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Introductions Are In Order: Reiki (part 2)

Introductions Are In Order: Reiki (part 1)

reikikanji

Reiki is beautiful in its simplicity.

The practitioner uses their hands, intentions and life energy (Reiki) itself as a tool to improve your connection to universal energy.  The practitioner doesn’t change or control anything. The session is guided by your own inner physical and spiritual wisdom. The session is a booster shot of energy to clear and repair the connection that you already have in place just by virtue of being alive. The Reiki session simply helps your natural living connection to do what it does just a little bit better. Like upgrading your internet service, Reiki works to improve your connection to the source of life and healing…not magically change anything that is within you already.

Reiki, like Tarot, can happen in person or at a distance. Distance Tarot can happen because I’m not reading you, I’m reading energy flows or listening to spirit messages for you. The connection to your message comes through a bit of intent, through hearing or reading your question, or hearing / reading your permission to keep an open focus. Reiki is the same in that the connection is made through intent, and is not dependent on proximity or touch. Even during an in-person Reiki session, direct touch isn’t necessary. Hands can hover over the body without touching, and still be equally effective.

Sometimes in-person Reiki is called “Level 1” and distance “Level 2”. The levels reflect the order in which we learn the techniques, not anything to do with the quality or intensity of the session. The energy is the same no matter how it is sent and received. It takes a little more skill, practice and understanding to send at a distance than to send through direct touch, so we learn direct touch level 1 first. Neither level is better or worse. Like Tarot, the only real difference is the type of experience you want to have with your Tarot reading. The message is the same at distance as it is in person. In Reiki, the energy is the same either way as well.

catreiki

With an in-person Reiki session we often add embellishments: Music, aromatherapy, incense or candles and the like. Of course, those things aren’t necessary for the Reiki to do it’s thing, but there is nothing wrong with it either. Those things have a benefit all on their own (especially in the case of aromatherapy) but they enhance the Reiki experience. These extras have their own benefits, they focus our attention, and they give us a tangible signal that something special is happening.

Crystals, minerals and stones have a long history of emotional, spiritual, and even physical healing lore.  Crystals are believed to work on an energy resonance sort of model. As one might expect, there is no hard evidence for physical benefits. Even if we understand it as a mind-body stress reducing effect, there is no harm in giving ourselves the small comfort of carrying a pretty stone or wearing a favorite crystal.

In Sending Stones Reiki, crystal lore enhances the level 2 distance experience the same way that music and aromatherapy enhances a level 1 direct session. The crystals have beneficial properties all their own, they give a mental framework to understand how distance Reiki works, plus gives us the tangible signal that something special is happening.

I’ve used this technique that I call “Sending Stones Reiki” for a while now, and have gotten some really nice feedback about it.

  • “Very soothing”
  • “I could almost hear your voice”
  • “I felt like I was being touched by a calming light”
  • “It felt like the stone was being filled up, like a gas tank”

Because it is something new, and because I would really, really like to hear your feedback, the Reiki session is no charge. I am grateful for this chance to learn more about Reiki and maybe give a little to the way of Reiki by growing the Sending Stones technique. I hope that by removing payment concerns, it gives you the freedom to say whatever you like about the session…just please say SOMETHING.

It does take time to answer emails and sit with the stones, however. I would be grateful for any donations you could give to support this Reiki effort for you and for others. You can donate here.

If you would be interested in giving a Sending Stones Reiki session a try, please contact me through the Reiki tab at the top of the page or with the contact form here

 

Introductions are in order: Reiki

Take a tour of the new concept.

The foundation is built of the ho-hum but practical, pragmatic and necessary business practices and policies. Everything is spelled out in detail and utterly transparent. Everything is heads up and eyes open, so you know exactly what to expect from working with me.

I want you to have the best Tarot reading experience that I can provide. That can only happen if you understand what that is. If I can provide the kind of reading you want and need – awesome. Let’s get started. If not, then no hard feelings. I’d rather see you find a reader that matches your personality and expectations. Being very clear about my style of Tarot and my business policies helps you to narrow your search for perfect reading. It frees us both to move on to more satisfying things. Clear, up-front rules and policies are nothing but good. The short version small print is at the bottom right corner of every web page. There is a tab to the full policies page at the top right of every page.

This is a safe space.

Closing the comments keeps out the words (and negative energies) of trolls and spammers. My email is over there –> for anyone who wants to give legit comments or feedback, good, bad or indifferent.

Tarot you know, or will. That is going to be the vast majority of the blog from here on.

We will come back to meditation soon. Today, let me introduce you to the other new service I’m integrating with Tarot on the TaoCraft site.

REIKI

reikikanji

Reiki comes from Japan, and loosely translated it means “universal life energy.”

In the West, the early leaders of modern medicine like Galen and Paracelsus called this same thing “vital force.” Universal energy or vital force is that special something that makes us alive. It isn’t well defined by purely scientific terms as yet, but it is that something that makes a living creature different from an inanimate object. Western medicine has not studied subtle energy, life force or mind-body therapies until very recently. Often this type of natural, medication-free healing is still dismissed as pseudoscience or “faith healing.”

In recent decades, however, modern medicine has begun to accept the mind-body connection as proven fact. Psychoneuroimmunology has proven the effects of stress on the immune system, T cells in particular. The effect psychological stress has on a variety of chronic diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes is fairly well known. Reiki intersects with mainstream medicine through the way it quickly reduces stress. From a Western perspective, Reiki can improve health by removing stress and all the detrimental effects stress can create. Whether Reiki itself has a direct physical effect remains to be seen, but even if it only relieves stress, that alone is a proven health benefit, both physically and emotionally.

