Reiki and Women's Hormones: A Tale of Two Personalities

Ah, hormones. Those tiny chemical messengers that perform a variety of tasks throughout our physical vessel. Ah, hormones. We are angels-in-waiting one moment... the devil in disguise the next. Hence, a tale of two personalities.

I don't know about you but hormones pay homage to the phrase, "I AM woman, hear me ROAR". Not that men don't have hormonal issues...but we can address in a future article. Now, it's all about the Goddess.

In the midst of our physical experience we are continuously seeking a balanced relationship between the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies. From time to time, it feels somewhat tempestuous. Amidst the hot flashes, mood swings, cramping, bloating, food cravings, sleeplessness and wanting to take someone out at the knee caps, is it any wonder our loved ones go running for the hills?

One of the many blessings Reiki imparts is the ability to acknowledge our role as co-creators in our healing journey. I find that this is an integral part of release and healing process. How can we slough off what we no longer wish to carry if we aren't honest and willing to make healthy adjustments? In addition, Spirit, our Angels and all other Beings of Light wait patiently for us to give them the nod, allowing them to provide loving assistance.

When working with women experiencing hormonal issues, we can place added focus on several key areas during the Reiki treatment process:

• Root Chakra-Sits at base of the spine. Regulates legs, lower back, colon kidneys and adrenal glands. Grounding, survival and stability.
• Sacral Chakra-Sits below the belly button (navel). Regulates our reproductive organs, kidneys, adrenals, bladder and lymphatic system. Emotions are also based in the sacral.
• Heart Chakra-Sits at center of chest. Regulates circulation, heart, lungs, and blood pressure. Love (giving and receiving), trust, understanding, compassion, empathy, forgiveness.
• Throat Chakra-Base of neck. Regulates throat, thyroid, parathyroid, mouth, tongue, and neck. Verbal and written communication. Expressing our feelings with freedom.
• Crown Chakra-Top of head. Regulates central nervous system. Our connection to Source (God, Spirit, Higher Power or realms of consciousness).

In summation, it is during a Reiki session that the clients' Higher Self can accept and absorb all the warm, positive energy as it generates a circuit of healing that can be felt from the top of their head to the tips of their toes. How beautiful!

Showering you with Love, Light & Sparkly Bits!

Amy Barilla is a Usui Reiki Master Educator. Her practice focuses on pregnancy, pediatric and women with reproductive health issues. For more information on "The Reiki Gal", visit: http://www.TheReikiGal.com Sign up for the monthly newsletter to receive Reiki tips and insights.

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Show Your Healing Mastery by Earning a Reiki Certificate

A reiki certificate does so much more than simply proving to your friends and clients that you are a skilled healer in the ancient art of reiki. It also lets people know the lineage of your attunments, letting clients know which path of healing you have taken and who your master was. Having a reiki certificate can also be helpful in trying to find employment as a healer.

These certificates, signed by your teacher, look very similar to diplomas and other certificates of achievement. Framed, a reiki certificate can look attractive when hung on your wall or displayed on a shelf. The look of your diploma will depend on your teacher and the school of healing you have chosen to follow, as each have their own designs.

In order to gain a reiki certificate you must first find a master who can teach you this ancient healing art. If you cannot find an instructor in your city, try looking online for a course. While much of your education in reiki will depend on your teacher and the school they follow, there are three levels of training for each discipline.

The lowest level of reiki certificate can be earned by mastering the first degree, the Shoden. In this course a student is taught the ancient practice of reiki. They learn how to place their hands and treat the body in an effort to attune their energy and the energy of their patient with the universal life force. When the sessions are completed you will be able to heal yourself and others by using the ancient healing art of reiki.

To gain the second level of reiki certificate a student must master the Okuden, the second degree of healing. Building upon your the first degree of healing the student will earn the use of symbols that will help strengthen the bond between patient and healer, allowing a reiki practitioner to heal across vast distances. Some healers are so skilled they do not even need to be in the same room, or even the same building to be able to heal. It can take ten, sometimes twenty years to master this skill, and some students never progress beyond the second degree of reiki.

