A Reiki Theory

I think that, perhaps, in the same way that God has allowed us limited dominion over our bodies in the physical realm, allowing others to minister to us medically, that it naturally follows that we may have some limited dominion over our beings in the nonphysical realm, where others can minister to us medically vis a vis our "informational fields". So, it may be that, when we pray, there are two modalities involved: 1) our ministrations through intentionality/visualization to another's informational field via our own and 2) God's sovereign and free response to our intercessory prayer for others, affecting every level of being per His perfect will for our souls.

So much of reiki, then, whether through implicit or explicit faith, is not only prayer-like but prayer, indeed, with two modalities at work. One honors that part of the supernatural realm, over which we've been given limited dominion/stewardship, and the other is a surrendering to God in prayer, intercessory or even for oneself, followed by His sovereign action.

I think the key may be in dissolving the false dichotomy between prayer and medicine and acknowledging that there has always been prayer involved, however implicit or explicit, Christian or "pagan", in traditional Chinese medicine, Shamanism and such, and that there has also been an efficacy that derives from intentionality/visualization acting on another's "informational field"/soul vis a vis whatever limited dominion God has ordained. I believe that all healthcare professionals, even nonbelievers, are engaged in prayer when authentically and seriously practicing their healing art and healing science, whether they are aware of it or admit it or not. The great thing about reiki is that it introduces a more personal dynamic and a more wholesome and holistic approach to the patient as a subject and not mere object. More hospitals and hospices should make it available, and Catholic hospitals should do so with more attention to proper catechesis.

My theory could be wrong, though.

pax,
jb

p.s. I have found that Pert and Chopra and the bioenergy gang aren't very circumspect in their rush to close the gap between the exploratory/speculative/theoretical realms and that of the practical. At the same time, I do resonate with their overall thrust. It is, after all, quite the challenge to remain consistent and coherent when addressing energy phenomena comprehensively --- physiologically, medically, psychologically, metaphysically, philosophically, mystically, phenomenologically and theologically, and not just breadthfully (new word, I know) but depthfully. That's all the more reason to esteem the outlook and treasure the collective workproduct of the Arraj and St. Romain couples, Jim & Tyra, Phil & Lisa. I say: Take a bow!

I recently had a session with an energy healer, a graduate of the Barbara Brennan School, which has a rigorous training program. I'd had sessions with healers trained in that modality before - years ago - decided it was rather useless and despite trying to be open minded and politically correct in accepting that there are many paths to God and these healers are just on whatever they are, believe me, Christ is not the center of this journey.

Anyway, I decided to go through with it because of all the weird stuff that I've been experiencing in my subtle energy bodies, which indeed, this healer confirmed since she was, of course, sensitive on this level. Then I let her huff and puff over me, shooting energy through her hands that she could caliberate through her training, to help remove the "density," and she assured me that she had removed some yucky stuff, which of course came back about ten minutes after I left her house. (Fortunately the fee wasn't very high, though this healers can charge practically lawyers' hourley fees if they serve a wealthy clientele willing to pay up.

I didn't really have any grave side effects in terms of psychic attack, and perhaps due to the fact that I'm pretty disconnected from the energy. My reaction is negative mostly due to the uselessness of the entire session and of the "energy" coming through the healer, as well as the healer's story, which in this case was a little atypical. This healer was a woman, mid-50s, told me she had been a corporate type on Wall Street, had the equivalent of a nervous breakdown about 8 years ago, "the universe" she said, stopped supporting that life for her, ego driven, etc. Okay, fair enough. She is a lapsed Catholic, said her spiritual practice was a mix of the "best" that all walks offer and told me Mother Mary was in the room as she worked on me. (Probably due to the fact that I wear a mirculous medal around my neck, me the non-Catholic who loves Mary, and hopes she was in the room, though I frankly I didn't feel her presence amped up at all despite all the huffing and puffing.)But like a lot of healers I've worked with, she also demonstrated the pride and ego of someone who thinks they have a gift, that they suffered to achieve, though "the universe" kicked in to show her, she told me, that she was a healer.

