Usui Reiki Level 1: History and Attunement

Reiki has become a more widely accepted treatment in recent years but many people still do not understand what it is and how it works.  Reiki has made enough of an impact that even medical sciences are accepting its treatment as a wonderful complimentary care service. 

Learn the history of Reiki and what it is.  Find out what makes Traditional Reiki and Western Reiki different, receive your first Reiki Attunement and start to use the first Reiki practice for self healing.

Medical Reiki Articles
UCLA Research Articles
"Reiki is Better Than Placebo..." Medical Journal
"Reiki Can't Possibly Work, Then Why Does it?" - Atlantic Post Article

🎶Music Credit:
Intro -  Condor and Eagle by Kalya Scintilla
Crack of Light by Higher Mind Royalty Free Music
Meditative Ambience by Alexander Nakarada
Sunlight by Onycs ----Support this artist
Tranquil Fields Eastern by Alexander Nakarada
Dawn by Alexander Nakarad
Outro - Life - Alexander Nakarada

Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License

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Transcript

0:20

Hello, hello, hello and welcome to rainbows rising where we ascend together. I'm Rainbow Raaja, shaman and transformational coach. I'm here to help you overcome your challenges and adversity through these consciousness practices, perception shifts, and self care skills. And to provide a space that promotes inclusivity of all belief systems and backgrounds. Each and every month, we cover a topic or modality to offer new insights, tips and healing skills that will inspire you on your journey to becoming the best version of yourself. Thank you so much for joining me today. I am so excited I have been waiting through all of these seasons to finally teach Reiki. Reiki is one of the more commonly accepted healing modalities out there. It is being accepted by spas and holistic practitioners and even now Western medicine, where UCLA has a Reiki Center at their at their facility. So, wonderful thing about Reiki is despite the fact that is considered an energy modality, it is producing results when worked with clients, and I have provided a link in the description for you to take a look at by the the medical research scripts. So you can see that Reiki is more effective than the placebo effect and the placebo effect is about 50% effective to begin with, which is more effective than even pharmaceutical medicine. So it is, in essence, a very effective treatment, which is why it's being explored more in the medical community. Reiki is not so commonly known to be great for self healing. It was first and foremost developed as a self healing practice, much like yoga or much like meditation, it is something that you utilize for yourself as a skill to bring about wellness. Now, we will be covering traditional you soy Reiki Ryoho level one. Now shoden is the first level to the system of rigging it is the beginners level and it helps you better understand what Reiki is and how you can practice this skill on oneself for healing and for improving your quality of life. It teaches you the basics and how to use it in order to amplify it into other areas of your life. And this will be the beginning of your self healing journey. What is Reiki? So Reiki is a Japanese energy modality method, much like Zen, and it is revered as a state of being and it was first discovered and utilized by a man named McHale you soy in 1922. Array in Japanese means spirit or divine or universal mystery and key is life force energy. Like Chi in traditional Chinese medicine, the word re key when the kanji which is the interest kit, picturesque letters that illustrate the meanings of both Japanese and Chinese words are put together. Right key means universal lifeforce energy or living in your divinity, living an expression of spirit or divine life. It is this concept that you are connecting with life energy, the energy of of wellness, the energy of life itself. So, kanji, as I said, are intricate letterings, that are usually symbolic. And they they have each stroke of the pen is a different meaning. So if you were to look at the, the kanji of Ray key, it shows like heaven at the very top, and clouds and rain and community, people people being connected, and heaven being connected to Earth and people celebrating it and steam being produced by the rays of the sun and a grain of rice expanding in a cooking pot. So, in Japan, rice is is the essence of life, it is like the smallest small molecule of nourishment of nutrient and it gives life to those who consume it right. And being able to transform that, that rice is is a powerful statement. So the the kanji the word itself is really helping you understand that you are that grain of rice, you are transforming yourself, you are connecting heaven and earth. And that, you know that through this, you're creating this community and you are connecting that all together. So that is where this universal lifeforce energy comes from. And that was what the original kanji meaning when, when Macau yo soy first discovered it first named it that was his meaning for the kanji. So Reiki, at its very core is simple. It is returning the body, the mind, the emotions, it is returning the object to its natural state of being. So for our bodies, it's the homeo stasis state for maybe something like your food, it would be returning it to its state without being manipulated or, you know, changed by other people or other methods of transformation. So, when a practitioner becomes a channel for Reiki energy, the energetic frequency of that is life. It is the natural flow of life. It is the energy of nature. And that object, whether it is in alignment with that or not, will start to match that frequency of Reiki, which is just life energy, it begins to sync with that. So Reiki acts as a tuning fork to gently guide the mind and body back into this homeostasis state. The body is only able to do healing, the body is only able to rest when it is in a state of homeostasis. And the state is usually perceived as a feeling of calm, of well being of deep rest in peace. And when you are experiencing Reiki, a lot of people dictate that they are feeling light, tingling sensations, or they might feel like there's this warm ray of the sun on them. A lot of people just fall straight to sleep. And it is in this state that the body is