Just for today, do not worry; Just for today, do not anger
|
|  Yüklə 0.98 Mb.
|
In Conclusion In point of fact, there were a number of surprising conclusions that came out of this research study. Prior assumptions regarding the age and sex of the participants were contrary to the reality of current trends in the Reiki practitioner community. It was found that women have enjoyed an important role—historically and currently—with regard to not only giving Reiki treatments, but in promoting and teaching the therapy to other women. Although it is gaining in popularity among men as well, women Reiki practitioners are still more numerous than men. The candidness and honesty of the respondents’ answers was refreshing and very much appreciated by this researcher. The rich details of the subjects’ beliefs and practices related to religion, spirituality and Reiki offered unprecedented insight into the modern Reiki movement and how one’s upbringing does in fact influence one’s current belief system and spiritual practices, either positively or negatively. In the majority of the cases, the participants indicated they did a fair amount of “religion hopping” until they found a belief system which suited their needs; however, they still associated their beliefs with a traditional view of “religion” or sense of being “religious,” being more comfortable labeling themselves as such. This was an interesting outcome of this study—how the participants chose to label their spirituality. Most felt comfortable to indicate readily that they considered themselves to be “spiritual,” but then contradicted this assertion when asked to select more definitively between the terms “spiritual” and “religious.” It is quite evident, as well, that purity of motive factors into a Reiki practitioner’s decision to pursue Reiki as a student; then to offer it as a practitioner to clients; and then to offer it as a teacher to other aspiring Reiki practitioners. Most significantly, as a practitioner of Reiki, the majority of the subjects indicated that their motivation was based upon the need to assist or serve their fellow human beings. This data was extrapolated from the open-ended portion of the survey where the respondents made these assertions without any prompting or selection of appropriate responses. The attitude of “service to others” is espoused in all organized religions and spiritual traditions, but is rarely realized to the extent it is within the Reiki community. Offering Reiki healing to others is a tangible and clear way to gauge such altruism. It is not known, however, how many of the participants actually charged a fee for their Reiki treatments, which would certainly cancel out any purely altruistic tendencies since there would be an element of “self-gain” involved in these instances. Reiki practitioners, however, are quick to point out and make it abundantly clear that the client who receives a treatment is not offering a donation, paying a fee, or making some other type of monetary exchange for the “healing,” per se, but only for the time of the practitioner who is offering it. In this sense, just like medical doctors, therapists, or any other healthcare professional who charges for their services, Reiki practitioners do have an investment of time in giving a treatment, which makes it reasonable to expect some type of compensation, whether that be cash, a gift, or a bartering of goods. From the beginning of Reiki, as outlined in this paper, it is an inherent conviction that some type of exchange is needed between the Reiki practitioner and client to ensure that the client will be personally invested—and in the end, responsible—for his/her own healing. In today’s society, an exchange of currency is the most common and easy way to achieve this. The study did have a variety of limitations. Perhaps a larger sampling of subjects would have been preferable in order to get a more concrete idea of how religion and spirituality affects a practitioner’s attitude and practice of Reiki. Also, clearer definitions of the terms “religion,” “religious,” “spirituality,” and “spiritual” might have proven more useful in ascertaining more definitively how the respondents (as individuals) define these somewhat abstract and potentially confusing notions. It would have been interesting to know, as well, how many of the Reiki practitioners charged for their treatments; and how much was charged per treatment; and how many practitioners simply offered Reiki healing with no expectation of an “exchange” of goods or money. In the end, however, this study offers new research and data about modern Reiki and its practitioners which have not been sought prior to the writing of this paper. It is hoped that future researchers will be able to uncover more in-depth data through research studies on Reiki practitioners themselves; the religious and spiritual attitudes, practices and beliefs of Reiki healers; and how these are utilized in conjunction with their work with the Reiki energy in healing clients. Even though the research for this study showed that today the majority of Reiki practitioners may follow a less rigid belief system than that which they may have experienced as children and young adults, it is clear that the high level of spirituality present in their belief and practice of Reiki is indisputable. Hence, repeatedly it was emphasized that one’s spirituality is not necessarily rooted in what one says, but is better gauged by what one does. Actions do speak louder than words.