Then I spoke with my friend Sharon, the woman I've written about who had a near death experience, who simply prays over people (and the numbers are growing) and has a pretty direct relationship with "spirit" in this case, she claims Christ, whom she met when she crossed over and was given her life mission for coming back.

Anyway, her attitude and experience was so far different from this struggling healer, for whom Christ, by name, was not the center of her life. Sharon says she thinks these people are well intentioned, but still misguided, all one needs is Christ and no other techniques for healing other than direct prayer. Get out of the way and let Christ do what needs to be done, but one should be walking with him as closely as possible she says.

Made much more sense to me.

Ah my friend Phil, I've been waiting for you to drop a Freudian bomb, as I've done in the past . . . . . .

"Is it gift of curse to become intimately aware of this?"

Isn't the subconscious wonderfull? . . . . . .

LOL!

It could have been worse!

Is it curse of gift to become inmately aware of this?

Sue,

I've never seen any Christian discussion re mysticism talk about the capability in terms of increased psychic powers. I think the Christian walk regards mysticism as a grace bestowed by God, a charisma/fruit of the spirit, unlike the New Age types who employ a bunch of techniques to develop this ability.

Re reiki, your point is important. Definitely the heart-state of the healer as a "channel" for the energy is vital. But in Christianity, once again, healing isn't thought of this way. Christ can use anyone, anytime he wants, anyway he wants to promote, for example, a healing in someone and that isn't even dependent on the state of heart of either participant, or even if they're that great Christians, though Christianity certainly promotes the fact that aligning one's life with Christ's as much as possible and walking the faith walk certainly brings graces, such as a healing charisma.
But this isn't anything one works to develop. It is simply bestowed by Christ. Or not. Linda

Hello again:
Then may I ask the list what the difference is between a Christian contemplative and mystic?
Blessings
Sue

Sue, this is just a generality, but contemplatives are more associated with apophatic spirituality and mystics with kataphatic. Apophatic refers to the negative way--without images, attuned to God as the deep, obscure mystery in the Ground of one's being. Kataphatic refers to the use of symbols, images, words, etc. Kataphatic mystics experience contact with God through these means, including locutions, visions, dreams, and other explicit guidance. It's quite common for a prayerful person to experience both at times, and that was usually the case with the Saints. I think I'd also go along with your point that there's more psychic activity among the kataphatic mystics, but that this activity is stimulated by grace/Holy Spirit than a natural energetic process (although it could be both).

Does this help?

Sue, the Christian spiritual/mystical tradition has been very much aware of the kinds of experiences you're describing and the kinds of powers that you find awakening in yourself. These are considered gratias gratis datae (extraordinary phenomena, or gratuitous events) in the old manuals, and they've pretty much acknowledged the existence of just about every kind of pyschic power imaginable. Some of the Christian mystics even had gifts of levitation--so much so that they used it to help build buildings. Bilocation is another rather common one. Etc. etc.

The overwhelming message from the spiritual masters is that if these kinds of gifts emerge, don't mistake them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and don't focus on cultivating them. It's not that they're considered a bad thing; they're viewed as evidence of the "farther reaches of human nature," as Maslow liked to say. It's just that they can indeed become a distraction from the true goal of the spiritual life. St. John of the Cross counseled spiritual directors to steer people away from preoccupation with these kinds of phenomena (although he himself seemed to have them in abundance) and so did St. Teresa of Avila (also lots of mystical gifts). This counsel is also found among the Hindu and Buddhist sages, who recognize these siddhis (powers. . . Hinduism) as a common accompaniment to deep spiritual awakening, but nothing to be cultivated for their own sake (Linda was alluding to this in her earlier post). It's possible that God would indeed be calling one to use these gifts in ministry, but that would need to be discerned, with the true priorities of the spiritual life maintained.

I'd encourage you to discuss all this with your spiritual director and see what feedback you get. Please feel free to continue using the forum to process. I'm very happy to have this kind of discussion happening here.