able to facilitate healing for itself. Now, those of you out there that are in the holistic field, I'm sure at some point in your life you were exposed to the Hippocratic Oath. Now for those of you who were not the Hippocratic Oath is that you do not do harm to others. The other part of the Hippocratic Oath is that the body heals itself. All doctors take this oath all psychiatrists take this oath. There is a fundamental understanding that the Body has the capability to mend itself and that doctors, psychiatrists, when they work with you, they are not doing the healing. They are guiding the healing. They are just enlightening you to the healing, that the body itself is healing itself. And so, we are doing that with Reiki by giving the body the space. To heal itself, we are giving the body and the mind the the boost that it means to feel safe enough to feel energized enough to heal itself. Reiki was first discovered by a man named Yuri soy Macao. The reason I switched his name around is in Japan last names are addressed first as a sign of respect for the family that you are born into. And so you saw he was born August 15 and 1865 in the village of Tani yaIm yo Muira, now known as Miyamoto. And at this time in history, Kyoto was a capital of Japan. And your soy was raised in the Yamagata district of the Gifu prefecture in Kyoto. Now Japan had just begun opening its borders to the rest of the world. And this was such an exciting time to see what the Western world had discovered and developed technologically and militarily. But this, this did bring about a lot of changes because while Japan was in this self imposed exile, they had developed culturally, they were very prosperous, and now opening up their borders to the Western world. It opened doors for Christianity and Catholicism to come into the country. And there was a lot of trading that was happening. And there was a lot of jobs that were being made, but also expiring. So you saw in Macau is believed to have come from a samurai family who were hot to Moto, a high level within the ranks of samurai. I mean, they they were the Shoguns personal guard during the Tokugawa Shogunate, from the 1600s to 1867. And because of this new world, entering Japan at this time, the samurais class were no longer required to protect the Shogun and because of that, they were now being offered new positions as public servants. And their training was not as I guess as as rigorous. Now, it is believed that you saw he was born a Buddhist and studied in a Tendai monastery as a child. And at the age of 12. He began the practice of a martial arts form called Ikki jitsu. Later he studied Yagyu rye you and became a master instructor in both. Now you're saying Macau quickly gained mancoll kn, which is the highest license of proficiency in weaponry and grappling and continued to explore a bunch of other Japanese martial arts methods. his mastery of these martial arts gave him very early acclaim. He was well received by so many martial arts masters that he became known as you saw in Macau Sensei, a highly respected term for a teacher or one who is do special respect because of the spiritual importance of his teachings. In 1907, he and his wife Sadako welcomed their first son Fuji into the world. And several years later, it is believed that he had a daughter as well. however there, there are no known records of her birth. And you saw he was excited about learning and expanding his knowledge. Even with difficulty as learning as a child. He'd studied very, very hard and became far superior in ability to his friends and even colleagues who travelled to Europe and America and China to study and he became a man of versatile talents and a book lover, knowing a wide variety of knowledge from history and biology and Religious Studies, medical sciences, and even psychology which was a new field at the time completely, and it is said that he even worked in many fields before becoming a Tendai Buddhists Zaky, or priest monk residing at home. And as as a Tendai monk, he was bound to his home and would do these studies at home. But the monks are required to do pilgrimages, where they are testing their faith and testing their their wisdom and knowledge and are forced to fast and clear their mind on these journeys to raise their spiritual energy or their key, right. And one day, your soI sensei climbed Mount Kurama, where he began to do penance while fasting. He just was reflecting on his life and reflecting on it, the lessons he was learning and the skills that he had been taught and most likely reflecting on all of the traveling he had been doing. Now, this mountain was known to be a very special spiritual mountain. And it was known to be the home of a temple called the Kurama temple. Now founded in 770, the Kurama Temple was a guardian of this mountain. And it is located halfway up the Northern Quarter of this, this mountain, in the capital city, of hey, I'm call upon His 21st day from the start of his pilgrimage, he sat atop the mountain in meditation, and suddenly felt a burst of life energy, rush over his head. He did not know what this was. But at this moment, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening. And he realized that there was this energy that he was receiving. And he acquired the ability and understanding of this energy and named Reiki. And he sat atop this hill with this energy and allowed himself to absorb it, and to observe it, and to just recognize it. Coming down the mountain, he tripped and injured himself. And he tried the healing technique that he had learned the top of the mountain, this energy on himself, in hopes that he would feel better in order to continue down the mountain. And upon using it on himself, he experienced an immediate result, he went down the hill, and he even tried it on members of his family and friends. And they all said the same thing. They experienced an immediate result. Usually, Sensei would visit the 10 day temple, just to sit and observe this new energy that he called Reiki. The more you used it, the more enlightened and at peace, he became an himself in his life. He began teaching Reiki, not not just because he wanted to teach but because at the Tendai temple where he would sit and just sit with this energy Reiki, people could feel this peaceful aura, this peaceful sensation that only came when he was at the temple. People