My last intention is to offend anyone or create polarity in community. Please take whatever resonates with you and trash the rest. Always remember that Reiki is like the Sun and it just shines on. It’s us humans who put labels on it and make it our own. Reiki doesn’t mind.
Having said that, attunement is the most crucial element of the system of Reiki. You can read books on Reiki, you can practice precepts, you can learn meditations but attunement awakens our energetic connection to Reiki. I always think attunement as a remembering process, remembering who we really are. Someone (in this case the Reiki Master) who already has a connection to the Great Bright Light, shows you , exposes you or shares this Light with you. Attunement is that initial experience with Great Bright Light that you can cultivate and nurture, until you yourself become that Light.
Here comes a choice for Reiki practitioners during both their practice and attunements: either to see Reiki as an external energy frequency and channel it or internalize it by reaching deep down to our innate bright light, nurture it and expand it. For me the purpose of the system of Reiki is to “be” Reiki, to “be” the Great Bright Light. What it means to “be” Reiki, is to live in a state of mind of non-duality, non-attachment, loving kindness and compassion. Regardless to say, precepts point out this state of mind, step by step by working on our anger, worry, fear, living in the moment by being grateful, by bringing our true potential to earth and being kind and compassionate to all living beings. The symbols and mantras of the system of Reiki point us in this direction too. With time and practice, our true self, our clear bright light shines through and Voila: We become the Great Bright Light.
Let’s get back to the Attunement. How does the Reiki Master show/share this Great Bright Light to the student? One thing I find common in all attunement rituals is the mutual Intent of the Reiki Master and the student. It’s the intent of the Reiki Master that the student will receive the attunement (or have an initial experience of the Great Bright Light) and it’s the intent of the student to be open to receive it. When there is this mutual intent between a Reiki Master and student, the attunement works regardless. The ritual of performing the attunement is just a tool.
Even though the attunement ritual is just a tool, the way I practice attunements, I see the steps in the attunement ritual as steps to bring the Reiki Master (myself) to the right state of mind to be the Great Bight Light.
Obviously it’s not easy to get to that right state of mind right away. That’s why we have rituals because rituals help us to get to the right state of mind. Since our body and mind are connected, the physical act of ritual makes the mind act in a certain way. We rock the babies to sleep, we light a candle or chant a prayer before meditation, etc. With the physical act, we prepare our minds to be in a certain way. Reiki attunement ritual is not different. The purpose of the ritual is to bring the Reiki Master to the DKM space, or Great Bright Light, so that Master can be Reiki and share it with the student.
The more the Reiki Master can be Reiki and reflect this Light, the more the student can be exposed to. I believe the higher the Reiki Master’s frequency, the higher the frequency student is exposed to. How much the student can get (or raise his/her vibration) depends on how open and empty the student is. At the end, it will work anyway but how much you get will depend on how much the Reiki Master can share and how much the student can receive.(1) That’s why they repeat the attunements every week in Japan. Every time you receive an attunement, especially if you continue to working on yourself, you can get a little more out of it and raise your own vibration.
At first Mikao Usui didn’t have a formal attunement process. His students would be attuned by just simply being at his presence. According to his early students, he’d sit across from the students and that was enough for the students to be attuned. However, most of his early students were spiritual practitioners, mostly monks or nuns. They were open to receive and they didn’t need rituals to be performed on them. As Mikao Usui started to have more lay students, he developed Reiju, Spritual Blessing, so that the students would get the implication that they were acted upon and that they were receiving something.
Reiju is still the ritual performed by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Japan and absolutely my favorite ritual. There are no symbols and mantras in this ritual or no levels, students take as much energy as they need/can at that point in their lives, attunements repeated frequently and each attunement deepens student’s energetic connection. Reiju is performed in a state of mindfulness, with compassion, unconditionally, without any attachment to any given outcome. There is no giving or receiving. Master and students simply share the non-dual state of Great Bright Light and just allow it to happen. Allow what to happen? Whatever the students needs at that time.
The ritual mostly followed in West developed by Hayashi, a student of Mikao Usui. Hayashi took Reiju and added symbols and mantras. He also had slightly different rituals for different levels of Reiki. Hayashi also thought slightly different attunements to his students as well as to Mrs. Takata. My first Reiki teacher, William Rand, created the Usui/Tibetan attunements with Tibetan symbols and has recently changed it to another new system of Reiki, with another new symbol.
