My first question: on god and healing

I reviewed this and think it is still acceptable to the rules, but I don't know.

My first question: Why is the online healing community so overrun by people who believe in god? It is as if some religions joined in unity to dominate the field.
I suppose for this site being that it is for learning about reiki, the question should be phrased as, Why is reiki so dominated by people who believe in god?

Of course, it occurs to me that the phenomena is not just online, the entire healing community seems to have been taken over by religious people to beat out anyone who might heal not in the name of god. It is very reminiscent of the dark ages and other times when demonic religion ruled the land and all healing, miracles, and prophecies had to be in the name of god--it is a scary movement.

And for reiki I find it even more surprising, because Japan is not a God worshiping culture. Could it be because reiki was introduced in the west through church based business networking? Anybody have an idea what caused the change?

Does anyone on this site have a problem with healing not under the hospices of god?
[Now I have to get busy, so I'll be gone for awhile, unless another stoppage in the work bumps along. But please, try to discuss this.]

Swarm wrote:I reviewed this and think it is still acceptable to the rules, but I don't know.

My first question: Why is the online healing community so overrun by people who believe in god? It is as if some religions joined in unity to dominate the field.
I suppose for this site being that it is for learning about reiki, the question should be phrased as, Why is reiki so dominated by people who believe in god?

Reiki can be viewed as a community of people who find spirituality an important part of life...Overrun?...You might be surprised by the answers given if you asked individuals about their beliefs regarding God/Source/Buddha/Ra...etc. We vary to a great degree in our beliefs. Many of us are not Christians.

When I felt unexplainable things happen to me the first time I experienced Reiki, I began to develope different beliefs. I would guess that some people are only comfortable with spiritual interaction if they believe "god"/"God" is responsible for the effects of Reiki. I personally am ok with not giving God credit for the effects i feel through reiki. That does not mean that I do not believe in "spirit", the word i would rather use when i`m unsure of the "source" of the energies i experience through Reiki.

Swarm wrote:
Of course, it occurs to me that the phenomena is not just online, the entire healing community seems to have been taken over by religious people to beat out anyone who might heal not in the name of god.

In my experience, this is untrue. I met a guy(Pentacostal Christian) the other day who accused me of worshipping fallen angels, because i am involved in reiki. When I spoke of Buddhist dieties, he ran for the hills.

I would say that the most zealous of christians would be inclined to look down on reiki because, in general, the christian God is/has in the past not been represented as a part of the Reiki system.In fact there is no particular deity associated with reiki as far as I know, except through one of the symbols, which arguably points to a particular Buddhist deity.
If you meet people who practice "Christian Reiki" in the "Name of God"...good for them...I hope it works out beautifully...Yet I do not remember any of my masters expounding on the relationship between God and Reiki.

Swarm wrote:
It is very reminiscent of the dark ages and other times when demonic religion ruled the land and all healing, miracles, and prophecies had to be in the name of god--it is a scary movement.

If you want to get out of the "dark ages"...practice Reiki...it`s about enlightenment more than healing.

Reiki is powerful when the practioner is dedicated...
Reiki is getting noticed for being the catalist for amazing change in people...

This seems to attract some with few scruples that want to attach themselves to the Reiki phenomenon for personal gain and quite probably social position.So...they change things in the system....

Swarm wrote:
And for reiki I find it even more surprising, because Japan is not a God worshiping culture. Could it be because reiki was introduced in the west through church based business networking? Anybody have an idea what caused the change?

The spiritual practices of Japan started to change considerably in the early 1900`s
Some practice more than one religion.

Reiki was not introduced to the west by church based networking. Actually the more i write this the more i want to know how someone could misinform you to such a great degree.
It`s great that you have asked for clarification...you came to the right place. Wayne, Colin and a few others know far more about this than I.

Swarm wrote:
Does anyone on this site have a problem with healing not under the hospices of god?
[Now I have to get busy, so I'll be gone for awhile, unless another stoppage in the work bumps along. But please, try to discuss this.]

I have no problem...God...is just a word...those three letters represent nothing other than mans attempt to label something he cannot understand. I mean no disrespect by saying this.I believe in all of them, and none of them, as we are all one...in my opinion.

Here`s the word of the day...Nao hi...look it up on the net sometime...an Omoto Kyo term. Some would say this is another term for God.

When i hear the word "God" i see a magnificent old white guy with a long beard and fire in his eyes...christian conditioning to be sure.