There is a long history of using universal, life or nerve energy for healing in Asian cultures. Energy, the ‘Ki’ in Reiki means energy. So does the Chinese word chi or qi (like Tai Chi) which is used in accupuncture and accupressure. Prana is a kind of energy from India, Yoga and Ayurvedic medicine. Energy medicine is ancient, common and accepted there. . Over time, energy healing has become a rich, and anecdotally proven tradition.

UsuiMikao

Reiki in particular was developed in the early 20th century by Mikao Usui. Reiki is now taught around the world. Different styles that have developed over the years with slightly different practices and differing histories of how Reiki developed. Despite these variations, the core concepts of Reiki are very much the same. For my part,  I studied Traditional Usui style under Reiki Master Tom Beardshaw. As for the history of Reiki I recommend the books by Frank Arjeva Petter.

The common ground among Reiki practitioners is much larger than our differences. Here are some examples:

  • The life force is the source of all healing, the body heals itself. Nothing can heal FOR it, but we can help that inner process work better through healthy lifestyle, medication, herbs diet, and of course, Reiki.
  • Universal Life or Vital Force energy is everywhere, throughout all space and time. It is neither good, nor bad. Like sunshine or moonlight, it is a simple fact of nature.
  • Reiki practitioners do not add any of their own energy to the process. They do not change or manipulate the recipients energy or body in any way. A session simply adds a little more natural life energy to the recipient and makes their connection to life energy clearer and stronger.
  • In my tradition, energy is treated respectfully and only given with a recipients full knowledge and consent. I treat my Tarot work as an energy practice, and follow that same consent guideline.

Computers are a good analogy. Barring genetic disease or birth injury, most people are born with a clear, vibrant connection to life energy. We start off with a cat 5 hardwired broadband connection. Over time, aging, illness, lifestyle all can slow the connection down. Reiki can help clear the connection and get you back from 80s dial up modem speed back up to at least 4g broadband, even if you never get back to your original high speed. The better connection and extra energy makes it easier for you to patch your software, so to speak.

more to follow….

A Door Opens….

Welcome to TaoCraft Tarot

Stop me if I’m over explaining here. I don’t know if it is anxiety from this whole re-branding thing, or just good old fashioned trying to convince myself….but I feel like I owe all of you an explanation. I hope there is an “all of you” to explain TO. It feels a little hollow and echo-y in there at the moment. Let me give you a little tour anyway.

Things here are rustic and real. I’m done trying to make Tarot palatable to the mainstream. Neither the very religious or the very atheist will like this I suspect. But like the Knight of Pentacles Internet meme…my field of fucks has grown barren. If this darker aesthetic, a little snark and humor, and talk of magick and Taoism is offensive to someone, then fine. We are not a good match to work together anyway. Modern Oracle had a tendency to pander to respectability and evangelizing for Tarot. TaoCraft is about deep authenticity, simplicity, and humanity.

Imagine it like this.

Imagine a one room stone cottage at the edge of an evergreen forest. The large storefront window and glass door let in abundant diffuse natural light. To the right as you walk in you see a fireplace with a bright, fragrant, crackling fire. There is a table with two comfy chairs for doing Tarot readings. In the middle, bookshelves line the walls and are filled with the books I will write. There is a display with all sorts of mala meditation beads almost vibrating with the Reiki and good intentions placed in them for their new owners. In the far left corner, a fountain burbles next to a table for Reiki sessions. The table is surrounded with shelves of crystals of every color and kind. Under the floorboards we have the same strong foundation that has been there since the beginning. This foundation is made of strict but transparent business policies that protect us from any suspicious, litigious, potentially harmful people. The sprinkles of salt in the corners and the warding spells in the walls are  the zero spam policy and closed comments that protect us all from the dreaded internet trolls. Anyone can have a say – in an email, or in their own blog, just not the comment thread. This is a safe and sacred space, a place where spirit can speak and kindness can thrive.

The door is open. I hope you visit often.

 

New Name, New Spirit

Welcome

Seasons change, and so do Tarot Websites.

Modern Oracle Tarot is now TaoCraft Tarot.

TaoCraft is a new era of fierce authenticity in my Tarot, Reiki, and Meditation work.

No more trying to make Tarot palatable to a world not ready or not interested. Modern or not, Tarot is powerful, magickal, and a potent way (Tao) to make (Craft) your life experience, your journey the best it can be.

Click HERE to read the thousands of posts in the Modern Oracle Tarot archives. It is all just as good as ever…that hasn’t changed. The archives are where you will find a treasure trove of Q&A, Card meanings, daily Tarot meditations, the ever popular “Romance Reading – The Lovers and the Magician” and my favorite the origins of Zombie Cat 

Don’t worry….Zombie Cat made the move here with me, and we’ll be seeing more of him around New Years Day.

At my core is my own, unique amalgam of Taoism and Witchcraft. Modern Oracle was a first foot out of the “Tarot Closet” as we talked about on “Menage A Tarot” (the podcast is still on hiatus, and it is looking more permanent, I have to admit) TaoCraft is both feet planted firmly out in the world. I look forward to sharing my way of doing things with you. If it helps one person, it is worth it.

Welcome.