In my opinion and experience so far, there is no right or wrong ritual for as long as you have the right Intent. Having said that, I personally like to stay closer to the original, but that’s my personal choice. Honestly, I look with suspicion when people start to add new symbols or channel information but again that’s because how I choose to practice Reiki. After all, this diversity of systems of Reiki gives me more motivation to stick to what resonates with me and I think everyone should be comfortable with what/how they practice Reiki.
However, there is one thing constant in all the different Reiki attunement rituals I’ve learned: The Intent. I practiced William Rand’s attunement for years. Now I practice another ritual coming from Hayashi/Tatsumi lineage. My favorite is the original Reiju and I share it abundantly when I share Reiki blessings. However when I pass attunements, I fall back to the Hayashi/Tatsumi ritual. I think they are all beautiful and we’re so lucky to have these tools. Obviously you can sit across from the students and expand to be the Great Bright Light. Some of the most powerful attunement experiences I had, happened without the physical interaction or ritual, by just simply sitting across from my teacher. However if the students are new to this field, they might need to feel the physical touch or some ritual taking place in order to convince themselves something is really going on.
A milestone in my Reiki teaching journey was the decision I made to use the ritual for my own spiritual practice. Do we all need to do it this way? Of course, not. Believe me when I first started to teach Reiki, I passed attunements, following the ritual, almost mechanically, and guess what? It worked, because I had the right Intent. Also, I was told that there were Reiki guides/ spirit guides who help us with the attunements and that all we need to do is to tell them our intent and say which level’s attunement and boom, it was done. I used this method and I “outsourced” the attunement process to my guides. I must tell you they did a great job because all my early students reported great results with their practice.
However, at some point I realized that, the attunements can be an excellent opportunity for me to become the Great Bright Light. (I must give all the credit to my teacher Frans Stiene for this realization). One day, I asked my guides to step aside but I still asked them to be present in the room and correct if I do something wrong. Gradually, I asked them not to interfere and I took the whole responsibility myself. Did I do a better job? Probably not, at least not in the beginning, but it was worth the risk.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that; just Relax! the attunements will work if you simply follow the ritual you’ve learned from your own Reiki master and keep a clear Intent. Yet we, Reiki masters, have an option to use Reiki attunements as a tool for our own spiritual development. Knowing that they’ll work either way, we can decide if we want to consciously practice being the Great Bright Light during this sacred time we spend with our students and attunement after attunement repeatedly merge in that space, become one, eventually take it outside the attunements to our daily lives, live in the DKM space until eventually one day we realize our Divine self, the Great Bright Light.
(1) If you’d like to read more about the state of mind and energy frequency during treatments and attunements, you can read this article from Judith Pennington:
http://www.ihreiki.com/blog/article/the_brain_waves_of_reiki
So, here I put a disclaimer that, everything I’ll write here solely reflects my truth and my own understanding (with my limited human mind) filtered from my own experiences, tendency and inclinations. These are accumulated knowledge from my studies with my teacher Frans Stiene and how I see and practice Reiki. My last intention is to offend anyone or create polarity in community. Please take whatever resonates with you and trash the rest. Always remember that Reiki is like the Sun and it just shines on. It’s us humans who put labels on it and make it our own. Reiki doesn’t mind.
Having said that, attunement is the most crucial element of the system of Reiki. You can read books on Reiki, you can practice precepts, you can learn meditations but attunement awakens our energetic connection to Reiki. I always think attunement as a remembering process, remembering who we really are. Someone (in this case the Reiki Master) who already has a connection to the Great Bright Light, shows you , exposes you or shares this Light with you. Attunement is that initial experience with Great Bright Light that you can cultivate and nurture, until you yourself become that Light.
Here comes a choice for Reiki practitioners during both their practice and attunements: either to see Reiki as an external energy frequency and channel it or internalize it by reaching deep down to our innate bright light, nurture it and expand it. For me the purpose of the system of Reiki is to “be” Reiki, to “be” the Great Bright Light. What it means to “be” Reiki, is to live in a state of mind of non-duality, non-attachment, loving kindness and compassion. Regardless to say, precepts point out this state of mind, step by step by working on our anger, worry, fear, living in the moment by being grateful, by bringing our true potential to earth and being kind and compassionate to all living beings. The symbols and mantras of the system of Reiki point us in this direction too. With time and practice, our true self, our clear bright light shines through and Voila: We become the Great Bright Light.