Oh...Swarm...I`m not religious, I`m spiritual....that means i believe in a direct connection to the source energy that gave me life...some call this God...personally i find any word too small to encompass the energies of "source"



Jim

Jim beautifully said!
Swarm, my lovely we heal in the name of light and love "Reiki" connecting to a divine energy of the universe, for the higher good of all souls, and how we each express this is off course individual, as should be, but as we know perception is off course everything! blessingsx

interesting and spicy discussion onboard here

many thanks Swarm for starting this thread... hope the ensuing discussions might be of great help for many people who wish to see deep into the connection, if any, between reiki and God, oh, i missed, and spirituality

the beautiful thing about reiki, as we all know, is that it does not operate as per beliefs, but this is not equal to saying that beliefs don't affect our experience of reiki... if we take the term 'belief' in a more englightened meanings "awareness/perception", then it can be safely said that our perception greatly shapes our reiki experience... this is the reason that someone practicing reiki today would be witnessing/expereincing reiki quite different from the way he experienced it a decade ago.... the more we keep on adding perception/understanding to our reiki practice, the more it gets shaped up for a better/higher experience... leading to one thing, among others, that reiki exprience can be 'shaped up' by our beliefs/perceptions/thoughts... this is what gives reiki a universal acceptance and a global appeal.

it is very much acceptable if someone personally does not believe in God, and on that nexus, if someone does not add the divine/spiritual signature into her reiki practice... reiki will work for her atheist mindset in a perfect way... but if someone wants to add divinity into her definition/conceptualization of reiki, then again there is nothing to frown at, my dear Swarm


it is nothing about which conceptualization is 'best', rather it is about directions of reiki conceptualization, which can be as diverse, as human race could be....


your observation that reiki fora are mostly felt 'over run' by people who believe in God, does not precisely give the impression that reiki is purely god related...since people view reiki as per their own mindsets, their collective views sometimes tend to give the impression you shared, but the truth lies elsewhere...


my personal view is that attaching reiki and divinity is as much a matter of personal freedom and choice, as is the matter of not connecting the two, like you have said... you would perhaps agree that no opinion should prevail over the other...since humanity and tolerance is a virtue and a best cause


take care

Salman

god is just a 3 letter word like Jim said. if i called god, dog, i'm pretty sure god wouldn't mind. to be able to properly look at why folks align Reiki with such concepts it's useful to step outside our own bias...

the creative force that created everything can be called whatever one wants. Even ULE isn't' as big a problem with spiritual religious people. this is cause if folks begin to go down the science route, physics can be used to suppliment the proposition of a god-force. ULE, by it's definition is a dynamic force. According to physics, for something to be in motion, something has to put it in motion. So, if we've got a force that gives life, something should have put that force into motion.

Ask any Reiki person, do they feel they have spirit, soul, or even consciousness. One of the three i'm pretty sure all of us would say we have at least. Yet, each one is just a label for a part, a reflection, of something greater than ourselves.

the creative force doesn't require u to believe in it for it to exist. it existed before we ever came. it doesn't require us to recoqnise it any one way. the creative force made my different from all of you, and all of you different from everyone else. Every leaf, cloud, snowflake, insect, animal, lake, mountain, season, human life, is quite different from another. how come? Cause the creative force likes variety. Obviously. it created it, lol.

It's glaringly obvious then, that Reiki, being an intimate experience of something amazingly spiritual, can be not only described, but believed to operate in so many different ways. However, a leaf is till a leaf, a cloud a cloud....Reiki is till Reiki.

warmest wishes
Wayne

the beautiful thing about reiki, as we all know, is that it does not operate as per beliefs, but this is not equal to saying that beliefs don't affect our experience of reiki... if we take the term 'belief' in a more englightened meanings "awareness/perception", then it can be safely said that our perception greatly shapes our reiki experience... this is the reason that someone practicing reiki today would be witnessing/expereincing reiki quite different from the way he experienced it a decade ago.... the more we keep on adding perception/understanding to our reiki practice, the more it gets shaped up for a better/higher experience... leading to one thing, among others, that reiki exprience can be 'shaped up' by our beliefs/perceptions/thoughts... this is what gives reiki a universal acceptance and a global appeal.

Excellent Buddy!

Regards,

Resko

Actually, Wayne and Jim's posts made me think about something I read recently on an aikido website. I think it is from John Steven's book Aikido : Way of Harmony.

Hito, the Japanese word for human being is composed of hi, the spark of life, that has to, stopped temporarily in this vessel we call our body.

and from an interview on an aikdo website:

the word hito existed in Japan prior to the introduction of Chinese characters. It comes from the classical language of Japanese spirituality, with a specific connection to the word naohi (direct spirit). The syllable hi expressed the spirit of the universe, and when this spirit coalesces into a physical form, you have hito (“spirit-stop”) - a person.

The syllable to meaning stop or stopped. Interestingly the kanji for hito 人 shows two people leaning on each other meaning, in effect, that “people must rely on one another to get along in the world.”