would meditate and pray beside him in the temple. They could feel the difference entering the space becoming enveloped with this profound calm profound healing that would drop them into a deep state of relaxation. But he only began teaching it after he had been using it on himself and emanating it into the temple around him. At a certain point, he had been using this energy so much, and people had really appreciated his presence so much that he decided to share this new sensation with the rest of the world. And you saw a sensei moved to IO, Yama, Harajuku Tokyo in April 1922. There he established an institute where he later instructed openly to the public, and shared as treatments and healing centers. So he decided, I'm going to share these, the this whatever this is, in this healing center, and his treatments were immediately well received. And soon after opening, People came from far and wide, just to ask for guidance and healing. They wanted to experience this quote, cure that they kept hearing about, and he commonly had a long line that expanded outside the building and down the block. Once he began openly teaching students he developed teaching techniques, Edom develop them first. He would have students come to him. And they were not allowed to take notes. He would lecture and he had his own materials that he allowed them to review. Students would write questions into notes, and you saw Sensei would answer them. The use of Reiki symbols did not come about until much later in the development of this system of energy healing. And the emphasis on these teacher teachings were in experiencing and sharing and sustaining this state this this energy of Reiki and his students noted that his natural character was gentle and prudent and always adorned with a smile even when facing difficulties. He always barreled ahead with focus. Reiki wasn't the only hands on healing technique. At this time, though, there were like five other well known healing modalities circulating at in Japan at this time, but this is the only one that withstood the test of time. There was an earthquake that happened September 1 1923. It measured 8.3 And it hit just before noon. This was not the biggest earthquake to ever hit Japan. However, with its close proximity to Tokyo, and you'll como Hama, as well as it's very, very large fire that was caused by the quake itself, it became one of the most destructive and devastating earthquakes in Japan's history. There is an estimation of over 100,000 deaths and still over 40,000 people missing. Many were left homeless during this time and you saw sensei felt such sincere love and compassion for the injured and sick suffering due to the earthquake and fire. He and his students went around inside the city each and every day using Reiki on every individual that they could find. He had assisted and saved countless lives during this time of need. Due to his devotion to Reiki. After this event, his reputation grew so much more, as he often received offers of engagements from everywhere throughout the world. It was at an inn and Fukuyama that he caught a disease abruptly and passed away at the age of 62 in the middle of a night due to a stroke. Now in the early 1900s, the average age of living all around the world was the early to mid 40s. He lived to be 62. That was very old for that era. Now you may be wondering, well that all happened in Japan. So how did it go? Over here to the west? That's a great question. There is a huge difference between Western and traditional Japanese Reiki. And I'm really I'm excited to share this with you because through the expansion and popularization of Reiki, in the Western world, there have been some important cultural differences that have evolved over time. They're probably not going to affect your work, especially since you're going to just be working on yourself. But it's important to still understand and respect the origins of the practice, in my opinion. And so I'm going to go ahead and do you a favor and help you understand both sides. And that way you can choose whichever views or practices feel most natural and empowering for you. So how is traditional Reiki and Western Reiki different? After the passing of your soy McHale Sensei, a woman named How are your Takata visited Japan Well, under the affliction of a deep illness, she was recommended surgery. Miss Takata wanted to explore alternative healing before resorting to surgery. And she met one of your Sway senseis students Chujiro Hayashi and Miss Takata visited him daily for several weeks, and having initially found finding Reiki to be calming and pleasant. She She continued with those treatments and after a few weeks of treatment, Ms. Takata found herself to be cured, in her own words cured and dedicated herself to learning the technique herself. Now, let me just say that, in Japan, most teachings in Japan are meant to stay preserved and honored in that country as a trade secret. Okay. Miss Takata is a Japanese American. And having been Japanese and American, she very much was assumed to be a resident of Japan, and was given the chance to take Reiki in order to to learn this modality. So she took two courses of Reiki learning these techniques. And then she returned to Hawaii in the United States, and was so moved by her own healing journey. She wanted to share this new practice with the world. Students of Reiki are not allowed to share their teachings outside of Japan. So Miss Takata had broken this unspoken rule. And, and it's probably due to miss Takata is excitement over her own healing that she disregarded all the hush warnings that are whispered from the students and the teachers. But in order to make this practice accepted in the West, she knew she had to make some adjustments to the teachings and culture because the Japanese culture and the American culture are so very different. So here are some ways that she had to make some adjustments. She referred to your swing account as a doctor to give him a higher status. Because in the United States, you're not taken seriously without a degree you're not taken seriously unless you have some kind of credential and you saw Sensei was a respected and trusted teacher in Japan and a man of wisdom. However, he never acquired a medical degree. Number two Miss Takata also focused on creating a structured teaching system with hand positions, as