Just for Today — Do Not Anger

We are looking at the second Reiki principle, which is an antidote for an emotion that threatens to rob us of peace, as an individual, as a community and yes as a world. This principle says “just for today, do not anger.”

We are going to look at what anger really is and what it does to us physically and spiritually. Finally, we will look at a simple technique to release anger.

But before we examine the principle, I was to remind you of something very basic that we must remember. All five principles begin with the phrase “just for today.” They each deal with the concept of NOWNESS — the here-now. You see this is when change is made, new realities are created, as you are conscious in the present moment — always mindful of your thoughts and actions — here-now.

Just for today — do not anger.

This does not mean do not be angry but actually something radically different.

What is Anger?

Anger is an attachment, a demand that we, others or world conditions not be as they “are” but as our wants, desires and conditioning think that they need or “should be.”

You see, your focus determines your reality; where your awareness is, there you are.

When we look at situation, we see that our anger can often be triggered by some minor incident — the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.” Often the incident that causes us to explode is not directly relate to the deeper source and real reason for our anger. For example, someone comes along and while having a cup of coffee or tea, drops and breaks the cup. And we react by exploding. All the while, the real reason for our anger is that our partner or spouse is not giving us the attention we feel we desire or have been conditioned to believe that we need. They are not acting as you feel they should.

Often, as we hold on to our wants and desires, we tend to begin to react in ways that cause us to harm others. And in this way, we move from being the master of our own destiny to actually being enslaved by others as they cause and trigger reactions in us.

We must not allow ourselves to fuel anger or even to try and smother or bury it. The goal is to learn to be a master as we convert and transform anger and worry into hope and peace. Changing the negative energies into positive forces in and yes, through our lives.

We begin to do this as we learn to take responsibility and learn to respond and act in more healthy ways. Taking care of volatile situations is necessary; responding to them in anger is not.

To React or To Act? That Is The Question

We need to allow ourselves to learn ways to act while not producing, carrying or throwing destructive energy all around. We do this as we learn to live and act from our true spiritual center of love instead of reacting from our minds, emotions or bodies.

When we react, we allow others to dictate or control our actions and emotions. And like with most reactions, the result is disastrous and explosive. But when we act from our center we consciously decide ourselves and keep power for ourselves instead of giving it away to others.

We need to look deep within each instance where anger rears its ugly head and take responsibility for our reaction. We also need to look consciously and honestly to see if we can uncover the real reason that we reacted as we did.

When dealing with anger, remember the following things:

Anger is built into our systems as human beings. It is a pressure valve, releasing negative energy.

It is not the expression of anger, but how it is expressed that causes you concern. Do you act? Or do you react?

Anger is a positive emotion because it helps you to get rid of something you don’t want and live a harmonious life.

Dealing With Anger

So how should you deal with your anger?

Well one technique is found in the following story from the life of Russian mystic Gurdjieff. His father, when he was dying, told him a secret about life, not really expecting the boy to understand. He whispered in his ear, “whenever you are angry because of someone else, wait for twenty-four hours before you act. If you still feel angry go to the person and tell them what you need to say.”

Later as an adult, he followed his father’s advice and realized that typically, when he felt angry, his anger disappeared within a few hours. Then after twenty-four hours he was able to see the other person’s point of view and sometimes even felt that the person was right. If he still thought the person was wrong after twenty-four hours, he went and talked with them.

Well, just for today — do not anger. Maybe you need to just stop and count to 10 before you act. Or maybe you need to wait twenty-four hours and see how you feel. Hopefully you will take this principle to heart and find that your life is not like a nuclear reactor just waiting to explode but that you are continuing on along the path to health and wholeness as you continue on this journey of life.

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Spiritual Striptease – Undressing Our Beliefs!!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if God or Jesus would do a striptease? What would it look like if they took off everything that was not necessary to their existence? Or maybe the better question would be, what would it look like if we stripped down all of our beliefs about God and Jesus and got back to the bare necessities of belief? How would that make our lives better? Can we get back to the simple message of a teacher who lived 2000 years ago? I have to answer yes to this question.

