Truth

“Yes, and I long for one thing more:
to learn how to listen
to the delicate vibrations of my soul,
to be incorruptibly true to myself
and fair to others,
to find in this way
the right measure
of my own worth”

Poem by
Karen Horney

Truth: Misty Mountain

Karen Horney (1885-1952) was a German-born American psychotherapist, who founded the American Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Jesus The Friend

One of the ‘We Are One World Healing members from South Africa, Renee D., wrote me a list of four stories that came to her mind about our friend Jesus. You can tell from her stories, that she has fun and loving friendship with Jesus, rather than experienced a one-off encounter with him.

1. I really wanted to go to the Lionel Richie concert but had no one to go with, so He and I went together. It only cost me the price of one ticket and when the show began, the four seats on my left were empty! I figured Jesus has a big aura!!! J It was cool though. He sat in the passenger seat of my car with me on the way there, helped look for parking and found me the least crowded routes to my seat. He was a beautiful companion for an evening about love and good times.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Zabateri

2. One morning I was having a troubled moment and asked Him if we could talk. He promptly sat cross-legged on the floor next to me on my yoga mat, and gently took my hand. (Again on the left) When I began my story of woe, He leaned over, kissed me gently on the forehead and then looked into my eyes with those amazing blue ones of His, and I was overwhelmed with His compassion and peace – and of course forgot what I was complaining about completely. He stayed for a while just holding my hand until I was ready to get up and face the day.

3. On the way to work one morning, the classical radio station had played a magnificent piece of music that had me sobbing with the intensity of it. I turned off the radio after it was done in order to hold onto that space for a while longer, and after a while felt like something light to hum along to for the rest of the journey. I remembered I had a cd that might do the trick, so I switched it all back on again and started looking for the right disc in the loaded selection. The next cd that came on was Bryan Adams, and Jesus promptly picked up his guitar and stood at a microphone on the imaginary stage and sang “The Best of Me’ to me. Complete with all the usual fun of a live performance!

4. Another time I was in the car and needing a bit of a boost, I stopped at a traffic light and the car next to me was enjoying Enrique Iglesias‘ “Escape” . The lyrics that jumped out at me were “You can run, you can hide, but you can’t escape my Love”.

Jesus

Jesus The Healer

One of my personal friends here in Vancouver, Canada, is not religious but she’s spiritual. She is also a healing professional who often works with angels. On one occasion, she had decided to invite Jesus into a self-healing session. She had asked him to come into her body and help her heal.

She had asked Jesus to give her an in-body experience as she was sick at that time. Well, he did. He very simply asked her to continue his work, and my friend burst into an uncontrollable crying, releasing many of her fears as a healer. She felt strengthened after wards.

Jesus The Path

Want one more story? I saved the best one for last:

Nuns Inside the Church of the Nativity (Birth Place of Jesus Christ), Bethlehem, Israel, Middle East Christian Kober

During a Christmas gala dinner this year, I learned another delightful Jesus-encountering story. This lady had been asked to be the God mother for the baby of her best friend. She was thrilled with the honor. The only problem was, as she saw it, that she did not even believe in Jesus.

This was over ten years ago now, while she was living in the UK by herself. Anyhow, one evening while she was reading a book on the sofa and thinking a bit, just like that, Jesus visited her. It was an amazingly wonderful presence. She knew it was Jesus.

She summed it all up by saying ‘It felt great’. What is hard to describe was the look on her face, and her whole demeanor when she told me all this. She was literally glowing with delight, in the most adorable way: like a child who just received the best toy from santa ~ or better!

Needless to say, this encounter with Jesus did not only take her roadblock away from becoming the godmother to her friend’s child, it completely changed her life. She went on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem, and got herself baptized in the red sea.

And You?

God Jesus?

By Astrid Lee, Reiki Master Teacher
Copyright http://www.TherapeuticReiki.com
‘We Are One World Healing’ Blog

That said, not everyone lives this ‘happy happy’ reality, and the practicality of Winter makes people not as spiritually focused as would delight.

Winter is a time that people are extra busy and stressed: finishing projects at work, holiday meals to prep, extra activities to organize or to attend, XMAS shopping to do, and more.