Western minds are more likely to accept the use of energy, if it is structured and taught in a way that gave step by step instructions. So McHale, yo soy had taught Reiki organically through his living example. He would teach others he would speak at length and lecture about the sensations of Reiki and whatever came through through him in that moment, intuitively, he would be the energy and others would be feel and live that way as well. And it was through his expression and his example, that others became a tune. Miss Takata needed this to be more westernized in order for it to be taken more seriously. So she started the Reiki courses with this attunement where she would place her hands over the body and attune an individual to this energy, and then teach them these skills in an organized manner that could be replicated. Number three, Ms. Takata, allowed for the infusion of Christian elements into her teachings, because she knew that that is the way that Westerners think. Now this is a very subconscious Western belief that even I didn't think I had until I really started to investigate the origins of Reiki and how the Western perception has shifted the core practice. This really does shift a large aspect of Reiki because Reiki is about honoring and discovering your own inner power, connection, and divine essence. But when we invite in Christian elements into the teaching of Reiki students begin to believe in the sense of separation from lifeforce and they they saw this lifeforce as a separate entity of themselves they saw it always coming in from without Western Reiki users usually see themselves as receiving this golden power from the top of their heads or from the universe or their higher self or God. And in Japan, this is seen as disempowering the practitioner, from their own connection to the universal source within themselves. So sometimes, Christian believers whether Catholic or Christian or any of those ideologies, subconsciously associate or original sin, the concept of Heaven Hell, good bad or karma, even to the practice of Reiki and will allow those beliefs to interfere with the healing aspect which leaves the practitioner wrought with worry or anger or fear during and after healing sessions with others. And this does once again stray away from the traditional teachings of your Soi, which is Reiki is not good or bad. It is just life. It is neutral. It is the frequency of homeostasis, it is the frequency of wellness, and it does not do harm. It is this neutral, pure force, a number the fourth one. The fourth one is in her new approach to Reiki Ms. Takata took a logical approach to teaching energy work, because in the western world logic or scientific thinking is extremely important. She used spoken and written words as much as possible to explain this process sensations and even the results. And in Japan, logic is not as heavily relied upon. first hand experience and intuition is always more essential than logic. And in the Japanese culture words are often used to soften communication. So many times they try to read deeper behind the words and what is said for example, Waka, a Japanese style of poetry uses words as a surface to or skin to mask the deeper essence of what is truly being written. You must use your intuition to find the true meaning of Waka poems. Another difference when crossing Reiki over from Japan into the Western world was deciding who you share this information with. Now traditional Japanese people doesn't even matter what, who they are. They believe that the truth can only be understood and utilized by somebody who is ready to understand and because of that, they want to keep information safe, because if it's exposed to the public too soon, people will not understand and they may project bad energy on to it, or on to others or even onto your own endeavors. Whereas many Western students become excited and proud of their newfound information and truth. And they get excited and they want to share. That is what we are taught, we are taught to share. And this adversely caused students to prematurely share their studies before fully absorbing, practicing and mastering the material taught to them. And I believe Miss Takata may have not emphasized this and her own teachings, having been a Westerner herself. Misinformation can spread like wildfire. And this has done irreparable damage to the reputation of Reiki in the western, in my opinion, as there are now many different practices of Reiki that are shared by teachers who never learned the core material, which they're in has become lost through their own misunderstandings. So finding true traditional Reiki practices has become more and more difficult. The sixth way that Takata changed, her teachings was Western countries tend to praise and worship idols as a way of connecting to source or connecting to power. And that is a subconscious way to feel comforted. So they don't feel alone or powerless. And that's how they seek help and and how they they feel powerful is they seek outside validation and idols are accepted in Japan, but not for the same purpose. In Japan they don't use idols at all in Reiki in Shin Shinto does not use idols at all, it focuses on having a divine connection to Source so in Shinto, God like high level energy, it can be channeled through any living creature or physical object, once their spiritual clean, spiritually clean. So, as long as you are maintaining a clear vessel, a clear physical body, you can become this high level energy that you are source and these objects are called your Ishiro. A spiritual receiver and they could be stones or rivers, waterfalls, mountains, paper or mirrors, humans, animals, trees, etc. A lot of times, rivers, stones, waterfalls, all those natural things are already very energetically clear and receive that source energy. And I believe I told you guys the story of where I came up with my name Raja. But it's actually a Japanese word. Raja was from an animated scene a really long time ago called our Juna and Raja worthies, these quote unquote, bad spirits. And our Juna was an avatar, who had to fight these Roger. So she would be delivered to a natural place like a forest or a lake. And she would see this big spirit monster, and she would be asked to fight it. But they didn't use the word fight. They were like You must overcome it. And she always assumed they meant