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Post by veggiechef on Mar 19, 2008 20:10:22 GMT -5
Question of the day: Suppose a devoutly Southern Baptist person came to you and said she was thinking about learning Reiki, but was not sure it would be in keeping with her religious and spiritual beliefs...what is your answer?  I want everyone's thoughts on this...... |
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Post by yogagurl on Mar 19, 2008 22:10:42 GMT -5
I say that Reiki is universal love, and for Christian's I say Reiki is God's love flowing through us.
Hope that helps!
Kristi
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Post by saffy on Mar 20, 2008 9:33:21 GMT -5
I was raised Southern Baptist....so ..hmmm...so does that answer your question.
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Peace
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Post by Peace on Mar 20, 2008 11:33:39 GMT -5
i'm with saf. raised hard core southern baptist. lol. i also agree with kristi; universal love doesn't go against anyone's religion, does it? well, i guess some of them could/would relate it to some kind of mystical/magical thing, huh? like something that would fall under the category of "suffer ye not a witch to live"? well, i don't agree, but i guess some would see it that way, ya know what i mean? some of the stricter people might, anyway.
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Post by Christine on Mar 20, 2008 17:15:51 GMT -5
Hi Joanie,
It doesn't come up for me often, but occasionally I will get someone who asks if Reiki is against a particular faith. I usually tell them I can't speak for their congregation, but that I have taught Reiki and given treatments to Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Wiccans, and people of no particular faith background. I also remind them that though Reiki as a method came from Japan, through Dr. Usui who was a Buddhist, it is not part of Buddhism or any other religion.
Another thing that eases fears is to remind people that Reiki is practiced by nurses and doctors at major hospitals. Most people know Western medicine to be pretty secular, so I think there's the feeling, oh, if medical professionals are doing it, it can't be something crazy!
Hope that helps!
Blessings,
Christine
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Post by spirituallygiving on Mar 20, 2008 22:44:08 GMT -5
A girl I work with is hardcore Baptist and shuns my reiki beliefs. Just explain that reiki is universal love and allow the person to make their own decision |
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Post by saffy on Mar 21, 2008 8:03:16 GMT -5
I love what you said Christine. But like everything else, I think it boils down to a choice.
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Post by veggiechef on Mar 21, 2008 18:24:27 GMT -5
Thank you Ladies..... I knew I could count on all of you for a lively discussion. It's all a matter of terminology, I suppose. One of my Baptist coworkers was afraid that Reiki involved working with "spirits" which is forbidden by many Christian Fundamentalist religions. I told her that it doesn't even have to be a "spiritual" thing, it can be a balancing of energy and relaxation thing, and that Reiki belongs to no religion. Universal Love is a great way to explain it. I'm glad to see that there are several other Baptists here active in the practice. I just don't know that much about Baptists dogma, so I just had to ask, since I didn't want to offend her or seem like I was disrespecting her religion. I always try to tread lightly in such areas....Thanks for the input! |
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Post by ♥Starlene on Mar 22, 2008 17:07:16 GMT -5
To me reiki doesnt have much to do with religion, although some people like to make it relate to religion in some way or another, in my opinion Usui Reiki does not belong to a religion. It is simply put, energy.... But, ya,,, I know some fundamentalist people that also shun Reiki, in my opinion they are missing out because if they were open minded enough to learn about it, they may actually benefit from it... I do though realize that not everyone feels like that so I try not to judge and share if someone is open to it...
((hugs))
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Post by veggiechef on Mar 22, 2008 18:31:18 GMT -5
I never saw it as a religious thing either....as one who is not active in any one particular organized religion, that's why Reiki really appealed to me. |
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Post by ♥Starlene on Mar 22, 2008 22:24:28 GMT -5
Yea me too,,, I agree,,, I view myself as having a personal relationship with our Creator,,, not really religious though.... I guess I think religions are like all a pathway to the same thing... and I sort of encompass everything and take what feels good from any or all of the religions into my relationship with our Creator |
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Post by nathangela on May 26, 2008 13:10:21 GMT -5
My family (episcapaleon)thinks it's "of the devil".....I got tired of trying to explain and prove it to them-total waste of energy-lol!Actuallt I've ran into many people here who think it's "bad".Just bless them and progress them!