Colin wrote:

The syllable to meaning stop or stopped. Interestingly the kanji for hito 人 shows two people leaning on each other meaning, in effect, that “people must rely on one another to get along in the world.”

I love it. The world can benefit
from a helping Reiki hand!

Colin I feel a song coming on.....
Lean on me.

Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow.
But if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow.
Lean on me, when you're not strong and I'll be your friend.
I'll help you carry on, for it won't be long 'til

I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.

Please swallow your pride, if have things you need to borrow.
For no one can fill those needs that you won't let show.
You just call on me brother when you need a hand.

We all need somebody to lean on.

I just might have a problem that you'll understand.

We all need somebody to lean on.

Lean on me when you't not strong, and I'll be your friend.
I'll help you carry on, for it won't be long 'til

I'm gonna' need somebody to lean on.

You just call on me brother if you need a friend.

We all need somebody to lean on.

I just might have a problem that you'll understand.

We all need somebody to lean on.

If there is a load you have to bear that you can't carry.
I'm right up the road, I'll share your load if you just call me.
Call me ( if you need a friend)

Great answers from all of you:o)

HITO - Love it...

Lisel wrote:Great answers from all of you:o)

HITO - Love it...

Thank you Lisel,the topic challenges
those with different beliefs about
where does healing come from. I have
to say after my self-healing journey,
traditional prayers/novenas where not
my first thoughts about the healing
process, even though I had been brought
up in a devout Catholic family/community.

Hi Folks,


I just thought I would throw this idea out there and see who it sticks to...


When I read about how Nao hi is interpreted, I see a bit of a parallel with the Holy Spirit of the Christian faith...has anyone else ever noticed this?


Jim

Reikijim wrote:

Hi Folks,


I just thought I would throw this idea out there and see who it sticks to...


When I read about how Nao hi is interpreted, I see a bit of a parallel with the Holy Spirit of the Christian faith...has anyone else ever noticed this?


Jim

Hi Jim

Yes, I think there is a LOT of a parallel there!

Not surprising, really, because, Oomoto Kyo, who popularised the term nao hi were, I believe, a Shinto group with Christian influences.

It may also be similar to what the Gnostics believed - that each of us contains a Divine Spark.

...they believed that trapped within some people's bodies were the sparks of divinity or seeds of light that were supplied to humanity by Sophia.


They believe a person attains salvation by learning secret knowledge of their spiritual essence: a divine spark of light or spirit.

Also, from Jewish Wisdom of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, we have:

If you desire, human being, look at the light of God's Presence in everything.

The Kabbalistic "Light Within".

The Zohar itself is written in the form of a commentary on the Bible. The stories of the Bible are not just stories, for within them are buried the secrets of the Universe. Through understanding their inner dimension, we tap into that Infinite Wisdom which G‑d has been waiting for us to discover. And we must thank the Creator for making these stories so unfathomable as to spur us on to keep digging until we find the "light" within.

And in Mystic Islam (Sufi) we have:

We have the form of man, and the light within us is a reflection which radiates from Allah.
- M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen

It is also interesting that the spirit within is usually described as a Great Bright Light!

great synthesis Colin i loved it

Jim, i didnt have interaction with christian buddies except for my initial schooling in a christain/convenant setup...so can't say precisely if nao hi within omto kyo sect has an inclination towards christain, or as a matter of fact, to any other organized religion:?:

the concept of god as someone 'present' or 'present within' somewhere simply makes wonder... Actually god's presence to me personally is something that permeates within everything in universe... Someday wayne talked about aura and said that aura doesnt lie around our bodies, rather it permeates within us.... I wonder how true if we take the whole of universe as one single body and god's presence as permeation within? Save always that unless we give an excuse to our mind that tries to give a shape/title/tag to even those things which it grossly fails to understand, we cannot define a 'shape' for god


take care

Where is God.

Can we find God in the Universe
Can we feel God's energy
Can we talk to God anytime
Can we be friends with God


Is God infinite
Is God invisible
Is God Big or small
Is God part of us


God is in my community
God is beyond my community
God is the sunshine of the earth
God is in our heart pulsating life.
written by Bridget

Nice, Bridget!

chi_solas wrote:Where is God.

thats so lovely Bridget look how simple and how beautiful thoughts about god turn around

perhaps we can feel god in a better way when we are describing him/her instead of 'defining' him/her

if i give a little thought from islamic teachings, holy quran says :

fa iza mariztu fa howa yashfaieen

(when i make myself sick, HE is who gives me healing)

and perhaps reiki, conventional medicine, therapies are the modus operandi of HIS giving the healing.....