fight. And so she would fight against this Raja. But you learn not to ruin this whole thing for you guys. Spoiler alert, skip ahead by like a minute if you don't want to know. But Raja ended up being a term for both negative and positive. And it turns out that these natural areas she had been going to being dropped off by by the people were like lakes that had been polluted by humans or trees that had been chopped down for lumber companies. And so they were natural, pure states of being they were your Shiro spiritual receivers that had been tarnished by mankind that had been tarnished by this, this other spirit This negative energy. And so she was meant to clean that spirit. And the story is only coming up because this, this whole concept reminded me of this element of Raja, which is this neutral energy. This neutral, it's this, this energy of being able to take something that is impure, that has been, you know, tarnished and turning it back into this pure state. And this energy system, Reiki, it's known to do that. And so this is an energy based channeling system that the Japanese teach. And this is not just in Reiki, this is like a core Japanese belief about how nature works and how life works in general, it's that like, you can return things back to their natural form, as long as you are connecting to that divine source. And it is understood in this intuitive way that we are all connected to source that we don't have to reach outside ourselves to return to that state. And it's funny because, you know, Macau, you soy was Buddhist, right? So you think, oh, but he was Buddhists, don't the Buddhists have a bunch of idols. But, you know, yes, Buddhism has a lot of different godlike idols, but they use their idol idols in a really different way they use it for like Buddhist art, or for ceremonies, and not really as a way of worship or prayer or, you know, in order to tune into that energy, specifically, truth be told, Reiki can be utilized, you know, this is more of a metaphysical approach. This is what I've learned, truth be told, Reiki can be utilized with idols without any difference or consequence. But it's really important that you develop your relationship to this energy before you start incorporating any other tools. That way you can really learn, learn the differences, and as long as you are working with an idol, or deity that you know, through love and compassion, and you aren't connecting to it through fear or insecurities, or, you know, a dependency of some sort. That is when, you know, it really does help the most. So the very last cultural difference, and this is a major cultural difference between traditional Reiki and Western Reiki is the use of tools, which is kind of what we were talking about, just then about using an item, you know, an idol as a tool. When it comes to improving oneself, or even a skill, Westerners always rely on tools to improve their performance to show off how skilled they are. Sometimes they even use tools as a way to distract from their own incompetence at that skill. Whereas in Japan, you first develop yourself, you develop the fundamentals of the task to perfection. You practice that boring, boring ritual over and over and over again, until it is polished. In Reiki, this can be seen with Westerners using the Reiki symbols as this essential role to practicing Reiki. Versus in traditional Japanese Reiki, the students focus on developing their lower Hara, and using Reiki every day, and really focusing on the Gokai, which are the Reiki principles, and making sure that they are living according to those principles. Now we're going to dive into what Haras and symbols and Gokai are later next week. But for now, you should know what the you know what the differences are, so that you can determine which path you most resonate with. So that you can take take those studies with you. Okay, so in a nutshell, we've got Western versus traditional, you know, Westerners are there they're seeking power from outside themselves. They have a lot of like these Christian beliefs. So like, original sin, and you know, this like duality of like, oh, yeah, there's heaven, an earth and we need to be able to communicate in words to people, you know, in order for things to be taken more seriously. We're very logical We like to look at the future or the past instead of focusing on the present, and we rely on tools, whereas in Japan, they rely on their power coming from their inside, they recognize that even a divided spirit can find unity back to its wholeness, that they believe that there is nothing bound to heaven and hell that we can restart, we can reset, that we are not bound by our mistakes. They trust their intuition and their feelings over the word, you know, the words that are being spoken, they tune into the, the emotions behind the words, and they don't share, you know, information with anybody unless they are ready to learn. So, once again, if you're not ready to learn Reiki, like just skip along, you know, and come back next month when we're not learning Reiki. The Japanese really rely on their intuition, they focus on the here and now in the present day. And they don't require any item it was items of worship, or tools in order to be skillful at something, they develop their fundamentals first. So when deciding where you want to go with your Reiki path, the best way to decide what you want to do is you can take little pieces of both intake little pieces of Western Reiki and you know Japanese Reiki, it really doesn't matter. Western students sometimes really need visualizations and techniques, such as Reiki showers or affirmations, in order to find that connection to Reiki. And that comes from the whole subconscious, you know, the subconscious programming that we have as as young people, and it's okay, it's okay. We sometimes need to be able to visualize turning on that connection. And in, in Japanese Reiki, it's a lot more natural, a lot more organic, it really is trusting and not being so logical, it's just giving into this energy and allowing it to have to flow to to be to become one with this energy. And the Japanese believed that everyone is born with Reiki and has the ability to use it. The Reiki flows when our mind is calm, and when we are in harmony with our most natural state. And I think the best way to, to kind of give you an understanding of the difference