As well, Winter offers an emotional challenge to those who become gloomy without their usual sunlight-fix. To other, Winter means a bit more physical hurt: some break bones, rheumatic pains re-appear, a cough or flu keeps bugging…. Some people actually look up to the holidays fearing the resurfacing of sibling rivalry and family issues.

In sum, Winter can be both a joy and a challenge. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was something out there that could strengthen your connection to the universal divinity, and help you with all your challenges ?

Your Healing Gift

So, I thought to step up to the plate. I’ve created a holiday gift idea that would entail a solution for all.

To write on top of your list to Santa:

a HOLIDAY Distant Reiki Package
of FOUR 60-minutes-sessions
for only C$221 (US$185)

Here is my gift to you: this low rate translates to 50% off your first session + 10% off your three follow-on sessions.

The Gift of Reiki

What is so wonderful about Reiki in the holidays is that it instantly relaxes you. It also brings you in contact with the Divine, and can help you to become more spiritually inclined. Perfect! There are other benefits as I set out in these two articles: Distant Healing Benefits & Works part 1, and Distant Healing Benefits & Works - part 2 .

I’ve made this healing package very flexible: Reiki sessions can be dedicated to general wellness; specific pains; to a big event; to pain, or a big issue being faced. Or, they can be dedicated to your new year resolutions.

You can buy this healing package online as a gift. A personalized, digital gift certificate will be emailed to you, which you can print on the fanciest paper to give to yourself, your friend, colleague, or family member. Or better: you can give the link to this blog article to Santa.

Finally a gift that means more spirituality, and … less ’stuff’.

Love this Holiday Gift Idea?? Your first step is to complete an online application for the person who will receive the Reiki treatment. Upon acceptance, you can make payment for your Reiki gift. Then, your gift certificate will be emailed to you, usually within a day.

This package is for only first-time clients, with accepted applications. Non-transferrable. This offer lasts till Feb 2009.

Being married to a Master athlete, I can not help but be an informed soul when it comes to Reiki for athletes.

‘It’s all about recovery, baby!’ I have heard it on a daily basis for a decade.

So, within this context have I observed the special needs & pressures that serious college athletes, Masters, professional & Olympic athletes all share.

And, I learned the way Reiki can support them specifically. For those of you who are not familiar with Reiki: it is an ancient alternative healing therapy that brings alignment, balance, health and well-being to the recipient’s body.

How Reiki Works

The way Reiki works is that it brings the athlete’s natural healing ability to fruition. It boosts the overall positive wellness of body & mind restoring and rebalancing the person’s energy.

Rather than tackling symptoms of pain, injury, etc, Reiki addresses their root causes. Once the root cause of the issue is resolved, the body eliminates the effects of the imbalance and thus heals the body and mind naturally. Reiki is completely safe and has no known negative side-effects. Reiki complements medical treatment and medication and may reduce negative side-effects.

Reiki practice releases energetic blockages, tension and toxins from the body, and is deeply restorative. It is a ‘laying on hands’ technique that brings in the universal life force.

Reiki looks like massage but is not. Instead of manipulating the muscles, it encourages the healing of ‘all of the recipient’, not just the muscles.

Some highlights…

Post-Workout Recovery

And ‘all of the recipient’ includes a physical level. Reiki offers a preventative and preparatory therapy in relation to the physical stress of training and building one’s endurance, skill, and strength ~ the obvious core aspects to any athlete’s workout program.

Reiki can help athletes’ bodies heal and recover faster post-performance. Imagine that?! A drugs-free recovery booster! But there is more to superior athletic performance than having a body that heals fast.

Reiki & Recovery from Sports Injury

Besides helping an athlete heal from athletic performance, workouts, old injuries and other unaligned aspects in his/her life, Reiki is also an excellent healing therapy for on-the-spot treatment of new sports injuries. It can be used anywhere, in an instant. Reiki is simple to administer: all a Reiki practitioner needs are his hands and his mind. This practical nature of Reiki makes it versatile indeed.

Being attuned to Reiki is like having a ‘first aid kit’ in one’s hand. It can be applied to help minimize swellings and small bleedings; to relief head-aches & other pain immediately (if useful); to help heal tissues, burns, sprains and wounds. Can also be applied to breaks, after the bones have been set. Reiki can reduce the healing time of injury and makes the healing process more comfortable.