To grain a master reiki certificate one must master not only the first and second degree of healing, they must also undergo the master training, also called Shinpiden. The third degree is the hardest to master, and the symbols and teachings you learn are greatly dependent upon the school of reiki you are studying. Upon completion a reiki healer may choose to be either a master teacher, who is able to pass on his mastery of reiki, or a master practitioner. A master practitioner is someone who has chosen to concentrate on their healing powers, tending the ill and the sick and using their powers to ease the pain and suffering of others.

No matter what degree of reiki you have studied, having a certificate is something to be proud of. Not only does it prove that you have studied this ancient healing art, but it also allows you to practice your skills upon yourself, your family and even other people who wish for a more spiritual healing.

Having a master reiki certificate allows you to do more than just offer healing. With it you are also able to open your own school and teach the healing philosophy of reiki to others. This certificate will show not only your own time of study to master this art, it will also show which school you have studied. Some master reiki teachers can trace their attunments back to Japan. These teachers, and their students, are greatly respected. To have those names on your reiki certificate is a mark of prestige.

Today, more people are reaching back into the ancient healing arts. Not simply for their novelty or their historical values, but for the spiritual aspect, as well. Reiki is a philosophy and an art growing in popularity, which makes it easier to find teachers. It also means that, should you choose to become a teacher, you will have many opportunities to help people.

When comparing the financial cost of learning reiki and obtaining a reiki certificate to other educational programs, there is a clear benefit to this healing art. Each degree is separate and you are able to advance at your own pace as your skill increases. There are no formal institutions to teach, only teachers who must be attuned and able to attune you, in turn. This means you can learn from the teacher who best suits your needs and your own personal philosophies.

If you are interested in learning more about reiki healing, and gaining a certificate, there are many resources available to you. Check with your local alternative health center or a new age book store for information on classes. If you can't find a reiki class in your city, look for classes online. Not only is it more convenient, as you don't have to leave your own home, it can also be arranged around your own schedule.

Take the time to find the right teacher for you, one whose philosophies best match your own. If you take an online course you will receive your reiki certificate either in the mail, or it can be downloaded and printed out when you finish you training. Reiki is an ancient healing art that can bring great spiritual peace to you and to others. It doesn't require years of study, only true dedication.

Click Reiki Certificate to go to Meg's Reiki Meditation website.

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Who Was Dr Mikao Usui?

Mikao Usui was born on the 15th of August in 1865 in the village Taniai in Japan, not fare from where Nagoyo is today. His family had lived here for eleven generations and Mikao was born into the Tendai sect of Esoteric Buddhism. At a very young age he was sent to a Tendai monastery to receive his primary education. He continued his Buddhist education until he became a lay Tendai priest.

The Tiantai teaching was first brought to Japan by Chinese monks in the 8th century. Shortly it developed into what became Japanese Tendai. The Japanese Tendai did not deviate substantially from the beliefs created by the Tiantai school in China.

The Tendai sect flourished under the patronage of the imperial family and it became the dominant form of main-steam Buddhism in Japan and it also was the foundation for most of the developments in later Japanese Buddhism.

Mikao Usui was also influenced by Shintoism, the traditional faith of the Japanese people prior to contact with China. The original shintoism was a very simple religion and it had only one command: the necessity of being loyal to one's ancestors. Its early aspects were naturalistic, which includes spiritism, totemism, and nature worship. Early Japanese worshiped the sun, thunder, earth, tigers, serpents, threes, stones etc. A later stage is more intellectual and ethically oriented.

As Mikao was growing up the Japanese society went trough gross changes. It was now starting to open up to the west again. For the first time since the 1640's foreigners were allowed in the country, the ban on Christianity was lifted in 1873 and the country abandoned a feudal society and adapted to an industrialized society instead.

Mikao was an eager student and he received a doctorate in literature, he spoke several languages, and studied the western medicine, theology and philosophy. He had the opportunity to travel to China, USA and Europe where he could elaborate on his studies.