is a Western Reiki Master would say, May the force be with you, while a Japanese Reiki Master would say, remember the force is you. Okay. So we're not going to be looking at symbols at all this month, because that's all Reiki too. But I encourage you through the month, that we're doing these skills, that you have compassion for yourself, that you understand that you're not perfect. And that developing any skill is going to take time, you might have some self confidence barriers, or maybe even the concept of energy is hard to wrap your head around. Try different approaches, try different things. And if you are really struggling with getting the skills are getting the tools and if you're having trouble with the practices, please reach out to me. If you really want to learn Reiki please reach out to me, I will teach you Reiki one, one on one for free this month. Okay? So if you're struggling with these skills, during this month's podcast, reach out to me, even in the future, just mention. You know, this podcast that that you that you got this message from the podcast, and I will sit down we'll go through how you can use these skills. And I will I will sit with you. Okay, but let's get started on those foundational practices. These are the practices that the Japanese would really hammer into themselves before moving on. And that is exactly what I did. Before learning Reiki two. I spent two years practicing Reiki fundamentals every single day all day long. I really listened to the story of Macau use oil and I understood that he became so skilled because he was doing it every day. He became skilled because he was disciplined in the practice of this, this healing modality that it became his way of life. And I wanted that for myself after I saw what this energy could do. So some foundational practices, the body has three energy points in Japanese energy. I guess the Japanese energy body has three points they're called Horus. Hara is traditionally translated to the place in the body or the elixir is located. It is more commonly translated to the stomach or abdomen or belly. And so energy is believed to be stored in these three points of the body, and it is then expanded throughout the whole body. Each Hara is best known for the stomach but there are three Hara energy centers within the Japanese energy system. horas are most relatable to the chakra system however, they are not related to the chakra system, and there are only three horas in comparison to the seven chakras of the Middle Eastern energy system. So in traditional Japanese teachings, and even still to this day, as an early life practice for teachings and diaphragmatic breathing the hara system remains a core focus in building a person's energy or key life force. When taking a look at the Hora centers, you can better understand their individual purposes. The goal when working with Hara breath, a practice we are going to be going over shortly is to link the three centers, which will create unity and balance in the body. This is essentially the backbone to strong Reiki connection and effective technique. So where are the Horus your first Hara is about one to two inches below your navel. The second horror is at your heart. And your third horror is at the very top of your head. The lower horror is just known as the horror this is where we're going to start. We are created here, we just stayed here and are born into the world. From this energy center. This is the source of original energy Creator energy, your mother womb energy. This is Earth Mother energy, our connection to earth key. Our mother host the nurturer of our life, our home security and nutrients our provider. When we are connecting to earth energy we gained stability, strength, cleansing, confidence, focus and balance. Earth key also provides clarity of one's life purpose of our own physical health and helps us tap into our healing abilities for not just others but ourselves as well. The middle Hora is the heart hora. The energy of this center is connected to our emotions, which is a human energy paired with this human experience. Life processes the human experience through emotions from childhood through adulthood to old age, only to return us to becoming a child through those experiences. I know that's really obscure to think about. But this is the symbolic resonance of the heart key. It's that connection of no matter what age you are, you are connecting to that childhood innocence that you are connecting. Through love and compassion. Through this center you connect with your heart, which expands your awareness and limitations to fully appreciate and embrace the vast blessings this life has has to offer. It also helps you find acceptance for life's obstacles and suffering and to understand their transformational lessons. Your heart Hara gives the deepest capacity for compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, empathy, and love. Now, the upper Hara this center uses universal information to see beyond the immediate human experience and it is known as the vessel of, quote, Heaven key and as the access point for celestial divine and eternal lifeforce energy to enter the being. When properly utilized and balanced with the lower Hara. It can awaken psychic abilities and draw in healing from the heavens, the center becomes a gateway or portal for enlightenment, and then an awakened consciousness however, however, this horror will only function optimally when your lower Hara is strong and healthy. Otherwise, this universal information and high vibrational stimulus can cause side effects such as insomnia, anxiety and jitters and mind chatter and even delusions in extreme cases, will also cause a lot of emotional imbalance. So before concerning yourself with connecting the three centers, it is imperative to develop the first Hara. Now your energetic system acts as a pyramid does without a strong foundation you become too top heavy, unstable and ineffective, toppling over and something many practitioners of Western spiritual practices do is over emphasize strengthening their third eye or crown chakra right. That would be considered your third Hara that's your your upper Hara. Even with western systems, building your root systems builds a strong foundation and grounding which is necessary for the intuitive work to be beneficial. There's always an over stimulated third