All that means for athletes is being back faster on the track or field. Sports teams and individual athletes are sure to love Reiki once they start using it.

Reiki for a Confident & Focused Mind
in a Calm & Centered Body

Calm and Together
Reiki supports athletes to be calm, secure & focused in the face of their unusually high stress load. At competition times, there is the emotional issue of wanting to set a personal best and winning, plus the fear of losing. Then, there is the staying on target with one’s own season’s training plan. In team sports, another layer of stress results from working with others: the team, multiple coaches and sponsors. At unlucky times, extra stress comes from having to recover from sports injuries while catering to all the above parties and plans.

Tiger Woods

Reiki can help athletes handle all these stresses and realize a sense of physical and mental calm, and inner-harmony.

A Winning Mind

Attitude matters. Sports performance is not only based on right training; it requires right thinking.

Tiger Woods once said: “No matter how good you get, you can always get better, and that’s the exciting part.” Without a winners mentality of excitement to improve and confidence that one can do it, there will be no gold metal. Not even bronze.

Reiki also helps athletes on the emotional level. It usually brings out a stronger and more positive outlook to life. By helping a person to reduce negative emotions like worry, anger and fear, Reiki allows confidence to surface. With Reiki, athletes become better prepared for competition and athletic performance.

Lance Armstrong, 7-Time Tour de France Champion

When to Give Reiki to Athletes

As I noticed that athletes tend to be busy people, who are keen on deep tissue massage, Reiki is best administered in the following ways:
* in a series of treatments when athletes are at rest, either by in-person or distant treatment to boost the overall wellness and ability of the athlete;
* as ‘on the spot’-treatment when needed such as in case of an injury;
* alongside massage treatments they are already getting.

It makes sense for athletes to receive a series of treatments addressing specific health and performance issues and realizing overall wellness from a dedicated Reiki practitioner.

For on the spot, topical and targeted treatment as required pre- & post game, it is useful if either the coach, the assistant coach, the trainer or even the athlete him- or herself is attuned to Reiki. Of course, once a relationship with a dedicated Reiki master has been built, he/she may be available for ad hoc distant healing sessions organized by a simple phone call.

Winners Never Quit - Football

Conclusion

We learned that the alternative therapy of Reiki works on all levels: the mental, emotional and the physical. This allows Reiki to help athletes in many ways.

So, with Reiki, athletes tend to feel better, compete better, and are therefore more likely to improve records and win.

Whether you are an athlete or a coach/trainer: Reiki could give you a competitive edge for sport performance & success.

© Copyright 2008
By Astrid Lee, Reiki Master Teacher

Book your distant healing Reiki session
or learn about Reiki training at TherapeuticReiki.com

Technorati tags: reiki

Copyright 2008, We Are One World Healing - all rights reserved. A Therapeutic Reiki Initiative

Join our monthly world healing sessions. It is blissful to participate. Next session April 20. Sign up Today to Participate. Hold the vision of a Healed World.

“If I could have just one wish, it would be World Peace”. I was blown away, as that single line moved us completely out of the details of his life, jumping right into the bigger, inspired picture.

This client is a young actor. Young actors may at times be stereotyped as self-centered … well, this young man is obviously not that ego-driven.

This article on Pictures of World Peace (with art by none less than Picasso!) is posted in his honor. I am truly blessed in that he, other clients and my angels and guides all show me pictures of world peace on my daily path. In words, sounds and pictures, I see & hear visions of the healing of a broken world, or rather, a healed world!

I find these visuals motivating. May this blog article filled with artistic pictures of world peace that I have found for you bring you as much inspiration.

Dove of Peace	Dove of Peace By Sophie al Mutawaly (Grade 4) The lions of war Too often still roar In a world desperate for love Fly, harmony dove Fly high in the air End war everywhere Where you spread your wings Happiness springs
It isn’t enough to talk about peace, one must believe it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it, one must work for it. - Eleanor Roosevelt War and Peace	A smile is the beginning of peace - Mother Teresa
War and Peace	L’Homme en Prole a la Paix
Paix Disarmement-Peace Poster, Czwiklitzer #150, 19×26 Limited Edition	As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision. - Helen Keller Vive la Paix

(btw. These beautiful fine art prints by Pablo Picasso are actually for sale. Clicking on the picture for details. Why not give yourself and others a PICTURE OF PEACE.)