Church, Connie. (1987) Crystal Clear: How to Use the Earth’s Magic Energy to Vitalize your Body, Mind, and Spirit. New York: Villard Books. Haberly, Helen J. (1990) Reiki: Hawayo Takata’s Story. Olney, Maryland: Archedigm Publications. Honervogt, Tanmaya [a]. (1998) The Power of Reiki: An Ancient Hands-On Healing Technique. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Honervogt, Tanmaya [b]. (2001) Inner Reiki: A Practical Guide for Healing and Meditations. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Horan, Paula. (1995) Abundance through Reiki: Universal Life Force Energy—As Expression Of The Truth That You Are—The 42-Day Program to Absolute Fulfillment. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Light-Shangri-la Publications. Jack, Alex (Ed.) (1990) The New Age Dictionary. New York: Japan Publications (first published in 1976 by Kanthaka Press). Jarrell, David G. (1996) Reiki Plus Natural Healing: A Spiritual Guide to Reiki. Celina, Tennessee: Reiki Plus Institute (4th edition) Langley, Myrtle. (1981) A Book of Beliefs: Religions—Ethnic Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Confucianism, Jainism, Sikhism, Parsism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Herts, England: Lion Publishing. McKenzie, Eleanor. (1998) Healing Reiki: Reunite Mind, Body and Spirit with Haling Energy. Berkley, CA: Ulysses Press. Milner, Kathleen. (1995) Reiki & Other Rays of Touch Healing. Scottsdale, Arizona: Healing Arts Series. Mitchell, Karyn K. (1994) Reiki: A Torch in Daylight. St. Charles, IL: Mind Rivers Publications. Mitchell, Karyn K. (1996) Reiki: Beyond the Usui System. Oregon, IL: Mind Rivers Publications. Müller, Brigitte and Horst H. Günther (1995) A Complete Book of Reiki Healing. Mendocino, CA: Life Rhythm Publications. Petter, Frank Arjava and Mikao Usui. (1999) The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Light Press-Shangri-La. Petter, Frank Arjava [a]. (1997) Reiki Fire: New Information about the Origins of the Reiki Power—A Complete Manual. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Light Press-Shangri-La. Petter, Frank Arjava [b]. (1999) Reiki: The Legacy of Dr. Usui—Rediscovered Documents on the Origins and Developments of the Reiki System as well as New Aspects of the Reiki Energy. Twin Lakes, Wisconsin: Lotus Light Press-Shangri-La. Rand, William Lee (1994) The Reiki Class: First and Second Degree. Southfield, Michigan: Vision Publications (audio cassette and booklet). Roman, Sanaya and Duane Packer. (1987) Opening to Channel: How to Connect with Your Guide. Tiburon, CA: H J Kramer, Inc. Stein, Diane. (1995) Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, Inc. Vennells, David F. (1999) Beginner’s Guide to Reiki: Mastering the Healing Touch. New York: Barnes and Noble Books (first published by Llewellyn Worldwide Publishing as Reiki for Beginners). Vipassana Research Institute. “Vipassana Meditation as Taught by S. N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin.” <http://www.dhamma.org>, retrieved on February 3, 2007 Wauters, Ambika. (2002) The Book of Chakras. London, England: New Burlington Books (Quarto Publishing). Whitaker, Hazel and Blanche, Cynthia. (1999) Guardian Angels: Discover the World of Angels and How to Communicate with your Guardian Angel. Sydney, Australia: Lansdowne Publishing. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (n.d.) “Gangaji.” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangaji> retrieved February 3, 2007. This paper was presented at the annual meeting for the Association for the Scientific Study of Religion (ASSR) on March 3, 2007 in Dallas, Texas. This paper was published in the official proceedings for the ASSR conference in March 2007. Appendix A Dear Reiki Practitioner: I am conducting a study on the relationship between "spirituality" of Reiki practitioners and how it relates to the Reiki treatments given to clients. Thank you for your assistance with this study and survey. By completing this anonymous survey, you are granting me permission to analyze and present your answers and comments in an academic paper and lecture to be published and given in March 2007 at the annual conference for the Association for the Scientific Study of Religion (ASSR) in Dallas, Texas. Thank you for your time and assistance with this survey. Todd Jay Leonard Associate Professor Faculty of Liberal Arts Hirosaki Gakuin University 13-1 Minori-cho Hirosaki-shi, Aomori-ken 036-8577 JAPAN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Demographic Data: Sex: Male ____ Female ____ Age: _____ Nationality: __________________________ Please mark all that apply: Reiki Training: Level 1 _____ Level 2_____ Level 3a (pre-Master) ____ Level 3b (Master Attunement) ____ Were you attuned by a Reiki Master? Yes No If yes, where? __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