Early in his adult life Mikao lived in Kyoto with his wife and two children. He had various carriers as a businessman, and at one time he was also the private secretary to Count Shinpei Goto. At the same time he continued his spiritual studies and became involved with a group named Rei Jyutsu Kai. This group had a temple (Kurama-dera) at the base of the mountain Kurama-yama.

Mikao Usui is also said to have practices Shugenja in addition to Tendai Buddhism. Shugenja is a Japanese mountain asctic shamanism which incorporates Shinto and Buddhist practises.

Around 1900 Mikao fell very ill as an epidemic swept trough Kyoto. He had a near death experience in which he had a vision of, and instruction from, the Mahavairovana Buddha. This was a very important experience for Mikao and it caused him to rethink his life. He turned his mind to the esoteric science of healing as thought by Buddha, and he developed the compassionate wish that he may learn the methods of healing in order to benefit mankind.

Mikao went on to study Shingon Buddhism in order to find explanations to his vision. This lead to a confrontation with his family who declared him a traitor to the family and ancestors.

He spend much time and money studying Buddhist scriptures, in particular the once about healing techniques and energy disciplines. For many years he continued to study and practice the Buddhist teachings. Over time he became a respected and learned Buddhist teacher with a following of students.

In 1914 he undertook a meditation retreat at the monastery Kurama-yama. It is believed that during this retreat he was able to melt together all his knowledge and come to the realization of how he could work with the divine life energy.

He first practiced the new healing technique on himself and his friends before he, at a later stage, offered his healing to the residents of Kyoto. This gave him the opportunity to perfect and refine the healing method - later known as Reiki healing.

In 1922 he moved to Tokyo and opened up a Reiki clinic where he practiced and also taught the system of Reiki to his students. He founded the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, meaning Usui's Spiritual Energy Therapy Society, which is a society of Japanese Reiki masters still existing today.

After the Kanto earthquake in 1923 in Tokyo where over 140 000 people were killed and over three million people found themselves homeless over night, Mikao and his students went out in the streets and offered Reiki healing to countless of victims.

His fame spread quickly all over Japan and he began receiving invitations from all over the country. His schedule grew tight as requests for teaching continued to increase. He travelled throughout Japan giving healings and teachings. On March 9th in 1926 he unexpectedly died of a stroke 62 years old.

Anita Karlson is blogging about how to live a more healthy, natural and balanced life. Find new articles and inspiring tips at http://www.anitakarlson.com

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Reiki - East and West

I have seen questions raised over the compatibility of Westernized Reiki and the 'original' teachings of Eastern or Usui Reiki. There are some Reiki therapists who have been trained in the eastern variant that tend to look down their noses at western practices. I must admit that I myself am guilty of that on occasion.

Before I proceed I should admit that I have not been trained in any variant of Western Reiki so I am speaking from a lack of experience here, but I have been attuned and trained in Usui Reiki Ryoho. My masters are of the opinion that they wished to teach and attune as closely to the original methods as they were able to and have trimmed out what they believed to be purely western influence from their instruction. I have no problem with this at all but I will state now that I have no problem either with western methods that are genuine extensions and discoveries that have proved an increased benefit to the client and/or the practitioner.

Western Reiki has acquired a bit of a bad name over the past few decades, more because of the flakiness of some of its adherents than any fault with the basis of the practice. There is a website out there today claiming to provide Dolphin Reiki! Yes, you read that correctly, and it is not a site providing holistic care for dolphins, but the practitioner claims to channel Reiki energy from dolphins. Now I don't wish to appear too judgmental here but what on earth do dolphins have to do with Reiki? I agree that they need the energies to live just as we do, but why try to channel it from them when you have the pure source at you beck and call? Dolphins do have a genuine therapeutic effect on certain conditions when the patient is in their presence, but I feel that particular website is taking the 'Reiki' theme too far.