Let’s get back to the Attunement. How does the Reiki Master show/share this Great Bright Light to the student? One thing I find common in all attunement rituals is the mutual Intent of the Reiki Master and the student. It’s the intent of the Reiki Master that the student will receive the attunement (or have an initial experience of the Great Bright Light) and it’s the intent of the student to be open to receive it. When there is this mutual intent between a Reiki Master and student, the attunement works regardless. The ritual of performing the attunement is just a tool.
Even though the attunement ritual is just a tool, the way I practice attunements, I see the steps in the attunement ritual as steps to bring the Reiki Master (myself) to the right state of mind to be the Great Bight Light.
Obviously it’s not easy to get to that right state of mind right away. That’s why we have rituals because rituals help us to get to the right state of mind. Since our body and mind are connected, the physical act of ritual makes the mind act in a certain way. We rock the babies to sleep, we light a candle or chant a prayer before meditation, etc. With the physical act, we prepare our minds to be in a certain way. Reiki attunement ritual is not different. The purpose of the ritual is to bring the Reiki Master to the DKM space, or Great Bright Light, so that Master can be Reiki and share it with the student.
The more the Reiki Master can be Reiki and reflect this Light, the more the student can be exposed to. I believe the higher the Reiki Master’s frequency, the higher the frequency student is exposed to. How much the student can get (or raise his/her vibration) depends on how open and empty the student is. At the end, it will work anyway but how much you get will depend on how much the Reiki Master can share and how much the student can receive.(1) That’s why they repeat the attunements every week in Japan. Every time you receive an attunement, especially if you continue to working on yourself, you can get a little more out of it and raise your own vibration.
At first Mikao Usui didn’t have a formal attunement process. His students would be attuned by just simply being at his presence. According to his early students, he’d sit across from the students and that was enough for the students to be attuned. However, most of his early students were spiritual practitioners, mostly monks or nuns. They were open to receive and they didn’t need rituals to be performed on them. As Mikao Usui started to have more lay students, he developed Reiju, Spritual Blessing, so that the students would get the implication that they were acted upon and that they were receiving something.
Reiju is still the ritual performed by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Japan and absolutely my favorite ritual. There are no symbols and mantras in this ritual or no levels, students take as much energy as they need/can at that point in their lives, attunements repeated frequently and each attunement deepens student’s energetic connection. Reiju is performed in a state of mindfulness, with compassion, unconditionally, without any attachment to any given outcome. There is no giving or receiving. Master and students simply share the non-dual state of Great Bright Light and just allow it to happen. Allow what to happen? Whatever the students needs at that time.
The ritual mostly followed in West developed by Hayashi, a student of Mikao Usui. Hayashi took Reiju and added symbols and mantras. He also had slightly different rituals for different levels of Reiki. Hayashi also thought slightly different attunements to his students as well as to Mrs. Takata. My first Reiki teacher, William Rand, created the Usui/Tibetan attunements with Tibetan symbols and has recently changed it to another new system of Reiki, with another new symbol.
In my opinion and experience so far, there is no right or wrong ritual for as long as you have the right Intent. Having said that, I personally like to stay closer to the original, but that’s my personal choice. Honestly, I look with suspicion when people start to add new symbols or channel information but again that’s because how I choose to practice Reiki. After all, this diversity of systems of Reiki gives me more motivation to stick to what resonates with me and I think everyone should be comfortable with what/how they practice Reiki.
However, there is one thing constant in all the different Reiki attunement rituals I’ve learned: The Intent. I practiced William Rand’s attunement for years. Now I practice another ritual coming from Hayashi/Tatsumi lineage. My favorite is the original Reiju and I share it abundantly when I share Reiki blessings. However when I pass attunements, I fall back to the Hayashi/Tatsumi ritual. I think they are all beautiful and we’re so lucky to have these tools. Obviously you can sit across from the students and expand to be the Great Bright Light. Some of the most powerful attunement experiences I had, happened without the physical interaction or ritual, by just simply sitting across from my teacher. However if the students are new to this field, they might need to feel the physical touch or some ritual taking place in order to convince themselves something is really going on.
