Musings from the Journey
Enhance your life and fortify a deeper connection with your True Self.
 Mikao Usui was a seeker. Born in 1865 in Japan, Usui had a diverse array of experiences including oversees travel, and jobs as a civil servant, journalist, missionary, and counselor for prisoners. He studied history, medicine, Buddhism, Christianity, psychology, asceticism, prophesy, physiognomy (the ability to judge one’s character by their facial features), and more, in his quest to discover the meaning of life. He eventually received his answer: “attain a state of complete peace/stillness of mind.”
Usui took up Zen Buddhism for three years hoping to reach this state, to no avail. He asked his master for advice, to which he replied, “Maybe you should experience death.” In March 1922, Usui gave up on life, and retreated up to Mount Kurama for meditation and fasting in preparation for his death. At midnight during his third week of fasting, Usui felt a powerful shock at the center of his brain, and lost consciousness. When he awoke at dawn, he felt refreshed in a way he had never felt before. Reiki energy had penetrated his body and soul. As the cosmic energy and his personal energy resonated together, he realized, “The Universe is me, and I am the Universe.” Overjoyed that he had attained enlightenment, Usui ran down the mountain. He tripped over a rock, and ripped off his toenail. He placed his hand on his toe, and the pain vanished and the bleeding stopped. He shared this experience with his master, who guided him to use this ability to heal others and lead them to enlightenment. This is where Usui developed Reiki as a healing method, which would be passed down directly from teacher to student. And so, Reiki as a healing art began. Many drawn to Reiki are also seekers. Seeking depth, meaning, healing, something they might not have words for. Are you a seeker? Perhaps, the Reiki energy calls to you. If you follow the call, you might be surprised where it might lead. We have a training program that starts in about a month. I invite you to join us, see where the path goes. Read more about the training here. It's super supportive and nourishing. Class size is limited to 3-6 students, and deadline to register is Jan 24th. I hope you'll join us. Reach out with questions. In the Highest Good, Sarah
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 We've all been seeing the hub bub that's arisen from lots of insecure, defensive folks in positions of power about three simple letters lately.
D E I Yeah. I said it. Firings, loss of contracts, fear of retribution for using certain terms/letters... Organizations twisting themselves into pretzels. Seems to me, the regime only wants the First Amendment to apply to certain folks. Well. "I do what I want," says my rebellious part. I have the privilege of answering to no one, except myself and my conscience. I get to call the shots for my business, and I don't risk getting fired for saying something. And, I'm a white lady, our western society usually doesn't pay me any mind. So with that privilege, I am going to talk about it, and I'm going to invite you in on something. Just because the regime is trying to silence oppressed groups, erase history, and intimidate us doesn't mean we all have to give in. We can still share the stories, uplift the voices, and keep doing the work on our own time, whether or not the organizations we are a part of are doing the same. I hope we get to a time where the systems of oppression oppress no more, but they are really doubling down right now. So that means, we mustn't stop! We keep going! And those of us who are less at risk... people who look like me... we need to be taking more risks so those targeted aren't shouldering this burden. A few of my trusted resources for D.E.I. and history:
Take a class with them. Donate to their platforms. Share their messages. Support others who are doing the good work. They are all excellent! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! ~Sarah P.S. For anyone wondering, "Sarah, why are you talking about DEI? You practice Reiki and healing work, why do you have to talk about this?" First, pretty much all of us are impacted by DEI, because of the different identities we experience around race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, age, etc., etc., etc. When I work with folks in session, we talk about this impact ALL. THE. TIME. It's inescapable for many people. If you can escape it, you are probably in a preferred or privileged group. (This doesn't make you bad. It just means you inherited power, whether it has anything to do with you or not.) Finally, the health of the whole, impacts the health of the individual. If our systems are harmful, it harms the people in it. Just like if our water is poisoned, it'd be pretty hard to stay healthy drinking that water. Hope that helps. |
Sarah Barlow
Reiki Master Teacher and Owner of Embrace Your Essence Sign up for our E-Letters Here
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