If we minus his role from healing process, we cannot reconcile our day to day observations where a medicine proves effective for onepatient and useless for similar such other! Debates aside, there is always an 'invisible' factor in healing, which i find convenient to say God's role in healing..... I perfectly go with Wayne's signature here

take care
salman

Si insightful Bridget!!! Bravo!!!

Lambs-Wool wrote:

chi_solas wrote:Where is God.

thats so lovely Bridget look how simple and how beautiful thoughts about god turn around

perhaps we can feel god in a better way when we are describing him/her instead of 'defining' him/her

if i give a little thought from islamic teachings, holy quran says :

fa iza mariztu fa howa yashfaieen

(when i make myself sick, HE is who gives me healing)

and perhaps reiki, conventional medicine, therapies are the modus operandi of HIS giving the healing.....

If we minus his role from healing process, we cannot reconcile our day to day observations where a medicine proves effective for onepatient and useless for similar such other! Debates aside, there is always an 'invisible' factor in healing, which i find convenient to say God's role in healing..... I perfectly go with Wayne's signature here

take care
salman

I had written a lengthy response
and my computer went into update
mode and I lost it.

What I found during my healing journey was
that the religion that I had disconnnected
with some decades prior to my healing did
not enter into the healing process. During
my healing journey I was going deeper into
a world within myself that I had never
explored. When I became involved in Reiki I
was introduced to it as non-religious. That
was fine with me.

When I had self-healed I realized that I did
find a spirituality that was lacking in my
organized religious experience. After I had
healed I went on to become a Reiki teacher.

picking up on a theme running through the topic, it's both gnostic, and early mainstream 'Chiristian' faith that 'god' was in fact in every person, and all around. in everything, sucbh as a rock, computer, etc. it's alluded to in the book of thomas (i think), 'the kingdom of god is within you, and all around'.

warmest wishes
Wayne

Milarepa wrote:picking up on a theme running through the topic, it's both gnostic, and early mainstream 'Chiristian' faith that 'god' was in fact in every person, and all around. in everything, sucbh as a rock, computer, etc. it's alluded to in the book of thomas (i think), 'the kingdom of god is within you, and all around'.

warmest wishes
Wayne

Yep

77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light which is above them
all. It is I who am the All. From Me did the All come forth, and
unto Me did the All extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am
there. Lift up the stone, and you will find Me there."

-Gospel of Thomas

you gnostic! ya got any bible quotes?!!!

chi_solas wrote:
I had written a lengthy response
and my computer went into update
mode and I lost it.

sometimes computer systems follow their indigenous stream of decision trees to assess whether there is a right time to air something

chi_solas wrote:
What I found during my healing journey was
that the religion that I had disconnnected
with some decades prior to my healing did
not enter into the healing process. During
my healing journey I was going deeper into
a world within myself that I had never
explored. When I became involved in Reiki I
was introduced to it as non-religious. That
was fine with me.

When I had self-healed I realized that I did
find a spirituality that was lacking in my
organized religious experience. After I had
healed I went on to become a Reiki teacher.

thats a maginfied experience Bridget

while religion gives a definition of god, spirituality gives a feeling about god.... i would assume that one practicing a religion without imbuing a spirituality within it, is most of the time beating a hollow drum

ah, generally speaking, it would be wrong to say that non-religious means non-spiritual

take care

salman

Lambs-Wool wrote:

chi_solas wrote:
I had written a lengthy response
and my computer went into update
mode and I lost it.

sometimes computer systems follow their indigenous stream of decision trees to assess whether there is a right time to air something

chi_solas wrote:
What I found during my healing journey was
that the religion that I had disconnected
with some decades prior to my healing did
not enter into the healing process. During
my healing journey I was going deeper into
a world within myself that I had never
explored. When I became involved in Reiki I
was introduced to it as non-religious. That
was fine with me.

When I had self-healed I realized that I did
find a spirituality that was lacking in my
organized religious experience. After I had
healed I went on to become a Reiki teacher.

that's a magnified experience Bridget

while religion gives a definition of god, spirituality gives a feeling about god.... i would assume that one practicing a religion without imbuing a spirituality within it, is most of the time beating a hollow drum

ah, generally speaking, it would be wrong to say that non-religious means non-spiritual

take care

salman

I would say that organized religion
operates on belief. Spiritually for
me was more than a belief. It was
unlearning, relearning and then
implementing and interacting with my
world in a non-judgmental mode.

I'm still working on it.

Wow...

"77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light which is above them
all. It is I who am the All. From Me did the All come forth, and
unto Me did the All extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am
there. Lift up the stone, and you will find Me there."

-Gospel of Thomas"

that is absolutely beautiful...

thanks Colin

Jim