Friday, May 16, 2008

You Are Special


Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Do not set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Do not give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love; The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.

Do not dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Monday, May 12, 2008

What is Reiki?


A Brief Overview

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficialeffect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.

Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.

While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.

While Reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. Dr. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures.

During a meditation several years after developing Reiki, Dr. Usui decided to add the Reiki Ideals to the practice of Reiki. The Ideals came in part from the five prinicples of the Meiji emperor of Japan whom Dr. Usui admired. The Ideals were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui Reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the Reiki healing experience. In order for the Reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for her or his healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of Reiki is more than the use of the Reiki energy. It must also include an active commitment to improve oneself in order for it to be a complete system. The ideals are both guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value.

The secret art of inviting happiness
The miraculous medicine of all diseases
Just for today, do not anger
Do not worry and be filled with gratitude
Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people.
Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer.
Pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth
Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind
The founder , Usui Mikao

How Does Reiki Work?

We are alive because life force is flowing through us. Life force flows within the physical body though pathways called chakras, meridians and nadis. It also flows around us in a field of energy called the aura. Life force nourishes the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body.

The life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted when we accept, either consciously or unconsciously, negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body.

Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way.

Do All Healers Use Reiki?

All healers use life force or Ki, but not all use Reiki. Reiki is a special kind of life force that can only be channeled by someone that has been attuned to it. It is possible that some people are born with Reiki or have gotten it some other way. However, most healers who have not received the Reiki attunement from a Reiki Master are not using Reiki but another kind of life force. People who already do healing work consistently report an increase of at least fifty percent in the strength of their healing energies after taking the Reiki training.

This was verified for me when I first began teaching Reiki. There were two clairvoyant healers I knew who had highly developed abilities. They could easily see the life force flowing through a person's body, as well as see the aura and chakras. They could also communicate with a person's guides and Higher Self. They were adept at moving negative psychic energy out of the body as well as channeling healing energies. In my twenty years of metaphysical work, they were the most accurate and effective psychic healers I had met.

They told me later they had doubted there was anything I was teaching they couldn't already do, but that they took the Reiki training anyway, simply to support me in my new work. After the attunement, they were amazed at the difference they could feel between the healing energies they had been using and Reiki. They said the Reiki energies were more powerful and of a much higher frequency. They noted also that Reiki didn't have to be guided like the other healing energies they were using, and that the Reiki energies began flowing without having to enter an altered state. They also indicated the attunement process itself was a powerful healing experience, releasing restrictions relating to their healing work they had unknowingly acquired when they were healers in past lives. They were very pleased they had taken the class.

Reiki Can Never Cause Harm

Because Reiki is guided by the God-consciousness, it can never do harm. It always knows what a person needs and will adjust itself to create the effect that is appropriate for them. One never need worry about whether to give Reiki or not. It is always helpful.
In addition, because the practitioner does not direct the healing and does not decide what to work on, or what to heal, the practitioner is not in danger of taking on the karma of the client. Because the practitioner is not doing the healing, it is also much easier for the ego to stay out of the way and allow the presence of God to clearly shine through.

Energy is Never Depleted

Because it is a channeled healing, the Reiki practitioner's energies are never depleted. In fact, the Reiki consciousness considers both practitioner and client to be in need of healing, so both receive treatment. Because of this, giving a treatment always increases one's energy and leaves one surrounded with loving feelings of well-being.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

I've Learned

These are some beautiful words that I found recently and wanted to share with you. They tell us so much about ourselves and how we can be better each day. Reach out and touch somebody today, Tell them that you love them and that you value them as a person and all that you have shared together.

Be yourself and let them know that you are there for them no matter what has happened in your lives. Be - See - And Do.

I've Learned

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone that can be loved. The rest is up to them.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.

I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.

I've learned that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you'd better know something.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do.

I've learned that you can do some thing in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done regardless of the consequences.

I've learned that money is a lousy way to keep score.

I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned that the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to pick you back up.

I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I've learned that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish. Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they believed it.

I've learned that no matter good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Footprints Through Life

I am so grateful for the people in my life - who have become my freinds and share many experiences, some exciting, others challenging. Even when everything seems hopeless, there is alway the One who sees us through the challenges. The following words touch my heart and gives us hope, knowing that we are not alone. Enjoy !!

