Reiki and Cancer
by Rev.
Sunemaura O’Brien
Reiki (pronounced
“Ray Kee”) is a spiritual healing modality – a
gentle, “hands on” approach to serenity, well-being,
and deep relaxation. It was developed in the late
nineteenth century by Dr. Mikao Usui, a Japanese
businessman and healer. It was brought to the
United States in the 1930’s by Hawaya Takata, who
learned the therapy after receiving its benefits
during a serious illness.
A
Japanese word, “Reiki” is a combination of two
words, “Rei”, which means universal or divine and “Ki”,
which means life force or energy. “Ki” (or “chi”,
as it is known to the Chinese) is a concept from
Eastern medicine, referring to a force or energy
which supports life within the organism. Thus,
Reiki refers to working with the universal life
force or energy that moves through every living
thing, breathing life into it and making it whole.
Some think of this as a spiritual energy while
others think of it as a matter of physics. The life
force is what helps the body (as well as the mind,
emotions, and spirit) heal itself. The life force
is the part of us that wants to heal, that wants to
live in harmony with everyone and everything around
us.
Reiki works by promoting deep relaxation and an
overall feeling of well-being. This boosts the life
force, inherent in all of us, which encourages the
body’s natural ability to fight disease and/or
discomfort and the mind’s natural ability to find
peace and serenity.
What happens in a Reiki healing session? The
receiver (client) lies on a massage table or other
comfortable surface. The setting is usually calm
and pleasant. Sometimes candles are lit and quiet
music is playing. The practitioner gently and
slowly moves her hands around the person’s body,
resting them lightly on or above various areas of
the body. The receiver is fully clothed at all
times. The healer does not massage or manipulate
tissue. Sometimes the receiver feels warmth or
tingling where the healer’s hands are resting.
Sometimes the receiver falls asleep. Most often,
the receiver moves into a state of deep relaxation –
a somewhat dreamlike state. When the session is
over, a feeling of lightness and serenity take
over. Over time, with repeated healings, this
feeling of serenity flows over into everyday life,
uplifting the receiver’s general outlook and
attitude. In recent years, science has shown that
this positive, peaceful outlook, along with regular
experiences of deep relaxation, actually promotes
healing in the body and the mind.
A
person can give Reiki healing to herself. Many
people learn Reiki just for this purpose. Daily
self-reiki sessions can have profound effects on the
body, mind, and spirit, all stemming from the act of
supporting the life force.
Over the past several years in my teaching practice,
I have used Reiki to assist many individuals
challenged by or recovering from cancer. I have
taught many individuals to give themselves Reiki
self healings. I have seen Reiki benefit these
individuals in a variety of ways. I have seen Reiki
reduce side effects of both conventional and
alternative cancer treatments. When Reiki has been
used after surgery, I have seen it make the healing
process more comfortable, with fewer complications.
I have seen it relieve physical pain. Most of all, I
have seen it provide emotional and spiritual
support, helping to alleviate confusion, fear, and
the multitude of other emotions that someone
challenged by cancer faces.
Reiki is especially supportive when one has moved
into the dying process. It greatly assists in
supporting physical comfort. It assists in finding
the peace that is so helpful in this transition. It
assists the individual in finding a sense of well
being within the experience of illness and death.
In addition, I have seen caregivers and loved ones
supported gently and profoundly by Reiki healings.
A healing session is a time for a caregiver to
really let go and relax – to attend to his emotions,
his mind, his spirit – and any physical complaint
that he may have been overlooking in light of his
loved one’s needs.
Caregivers also often decide to learn Reiki in order
to assist their loved ones and themselves in dealing
with cancer.
I
am a cancer survivor. I discovered Reiki just
before I found that the cancer was in remission in
1998. I received Reiki healing sessions regularly
during the next year - a time of rebuilding my
health and my life after cancer. I also learned
Reiki so that I could give healings to myself on an
almost daily basis. My experience with cancer had
opened my eyes to changes I wanted to make in my
life. Reiki supported me in making these changes
and creating a new, happier life for myself. It
supported me in building a new, healthy lifestyle.