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Peace
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Post by Peace on May 26, 2008 15:16:15 GMT -5
yeah, i just think that's sad. if it were bad then how come it's something that helps people? hmm......curious, but i think some folks are misinformed and others don't understand and don't want to. oh well. sad for them, i say:)
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Post by ♥Starlene on May 26, 2008 20:59:52 GMT -5
Ive been labeled bad many times over,,, even evil,,, but like you said i bless them and move on... i think sometimes when people are uneducated about things, they try to put it down so they feel better about not understanding or knowing about it.. You know?
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Post by nathangela on May 26, 2008 21:49:37 GMT -5
Yes....I agree.It's FEAR of the unknown.I tried the entire debate of "if it's bad then why is it for healing?things that are bad don't care about healing others-they want you to be miserable"......needless to say it still didn't work.So I don't go around my family much and can't talk to them about any of my beliefs-they have even accused me of being a witch-which is a bad thing for them because they have been programmed to think witches are evil-sad!I told them I wasn't any religion because I embrace all beliefs and faiths and will not judge and condem another for their beliefs.I was then told they would pray for me because I needed it-which is fine by me.....I'll be glad to recieve positive energy.lol!I love studying the religions of the world.
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Peace
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Post by Peace on May 27, 2008 7:18:54 GMT -5
meee toooo!!!! i've always loved theology of all kinds. personally, i guess i could be considered a christo-wicco-pago-hindu-buddhist. lol. those seem to be the main teachings that have the most bearing in my life, but i love to learn about them all. there is so much in common, ya know? i have to admit, though, there are a couple of them that in some ways are a little nutty, but i say that's the difference in people. it's ok to be different. you know your heart and soul better than anyone who critizes you, so just be secure in yourself, right? there's plenty of people i can't talk to about my beliefs and that's ok. i'm not much for sharing with just anyone anyway. only people i know i can trust with my thoughts. i can only discuss so much with my own hubby. i love him to pieces, but he doesn't think the same as me in alot of ways and thinks alot of things is nonsense. lol. it's getting better though. give it time with your family. it may get better and if it doesn't then that's ok too. agree to disagree, yeah?
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Post by Christine on May 27, 2008 13:45:26 GMT -5
I think we all have fear, some of us more than others, and religion is a pretty powerful thing to hide behind.
I used to work at a new age store...there I met some of the most dogmatic and fearful people...it was sad to me, but then I realized that this attitude is not from Christianity (or whatever mainstream religion) but is something people have and use religion as an excuse to hide from things. I don't know if that makes sense. I don't mean it to be offensive! I just think that there will be some people who have a very fixed idea about something, like Reiki, and not be open to considering a new idea.
RE: Episcopalian...I do reiki at an Episcople church in Boston and some of the Episcople priests up here do Reiki! I'm not Episcople myself, and I was so impressed by how open that Church is.
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Post by nathangela on May 28, 2008 18:31:19 GMT -5
Christine....you are right...it's FEAR.WOW .....reiki at an episcopal church AND priests that floored me!LOL!Too cool!  |
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Post by reverendkeith on Sept 19, 2008 11:42:01 GMT -5
I believe it's more a question of "guilt by association". There's absolutely nothing in the formal doctrine of most varieties of Christianity that is against "energy healing" or love energy or any other apt description of Reiki. But often Reiki is simply lumped in with new age belief in general. The idea being that if you use Reiki you obviously believe in divination, astrology, channeling, reincarnation, and all the other ideas and practices that conservative Christianity DOES have problems with. Hello, by the way. This is my first post here. I'm a Reiki master and independent priest (and in my spare time a database designer for a travel software company.  ) Look forward to getting to know you all better. |
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Post by yogagurl on Sept 20, 2008 9:44:56 GMT -5
Welcome!!!
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Orca~Guardian of the Cosmic Memory~{=}http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff63/HealingSpiritForum/meditationf.gif{/=}
www.healingspiritcommunity.com
) Look forward to getting to know you all better.