A milestone in my Reiki teaching journey was the decision I made to use the ritual for my own spiritual practice. Do we all need to do it this way? Of course, not. Believe me when I first started to teach Reiki, I passed attunements, following the ritual, almost mechanically, and guess what? It worked, because I had the right Intent. Also, I was told that there were Reiki guides/ spirit guides who help us with the attunements and that all we need to do is to tell them our intent and say which level’s attunement and boom, it was done. I used this method and I “outsourced” the attunement process to my guides. I must tell you they did a great job because all my early students reported great results with their practice.
However, at some point I realized that, the attunements can be an excellent opportunity for me to become the Great Bright Light. (I must give all the credit to my teacher Frans Stiene for this realization). One day, I asked my guides to step aside but I still asked them to be present in the room and correct if I do something wrong. Gradually, I asked them not to interfere and I took the whole responsibility myself. Did I do a better job? Probably not, at least not in the beginning, but it was worth the risk.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that; just Relax! the attunements will work if you simply follow the ritual you’ve learned from your own Reiki master and keep a clear Intent. Yet we, Reiki masters, have an option to use Reiki attunements as a tool for our own spiritual development. Knowing that they’ll work either way, we can decide if we want to consciously practice being the Great Bright Light during this sacred time we spend with our students and attunement after attunement repeatedly merge in that space, become one, eventually take it outside the attunements to our daily lives, live in the DKM space until eventually one day we realize our Divine self, the Great Bright Light.
(1) If you’d like to read more about the state of mind and energy frequency during treatments and attunements, you can read this article from Judith Pennington:
http://www.ihreiki.com/blog/article/the_brain_waves_of_reiki
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Bhakti Yoga
There are so many different ways to classify Yoga philosophy, and one way is to look at the different schools of Yoga. In classical terms, there are 4 paths- Karma Yoga (yoga of action), Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), Jnana yoga (yoga of wisdom) and Raja yoga (royal yoga).
There were times when I was attracted to different yoga schools throughout my journey. My journey started with Raja Yoga, by observing yamas and niyamas, doing asanas and pranayama, and following the 8 limb path, like most people start their yoga journey in the West. But when I was introduced to other schools, I realized how intertwined they are. Now, if I don’t practice one of them, my own practice doesn’t feel full and complete. I can’t imagine not practicing Jnana yoga, studying scriptures, especially Vedanta which satisfies my analytical mind and soul at the same time. In the same way, I can’t imagine not practicing Karma yoga, doing selfless service either in the form of volunteering, fund raising or simply offering up fruits of my actions. However there is one path, Bhakti yoga, which holds the other 3 together for me. Without Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, my practice would be dry and incomplete.
They say there are 9 different ways of practicing Bhakti yoga. In the East, Bhakti yoga is seen as a devotion to a Divine being, a god, goddess or a guru as the manifestation of Divine. In the West, it’s typically perceived more as devotion to whatever one feels like representing Divine. I was introduced to Bhakti Yoga through Kirtan, or devotional chanting. I was immediately hooked. To me, Kirtan feels like you’re at a stadium concert with your favorite band, but you’re actually on the stage with the band playing and singing your lungs out together. It’s that great! It’s like a flight for the soul, where you start soft and rise above slowly until you completely let go and crack open, without knowing you’re full with Divine and you slowly come back to self but always keep a piece of that experience with you. Ever since then, chanting has become a part of my practice, especially in my long commute to work every morning and evening.
I must say I was very lucky with the grace of a Guru and from time to time I still pinch myself how in the world I deserved this Grace. Only if one feels the call and if it resonates with you is Guru Yoga a practice to follow. It is definitely not for everyone, but it’s very rewarding.
Another important piece of my Bhakti yoga practice is my Altar. I have symbols or pictures of the Divine ones that resonate with me to remind me I’m not alone. I have objects of Divine beauty, a sea shell, or a rose pedal that reminds me the beauties of this world as Divine manifestations. Every time I sit on my altar, I commune with them before I start my meditation practice.
Everything, if done with devotion, can be a Bhakti yoga practice. In my personal practice I use yoga asanas as a way to show devotion. I throw myself, I throw my heart into my mat with devotion. Especially I practice Surya Namaskar, Sun Salutation, my core asana practice for devotion. It’s the intent that counts!
Kapalbhati is my favorite Bhakti yoga pranayama . Like I said, everything if done with devotion can be Bhakti yoga. In Kapalbhati, I visualize Light or a manifestation of Divine in the form of Guru or saint in my 3rd eye. I inhale towards the Divine, stop and merge for a second and I bring back a piece with me when I exhale.