eye chakra when you're talking about being awakened and in and alight and a lot of those people end up with imbalances that can be misinterpreted as as spiritual experiences. When we connect with the lower Horos we connect to orginal energy and that ensures good health, the physical body and recovery from illness. A firm collected stance is an indication that a practitioner has a strong lower Hara, much like the stance of a sumo wrestler. So when we think about sumo wrestler we're thinking the shoulders are low and hanging loose. The legs are slightly apart with the body weight distributed evenly. Sumo wrestler is someone who has a body that is large and heavy yet somehow they're able to be quick and nimble at any moment. It is not their physical strength that wins them fights but in their ability to adapt and hold their ground. Their lower Hara is the main building block to their success and it is from this point that they develop their strength like a pyramid and an inner attitude of calm stems from this Hara. Knowing that there is a reliable source of strength available when needed. It gives us the ability to cope with everyday tasks and even sudden emergencies with focus calm and ease of understanding. And this is why the lower heart needs to be strong and stable. And this is why I spent a year developing my lower Hara before I ever moved up to my heart or upper Hara. So the very first thing you need to learn when doing Reiki is there is a practice a traditional Japanese practice called Ghoshal that I recommend that you do Ghoshal is translated to two places To the palms together, it has several interpretations at different levels and cultures. But in traditional Japanese culture Gosh show is a sign of reverence. It is used to say I revere the Buddha nature in you a non judgmental manner for showing respect for all things. It can closely be related to the saying of Namaste, which is a Hindu way of saying I bow to the divine in you. Both practices use Ghoshal and is a reverence of the best nature within us all. Japanese practitioners use Gosh show as a way of bringing all opposites together, it creates unity within the body and mind by bringing the left and right hand together our yin and yang, we're all opposites become one. It is possible to recognize how focused an individual is by their golf show they say. A firm Ghoshal indicates a quiet and focused mind. However loose and sloppy Ghoshal indicates one who has poor concentration. Japanese believed that this action integrates the body and mind. There are many varieties of Ghoshal. No matter which variety to perform, the eyes must be kept at the tips of the middle fingers. So I use gossip. Every time I do Reiki, I use Ghoshal. Reason being is when I am doing God's show. I am not just revering the divine nature of Reiki, I am revealing the divine nature of myself and of my clients. And I see this as a way to greet and to think and to have that gratitude for the ability to be a vessel for this energy. That's the reason I use Ghoshal. Once again, it's totally up to you if you want to Gosh show I do. Because it helps me tune into that energy within myself more I have appreciation for my self of appreciation for this energy, I have appreciation that I am this vessel, and I have appreciation for my client for their openness and willingness to receive this. So I'm going to end today with giving you your first attunement, okay. And what I want from you is I want you to go show that is just placing your hands in prayer position. And you can close your eyes you just even if you just start with a golf show you say thank you. And then you can relax after in order to receive that is totally fine. I just recommend that you take a moment of gratitude before doing Reiki because it will create this pattern for you of reverence, it will create this pattern for you of connection. It's just something to try if it's something that resonates with you. So when I'm going to attune you please do Gosh show at the beginning and golf show at the end. Just for for my sake, try to do that if you can. And next week, we will be going over some practices that you can begin to use in order to help you tune yourself to these Reiki energies so you can start to use them on yourself. Okay? So please go ahead, take a couple of deep breaths. If you know how to ground yourself. It is really, really good to ground yourself beforehand. If you don't know how to ground yourself. I'm gonna go ahead and guide you through a very quick grounding practice. I recommend you do this before you ever do Reiki on yourself. Because being grounded, once again, is that foundation to that pyramid of energy. You want your strong ground before you start to channel any kind of energy through your body. Because just like a lightning rod, you don't want to fry your own circuit, right. We want to make sure that you are grounded that that energy comes in through your body and is able to go out somewhere else. So with your grounding, just take a moment settle into your skin, settle into your body. Pause whatever you're doing. Feel your skin what's the temperature sure feel the rise and fall of your chest relax your shoulders back relax your hips. Feel them sink into your chair or feel your feet and legs become heavier and denser as you sink down into the gravity of your own balance feel your feet against the floor. If your feet aren't against the floor what is are you sitting in a chair? Are you laying in a bed? Are you in an airplane or you find a place of contact between you and something else. What's that bed feel like on your back? Where are you holding tension are you crossing your legs uncrossed them rest your soles on the floor feel your soles pressing down into the floor as the ground holds steady against that pressure almost elevating you in that state of stasis feel the support from the earth beneath you trickle down your relax each and every muscle eases its way down down into your hips down into your can pass journey way down into each and every. One is deep breath reopened receiving your time All right Okay, take a moment. Put your hands together and Ghoshal and graykey. Thank you body. If you want to thank me, you can thank me. I think myself, I think the energy, I thank you all for being receptive of them. So the way that you can practice this energy this week, is sitting in Ghoshal. And