Together, we are going to take a look at Christ’s simple message. This message has been complicated by 2000 years of additions by religious authorities. We are going to see if we can reclaim this simple intelligent message that Jesus presented. And as we do, we will take a look and see where we have covered it all over with human invented doctrines like a heavy robe here, a blanket there.

We find this to be true when we look at our beliefs about God, Jesus, humanity, heaven and even the Church.

Undressing Our Beliefs

So let’s begin our search for simplicity by looking at some of our current beliefs about each of these items. Since I come from a Christian background, my thought will start with this point of reference.

God

For too long, God has been imaged as just an old man with white hair and beard who is separate from creation and always ready to judge us when we stray.

Jesus

Jesus has been imaged as God’s only Son who died for us.

Humanity

Humanity resides under a curse from God, even though we are created in God’s image. We are sinners and deserve God’s punishment.

Heaven

Heaven is where we all intend to go when we die, that is if we are good. If not, well, it’s just hell waiting. We will either be rewarded or punished.

Church

And the Church, well it’s a hospital for all those people who are sick in sin. It is cluttered with rituals, creeds and liturgies.

American Conventional Religious Wisdom

All of these ideas are part of the “American conventional religious wisdom.” By this I mean “the central messages that we get from simply growing up in our culture.

On the surface these all sounds good but when you cut into them — revealing the naked truth about them — they are rotten to the core. They won’t offer much in the way of satisfaction or nourishment or direction as you continue this journey of faith.

I hope that together we can look at these five major topics — God, Jesus, Humanity, Heaven and the Church — and begin to reconnect with the naked truth Jesus came to teach us and we will find that we move beyond a dogmatic religion to a more authentic and contemporary relationship and faith where we will meet the God we never knew.

I encourage you to also look at your spiritual journey.

Where did you begin and where are you how?

How have your beliefs grown and changed and what has remained the same? Please feel free to share your thought and comments and insights with us as we journey together, seeking on purpose! And while your here, check out some of the book below by a great author, Eric Butterworth. Blessings and namaste!!!

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Reiki says, “Don’t Worry. Be Happy!!!”

Lately we have been hearing a lot about 2012. Many people associate this with the eschaton — the Second Coming as it is more popularly known. They see this as a very dire picture — and so it is portrayed in many writings. All of this is a source that cause most people to experience worry and fear. You never know what might occur — and so you worry.

In the New Testament, we hear the Teacher Paul writing words from a prison cell and telling us “do not worry about anything.”

This is the same message that is found in the first of the Reiki Five Life principles. “Just for today, do no worry.”

So why are we not to worry?

What Actually Is Worry?

Worry is a thought pattern that ultimately results from a feeling of being separated from others and from the universal whole.

We worry that things might go wrong in the future, we worry that things went wrong in the past. And this exercise causes us to shut down instead of opening up, of becoming “less than” instead of expanding into all that we are created to be.

But, you might be wondering, when all of these things being to happen, how can we not worry about anything?

After all, you say, “you don’t know MY circumstance.”

Well, I want to tell you that while I may not know all about whatever you are experiencing, but God does.

The reason that Paul and Jesus, the Reiki Masters and teachers and yes, even I am telling you not to worry is because we understand God and the universe and you — and the connection that exists between God, the universe and you.

Too often, we have the mistaken feeling that the world is out of control — moving along aimlessly and just taking us with it. Neale Donald Walsch, in his book Conversations with God reminds us that “our life is the product of our own creation.”

We truly are the masters of our own destiny.

If this is true, then what in the world do we have to be worried about?

Create A New Reality

If things in your life are not going the way you desire, then create a new result. But unfortunately, too often we seem to like playing the role of the victim — someone or something or some God has done this (whatever this is) to me. Poor pitiful me! And so, I am surely not responsible for anything bad or good that happens in my life.

But I must say to that line of reasoning, “you are so mistaken if you accept that. For you have been given the tools from God to create a new reality if the one you are experiencing is less than desirable.”

The Tool Of Remembering

One of the most powerful tools is that of remembering. This is part of the greatest work your soul can engage in.