What a lot of this boils down to is the western tendency to want to make money. The original westernized Reiki teachings promulgated by Ms Takata where perfectly fine. The history she provided was altered to take care of American prejudice against all things Japanese at the time she introduced it to the U.S.A. This accounts for much of the western belief that Reiki has Christian roots. There are others out there who believe Reiki is of Tibetan origin; it isn't. Reiki was discovered, for the first time by Mikao Usui. He was a Shinto lay preacher in Japan. The past two decades have allowed some original texts from Usui, and other historical documents, to surface that have clarified a lot of this, and I'd recommend anyone seriously interested in gaining a better understanding or Reiki's roots to read up on some of Frank Arjava Petter's work.

The money-making side of western 'New Age' has unfortunately led to a tendency for some Reiki practitioners and some energy healers, who have never been attuned to Reiki, to stick the word Reiki onto everything they offer to try to legitimize their practice. Hence Dolphin Reiki...

Reiki energies come from source, the universe, the universal consciousness, God or Allah, or whatever you wish to call the primal energy that allows everything to subsist in this reality. If you wish to filter the Reiki energy through something, then at least bring it in to this dimension in a relatively pure form first. I use Reiki energy in my Crystal Therapy sessions. Pure Reiki is perfect for cleansing, charging and energizing crystals, as well as purifying the aura and working with the chakras. Placing a crystal over a chakra and gently running Reiki through it also helps ensure the energy the client receives is of the purest kind and limits the possibility that your own energy is used by mistake. Using Reiki in this way helps to enhance the effect of another form of therapy.

I would suggest that if the person purporting to provide Dolphin Reiki really wishes to go that route then they should market it more fairly by stating they channel Dolphins in some way and project Dolphin energy into the client. What ever they do, it is not Reiki.

So far this has all sounded a little anti-western. I am not anti-western at all, I am just anti-some-new-age-money-making-practices. I need money as much as the next person but I try not to deceive my clients, it's not fair and not good karma (if you go for that line of thinking).

Legitimate western alterations I am happy about are where Masters have meditated on, and experimented with, additional symbols and further supplementary attunements. I question the need for 20 extra symbols but then I have not been trained in their use. I assume they are used to fine tune the energies for very particular needs. Supplementary attunements are okay so long as they don't interfere with the originals.

Any tradition dies if it is not open to change and evolution. Reiki has a rock solid basis on which to build but if Western Reiki is to survive, I would suggest its genuine adherents weed out the cow-boys, charlatans and snake-oil merchants, and show them up for what they truly are. East can meet West, I am sure of it, and we will all be the better for it.

Andy Cook is a Reiki Master Teacher, Crystal Therapist and Indian Head Massage practitioner. His approach to his clients is one of providing a holistic approach to the entire person, not just trying to treat the symptoms presented.

He works out of East London and is also available for Reiki training and attunements by appointment.

Andy's personal blog can be found at http://andy-cook.co.uk

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Uncoil Your Consciousness - The 5 Things You Need to Know About Kundalini

When dormant, Kundalini energy is coiled like a serpent (kunda means coiled) at the base of the spine. Kundalini is a healing force for renewal, inner and outer evolution, and transformation. The key to uncoiling your consciousness lies in activating this powerhouse within you. Here are THE five things you need to know about Kundalini!

1. What Is The truth About Kundalini?

A great place to start is to look at the question, what is Kundalini? The simplest, and most profound, explanation is that Kundalini is the fundamental energy of consciousness. Think of Kundalini as the uncoiling of your essential consciousness, your creative potential, the energizing potential of life, spiritual energy, or the energy of the soul itself. I like to think of Kundalini as the energy of all that is and all you can be.

It is amazing when you realize that the transformational energy of Kundalini is found throughout the ancient wisdom traditions. Yogis call it Shakti (the risen Kundalini); other traditions refer to it as Holy Wind, Serpent Fire, Vital Winds, Reiki, Mana Loa, Lung, The Greater Kan and Li, Huo, and Dumo Fire. These names describe the same tremendous spiraling and wavelike physical sensations of aroused spiritual energy. There has to be something to this "Kundalini energy thing" if different belief systems from around the globe experience the exact same thing!