just creating that energy for yourself, how do you do that rainbow? How do you do that? Well, as I said, Westerners see Reiki as something that has to come within them. Whereas Japanese see Reiki as something that already lives within them. I have attuned you you subconsciously know now, how to use Reiki or at least to get the flow going, this is a flow thing. There are some visualizations. So before you go, I'm gonna go ahead and lead you through one of the most common and it is the hara breathing. Okay. This this is a practice that I use the most out of all the practices and all the levels of Reiki. I use this every single day. It's Jo Shin, Ko keel hope. Hora breathing. So go ahead, find a comfortable position for meditation. You can sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor, or in the lotus position, cross legged as long as it is comfortable for you. Your goal is to be upright and relaxed. But not to fall asleep and comfortable enough to not become distracted. So put your hands in gosh oh preposition silently. Set your intention to be open to the flow within yourself. Open to the flow of Reiki, receiving whatever you need most in this moment. Some Western practitioners might it Imagine Reiki being a switch flipped on, or they might say Reiki go or Reiki on. The most important part is that with your intention, you're letting Reiki flow through you in a natural and easy way, without resistance. So, that pretty much means do not quote unquote try to make it go. Don't push the energy. Open yourself up like a lotus flower. Don't try and push. Right. Place your hands in your lap, palms up. Take a slow, deep breath. Feeling the air expanding in your lungs, feeling the breath all the way down in your abdomen. Relax and breathe. Focus on a point just below your belly button. This is your lower heart. As you breathe in, man imagine filling this lower Hara see it expanding. And as you breathe out, imagine a light spilling through the rest of your body down your arms through your fingers through your legs and your toes. Expanding through your skin oozing through your pores and radiating out into your room. You can see it as smoke. You can see it as light. You can just imagine it as this energy. Continue to breathe this light into your room and out into the universe. With each slow deep breath in. fill your heart with your inner healing light. And with each slow, deep breath out, breathe through your body, through your skin and out into the universe. Breathe in to your Hara. Slowly breathe out that light through your skin out into your room. If you begin to feel dizzy or lightheaded, you are breathing too deep or too fast. Stop and let your breathing return to normal and breathe normally with the same visualization. And as you keep breathing in the light all the way down to your heart, breathing it out into your room, you may start to feel a sensation in your body. This is energy flowing and may start to feel like your cells are expanding. Maybe it feels like a lightening of tension. Some experience it as a rhythmic ocean tide. sweeping through them and some experience as tingling. Almost as if their limbs are falling asleep. Let it feel whatever way it wants to feel. Let it go where it needs to go. Don't push it. Don't try and interfere or direct it. Reiki will flow where balances needed. And if you have a particular area that you want to put attention on, just place your palms on that area and continue the heart breathing just as you would and everywhere else. Next week we'll be talking more about hand positions. But for now, use your intuition. Sit with this energy. Let it teach you This is the teaching of your soy sensei sitting with this new sensation, letting it guide him, letting it guide you. Become an observer of your own body. Recognize the sensations. Recognize where you hold tension. If pain comes up, breathe Reiki into that spot. Does it ease does it shift? Does it move, just observe. Try and do this practice as much as you can, minimally 20 minutes a day. When you're done, place your hands back in Ghoshal give thanks to Reiki, give things to yourself. And once again, if you feel inclined to do so, to me, your Reiki master teacher. Okay. So that was her breathing. That is establishing that stability in your lower Hara, creating grounding, creating a strong energy flow into that energy center that is all about physical health, physical balance, just getting that flow started moving through your system is really going to make a huge difference. Now next week, we will be covering more practices. And we'll be talking more about how to use Reiki with crystals how to use Reiki in your everyday life. And in situations we're going to talk about the Go chi, which is the precepts the principles of Reiki, we're going to talk about the different energy systems. And even though that they are not Reiki related how you can integrate those energy systems utilizing Reiki and you can start to use Reiki in some skills you already know. That is what we're going to be covering next week. I'm so excited. So so excited to be able to share this with you. I really hope that you enjoyed today's session, today's teaching today's podcast episode. It is my great pleasure to be able to offer this not just, you know, on online, but to everybody who is ready to receive this teaching, they can find me here. And I just encourage you guys, if you're feeling any kind of resistance to this, you can sit with that resistance and figure out why. Or you can just pass over the series for the month. If you're not ready to learn Reiki, you're not ready to learn Reiki and that's okay. Don't be too hard on yourself. It's not for everyone. But if you are feeling that resistance and it's just because of a limiting belief about Is this legitimate is energy real. Please go check those. Those links that I gave you in the description below. make that determination on your own. Okay. Once again, thank you guys so much for tuning in today. I appreciate each and every single one of you and I hope you guys put aside at least 30 minutes a day into doing that heart breathing, getting your energy, your your Reiki energy moving through your bodies, so that you are ready to learn more on how to integrate Reiki into your day to day life. Thank you again and I cannot wait to keep ascending together. Have a good day guys. Bye