Shalom,

Phil

Sue,

The astral realms that you've been experiencing are lower realities. My advice is to just stay in the witness stance, don't get attached to any of it,and if you've been doing lengthly prayer and meditation, to curb those activities. YOu don't need to overstimuluate your third eye (sixth chakra, eye into psychic realm). I've had many similar experiences, and eventually, my "window" into the lower realms, particularly the kind you've been alluding to, lowered in frequency. It as if somewhere in my consciousness started to filter out a lot the trivial stuff - i.e. as a Christian, I could care less about shamanic power animals (which I had plenty of experience with given my occultic energy healing exposure) much less any info about yucky stuff that might have happened in a specific location I was in - unless, of course, it is clear guidance that I was in some sort of mortal danger or something, which has never been the case.

What you're experiencing is just part of the process. The walk is not to let it become any part of your day-to-day reality, or emphasize any portion of it as some kind of greater gift outside of a grace given to you by God to better serve whatever His purpose is for your life.

And, Sue, I would really disagree with your observation that the general understanding of Christian spirituality is a narrow one. Actually, its huge.I found once I reached a greater and truer understanding of Christ - including energetically - everything I was wrestling with in my energy process faded in comparison. And I mean that with utmost humility. That understanding has certainly not healed my K imbalance, but it has strengthened my faith walk immeasurably.

If you've been receiving support from Christians who haven't been through a K process and don't seem to understand some of the things you're going through, I wouldn't translate that as an issue between your experience versus a kind of narrow belief system of Christian spirituality on their part. The Holy Spirit bestows all kinds of different spiritual gifts on people that we need to honor.

Sue,

Another thought. Your post has nagged me and I went back to review past themes on the K board and you, I think, were the same Sue who posted a while back about removing energy cords with the help of a Hindu healer. Given what you wrote in this past post on this board, I had a suspicion you had been exposed to other energies outside of the Christian walk and this prior list of postings confirmed it.

Consequently, you are being affected by the denser energies of other spiritual walks and this is probably hindering your K healing if you are also attempting to devote yourself to a Christian walk at the same time. As many of us posted in the prior board, it just doesn't seem to work to mix the various traditions, as much as we'd all like to believe that the energy of God, the intention of healing and merging with God, is the same no matter what path to God you decide to take. That may be true for someone with a closed down energy system, but any kind of K occurence really changes the whole picture. One must trend very carefully. In comparison to other traditions, yes, Christianity doesn't have all kinds of energy techniques outlined as part of the path - I mean, there's prayer, meditation, charismatic gifts, etc. - but certainly no well defined steps for developing those capabilities through various tactics, as in Tibetan Buddhism, Hindu, native American shamamism, or even the hodge podge of New Age practices out there. I assume that is what you meant by the narrowness of the beliefs of Christian spirituality. But the issue is that Christianity, due to the fact that those tactics don't exist readily, is a TOTALLY different path in practice because of that fact. There is an element of surrender to Christ, as a person, not just as a consciousness, that exists in no other spiritual walk, and even for those in the mystical or contemplative Christian walks, their spiritual discipline and practice is completely centered on that fact, nothing much beyond it. Christ is the clear focus at all times, with the evolution of Christianity as outlined in the Bible and walk of the saints very much the additional guides.

This is what I think you need to understand.

Perhaps Phil and others can more elegantly address this issue, but it is the distinguishing factor for anyone dealing with the K and Christianity.

Sue, I think you got some very good feedback from Linda and w.c. It's just a matter of considering it all reflectively and prayerfully, listening to what you hear the Spirit saying in all of this.

As a spiritual director, my tendency is to view the full range of human powers as God-given and good, so I don't have any inherent distrust of psychic gifts. I view them in the same manner that I view gifts of body, intellect, imagination, creativity, etc. Just as we often use these more common gifts for the wrong reasons and outside of a true spiritual context, so it is with psychic gifts. The difference is that it's a little easier to confuse psychic gifts with the more common manifestations of human potential because the metaphysical realm is a little closer to the spiritual.

So what I would counsel you to do in spiritual direction is to first and foremost cultivate your relationship with God and other people, for I'm convinced that "relatingness" is at the heart of true spirituality and human development. If, in this context, the gifts continue to manifest and be available to you, then it could be that they are being given in the interest of your ongoing growth in the love of God, people and creation. As I noted in my post above, many Christian Saints and mystics made use of them, but within the proper context.