2. Where Does Latent Kundalini Hang Out?

Kundalini lies dormant at the base of the spine, nestled in the sitting bones at the root chakra. As Damian Nordmann creatively expresses in his poem, Fire Goddess, "[Kundalini] waits for me at the base of my being. She rests at the foot of my soul."

3. How Do You Awaken Kundalini?e

Kundalini is awakened through purposeful action or natural evolution. Techniques that trigger Kundalini awakening include breath work (pranayama), exercises (asanas), chanting meditation, fasting, trauma, drugs, and near death experiences.

4. Where Does Awakened Kundalini Energy Go?

As a yoga practitioner the goal is to open the subtle meridians and channels (nadis) of life force energy (prana) in the body to stimulate the upward flow of Kundalini energy.

Opening the nadis helps Kundalini energy rise upward through the body via the central channel of the spine (the sushumna), undulate through the energy centers (the chakras), and move up through the crown chakra as a process to uncoil consciousness.

When Kundalini uncoils and ascends, a feminine energy called Shakti rises through the body meeting a masculine energy called Shiva at the crown of the head. When Shakti and Shiva meet, a union of bliss occurs creating transformation.

5. What's In It For You?

When Kundalini is awakened, our consciousness expands and we become more aware of truth, our inner knowledge, and the creative potential within. Awakened Kundalini releases blockages in the mind, body, and spirit to allow for healing, nourishing, rejuvenation, and opening of energy and awareness. Once aroused, Kundalini dissolves the past and allows the infinite to shine through into the present.

So there you have it, the five things you need to know about the powerhouse of Kundalini that resides within you. Dare to uncoil your essential consciousness and open the soul energy of awareness within you.

©Copyright 2010 Kundalini Yoga With Sharlene Starr. All Rights Reserved.

Sharlene Starr teaches Kundalini Yoga classes and is the author of the *FREE* Special Report," A Beginner's Guide To Kundalini Yoga!" If you're ready to awaken your mind, body, and soul, get your *FREE* copy at: http://www.SharleneStarr.com

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Kundalini Reiki - How to Awaken Your Kundalini Fire

Kundalini Reiki is a very powerful form of spiritual healing which incorporates the combination of two well respected healing modalities - Kundalini and Reiki energy. Reiki is a form of spiritual healing which allows one to open up to true spiritual enlightenment.

Kundalini Reiki was introduced to the earthly plane by Mr. Ole Gabrielsen who has been assisted by a high Master Kuthumi whilst he spent many hours at Holy Communion. Master Kuthumi is also connected to the Crown Chakra (above the head) and The Temple of Love, Wisdom and Understanding.

Kundalini Reiki training incldues the attunements and healing techniques used to perform hands on healing treatment on yourself and others. You will also learn how to send healing over distance which is sometimes called remote healing.

The base chakra or the Root chakra which is the energy centre located at the base of the spine or the coccyx acts as an entrance for the Kundalini energy. This is sometimes referred to as the "Kundalini Fire".

During and after a healing session the energy runs from the base or root chakra up through the whole body systems, including the major and minor energy channels or chakras and lastly out of the Crown chakra Over a period of time this allows the whole body to become completely cleansed.

Kundalini Reiki is easy to learn although it is necessary for a student to be attuned to Usui Reiki or Seichim prior to undertaking level One. There are three levels of this training. On completion of level three you are eligible to teach others.

The Kundalini Reiki attunement includes

1 - Balance

2 - Diamond Reiki,

3 - Crystalline Reiki,

4 - DNA Reiki,

5 - Birth trauma Reiki,

6 - Location Reiki,

7 - Past Life Reiki

8 - Gold Reiki

Kundalini Reiki is often stated as being more powerful form of healing than traditional Usui Reiki and is also much quicker and easier to learn and master. Visit http://www.Universalhealingcentre.com/kundalinireiki.php

Yvonne Handford is an Author, Speaker, Soul Healing Coach, Psychic and Healing Master trained in Usui Reiki and many other healing modalities and alternate therapies. Yvonne is a Healer who specializes in promoting the & Golden Keys to Healing Within and assisting others to live the life of their dreams.