After all, Bhakti yoga practice is to pretend to unite with Divine until you realize you’re the Divine itself.
There were times when I was attracted to different yoga schools throughout my journey. My journey started with Raja Yoga, by observing yamas and niyamas, doing asanas and pranayama, and following the 8 limb path, like most people start their yoga journey in the West. But when I was introduced to other schools, I realized how intertwined they are. Now, if I don’t practice one of them, my own practice doesn’t feel full and complete. I can’t imagine not practicing Jnana yoga, studying scriptures, especially Vedanta which satisfies my analytical mind and soul at the same time. In the same way, I can’t imagine not practicing Karma yoga, doing selfless service either in the form of volunteering, fund raising or simply offering up fruits of my actions. However there is one path, Bhakti yoga, which holds the other 3 together for me. Without Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion, my practice would be dry and incomplete.
They say there are 9 different ways of practicing Bhakti yoga. In the East, Bhakti yoga is seen as a devotion to a Divine being, a god, goddess or a guru as the manifestation of Divine. In the West, it’s typically perceived more as devotion to whatever one feels like representing Divine. I was introduced to Bhakti Yoga through Kirtan, or devotional chanting. I was immediately hooked. To me, Kirtan feels like you’re at a stadium concert with your favorite band, but you’re actually on the stage with the band playing and singing your lungs out together. It’s that great! It’s like a flight for the soul, where you start soft and rise above slowly until you completely let go and crack open, without knowing you’re full with Divine and you slowly come back to self but always keep a piece of that experience with you. Ever since then, chanting has become a part of my practice, especially in my long commute to work every morning and evening.
I must say I was very lucky with the grace of a Guru and from time to time I still pinch myself how in the world I deserved this Grace. Only if one feels the call and if it resonates with you is Guru Yoga a practice to follow. It is definitely not for everyone, but it’s very rewarding.
Another important piece of my Bhakti yoga practice is my Altar. I have symbols or pictures of the Divine ones that resonate with me to remind me I’m not alone. I have objects of Divine beauty, a sea shell, or a rose pedal that reminds me the beauties of this world as Divine manifestations. Every time I sit on my altar, I commune with them before I start my meditation practice.
Everything, if done with devotion, can be a Bhakti yoga practice. In my personal practice I use yoga asanas as a way to show devotion. I throw myself, I throw my heart into my mat with devotion. Especially I practice Surya Namaskar, Sun Salutation, my core asana practice for devotion. It’s the intent that counts!
Kapalbhati is my favorite Bhakti yoga pranayama . Like I said, everything if done with devotion can be Bhakti yoga. In Kapalbhati, I visualize Light or a manifestation of Divine in the form of Guru or saint in my 3rd eye. I inhale towards the Divine, stop and merge for a second and I bring back a piece with me when I exhale.
After all, Bhakti yoga practice is to pretend to unite with Divine until you realize you’re the Divine itself.
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is the yoga of action. For me, it’s the most practical of all yoga schools. It stems from the idea that every desire should be fulfilled. The Universe is so generous that it gives us back whatever we desire or generate. Karma is the ripple we generate at the Universe with our thoughts, words, actions, and desires. In other words, you reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, and every action has a reaction in the universe. It’s a Universal rule. It’s that simple. For as long as we generate a ripple or a reaction in the Universe with our actions, words, or thoughts, we can’t escape from Samsara (rebirth), which means we need to come back to this life over and over again to fulfill what we’ve generated.
Ha ha, here it gets fun…There is a way to get around this Universal law! We can overcome Karma and end Samsara (rebirth) if we can manage not to create karma, and burn the ones we’ve generated so far, while still living in this world.
To me, Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate text that explains how to overcome generating these ripples, Karma.
The Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna at a battle field and begins with Arjuna throwing his weapons down because he doesn’t want to shed blood of his own relatives. He prefers death rather than killing his own family. Krishna explains to him how he should not give up action, rather fulfill action with a sense of service by being true to himself. Any action, he says, should be without any attachment to the result and an offering to Divine. It’s a rather radical way to encourage one to fight, until you realize by the end that the real fight is a fight with your own ego and your life is the real battlefield.
Krishna teaches Arjuna how to fulfill a life without Karma, by finding peace in every action by offering it up to the Divine, and overcoming traps like anger, worry, ignorance and more importantly one’s own ego. If an action is done with selfless devotion without any expectations and attachment, it doesn’t generate a ripple. It’s quiet a learning!