It helped me cope with long term health effects left
from the cancer. I have seen it do the same for
others.
Reiki is a wonderfully simple and gentle gift that
anyone can learn to utilize. I believe that it is
the energy of and a grace of Divine Love, the true
healer within any modality.
It is important to
note that Reiki is not a substitute for medical
care. Reiki supports a variety of therapies and is
best used in conjunction with your doctors’ and
other licensed health practitioners’ care.
"Hands of Reiki" by David O'Brien
Intentional Prayer
by Lynda
Stauffer
Intentional prayer invokes my declaration of
freedom. When I truly align with my passions and
dreams, miracles occur. I am no longer bound in a
self-created prison. The will of the Divine is no
longer separate from my will when I have made a
specific decision to follow my bliss and make sparks
fly.
I cannot free myself by making demands or working
harder or by being obedient to another person. I
can only co-create my unique contribution with my
own divine spark. Once I open myself to the immense
blessings that are continually being sent my way, I
remember how to live in ultimate harmony with the
rest of the universe. I then know in my cellular
structure the truth of love, joy, and oneness. This
calling is the reason for my existence on planet
Earth.
My life has the potential to become an expression of
my intent, whatever that may be for me. I can make
an intention to do something that is not obviously
in alignment with my talents. In fact, the rewards
for making this decision are far greater then when I
choose an easier path. Success comes from
perseverance and flexibility. If no one else
believes in me, then that is their issue. If I want
to heal myself of an illness, or grow a garden, or
start a business, or travel to New Zealand, I can
stay focused and pay attention to the messages and
helpful people being sent my way. I can also
visualize the outcome and feel empowered. Then, I
can stay grounded and take concrete steps in the
direction of my vision.
If I want to manifest world peace, the process is
the same. Nothing is predetermined. I am blessed
with the ability to take the initiative. I can then
let go of the need to control the outcome, knowing
that whatever happens is for the highest good of
all, whatever the appearances may be. Life is all
about opportunity and beauty, if I choose to see
this. It is about the present moment, not some
distant heaven that comes to us when we die, if we
are good. And for this truth, I am grateful.
"Bullet" by Mary Madeline Day
What
Is Shamanism?
by Rev.
Sunemaura O’Brien
Shamanism is the oldest spiritual practice known
to humans. It developed out of ancient people’s
relationship with each other, with Earth Mother,
and with Creator. It is a spirituality of the
Earth. It is a Path that takes a person deeply
into her material surroundings and, at the same
time, takes her to many realms beyond the
material.
The Shaman
Traditionally, the shaman does not
self-identify. A person is called a “shaman”
when the community confers that title on him.
However, my experience is that all of us have an
“inner shaman” – the part of us that relates
deeply with the natural world, the part of us
that can access the highest and deepest truths
of existence. While we may not call ourselves
shaman, any of us may choose shamanic practice
as a spiritual path and a way of relating to
Life.
There are several aspects that
identify the role of the shaman in indigenous
cultures worldwide as well as in contemporary
society. Often the seed of the shaman’s journey
is planted with a near death experience – an
experience in which the individual confronts the
idea of her own death. At this time she catches
a glimpse of reality which is usually unseen –
what is often called “seeing beyond the veil.”
This initial experience may lead to an immediate
beginning for shamanic training, or training may
start many years later.
A shaman is trained by many life experiences, by
teachers in the material realm, and by teachers
in the unseen, or non-material, realm. Shamanic
gifts may be apparent from the beginning of the
individual’s life, or they may show up much
later. Shamanic training is about the use of
these gifts, the nature of reality, and,
especially, about learning to transverse all
realms of reality – learning to walk gracefully
and safely with one foot in the material realm
and one foot in the non-material realm.
Shamanic Practice
Shamanic practice is characterized by
the communication and assistance of helping
spirits who teach, guide, heal, and otherwise
support and nurture a shaman and his community.