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two

ets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.


This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."


The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Feelings and Relationships


Relationships and feelings have always been important to me -- especially with family and friends. The essence of a relationship consists of being open -- enlightened -- with another person who enhances you and allows you to grow and develop. The way that I approach any relationship is how can I enrich the other person by giving from my soul and sharing my thoughts and feelings with them. We must remember that we cannot live our lives through another individual be it friends, lifemates, or children. It is only when we are whole and full of love and forgiveness that we can enter fully into a relationship. This reminds me of a song by Pete Seager that says:

"We are the boat
We are the sea
I sail in you
You sail in me"

What ones needs in a relationship with yourself or with another individual is a sense of connection, knowledge of your inner essence that makes you come alive. One should feel centered so that communication with others becomes like the flow of a mountain stream that sings in the early morning sunlight. We become centered in a relationship when we exchange energy that aligns body, mind, and spirit into balance. For a relationship to become centered with a spirituality of oneness flowing between the partners, we need to become centered as individuals so that we love who we are and have a commitment to personal growth. It is only then that we can have a centered relationship that is devoid of control and manipulation. And as many people have said, relationships take time and commitment to one another and those around you.

Being centered within a relationship does not depend on the other person. Rather it is a quality of wholeness that we bring to that person. You are appreciating them from your inner soul and your heart. You are aware of yourself, the essence of the other person and the immense universe of possibilities around you. And, in many ways a long term relationship gives us an opportunity to learn important lessons and to grow the world around us. We are in a relationship for the opportunity of discovering and creating who we really are, as well as giving and supporting the other partner's goal of discovery and understanding who they are. A centered relationship should have no conditions or expectations that hinder each person's role to live life to its fullest. In such a relationship each one will be a true loving friend who will always be there.

My feelings are deep and true, for all the people around me. I have been taught to give from the heart. I care deeply about the feeling of others and try to give them a gentle push to grow and understand themselves a little better.

And, I leave you with these thoughts:

"If there were just one gift that I could give you,
I would stand as a mirror to your life,
and you would see the way you've grown,
and see the way that you shine,
and see all the love that's in your eyes."

- Ellen Stapenhorst -

Monday, April 7, 2008

Everything Happens for a Reason


Sometimes people come into your life for a reason and you know right away that they are meant to be here.

They have arrived to serve a special purpose, teach you a lesson, and to help you figure out who you are or want to become. You never know who these people might be but when you first see them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in a profound way.
And sometimes things may happen to you that may seem at first horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming these obstacles, you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or faith.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance, there is a destiny to be served by it all. Any Illness, love, or lost moments occur to grow your soul.

Without these obstacles, your life would be like a smoothly flat road to going nowhere -- safe and comfortable -- But, dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life in so may ways. The successes and setbacks that you will experience creates whom you are, and the bad experiences are there for a reason, to learn from and to make a difference.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they are here for you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you give your heart.
If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but so that they can teach you to love with an open heart, and show you the little things that matter. Make every moment and day count.

Appreciate everything that you can, for you may never experience it again.
Talk to people with whom you have never talked to before, and actually listen to them. Let yourself fall in love and live the special life that was meant for only you.

Remember that you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own world filled with love and live it to the fullest.

David Patterson - April 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Seeing From Your Soul

Seeing From Your Soul -

Every so often someone comes into your life that will change you forever. It is like you have known them all your life, yet you just met them. What is going on ? They touch your soul and make you feel warm and happy. They accept you for everything you are, for all those good qualities, as well as those for which you're ashamed.

They are like an angel that seem to understand us and are so very rare. I met someone like that recently, and she touched my soul. She means the world to me -- like a butterfly and the following poem describes her:

Butterfly

Young, beautiful and delicate
With so much mystery

She flutters, flies and plays

Coming with her more love
Than she ever dreamed of

Like a rainbow, she colors
everyone she touches

If only one knew that
her true beauty comes from within

She will not stay long
So enjoy her while you can

For once she spreads her wing and flies away
She will leave only a precious memory

Nicole Hutchins - Copyright (c) June 2005