Archive for October 2007
This Sunday I will be giving Reiki treatments at an event here in Oklahoma City. I am excited and nervous about the whole situation; will the people line up to have the treatment? Will they be receptive to this big, shaven-headed, tattooed guy telling them to relax and to become compassion?
I have a feeling most of them will be open to the idea of reiki to begin with. It is a fairly progressive meditation center and as such I am guessing most are aware of chi and how it can and does affect them on a daily basis.
I only recently received my attunement to level II in Reiki, so I am still not the seasoned professional I would rather be, but this is a great opportunity to learn for me. I am hopeful that after a full day of reiki on so many people I will have an epiphany. Kinda like being thrown over and over again in judo, after a few thousand you start to catch on.
I do something a little different in my reiki treatments though; I practice tonglen on the person receiving the reki from me. During tonglen I do a form of meditation whereby I center my focus on the person I am sending the reiki to and consciously imagine reducing the suffering in their life. It is a freeing meditation.
I will write more about tonglen soon.
Matt
I recently found the movie The Yogis of Tibeton Stage6. It is a documentary about the Himalayan kingdom of Tibet and her Buddhist and Bon yogis.
You can watch the movie in its entirety here: Yogis Of Tibet.
This movie shows video from the Chinese invasion of Tibet while it also speaks about the one million Tibetans killed in that invasion and the years since then. Western countries have largely ignored this brutal holocaust in order to appease the Chinese government and promote trade with the commerce engine we know as China.
Tibetan yogis are not the yogis most westerners think of, the Hindu yogis. Hindu yogis are known for producing body-bending feats, but the Tibetan yogis are known rather for their practice of yoga of the mind.
In the film one lama comments that the definition of a yogi is someone who trains their mind to be “always at ease, always at peace.” Sounds to me that we should all strive for that. I have a hard time imaging a more compassionate practice than being at peace at all times. Stressful jobs, relationships, friendships - all of those would benefit.
Just for a moment, concentrate with me. Soften your eyes, relax your forehead, let the stress fall away like so much dust. Feel your breath, maybe for the first time today, maybe for the first time ever; really feel it. Take in a deep breath and with it, breathe in the energy that surrounds you, the energy that pervades the whole universe and feeds you even when you do not know it is there for you. Exhale and push out the suffering you have felt today. Exhale and push out the suffering of all those around you, your family, friends, coworkers, people on the street and all of the beings in the universe. Offer everyone this one quiet moment of peace.
Now, while you are momentairly stress-free and if you have any interest in Buddhadharma, Tibet, China, world economics or global politics; then please take the time to watch this amazing and beautiful documentary. Let me know what you think too.
This might be the most important posting you ever read on my blog; and it is only a link to another blog. Before I send you there I wanted to share my comments, to set the stage, if you will.
This needs to be on every news outlet in America. Where is it? Why are our newspapers and local news programs not giving us this? We all need to do everything we can to stop America’s hemorrhaging before it is simply too late. I am still optimistic, it isn’t too late. Not yet.
Become an activist, become involved, make your stand and live free.
The other choice, the one where you go along without using your voice, that one only leads to slavery.