Your Own Picture of World Peace

If you are interested in world peace and in helping to heal the world, please consider joining our ever-growing group “We Are One World Healing”. Anyone can join, and it’s free. Monthly, we unite for 1 hour in meditation for world peace, healing of the world. Details: http://www.therapeuticreiki.com/blog .

Today my intuition suggested to use Myrtle for my private Reiki 1 attunement session, together with a pre-mixed blend for stress release (which also contains some myrtle as well as other oils).

Guess what? When my client student arrived, I learned that she had been plagued with allergies. And she’s been holding lots of tension in her body. Such joy. A perfect blend for her.

I usually use the Reiki energy, i.e. my inner-voice when I turn on the Reiki, to determine which essential oils are best for my clients to complement their treatments. Of course, I don’t have each and every oil in my cabinet, but it holds many of the commonly useful ones.

What’s nice about essential oils is that they can be very effectively used at home. I often refer clients to a local supplier with suggestions or even the name of an aromatherapy blend in hand. Aromatherapy is safe for most people, although many are commonly known to be inappropriate for pregnant women. At least always be cautious, read the fine print and consult the staff in your local aromatherapy store. For internal use, always consult a doctor.

When you are shopping for yourself while you are healthy, not on medication nor pregnant, you can let your own noise do the selection for you. Usually, what your body needs is attractive to you. So, if you are really liking the citrus flavors, you’re in for an energy boosting oil, etc. Each essential oil has its own therapeutic values. You can use blends to best address a common issues, such as headaches, or low energy levels.

Today I want to showcase myrtle, an essential oil that is versatile in its healing power.

“The Miracle of Myrtle”

Article by Mabel Dugmore

“Myrtle is the nickname for a family of shrubs and trees collectively known as Myrtaceae. They are almost entirely located in tropical regions, particularly in America and Australia. Myrtle can be found in the Mediterranean, North Africa, and Iran as well.

The Tree

Myrtle is distinguished by evergreen leaves that contain aromatic volatile oils. Many varieties of myrtle produce flashy blossoms, gums, and resins. The tree produces black berries which, along with the leaves, are used particularly for aromatherapy.

Health Advantages of Myrtle
In as far back as ancient Greece, people cherished the application of myrtle. Greek athletes were said to have worn wreaths of evergreen myrtle leaves during the Olympics. Ancient civilizations believed that myrtle was a symbol of immortality, and they used it in love potions and as treatment for various ailments.

In the era of the Roman Empire, myrtle was used to treat urinary and respiratory ailments. Egyptians used the plant to treat nervous afflictions. French women drank tea made from crushed myrtle leaves, believing that it would help to preserve their youthful appearance and overall vigor. Some actually believed myrtle to hold a cure for cancer, but little evidence was found to prove the theory.

Myrtle has been conventionally used to treat coughs, bronchitis and other respiratory infections. The astringent properties of myrtle have also earned the reputation for promoting good digestion, treating urinary tract disorders, and preventing wound infections. Recent laboratory studies suggest that the herb contains anti-inflammatory substances, making it a viable astringent compound. This finding accounts for the plant’s enduring popularity as a wound and cough treatment.

There are other health benefits of myrtle. It is believed to be anti-infective, and can be used as a tonic to hasten the healing process. Healers in Middle Eastern countries have traditionally used myrtle as a treatment for diabetes.

The 1980s saw scientists putting the myrtle herb under the microscope in an attempt to identify the active ingredients that lends it its various medicinal properties. Results of one study indicated that extract from the herb can decrease blood sugar in mice. This explains the association associating myrtle with diabetes. However, there is still no concrete proof that the herb is safe to use and effective for people who have the disease.

Myrtle Extract

Myrtle extract is created from plant’s leaves and seeds. Most tests have shown positive results if the plant extract is taken orally and in liquid form. A standard dose is usually around one to two milliliters of the essential oil daily. Be sure that you ask your doctor first before taking it.

Although uncommon, topical myrtle extract formulations can also be used. Again, be sure to use this herbal treatment only under your doctor’s supervision.

There are two types of myrtle, and it’s important that you do not confuse the two. Myrtus communis is known as “true” myrtle, and is the plant described here. The other variety, called “Madagascar Myrtle” (Eugenia jambolana), is a completely different plant and has entirely different effects on the body.

