moraldilemma

Like I said I've been initiated into traditional Japanese reiki from two different linneages and used it on myself and others many times. There's no question that the reiki training I've gotten is as authentic as what you have (unless you somehow got into the tightly closed and xenophobic Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, which I doubt). And I've done metta meditation many times. It feels exactly the same. It has the same results. Metta actually helps me feel more connected with people even though I'm not touching anyone, let alone in the same room as anyone. The truth is when Usui was alive it was about spirituality and helping humanity. As soon as he died it became about money. What we've gotten is multiple generations of teachers who learned the added business aspect and they taught us the same. I'd rather teach people the truth: that they can heal themselves and experience gnosis, union with everything, right here, right now.

People who are good at marketing also get lots of people interested in their services. Do whatever you need to do to justify your business. I just can't advocate charging money for something that can easily be learned by yourself in less than an hour. I'd also like to emphasize that every reiki teacher I've talked to and every reiki book I've read have stated that it is a natural ability that everyone has.

Alright. Here's my updated, clarified position on this. The videos I posted above are not exactly "traditional reiki" (and neither are any of the systems available outside of Japan today). They are however very similar. The point is you don't need to go to a series of expensive seminars to learn how to heal yourself. Metta meditation is a much older and, IMO, more genuine technique that is actually shown to be more effective. And it's free. Remember: it's all made up. Every idea that is passed between people can never have the true essence of what the idea was trying to capture. Mikao Usui discovered reiki by accident. As soon as he started teaching it it started to become diluted. By the second generation it started to form into systems reminiscent of spiritual pyramid schemes that we have today. Anyway, I feel like I'm arguing with myself at this point. I love you all. I want you all to realize how powerful you are inside. Be free.

\m/

What if there were two guys on the moon and one killed the other with a rock? Would that be fucked up or what?

I'm sorry to bump this old thread but it might be helpful. Been doing Metta (Loving-Kindness) meditation recently and I realized that the energy I felt from that is the same energy I feel while doing Reiki. It may not be the same species, but it's definitely in the same genus. Looked for some evidence as to it's effectiveness and, lo and behold, it has pretty much the same benefits as Reiki: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/feeling-it/201409/18-science-backed-reasons-try-loving-kindness-meditation Yeah, this is free and anyone can do it! After spending hundreds of dollars and hours on reiki classes and books it seems like the right thing to do to tell people about this. Just saying, you may be saving a lot of dough by practicing metta instead

Is this on the wrong board or does no one give a shit?

Ignorance you can fix. Stupid you're stuck with.

Thinking about starting a meditation group at a local library or some such place. I used to go to one that was at a Unitarian Church that was quite nice but then I moved. There aren't any non religious ones near me other than ones lead by psychologists. (Referral needed, which requires insurance, which isn't free here.) There's the Zen center I go to but it's out on the middle of nowhere and it is religious, no matter how non-dogmatic they are compared to most other religions. So my pitch for Craigslist is along the lines of "starting a meditation/mindfulness group in the x area. We will have a foundation of silent sitting meditation. We're also going to explore other techniques such as loving-kindness and [other examples]. Works from Daoism, Zen Buddhism, mindfulness psychology, and other schools will be discussed with emphasis on practice in everyday life. Look forward to hearing from you." So if you got some tips or experience with this type of thing, let me know about it please.

There's a lot of word salad happening up in this thread. Maybe I'm thinking too logically or something.

Found another perspective on the topic: "The true seeker Subdues all waywardness. He has submitted his nature to quietness. He is a true seeker Not because he begs But because he follows the lawful way, Holding back nothing, holding to nothing, Beyond good and beyond evil, Beyond the body and beyond the mind... He harms no living thing. And yet it is not good conduct That helps you upon the way, Nor ritual, nor book learning, Nor withdrawal into the self, Nor deep meditation. None of these confers mastery or joy. O seeker! Rely on nothing Until you want nothing." -Dhammapada (ch. 19) Even though it's attributed to Buddha, it seems pretty Daoist to me.

These answers make sense I guess.

I don't know fam. Space looks like complete and total darkness peppered with a lot of tiny lights. I don't fear the light. I don't want to cling to either, but that's a bit like giving up, escaping, letting everything go.

It seems like the goal of good. To spread to the whole world. I've been working a lot on my mental health and these positive practices keep showing up. Gratitude, compassion, mindfulness, loving kindness- all evidence points to them being beneficial to an individual's emotional state and also to those around them. But I can't get over the feeling that there will be some kind of backlash. That the universe will balance it out somehow. I should probably just let it go, come back to the present, breathe, etc. Which helps a little but it doesn't answer the question. Edit: then again, since my default mode has traditionally been negative, maybe more positive will balance me out.

Been listening to the Sword a lot lately.