The issue of consulting people from other faith traditions is a tough one, however. I do not hesitate in spiritual direction to recommend that someone with a health problem seek medical attention, or that someone who is depressed find a counselor. Because the metaphysical and spiritual levels are so close, however, I really do prefer if assistance in integrating metaphysical/psychic struggles comes from a Christian with proficiency in this area. That's one of the reasons why this forum exists. A significant consideration here is the manner in which certain Eastern practices are dynamically oriented toward different goals from that emphasized in Christian spirituality, so that even practicing them as a Christian and with good intent leads one in a different direction. This is not to say that those Eastern spiritual goals are bad; far from it: only that they are not the same as the goals of Christian spirituality, and so one can find oneself being pulled in two directions if one goes too far into an Eastern pathway.

Let us know how this sits with you--even if you strongly disagree. That's OK.

As many participants of these boards know, Phil plays such a distinctive role among spiritual directors since he is someone who has also been in a K process, one that has also incurred problems for him, so he's also analyzed the techniques of other spiritual paths, and written about them as both a comparison and their potential methods for healing K discomforts, all within a very liberal Christian framework.

But, I would venture the vast majority of Christian spiritual directors out there would have only a slight understanding of K process. As a result, if they were to encounter someone like Sue, recommending consulting with someone with K expertise on another spiritual path might make a great deal of sense. But it is also somewhat problematic, due to the factors that Phil and others of us have pointed out on this board, due to the denser climate of strong powers and divine personalities as well as spiritaul practices that are generally part of those paths, some of which are in complete contradiction to Christian precepts.

As a result, Sue, I do believe that your exposure to Hindu energies of working with the healer could aggrevate negative psychic experiences on your part, particularly as a result of your K imbalance. Whether this is true or not, I can't say. But I do know that psychic healing opens the window, and from my own experience, know what could seem like a benign healing session with a psychic energy healer can result in other unpleasant disturbances from lower, if not demonic realms. Moreover, for those of you who do adhere to the Bible, the Old Testament includes warnings from God about entering the pagan temples for the Jews once they've regained control of the land for good reason. This is because the energies are in complete contrast to Christianity.

As for the psychic abilities you allude to that you've always had, unlike Phil, I don't think of these as necessarily positive, particularly if this is the chakra area in which you're having problems with the K. In the book of Acts in particular, there are several examples of the use of psychic powers being discouraged.

In fact, psychic capabilities might point to a bigger issue. In several Christian Healing traditions that have been developed, looking at the genetic propensity towards such powers has been examined. There are tons of case studies of people who have psychic abilities as a result of inheriting them, i.e. someone like myself. On one end of my family, I have a Native American heritage which undoubtably resulted in psychic gifts over a couple of generations, as well as mystical and healing abilities. But when I had the K experience, this really became a negative because those powers had been misused in prior generations, and I found it necessary to pray for healing of my family tree, including healing eucharists, in order to overcome the negative influence. How did I know this? Prayer, discernment and guidance from knowing sources.

There has been a lot written about the topic of generational healing and I encourage you to examine them if it applies. Even things like Masonic membership can have negative influences and require steps towards generational healing.
For someone with a closed energy system, the negative influences manifest differently than someone with an active K. The healing of the family tree would have never been necessary for me if I'd opted to follow Tibetan Buddhism, which was a very real decision for me at one point, because that path takes an entirely different approach to psychic capabilities.

As a result, Sue, my Christian "bias," as you would dub it, is not the result of some ignorant or shallow belief system. Like many people with a K experience, I did look to the Eastern paths for a good while, and tried actually bridging these types of issues. SOme of the consequences, energetically, were a disaster, as others have recounted as well on this board, so my "bias" is completely a result of hard-won experience.

Moreover, with global K circles, and I think many Christians on this board would agree, there is actually a "bias" against Christianity as a spiritual walk for anyone in K process, that the eastern walks in fact offer many advantages in comparison, such as a deeper understanding of the K itself, defined techniques to help its flow, well defined purification rituals for each part of the process, and literature and a belief system that address all the kinds of subconscious development states that can go along with it. Christianity, in comparison, seems to be, if not very informative, almost naive in comparison, when it comes to the K. The reason - a K process isn't really anything the Christian path emphasizes because the gift of the Holy Spirit through Christ combined with prayer and worship is considered sufficient to do all the same soul work. Participants on this board are all working out how to combine some of the elements of the eastern path, such as yogic and breathing exercise, with Christian spiritual practice, to process a K experience. But the emphasis remains Christian.