Myrtle is believed to work well with other herbs and nutritional supplements. However, it should not be used if you are taking insulin or oral sulfonylureas. The herb may increase the levels of blood glucose, and reduce the effects of your medications.”

About ‘Miracle of Myrtle’:
Author Mabel Dugmore is an author for numerous well-known web sites on natural health product and doula services themes.

Copyright 2008, We Are One World Healing - all rights reserved. A Therapeutic Reiki Initiative

Join our monthly world healing sessions. It is blissful to participate. Next session April 20. Sign up Today to Participate. Hold the vision of a Healed World.

The prevailing Western lifestyle and food intake is very acidic, which causes both a feeling of low energy and a breakdown of the body, sooner or later. Want to be full of energy, feel good and be healthy instead? Read our prior blog article on alkaline foods to restore a healthy balance in your body.

That article was a basic general primer.

Now I’d like to introduce this follow-on article on alkaline foods and alkaline lifestyle that is a bit more specific. It’s written by Dr. Robert Young ans is called ‘The Top Ten Causes of Death Can Be Prevented’:

“There is a lot you can do to decrease your risk of many of the major acidic causes of death in the US. An alkaline lifestyle and diet and at least 1 hour of exercise a day can increase 15 to 20 years to your life and prevent all sickness, dis-ease and most accidents.

Top 10 Preventions

Here are the top ten preventable deaths in the USA (together with their preventions):

1. Heart Disease

* % of Deaths: 27
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

2. Cancer

* % of Deaths: 23
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

3. Stroke

* % of Deaths: 6
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

4. Chronic lower respiratory disease

* % of Deaths: 5
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

5. Accidents

* % of Deaths: 4.5 (motor vehicles accidents: 2%)
* Prevention Methods: increase mental clarity, awareness, sharp impulses, visual acuity, a more peaceful and safe driving approach with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

6. Diabetes

* % of Deaths: 3
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

7. Alzheimer’s disease

* % of Deaths: 3
* Prevention Methods: keep your mind fit by maintaining the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

8. Influenza and pneumonia

* % of Deaths: 2
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

9. Kidney disease

* % of Deaths: 2
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

10. Septicemia

* % of deaths: 1
* Prevention Methods: maintain the alkaline design of the body with an alkaline lifestyle and diet. This includes eating and drinking more chlorophyll, oil, alkaline water, mineral salts and exercising at least one hour daily.

14.6% of all mortality in the US is from other causes which are related to acidic lifestyle and dietary choices.

Sickness and disease is not something you get or catch, it is something you do. You don’t get cancer you do cancer with your lifestyle and dietary choices. For example, if you smoke you are doing lung cancer. If you drink alcohol you are doing liver and/or kidney disease. If you eat pure acid like sugar and/or animal protein you are doing diabetes or bowel cancer. The top ten killers in the US are ALL caused by personal dietary and lifestyle choice.”

About the author of ‘The Top Ten Causes of Death Can Be Prevented’

Dr. Robert O. Young is Research Scientist, Author, and Avocado and Grapefruit Farmer.

Over the past two and a half decades, Robert O. Young has been widely recognized as one of the top research scientists in the world. Throughout his career, his research has been focused at the cellular level. Having a specialty in cellular nutrition, Dr. Young has devoted his life to researching the true causes of “disease,” subsequently developing The New Biology™ to help people balance their life. In 1994, Dr. Young discovered the reality of biological transformation of red blood cells into bacteria and bacteria to red blood cells. He has since documented several such transformations.

Learn More about Alkaline Foods

Here are some of the books written by Dr. Robert Young on alkaline foods.

Alkaline Diet and Alkaline Lifestyle Support Group

I discovered that Dr. Robert Young has a ‘pH miracle Fan club’ on Facebook to join.

Copyright 2008, We Are One World Healing - all rights reserved. A Therapeutic Reiki Initiative

Join our monthly world healing sessions. It is blissful to participate. Next session April 20. Sign up Today to Participate. Hold the vision of a Healed World.

