Barbados Reiki Association

So, did you enjoy the annual retreat of the Barbados Reiki Association on October 26th? The theme for the day was truth, with many enjoyable exercises to help us decide what truth was and how to be more truthful. For me, one of the most powerful events of the day was when we wrote down affirmations and said these in groups. The energy was tremendous. We’d love to get yoru feeedback on the day itself as well as suggestions for the next retreat.

‘Speech is the essence of humanity’- so say the Vedas, an ancient Sanskrit know-how on metaphysics. Ideas remain unactualised until they are created through the power of speech. In the New Testament, the Gospel of St. John starts with ‘In the beginning was The Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God’.

We wait with bated breath for our babies to say their first word – we know it as a huge milestone in their development. Have you not been enchanted with poetry and the elegance of how the words are put together – and then listened to it being spoken aloud? Our own George Lamming has a beautiful reading voice and to hear him speak his word is a thoroughly delightful experience.

Generically, mantra refers to sacred words or syllables used repeatedly in religious and ceremonial rituals.

When that word has a special meaning, as in Buddhist and classical Hinduism, it is known as a Mantra. These religions view mantras as necessary for spiritual advancement.

However, mantras are also common in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Catholicism there are the prayers as the Our Father and Hail Mary, especially when prayed as the Rosary. And Protestantism embodies the Our Father. The Old Testament refers to Yahweh which was considered so powerful a word that in ancient times only the High Priests would be able to articulate the word, and only on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most sacred Jewish religious event. (Often Adonai and Elohim were substituted for Yahweh).

But what exactly is a mantra? The word “mantra” is derived from two Sanskrit words. (Sanskrit is an ancient language with very precise meanings to its words). The first is ‘Manas’ or ‘mind’. The second syllable comes from the word ‘trai’ meaning ‘to protect’ or ‘to free from’. Therefore, in its most literal sense, the word Mantra means to free from the mind. Mantras are thought to be charged with vibrational power and be able to help the practitioner achieve an altered state of consciousness. In such a state it is believed possible to perceive the true nature of the mind.

Some schools stress methodology in the use of mantras. For instance, the correct pronunciation and intonement is considered extremely important. Mantras can be used in three ways: silent, semi-verbal or verbal.

The verbal way is called chanting and is a marvelous opportunity to experience the effects of the mantra.

To summarise:
1. Mantras are energy-based sounds. Saying any word produces an actual physical vibration.
2. Mantras create thought-energy waves. Human consciousness is really a collection of states of consciousness which exist through the physical and subtle bodies. Over time, the mantra produces a state where the organism vibrates at a rate completely in tune with the energy and spiritual state represented by and contained in the mantra. At this point, a change also occurs in the organism.
3. Mantras are tools of power and tools for power. Using a mantra is a means to freedom from the random wanderings of the mind. Chanting a mantra allows the mind to deepen.

Try this chanting practice
Find a quiet place to sit and relax. Keep your mala handy. Use a traditional chant such as Om Shanti (I am a peaceful soul) or put yourself into the frame of mind you wish the mantra to achieve – let’s say Abundance. Think about the abundance in Nature, the almost-careless disregard for waste, the bounty of seeds that a tree produces, and then think about that shower around you. Start to say your mantra, using your mala (which will allow you to focus on the sound and words of your chant, rather than the counting). After you have finished the beads, or achieved the desired time you set out to chant, allow a moment of silence and notice the feelings in your body and your heightened senses.

Researched and written by Verity Dawson

You can improve your life with Reiki. Reiki is Japanese for Universal Life Force Energy, an ancient system of hands-on healing that is as simple as the touch of a hand.

• It is a healing technique for self and others.
• It is a tool for personal growth.
• It is a spiritual discipline.

Reiki can:

• Ease pain and discomfort
• Reduce the effects of stress
• Induce calmness and balance
• Accelerate the body’s natural healing process
• Encourage personal growth

Next Reiki Level I Class
Friday, 03 October 2008: 6.30 p.m. to 10.00 p.m.
Saturday, 04 October 2008: 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Sunday, 05 October 2008: 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.

Cost: $300.00

For further details please contact:
Kathleen Hurley, Reiki Master/Teacher
Touch of Light
60 Sunrise Drive, Southern Heights, Christ Church, Barbados
Tel: (246) 428-4186 (H) or (246) 426-5071 (W)
E-mail: touchoflight [at] gmail [dot] com

Reiki Level 1
Introduction to contact healing through understanding the inter-connectedness of all life forms. Non-denominational - Reiki comes from the heart!
Saturday and Sunday 4-5 October 2008
10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. (registration 9.30 a.m. 4th). Fee: $300

Meditation
Meditation is proven to relieve stress, improve health and general well-being. Easily assimilated principles and expert guidance.
13, 14 and 21 October 6.30 to 8.30 p.m. Fee: $150

Reiki Level 2
The student is encouraged to go deeper into the understandings of quantum energetics and archetypes to enable distance healing.
Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October. Fee: $600

For further information do visit the website!
www. CaribHolistic Insights.com

To register, call Verity at 420-6382 and leave contact details.

Harmony in the Home. Create peace in your personal environment through the practical application of form and colour based on ancient Chinese principles.

Every Wednesday evening 6.30 to 9 p.m. starting 24 September.

Four sessions. Fee: $300

Reiki School of Natural Healing

www.CaribHolisticInsights.com