How can we apply this to real life and not generate karma, or a single ripple, in the Universe?
One way to practice this is to perform every action without expecting any particular outcome, without expectations of monetary benefit or praise, and perform everything as a service to humanity and a service to Divine. This way, we at least stop generating Karma.
There are different ways to burn old karma. The most effective way is to bring awareness to a sanskara (imprints left behind). There are rituals, like fire ceremony, that burns karma. Requesting grace of a guru thru meditation techniques is yet another way to clean old karma. Again what counts is the awareness and desire to neutralize our imprints.
The ultimate practice of Karma yoga is to fully materialize our Divine purpose on this earth, live in accordance with our true self, establish our purpose on Earth, to think, talk, act from a space of non-duality, meaning nothing to wish because we realize everything is perfect as is, nothing to regret because everything was meant to be, no anger, no worries, no expectations, nothing to give, nothing to receive, simply being content in the present moment.
and….Voila! No more Karma.
Ha ha, here it gets fun…There is a way to get around this Universal law! We can overcome Karma and end Samsara (rebirth) if we can manage not to create karma, and burn the ones we’ve generated so far, while still living in this world.
To me, Bhagavad Gita is the ultimate text that explains how to overcome generating these ripples, Karma.
The Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna at a battle field and begins with Arjuna throwing his weapons down because he doesn’t want to shed blood of his own relatives. He prefers death rather than killing his own family. Krishna explains to him how he should not give up action, rather fulfill action with a sense of service by being true to himself. Any action, he says, should be without any attachment to the result and an offering to Divine. It’s a rather radical way to encourage one to fight, until you realize by the end that the real fight is a fight with your own ego and your life is the real battlefield.
Krishna teaches Arjuna how to fulfill a life without Karma, by finding peace in every action by offering it up to the Divine, and overcoming traps like anger, worry, ignorance and more importantly one’s own ego. If an action is done with selfless devotion without any expectations and attachment, it doesn’t generate a ripple. It’s quiet a learning!
How can we apply this to real life and not generate karma, or a single ripple, in the Universe?
One way to practice this is to perform every action without expecting any particular outcome, without expectations of monetary benefit or praise, and perform everything as a service to humanity and a service to Divine. This way, we at least stop generating Karma.
There are different ways to burn old karma. The most effective way is to bring awareness to a sanskara (imprints left behind). There are rituals, like fire ceremony, that burns karma. Requesting grace of a guru thru meditation techniques is yet another way to clean old karma. Again what counts is the awareness and desire to neutralize our imprints.
The ultimate practice of Karma yoga is to fully materialize our Divine purpose on this earth, live in accordance with our true self, establish our purpose on Earth, to think, talk, act from a space of non-duality, meaning nothing to wish because we realize everything is perfect as is, nothing to regret because everything was meant to be, no anger, no worries, no expectations, nothing to give, nothing to receive, simply being content in the present moment.
and….Voila! No more Karma.
Jnana Yoga
Imagine you’re at a jewelry store and checking out hundreds of gold rings. Each gold ring has a different shape and size. Regardless of their shape and size; their essence is the same, they’re all gold. No matter what shape or size these the rings come, their essence doesn’t change. This is how a Jnana yogi would explain you this philosophy. Our true nature is Divine.
Imagine a see through empty glass. There is air inside, there is air outside. The air inside and outside is exactly the same. That’s how we forget our true essence, and think ourselves separate from Divine. The practice of Vendanta is to dissolve the glass to recognize your true self.
Jñāna yoga is the yoga of knowledge but it’s knowing beyond our intellect, it goes all the way to knowing with the core of our soul. Knowing what? Knowing the ultimate reality, our true nature, our essence; which is pure consciousness and bliss.
Vedanta is the philosophy identified with Jnana yoga and is one of the most difficult paths because it uses mind to negate itself to inquire its true nature. Veda means knowledge and Anta means end. Vedanta is said to be the philosophy which leads to the end of knowledge. It’s funny how it starts with knowledge and draws you into yourself to realize the only ultimate knowledge, is to know the self.