“What a wonderful experience. I prepared 1/2 the morning for the encounter with the One World Healing. The efforts paid off more than I had expected. I meditated the entire hour (started about five minutes early and finished a couple minutes after because it “felt right”) and finished feeling relaxed yet invigorated and so full of spiritual healing energies. I had several visions but one that will remain with me for quite some time. I would like to share that now…

I was standing on one step of a large stairway of white light. There was a person on each step leading upward very high and very far beyond my line of sight. There were people of all races, creeds, shapes and sizes and we all stood on our individual step. Then someone on the step below me handed me a sickened child. This child was emaciated and full of sores.

I took the child and held him close to my body and let love flow from me into him and I felt the tears form in my eyes. I turned and then handed the child to the person on the step above me who in turn loved and healed the child then passed him to the next step up. I then took another child from the person next to me and this child was ill but not with the same sickness as the previous child. I did the same… I loved the child and felt heat and light pass from me to her and then turned to hand her to the person on the next step. I could see that the children were being healed as they passed upward on the stair! Way of light and healers. They became healthier and plumper and full of joy.

My tears were warm on my cheeks as I turned to take the next child and saw the line down the staircase to be long and with no end in sight. A constant line of people of all faiths and nations handing children up the stairway to one another and adding their love and healing on the way.

But I noticed the children being handed to me were healthier and “cleaner” than the earlier ones. As if they were being healed more quickly and I soon found myself with a whole child loving and laughing as I took her into my arms.

A child that was healing me in return as I held her and loved her unconditionally. What a peaceful loving embrace that we parted reluctantly as I handed her to the step above and saw her changing even then before my eyes. Changing into a woman full of grace and life and light. A healer was born before my eyes on that stairway of light.

Then the vision changed…

I will hold this vision dear and know it was a confirmation from the Universe that I was indeed “hooked in” to this beautiful World Healing experience. I also know the Universe is telling me that our selfless efforts are working and we are healing our world one child… one soul… one moment at a time and raising a new generation toward the Light to carry our healing forth to all the World.

Namaste!”

By Tony O’Connor
Participant in We Are One World Healing at http://www.therapeuticreiki.com/blog
Crew Member at thembonez.blogspot.com/
Happy Contributor to www.worldcommunitygrid.org

Copyright 2008, We Are One World Healing - all rights reserved. A Therapeutic Reiki Initiative

Join our monthly world healing sessions. It is blissful to participate. Next session April 20. Sign up Today to Participate. Hold the vision of a Healed World.

Second. repeat.

Third. For those of you who are not that familiar with Reiki healing: it comes with a set of fundamental principles which to live by. One of these Reiki principles is the deceptively simple creed: ‘Just for today, … do not worry’. By taking the stress, worry, and anxiety off our own shoulders for a whole day, we are free to… ENJOY the day!!! At the end of the day, we realize, we didn’t miss anything. Instead, we gained a whole, pleasurable day of your life. At times, part or all of the problem we could have been worried about has resolved all by itself by day’s end.

Fourth. Complementing this Reiki principle, is one of my own personal sayings and belief: ‘The world is a perfect place’. To me, this means that while sometimes things are not exactly to our liking in the short term, in the long run they are for our highest good.

Trusting and affirming that the world is a perfect place helps us to be firmly in this world. Also, when we mediate, go to a place of oneness, and embrace all of life in its totality, we may be able to acknowledge and understand that a re-balancing, a shift, can only bring us closer to enlightenment.

Being in a state of ‘need’ can help us create a stronger sense of community… It takes us out of our comfort zone and can help us to take a step out into the unknown that is a completely new and wonderful world for us. I reminiscent of last year’s long power outage causing entire streets to have outdoor group BBQs in the freezing cold but in warm spirits…. They may have never met their neighbors before.

Fifth. If all this wasn’t enough for you to put your worries to one side for a day or more, economic downturn tends to make us more spiritual. This makes us aware: … We are not alone in this world! There are archangels, angels, and highly evolved spirit guides who are waiting in the sidelines to help us find and further ourselves on our path of most light. All we have to do is ask or pray for their help.

As well, quite some time ago, Rena wrote a wonderfully light-hearted, little article about some specific saints to pray to when you’re stressed. I’m naming the Saints here, but you can find a tat more details at her blog and using the saintly references below:

a. The Asian Goddess of Mercy, Quan Yin
Helps lost travelers, comforts sufferers, listens to prayers of the stressed.

b. Saint Jude
He is the Patron Saint of lost causes & desperate cases.
A specific prayer to him:
“Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies hath caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases, of things despaired of. Pray for me, who am so miserable. Make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly — (Mention your request) and that I may praise God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen.

c. The Italian priest Padre Pio
His advice is: “Pray, hope and don’t worry.”
Padre Pio held masses in which miracles occurred.
He bore the wounds of Christ (stigmata) for fifty years.

d. The Italian Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint of nature/animal-related worries.