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Can You Tell If Your Reiki Attunement is a Real Attunement?

Before we define what an attunement is not, maybe it is easier to define what an attunement is. A Reiki attunement is a special form of initiation into Reiki at a certain level. During the attunement, the Reiki Master traps the energy into their body and pass it onto the student. This usually involves a form of ceremony or initiation, for example by leading into a meditation or having soft music. The attunement is said to tune the student into the Reiki channel, pretty much like we would tune a radio to a particular frequency.

Then there are Reiki Masters that give attunements over a distance. These range from get-rich-quick schemes over the internet to genuine caring Reiki Masters who believe in what they are doing. So is a distant attunement real? Well, one usually does not get a certificate with distant attunements, the time to practice self-healing and healing others in a supportive environment, in-person after-care in case there is a rare abreaction to an attunement, or guidance on how to incorporate Reiki effectively into the student's life. And whilst there are many genuine Reiki Masters out there who give excellent distant attunements, with most, you may well wonder if the attunement was actually done. After all, the Master may have been reading a book or cutting their nails or cooking instead of doing your attunement! A distant attunement often works and is real, but Reiki training consists of more than just the attunement. A good course or workshop will guide you in using your new-found skill and support your development and growth, whether on a personal or professional level. There may also be legal or association requirements in your country about whether your attunement can be a distant one.

People who have had both usually find the in-person attunement more fulfilling. However, sometimes a student is disappointed by an in-person attunement. Maybe the student and Master do not gel, or perhaps the Master is having an off-day. Some would say that attunements always work. What may happen is that the student is not aware of any change or may be unconsciously blocking the process through their own fear. Reiki is known to only work with you if you let it, so it makes sense that this extends to the attunement process too. Some students feel nothing, others see lights and hear angels, others are transported to a magical place, and some just feel relaxed. Just because a student does not feel the attunement does not mean that it did not happen. Each person will have their own experiences.

Having said that, it is not about what sensations the student feels during or after the attunement itself, but whether they can effectively channel the Reiki afterward that shows whether they have been attuned properly. A complication arises with natural healers, who can channel the energy anyway, so it is not always easy to tell. However, a good and experienced Reiki Master can often tell if the student has been attuned or not. It is the responsibility of the Reiki Master to attune the student correctly. Some systems even allow for mistakes made in the process, with the Reiki Master having to repeat the process to make sure that the attunement takes hold.

As well as the above considerations, how can you tell what is real Reiki that you are supposedly being attuned to and what is not? For example, there are 142 recognized and valid Reiki disciplines in the UK alone. There are new variations on Reiki all the time, so your attunement could well be so far removed from Reiki that is is no longer a Reiki one. It helps to talk to your Reiki Master first and ask them about the attunement process. For example, you may wish to ask them how strict the process is, what variations they use, or if they can give you your lineage tracing back to Mikao Usui.

Like anything else, recommendation is the best way to make sure you get the Reiki attunement you seek. Otherwise, do your homework first. You can go and speak to your Reiki Master, have a treatment from them, and many have a newsletter or regular Reiki shares in-person or over the internet, so you can get to know them better and make an informed decision about your attunement.

© Suzanne Zacharia 2010. My name is Suzanne Zacharia and I am committed to spreading the word about health options. A virus caught at university at the end of 1986, plus medical negligence, meant that I got smokers lung at a relatively young age. In desperation for help with my symptoms and quality of life, I turned to complementary therapy and am now a complementary therapist, author and trainer, helping others achieve health and happiness. Want to use this article? You can, as long as you credit me with it and invite your readers to get my FREE book "7 Real Truths of Energy Psychology" at http://www.newagetherapies.com or my free course "5 Days To Change Your Life" at http://www.NewAgeInternationalTraining.com.

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