Adi Shankara is the great sage of Vedanta. He was a great philosopher, a poet who lived in the 8th century. He started his spiritual journey when he was 8, he traveled around India all the way to Himalayans 3 times by foot, he wrote many books, poems, commentaries and he died when he was only 32. He established the Swami order that is still used in India today. Sankaracharya’s philopophy or as it’s called Advaita (non-dualistic) philosophy advocates the oneness of individual soul and Brahman (cosmic soul). The rain, the water that flows into the river and the sand in the river that sustains it, all are one and only one. Everything is Divine, the Brahman.
I was first exposed to Sankaracharya , thru Dave Stringer’s beautiful voice. When I listened Nirvanashatakam during a Kirtan, I didn’t understand any of the words but he song touched me so deeply. It was the most inspiring song I’ve ever listened. I think sometimes even the vibration of words are enough to move you even though you don’t understand meaning. After the Kirtan when I read the lyrics, I couldn’t believe how simple yet profound this poem was. Then I started studying Vedanta texts by writings of Swami Dayananda, Swami Tadatmananda, Rasmesh Balsekar.
Here I’d like to share my favorite Adi Shankara poem, Nirvanashatakam.
i am not mind, intellect, ego or memory;
Not ears or tongues, or smell or sight; not ether, air, fire, water or earth.
i am not virtue or vice; pleasure or pain, not mantra, not sacred place,
Scripture or sacrifice; not the food, the eater or the act of eating.
i am beyond all things. i am everlasting, self-luminuos.
taintless, and pure; immovable, blissful and imperishable.
i am without thought, without forms, I am all pervasive, I am beyond all senses;
i am not detachment or salvation or anything that could be measured.
i am consciousness and bliss.
Shankaracharya (788-820 A.D.)
This poem also reflects one of the Vendata techniques, which is negation. The practitioner negates who he/she thinks is until he/she find the true self, the Divine-self.
Here is also my favorite Ramesh Balsekar video. I must admit, it’s little heavy but If you watch this and enjoy it and it resonates with you, probably there is a Jnana yogi in you :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fByNIZWwm4
and I welcome you to the wonderful world of Vedanta!
Raja Yoga
There are so many different ways to classify Yoga philosophy, and one way is to look at the different schools of Yoga. In classical terms, there are 4 paths- Karma Yoga (yoga of action), Bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), Jnana yoga (yoga of wisdom) and Raja yoga (royal yoga).
Raja Yoga is the school of Yoga that we’re most familiar in the West. It’s also called Asthanga Yoga, or 8 limbed path. Thanks to Patanjali, a sage who lived around 100 BC, he compiled the ancient teachings, the Yoga Sutra’s, which are the foundations of Raja Yoga.
Raja Yoga provides practitioners a comprehensive, step by step approach to purify body and mind to achieve liberation.
The eight limbs of Raja yoga are:
• Yama – things that we should restraint
• Niyama – things that we should cultivate
• Asana – practice of yoga postures
• Pranayama – breathwork to bridge the body and mind
• Pratyahara – withdrawal of senses
• Dharana – concentration of mind
• Dhyana – meditation
• Samadhi – the state to realize true self, blissful and consciousness
Having such a clear path helped to satisfy my analytical mind when I first started my yoga practice. Shortly thereafter I realized how these steps are intertwined and in fact should be practiced together to master the mind. In fact it’s a mix and match! You can take one, any one of these steps, and apply it in conjuncture of another, except the last one, Samadhi. Like you can never tell a fruit will be ripened and fall down from the tree, you can’t tell when you will achieve Samadhi. It’s viewed as God’s Grace.
Likewise, the Yama and Niyamas, the moral codes are like threads, if you go deep down in one, you find yourself perfecting another. That’s how Mahatma Gandhi, by practicing Ahimsa, not only worked towards his liberation but liberated a whole country.
Yamas the “Don’t’s”.
Ahimsa, non-violence
Satya, truthfulness
Brahmacharya, moderation or self control.
Asteya, non-stealing
Aparigraha, non-possessiveness
Niyamas – The “Do’s”.
Saucha, purity
Santosha, contentment
Tapas, self-discipline
Swadhyaya, self-study and study of the sacred scriptures
Ishwara Pranidhana surrender to God
Next 10 weeks during my Thursday night gentle yoga class we’ll focus on one Yama and Niyama, each week. We’ll talk these moral codes and go deep down in each one and discuss how to practice these codes on and off the mat.
After all it’s about how we can take these yogic principles off the mat and integrate into our daily lifes.
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