Saintly References
Quan Yin
St. Jude
Padre Pio
St Francis of Assisi

Last. In my recent Roman travels, I came across the saying ‘action is the antidote to depression’. Don’t get worried. Don’t get depressed. Do something constructive.

When I contact angels, archangels and/or my spirit guide, I receive help often in the form of great ideas. I am convinced that even if you’ve never once prayed before: when you become open to receiving answers to your prayer, you too will receive ‘divine inspirations’ to take certain actions, to make certain calls, to take certain turns.

So, Act with faith and love.

Copyright 2008 Astrid Lee, Reiki Master Teacher.

Learn how Reiki heals & book your own Reiki session at www.TherapeuticReiki.com

Reiki, spiritual healing, alternative therapy, healing energy, distant Reiki

Copyright 2008, We Are One World Healing - all rights reserved. A Therapeutic Reiki Initiative

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None of this is to suggest we shouldn’t be cautious or aware or concerned, that we shouldn’t be proactive in caring for ourselves or our children, and taking normal precautions for health and safety. But simple things like wearing seatbelts and washing hands will do more to protect you than refusing to talk to strangers or carrying a gun.

“To fear is one thing,” says author Katherine Paterson, who wrote Jacob Have I Loved (HarperTrophy, 1990). “To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.”

Nobel Prize Laureate Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, logician, essayist and social critic, suggested, in 1950 when we were dealing with all sorts of still familiar concerns, there are two ways of coping with fear:

“… one is to diminish the external danger, and the other is to cultivate Stoic endurance. The latter can be reinforced, except where immediate action is necessary, by turning our thoughts away from the cause of fear. The conquest of fear is of very great importance. Fear is in itself degrading; it easily becomes an obsession; it produces hate of that which is feared, and it leads headlong to excesses of cruelty. “

In “We are Not Afraid,” Homer Hickam, author Rocket Boys (Delta, 2000) (which was made into the film, October Sky) , drew on his experiences growing up in the brave and resilient community of Coalwood, West Virginia, a town were the threat of death was constant, but fear was not. He said Coalwood residents take a four pronged approach to fearlessness that he sums up in something like a set of mantras:

• We are proud of who are
• We stand up for what we believe
• We keep our families together
• We trust in God but rely on ourselves

Hickam also says something profoundly Buddhist early in his book. He says that despite the ills of our society, we largely live among compassionate, kind and optimistic people who are striving to do good. “As an American,” he says, in a line that would make the Dali Lama proud, “you have a duty to be happy. It says right there in our Declaration of Independence that we have god given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. So do your duty. Learn how to be happy and keep this in mind: You can’t be happy unless you stop being afraid.”

Senator. John McCain (R-Ariz.) puts it less poetically: “Get on the damn elevator! Fly on the damn plane! Calculate the odds of being harmed by a terrorist! It’s still about as likely as being swept out to sea by a tidal wave. Suck it up, for crying out loud. You’re almost certainly going to be OK. And in the unlikely event you’re not, do you really want to spend your last days cowering behind plastic sheets and duct tape? That’s not a life worth living, is it?”

Fear, Hickam says, is mostly a habit.

“The habit of fear and dread,” he writes, “can be compared to having a chronic disease. Some of us have gotten so used to having it, we don’t even know we’re infected. A symptom of this disease is that we walk around with slumped shoulders and drag one heavy foot after another. We dread getting out of bed in the morning, certain that only awful things are going to happen when we do. We never have anything good to say about anything, and that includes ourselves. We don’t like the way we look. We feel victimized. We’re envious of others and assume the world is filled with meanness. In fact, we think the world is a terrible place. We moan and groan. We eventually lose our family and friends. We become sorry sights and we don’t even know why. Worse, the disease we have is infectious. Innocent people we encounter are susceptible to catching fear and dread from us, including our children. We know something’s wrong, but we don’t know how to be cured.’

