Mind
Japanese Mind
16/10/10 12:49
Over the years I have been in gatherings of masters and listened as Phyllis Furumoto encouraged an appreciation of the history, the culture and times in Japan at the time of Mikao Usui.
On one particular occasion it roused a friend to anger. “How Japanese do I need to ***ing be! ...to do Reiki?
Actually what was being highlighted in Phyllis’s talk was not “becoming more Japanese”. My friend missed the point, which was nothing to do with getting a Japanese or any other sort of mind, but everything to do with stepping aside from the habitual viewpoints of our western mind.
That means being open to the experience of the discomfort of “not knowing”, of allowing the experience of uncertainty.
On one particular occasion it roused a friend to anger. “How Japanese do I need to ***ing be! ...to do Reiki?
Actually what was being highlighted in Phyllis’s talk was not “becoming more Japanese”. My friend missed the point, which was nothing to do with getting a Japanese or any other sort of mind, but everything to do with stepping aside from the habitual viewpoints of our western mind.
That means being open to the experience of the discomfort of “not knowing”, of allowing the experience of uncertainty.
Mind Changing
08/10/10 11:22
If I believed what you believe, I'd probably be acting exactly the same way you are right now ...Once we realize that it's not a matter of judgment, but a matter of belief, everything changes. ~Seth Godin
Seth was talking marketing, but the idea applies generally.
The flip side is that beliefs are not necessarily rational, some are simply “insane” by any measure we care to use. We are able to believe anything we choose to, and we are encouraged (even coerced) to support certain beliefs when it’s a group or societal belief. The world was once believed to be flat, the sun was believed to revolve around the earth, illness was caused by evil spirits witches and “vapours”.
We draw our beliefs from a wide range of sources, some get discarded with life experience , others are added. One thing we can be sure of is that foundation beliefs, and beliefs that support our personal agendas, are held sacred and are defended even when it literally kills us. Think of habits that we have been unable to drop, each one is attached to a belief system.
A favourite healing quote comes from Rachel Naomi Remen: "Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn't you --- all of the expectations, all of the beliefs --- and becoming who you are. Not a better you, but a realer you."
Letting go of outdated beliefs about what we think we are is a process. In my experience of the practice called Reiki, the practice brings awareness that creates this possibility. I say possibility because we may cling to our beliefs about who we are out of fear of letting go, fear that we may lose ourselves somehow.
The fear is normal, to be expected. The fear is called change, and the fear of change can be bigger than whatever other fears we might be holding. The curious fact we tend to overlook is that change is inevitable, everything is changing, every moment of our lives.
When we do get to overcoming our fear and letting go, then we suddenly get how simple it all really was, that the healing we needed in our lives was about changing our mind.
Seth was talking marketing, but the idea applies generally.
The flip side is that beliefs are not necessarily rational, some are simply “insane” by any measure we care to use. We are able to believe anything we choose to, and we are encouraged (even coerced) to support certain beliefs when it’s a group or societal belief. The world was once believed to be flat, the sun was believed to revolve around the earth, illness was caused by evil spirits witches and “vapours”.
We draw our beliefs from a wide range of sources, some get discarded with life experience , others are added. One thing we can be sure of is that foundation beliefs, and beliefs that support our personal agendas, are held sacred and are defended even when it literally kills us. Think of habits that we have been unable to drop, each one is attached to a belief system.
A favourite healing quote comes from Rachel Naomi Remen: "Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn't you --- all of the expectations, all of the beliefs --- and becoming who you are. Not a better you, but a realer you."
Letting go of outdated beliefs about what we think we are is a process. In my experience of the practice called Reiki, the practice brings awareness that creates this possibility. I say possibility because we may cling to our beliefs about who we are out of fear of letting go, fear that we may lose ourselves somehow.
The fear is normal, to be expected. The fear is called change, and the fear of change can be bigger than whatever other fears we might be holding. The curious fact we tend to overlook is that change is inevitable, everything is changing, every moment of our lives.
When we do get to overcoming our fear and letting go, then we suddenly get how simple it all really was, that the healing we needed in our lives was about changing our mind.
More Than the Body
02/10/10 20:53
All healing involves the mind.
The capability of modern medicine to make a physical or chemical intervention in the physical body is nothing short of amazing. Technology is, however, not the whole picture. Good science and good care can work wonders, but we are more than a body.
Before modern interventions were available, and before its methods were so widely successful, the doctor needed to give attention to the question of why this condition is manifesting in the life of this person at this particular time. Attention was also given to the physical and mental environment in which the healing process took place.
The mind related aspects of our being and their role in or healing processes have not gone away. Healing is not something done to us, we are not incidental to the outcome.
The capability of modern medicine to make a physical or chemical intervention in the physical body is nothing short of amazing. Technology is, however, not the whole picture. Good science and good care can work wonders, but we are more than a body.
Before modern interventions were available, and before its methods were so widely successful, the doctor needed to give attention to the question of why this condition is manifesting in the life of this person at this particular time. Attention was also given to the physical and mental environment in which the healing process took place.
The mind related aspects of our being and their role in or healing processes have not gone away. Healing is not something done to us, we are not incidental to the outcome.
Reality
31/01/10 16:01
One of my all time favourite books is “The Dancing Wu-Li Masters”, a book about Quantum Physics. In particular I liked the parallels that were drawn between the implications of Quantum Mechanics and the “wisdom of the East”.
Two favourite quotes from the book are copied below. Its helpful not to get locked in by our beliefs to the point that we no longer can see the world except through the lenses of these beliefs. Of course, we need to know a belief system is operating, and to be able to step outside of it.
Quote 1: “The Wu Li Masters know that "science" and "religion" are only dances, and that those who follow them are dancers. The dancers may claim to follow "truth" or claim to seek "reality," but the Wu Li Masters know better. They know that the true love of all dancers is dancing”.
Quote 2: "Reality" is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.
Two favourite quotes from the book are copied below. Its helpful not to get locked in by our beliefs to the point that we no longer can see the world except through the lenses of these beliefs. Of course, we need to know a belief system is operating, and to be able to step outside of it.
Quote 1: “The Wu Li Masters know that "science" and "religion" are only dances, and that those who follow them are dancers. The dancers may claim to follow "truth" or claim to seek "reality," but the Wu Li Masters know better. They know that the true love of all dancers is dancing”.
Quote 2: "Reality" is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.