The first thing we need to remember is that the universe is already set up to help you — to work for your highest good.

Paul, in a sense, says this in a little different fashion when he tells us in his writing to the Philippians to let our minds ponder or remember whatever is true. Not what might be or was true – what is true, whatever is honorable, is just, is pure, is pleasing, is commendable, is excellent and worthy of praise. He says that these are the things we should think about.

And so my friends, if there are experiences from the past that you regret then maybe it’d time that you examine the experience and seek to remember the lesson that it holds and learn it — and then MOVE ON!

Worrying about the future is futile since it is always an unknown — it is always fresh and new, exciting, unpredictable and adventurous. Trust yourself, trust life, knowing that God and life love you and that nothing can separate you from that love. Therefore, it is futile to worry about the future.

Remember, just for today, do not worry because worrying never helps any issue or situation. Drop it like and old bad habit.

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Reiki Life Principles – Tools For Spiritual Growth

I first became fascinated with Reiki as a healing practice but as I studied, I soon found that the principles taught in Reiki were actually tools for spiritual growth and development. These principles or precepts were handed down from the teachings of Mikao Usui, the founder of modern Reiki.

What Are The Five Reiki Principles?

The five principles on which Reiki is founded are as follow:

1. Just for today, do no worry.

2. Just for today, do no anger.

3. Just for today, be filled with gratitude.

4. Just for today, be devoted to your work.

5. Just for today, be kind to every living thing.

If you search for Reiki principles, you might find them stated in other forms, but these are the words I use. And I use them in the way that Usui instructed his students. He said that each morning and evening, one should fold their hands in the Gassho position, in the prayer position, and then to repeat the principles quietly and allow them to sink into one’s heart and mind and from there to guide one’s life. I attempt to follow this practice daily in my own life and I encourage you to also.

Just For Today

Each principle begins with the phrase “just for today.” In many ways, this is the most important part of the statements.

Too often, our lives are lives like a seesaw. We fret and feel guilt over the past or our minds are projecting into the future and we find ourselves filled with worry and concern. We spend time wondering “what-if?”

All the while, the wonderful gift that is the present is left unopened. Just for today calls us back to this present moment and offers us the opportunity to make each experience one of joy and delight.

So, just for today take some time to be with yourself. Be conscious of your senses. Or spend some quality conscious time with a loved one or being out in nature. Be present to the experience. Breathe!

Each morning and evening, take time to be conscious and aware and remember you only have to do it just for today.

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Chakras – An Overview

I talked about chakras and energy centers in my post: Energy Cleansing in 30 Minutes A Day. Each of us is a being of light and energy. This is our essential nature. This energy flows through our being and is concentrated in seven centers or chakras that seem to follow the spinal column and are located near various glands in the body.

So What Are Chakras?

I am going to begin a series of posts about the chakras. One post a month will deal with each of the seven chakras in order.

The word chakra is Sanskrit and means “wheel.” Clairvoyants say that the chakras resemble spinning wheels or fans.

Each center seems to be associated with the issues of life.

The Lower Three Chakras, Root, Sacral and Solar Plexus

As you move up the body, the lower three chakras, the root chakra, the sacral chakra and the solar plexus chakra, deal with issues of the material world such as money and success, power and relationships.

The Upper Three Chakras, Throat, Third Eye and Crown Chakra

The upper three chakras, the throat chakra, the third eye chakra and the crown chakra, concern the truth,spiritual sight and hearing and our connection with God.

The Heart Chakra

The heart chakra is the middle between the two and is concerned with the energy of love, which holds the material and the spiritual dimensions together and makes the world, both inner and outer go round.

Each of the chakras can become dull and dirty. This usually occurs when you hold thoughts and emotions at are negative such as fear and anger and hatred. This can cause you to feel sluggish and out of balance. You loose touch with your spiritual center.

Cleansing and balancing the chakras can help bring a sense of clarity and balance back into life. And as the chakras are allowed to function more fully, your connection to God and the angels is increased.

In my previous post I mentioned the CD, “