One way to rid yourself of this infection, says Hickam, is to “stand up straight and ….be proud of who you are.” To do that, he says, it’s necessary to know who you are, and how you’re connected to your family and your community. That involves talking to family members, to community members - and passing their stories on to your children and other family members. To be unafraid, you have to be connected to something larger than yourself, says Hickam.

The habit of fear and dread also causes timidity, says Hickam, a tendency to avoid confrontation, especially in defending our opinion. That one’s probably not quite as big an issue here for us - we have lots of opinions and fling them around easily here. But how about “out there”? “If you act as if what you think isn’t important, it’s the same as believing *you* aren’t important,” writes Hickam. “An attitude like that can squeeze the life right out of anybody.”

One of the best ways to overcome that aspect of fear and dread, he says, is “to take up for those who can’t take up for themselves.”

“There’s always someone who needs you help. How can you be afraid if you’re the protector of someone else in a dangerous world? Sometimes, just acting brave is enough to make you brave. “

But there’s more to it than just faking it till you make it. Hickam says you should also teach that person to stand up for himself, too, so that he can keep his dignity. Hickam cautions that standing up for what you believe “does not mean that every time you feel you’re being slighted, you should erupt with loud, hateful behavior. Standing up for what you believe has nothing to do with being violent or being obnoxious because of some perceived oppression. This attitude ahs to do with a quiet determination to have your opinion explained and heard. To be effective, it also has to be respectful and fair. … The most effective way of standing up is always going to be the nonviolent way, quiet but determined.”

Keeping our families together can actually be one of the harder tools for fearlessness, observes Hickam, but it’s a vital one. “An intact, functioning family works to not only provide a loving refuge, but also fills in the cracks of our own personalities. Where one family member is weak, another is strong. A cohesive group is always stronger than an individual, no matter how smart he is, or how many muscles he ahs or anything else. The family can be a shield against the world, and also the springboard to a better life.”

And finally, Hickam says trusting God but relying on yourself is a sure way to rise above fear. “The people of Coalwood were against calling on God any time they needed help,” he recalled. “For one thing, it was considered impolite. God had a lot of things to worry about after all, without including everything that got in the way of one particular human being. The way folks in the town saw it, God had already provided them with most of what they needed to get past a scrape, including their own good common sense.” Mostly, he said, they reserved their prayers for thanks.

While others often ponder why bad things happen to good people, Hickam ponders something he says as more amazing: “Why, in a universe and a world where everything must work hard to simply survive, did that which we think of as decent and fine get embedded into our souls? Why is that we crave goodness, seek out honesty and strive to be honorable, even when evil is so much easier? How is that evil, the desire to destroy and hurt others, hasn’t been the driving force in our species and our world and our universe? Some great goodness is out there, and it’s here, too. It is everywhere.”

We’re two parts, says Hickam, “one spiritual and the other physical. Both are important. The design of the human body and mind is evidence of that great truth. We have to trust in the spirit that is everywhere around us and in us. But we also must use our hands and minds to keep our families safe and build a better world.”

A world in which we are not afraid.

“We are not afraid.”

Say it slowly, and savor it, says Hickam, like we should savor the world and each moment. This sacred time of year honors the timeless changes of our lives, and offers us a rare opportunity to look death in the eye and give it a wink and a nod.

“There is no reason to fear life or dread what might be coming your way,” writes Hickam. “Every hour of every day, recall all the people who came before you, all those who make up who you are, and stand tall and be proud. No matter how perilous the times, they will always be with you…”

Bertrand Russell would agree. “We want to stand upon our own feet and look fair and square at the world,” he said. ” — its good facts, its bad facts, its beauties, and its ugliness; see the world as it is and be not afraid of it. Conquer the world by intelligence and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it. …We ought to stand up and look the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all these ages. A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time toward a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create.”

As Samhain reminds us, death is not an end, but a transition, a time to look forward to new beginnings, when we will be born anew as the wheel of the year turns on and on.

And there is nothing to be afraid of.

By Guest Blogger:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Theresa_Willingham

Copyright 2008, We Are One World Healing - all rights reserved. A Therapeutic Reiki Initiative

Join our monthly world healing sessions. It is blissful to participate. Next session April 20. Sign up Today to Participate. Hold the vision of a Healed World.