It is also characterized by a close connection
and communication – a working relationship -
with various aspects of Nature. These
aspects include plant life, stone spirits, the
elements, and many others.
There are many roles that a shaman may take on –
priest, healer, teacher, seer – but the shaman
always offers his services for the good of the
community. He is personally guided and nurtured
by his practice, but individual benefit is never
the only goal or the only end result.
Shamanic practice is also – perhaps most of all
– filled with gratitude. This is an all
encompassing gratitude toward every living being
and towards Creator. Every shamanic practice –
every ceremony, every healing, every prayer –
involves a deep and sincere expression of
gratitude. From this gratitude there develops
an experience of spiritual ecstasy which
pervades the shaman’s being and her life. A
true shaman has a light in her eyes which
distinguishes her being and her practice.
Shamanic practice works with the flow
of Nature and the flow of Creator. It works
with surrender to a higher truth, a higher
authority. Shaman do not cast spells or
otherwise try to control outcomes. Rather,
shaman work with natural law and remain open –
and help their communities become open – to
positive outcomes. In addition, shamanic
practice is never used to bring harm to another
being or community. This is the work of
sorcerers, not shaman.
Shamanic practice explores the depths
and heights of a few basic realities.
Everything in existence has a Divine Life, a
Soul. This includes everyone and everything –
every human, every animal, every plant, every
stone – even an object which we may consider
non-living, such as a table, has a Soul. This
Soul is connected to every other Soul in one
great, beautiful web of life. Each Soul has a
voice – an expression and purpose – that is
unique, irreplaceable, and important to the
whole. Within this Oneness, relationship
between Souls is possible and important.
Four Elements
The four elements are central to
shamanic practice. The powers of fire,
air, water, and earth are considered the
energetic and material elements that make up all
of existence. The human body is made of these
elements, powered by them, and completely
dependent on them. Consider the sun – the
element of Fire – and imagine human life without
it. Consider the rivers and streams – the
element of Water - and imagine human life
without them. Consider the fertile soil of the
Earth. Consider the breath – the Air that
initiates human life.
Energetically, Fire represents the
power of the human spirit, passion, and
transmutation. Water represents the ebb and
flow of human emotions. It represents fluidity,
willingness, and surrender. Air represents
human thought, movement, the Breath of God/dess.
Earth represents the self-renewing property of
the human body, and the stability within the
changes of the Mother.
Shamanic Healing
Shamanic Healing takes place within
Soul to Soul connections – communication between
the Divinity within the shaman, the Divinity
within aspects of Nature and the spirit world,
and the Divinity within the being requesting
healing. Illness and misfortune come about
through only a few causes. One cause is the
loss of personal power through Soul loss. Within
life events, aspects or parts of the Soul leave
the body, or even the energy field. This
happens because these aspects do not feel safe
or comfortable existing within the individual or
because they have been taken and held by someone
else. The shaman assists the individual in
retrieving the lost Soul parts. Then, the
individual, being restored to wholeness, is able
to thrive.
The other cause of illness or misfortune is
negative blockages or entities, which stop power
from flowing through the body or life of the
individual. These blockages may be a result of
life events or they may be a result of sorcery.
The shaman assists the individual in restoring a
positive energy flow in her life and in her
being. Because an individual’s environment is
so important to healing, shamanic healing often
involves an individual’s family or community.
An important role of the shamanic
healer, after discovering and developing her own
expression and purpose, is in supporting others
in the discovery and development of their voice
in their world. This type of healing supports
the serenity and well-being of the whole
community. There is no one way for a shaman to
accomplish this– each shaman has his or her own
way of fulfilling this role.
Shamanic practice is both very
personal and very public. The Path begins
and ends with building committed relationships
with Mother Earth and with Creator. Within
these relationships, there comes a deepening in
relationships with ourselves and with other
beings. Our experience of Life becomes more
than we ever thought possible. Our voices
become strong and powerful. We become – as is
very much needed at this time - catalysts for
healing in this community that is our planet.
"Wheel Vision" by Kristy Adams