[*"Religious" meaning you regularly attend a mainstream church and/or subscribe and follow a set dogma affiliated with an organized religion.] Please circle (or Check) the most appropriate response to the following statements. -I consider myself to be a religious person. Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree -I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious. Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree "I would describe my religious upbringing and/or spiritual life until now as…" : [e.g. "I was raised Methodist, attending church regularly, but converted to Catholicism in college. Later, I went through a phase of being agnostic, but had a personal awakening when I was 25 and currently adhere to a more all encompassing type of spirituality that is in line more with a New Age belief system than an organized religion-based one.] ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Reiki Treatment Before offering a client a Reiki Treatment… 1. Do you have a personal ritual you perform regularly? Please explain. [e.g. setting/clearing the space energetically, placing Reiki symbols, meditation, aura cleansing, charka alignment, bringing in your Reiki Guides or other notable Reiki personages, etc.] ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Do you consult with your Reiki client about the treatment he/she will receive? Please explain. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Do you offer a prayer/intention/devotion/invocation, etc before beginning the
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. In your Reiki treatments, do you solely offer the client Reiki energy or do you supplement the treatment with other techniques or tools? Please explain. [e.g. crystals, dowsing, color therapies, chakra alignment, etc.] ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ How often do you give treatments to clients in a month? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ How frequently do you give yourself a Reiki treatment? daily _____ weekly _____ monthly _____ never _____ other _____________________ Please explain what role your religion/spirituality/belief system plays in your capacity as a Reiki practitioner and adherent of Reiki energy as a healing technique: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Please mail to the address above, or email to: tleonard@infoaomori.ne.jp About the Author: Todd Jay Leonard is a professor at Hirosaki Gakuin University, Japan, where he teaches history, comparative culture, and cross-cultural studies. He is the author of 15 books—on topics ranging from American religious history, cross-cultural understanding, English as a Foreign Language, and spirituality. 1 The title “doctor” is often afforded to Mikao Usui—not through higher academic learning—but through his healing work. (Petter [a], 18) The Japanese honorific title “sensei” (meaning “teacher”) is also used in conjunction with the surnames of the prominent figures in Reiki’s long and colorful history. To view Dr. Usui’s photo, see Figure 1. 2 To view the Shinto shrine located on top of Mount Kuramayama, see Figure 2. 3This is the justification today for some Reiki Master-Teachers charging a tremendous amount of money to attune practitioners to the Level of “Master-Teacher.” 4To view Hayashi-sensei’s photo, see Figure 3. 5 To view Takata-sensei’s photo, see Figure 4. 6 Diane Stein, a Reiki Master-Teacher, caused a huge furor among the Reiki community when she published a book, Essential Reiki, wherein she revealed the attunement process and secret symbols used to attune practitioners. In the foreword to her book, Ms. Stein says: “In this time of change and crisis for people and the planet, healing is too desperately needed for it to be kept secret or exclusive any longer. Always have respect for the sacredness of the information that follows… (Stein, 1994 ) 7 See Appendix A. 8 In addition to the Usui Shiki Ryoho School of Reiki, a number of subjects also listed other energy therapies they used in cooperation with the traditional form of Reiki: Karuna Reiki, Kundalini Reiki, Lightarian Reiki, Siddheartha Reiki, Reiki Jin Kei Do, etc. Purists who subscribe to the traditional form of Usui-based Reiki view “other” Reiki traditions, which were primarily created using the Usui Method of Reiki Healing as a prototype, as less effective. Adherents to these alternative Reiki therapies insist that the energy channeled using these other methods is as powerful and effective (and sometimes more so) than the traditional Usui Method of Reiki. 9 When Mrs. Takata first asked if she could learn Reiki, she was told: “Reiki is a closely guarded Japanese treasure. It is for Japanese people only and you are an American. I think it is quite out of the question.” (Brown, 26) Being American, she was relentless in her pursuit and finally was afforded the opportunity to study Reiki. 