I advise you to consult with the other K boards on the web, of which there are many, that give all kinds of info regarding the spiritual disciplines of the eastern path and how they might apply to your situation as a basis of education and comparison.

W.C., I do hope you're not implying that any sensitivity to the demonic realms during K process is a result of paranoia lodged in the subconscious for any number of reasons. If so, that's a little bit too secular and too New Agey interpretation for me, i.e. evil, demonic realms, etc. is simply the "Not-Me" realm split off from the universal consciousness of love.

There are truly external demonic principalities that influence outside of one's own K process and have nothing to do with one's individual level of consciousness and in fact, wear at one's subtle energy bodies, if not harass. I have compared my own experiences with not only others verbally, but also in written accounts and have also spoken to people who have completed, so to speak, their K process, from gurus to Christian K types and that external harassment exists no matter where they are in their process. It is a fact of life on earth. If you think that a person can process out evil through psychotherapy or even spiritual practice, you're in complete deception.

Linda:

I've experienced the evil you speak of, and it is most certainly not an epiphenomenon. Of course, the Buddhists would say it is an exiled aspect of consciousness, but if they're right, I'm too much of a zombie to know it. What I was trying to convey was simply that personality disorders, where they exist, make a person's spiritual search much more vulnerable, both to exacerbations of the fragile psyche, and to the intrusions from the astral realm.

When aspects of my own abuse history surfaced strongly in response to K, there were two incidents in which demonic entities communicated their grissly and loathsome intent. Fortunately, this was short-lived, and I hadn't worn down my energetic protection too severely. But it was clear to me that the abuse and the strongly aroused K evoked both developmental as well as psychic disturbance. The two were related in the interaction, but seemed quite distinct. My sense was that without the developmental injuries K would probably not have occasioned these astral intrusions, but that's just a guess.

You and I take up these sort of concerns from different angles, both where each of us has the most experience. I don't see them as contrary views. But for me, the developmental issues get neglected in the spiritual quest just as surely as evil gets reduced to the errant imagination.

As for my level of deception, God only knows! Hopefully I'm not hopelessly deceived. Perhaps only partially . . . if I were married like Phil, then my wife could post a meaningful reply . . . . . . . . .

Honey, I'm home . . . . . Honey?

Well, we'll have to wait . . .

No, W.C., I think the developmental issues are incredibly important and that you really play a valuable role in defining them as part of the process. My concern was, and what wasn't clear to me in your last post, is that external role of evil and its pressure on a person's spiritual development versus the array of wounding issues that we all carry inside of us and their impact on our spiritual walk as well.

I agree that the two can work in tandem, i.e. that we may attract in our negative belief systems, which could take the form of astral entities, etc. But what my beef is, particularly with the New Age, is that evil is defined through such a narrow understanding, the unloved "not-Me." I had just been looking at a book by that idiot Wayne Deyer - you know, he's been granted the equivalent of infomercials running on PBS expousing his spiritual philosophies - in which his opinion was that its all about what we hold inside, etc.
Once again, this may reflect where that man is in his own development walk, in terms of a naracisstic, ego centered world view. I'm sure you have the proper terminology to address that.
But to dismiss power of evil so simply, as he does and others of his ilk,is just completely deceptive. Even the bible recognizes that Satanic forces try to know us intimately, so I think our wounding is something those forces do play upon. But there are even greater forces that can challenge us that have nothing to do with our personal wiring.

Of course, its not politically correct in many Christian circles, much less non Christian, to give the power of evil much credence. But I think spiritual warfare is a cornerstone of any true faith walk, and the force of those demonic powers playing on us can get even more aggrevated for someone in K process, even more so if it is imbalanced. That's why I'm so adamant about advising those with K to choose one spiritual path or another. Each path includes various demonic realms, and purifying from those forces is going to part of the walk, no matter which path one takes. To be exposed to an array of realms due to opening up too much energy from various spiritual paths at once is a recipe for disaster.