10 In recent research conducted by Frank Arjava Petter, no records in Japan can be found to suggest there was originally a custom of having a “Grand Master” who carried on the Reiki ideals as a de facto leader. This might have been something that Hayashi created, perhaps along with Takata, in order to keep some type of control or regulatory oversight on the rapidly expanding Reiki movement. (Petter [b], 40) 11 Mrs. Takata attuned 22 people to the level of “Master-Teacher”: George Araki, Dorothy Baba, Ursula Baylow, Rick Bockner, Patricia Bowling, Barbara Brown, Fran Brown, Phyllis Furumoto [Takata’s granddaughter and next Grand Master after Takata], Beth Gray, John Gray, Iris Ishikuro, Harru Kuboi, Ethel Lombardi, Barabara Mc Cullough, Mary McFadyen, Paul Mitchell, Bethel Phaigh, Shinobu Saito, Virginia Samdahl, Wanja Twan, Barbara Weber Ray, and Kay Yamashita (Brown, 99) 12 Strictly speaking, perhaps, the Reiki Principles written by Mikao Usui, which head this paper under the main title, could be categorized as “dogma.” However, generally a dogma is defined as a more extensive set of beliefs or doctrine that incorporates a body of material into a specific belief system. The Reiki Principles are basically a guide to right living, which is based more on common sense than on a belief system. 13 “Catherine Ponder is considered one of America's foremost inspirational authors. She has written more than a dozen books, which include such bestsellers as her Millionaires of the Bible series. She is a minister of the non- denominational Unity faith—long known as the "pioneer of positive thinking"—and has been described by some as ‘the Norman Vincent Peale among lady ministers.’ She has served in Unity Churches since 1956, and heads a global ministry in Palm Desert, California.” (http://catherineponder.wwwhubs.com, retrieved February 2, 2007) 14 New Thought churches teach that “thought” is central to one’s place in the universe; through meditation, prayer, affirmations, positive intentions and thinking, adherents can create their own destinies through conscious thought because it is constantly evolving and unfolding. Unity Churches are a part of this movement. 15 Silent Unity is affiliated with the Unity of Churches network. It consists of a 24-hour, 7-day a week prayer request line. 16 The Spirit Unfold Network offers classes that promote the idea of self-enrichment and help through positive thinking and intention, similar to the Unity Church teachings. 17 Bhagavan Sri Sathya “Sai Baba” a guru from southern India, heads an ashram where devotees go by the millions to see him perform miracles and to listen to his messages. He is well-known for materializing vibhuti, sacred ash, from the palms of his hands which adherents use for healing purposes. 18 The (!) was the subject’s emphasis, not mine. 19 The Tibetan Mahayana tradition is one of two major Buddhist Schools which evolved after Buddha’s death; the other being Theravada. 20 “Gangaji, born Merle Antoinette (‘Toni’) Roberson in Texas in 1942, is an American teacher or guru who regularly gives Satsangs [sitting in the company an enlightened guru to receive knowledge through lectures, meditation, and discussion] around the globe. She is said to have attained self-realization in 1990 after an encounter with Poonjaji, a disciple of [Sri] Ramana Maharshi, who sent her back to the West to teach. In 1990, her second husband, Eli Jaxon-Bear, traveled to Lucknow, India to meet Sri H.W.L. Poonja, or "Papaji," on the advice of a friend. Six weeks later, after receiving a letter from her husband, Toni left to join him and meet with Papaji. In this encounter, she says, the fulfillment she had sought was revealed to her. Papaji gave her the name "Gangaji," after the river Ganga (Ganges), and sent her back to America to teach. Gangaji has described contracting an illness and high fever while in India, which preceded her experience of realization.’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangaji, retrieved February 3, 2007) 21 Orin and DaBen are entities channeled by Duane Packer. The book Opening to Channel details messages received through Duane Packer from Orin and DaBen, who offer guidance and advice about channeling spirit. 22 Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is an ancient meditation technique from India which is more than 2,500 years old. (http://www.dhamma.org, retrieved on February 3, 2007) 23 Spiritualism is an American-made religion that is centered on mediums that make contact with those who have passed over to the other side. The main focus of Spiritualism is the demonstration of the continuity of the spirit after the physical death through messages given in church services, in private readings, and in séances. 24 An “out of body” experience is an “awareness of the astral body detaching from the physical body, either voluntarily or involuntarily, awake or dreaming.” ( Jack, 145) 25 A Reiki Share is the practice of exchanging Reiki energy with other practitioners; each person receives a Reiki treatment, as well as assists in giving treatments. Often, several tables will be set up and each person receives a 15-20 minute treatment. Many practitioners may be working on one person at a time. |