Well, OK, this is a little late, but I got side-tracked by the Catholic-Reiki topic (See previous blog entry). Any way, Spring is here and with it comes HOPE! Hope that new beginnings bring. This hope is symbolic in the seeds we planted at Ostara.

This hope actually begins to grow each fall for many of us sports (baseball in particular) fans. In the Greater Cleveland area, where I lived most of my life, the phrases “Maybe next year” or “Wait until next year” became a tradition on their own. Always clinging to that hope. That hope builds through the Fall and Winter, climaxing in Spring with the end of Spring training and the celebration of Opening Day. For on Opening Day, everybody is in first place.

Side Note: They never sold bottles of beer at Cleveland’s stadiums. They couldn’t, they always lost the opener. Ha! Ha! Get it? Bottle…Opener…. Ok then…

As I was saying, when you think about it, life can be like baseball. When he year (season) ends, you take some time to reflect. What things went right? What went wrong? What things do you want to keep?(Resign players). What do you want to rid yourself of? (Release players) How can you improve for the new year? (Make a trade) Make plans and prepare for the new year. (Off-season and Spring training) Come the new year, you get to display the new you. (New team, stadium improvement) The best part is, if you make an error on opening day (or any other day really) the next day brings another opportunity. As Yogi said, “It ain‘t over ‘til it’s over.” Even after making 3 outs, a new beginning awaits or another game if those outs occurred in the 9^th inning.

Each day, each year, brings new beginnings to us. Once we make those 3 outs in the 9^th, we come back for another time, another game, another season. We are given life anew. Maybe not as a Cleveland Indian or Boston Red Sox, but life will renew in some form for all of us, either wearing a familiar or new uniform.

So, let’s PLAY BALL!! Live LIFE!

GOOOO TRIBE! (Sorry, I couldn’t help it!)

Blessed Be!

The Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Bishops has released is “Guidelines For Evaluating Reiki As An Alternative Therapy”. The guidelines are too lengthily to include here, but can be, and should be, viewed at http://www.usccb.org/dpp/doctrine.htm.

As a Reiki Master, my view on their finding is bias, but, hey, this is my blog, my avenue to vent. So....

The first point I question in their guidelines, is their definition of natural healing. Apparently, the Church considers all medicinal, so-called standard medical procedures, as natural. By doing so, they can state they support natural healing and cite the number of Catholic hospitals to support their claim. Now, if they would have simply stated that prayer is a form of natural healing they would have presented some credibility. But no, prayer, according to them, is in another class called super natural. (?) It seems to me then, that all the wonders of the Universe are super natural, for indeed, they are, as all things can be traced back through synchronicity to Deity.

The “Guidelines” state that Reiki lacks any scientific credibility and has not been accepted by scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy. Research says otherwise. I refer to studies that include Kirlian photo images of auras before and after a Reiki treatment. Numerous other studies have been conducted and a growing number of hospitals incorporate Reiki into their treatment plans, including having staff trained as Reiki practitioners. Some medical insurances will even cover Reiki treatments.

The only way to “Divine Healing” is through prayer? Really? Does that prayer need to be in the form of “Our Father who art….” or “Hail Mary, full…”? But wait, even if you include those prayers with Reiki, as some do invoke a Deity, including God or Christ, during a treatment, that “does not affect the essential nature of Reiki” that makes it unacceptable. That is because the Bishops deny the existence of Universal Life Energy, the core of the Reiki concept. Once again, I wonder about the nature and extent of their research regarding this.

A point I find ironic is that the Late Pope John Paul not only gave blessing to priests and nuns who trained in Reiki (some reaching Master level) but the Pope, suffering with Parkinson’s Disease late in his life, reportedly received Reiki regularly. Further irony is to have a religion based on a hands-on healer (Christ) oppose it.

Let the Catholics condemn me to their Hell for I will not cease nor apologize for being a Reiki Master and advocate. I will place my destiny in my own hands as I believe in a non-judgmental Deity that will not punish for an act of kindness toward another. To my Catholic blog readers, I implore you to question your church’s Bishops. Demand that they get all the facts on any issue before leading others down any path. More importantly, ,look inside yourself. Get the facts. What seems right to you? Do you really want to deny anybody or animal pain relief, deny ease of mind, deny a relief from stress? While it is true, you may not fully understand how or why it works, does not knowing how your TV, computer or car work stop you from using them?

Let common sense prevail and if it harms none, do as ye will.

Blessed Be!

It was a typical Monday, the back-to-work day. I made my lunch and harnessed/leashed Shadow, our 120 pound Akita, for his jaunt outside to take care of business before we left for work. As we walked out the door and toward the steps, my eyes caught something toward the bottom of the steps. A raccoon was making its way up those same steps toward us. He froze as soon as he saw us. I yelled something I’m sure he understood in racoonese, like “Hey!” He turned and ran under the car parked in the driveway (Yes, I know… park in the driveway, drive in the parkway… Thank you George Carlin). I waited and he did not appear, so I deemed it safe to proceed down the steps, assuming he ran off in another direction.

Shadow and I made it to the bottom of the steps and to the street where Shadow waters the pavement daily. On the way back, Shadow finally picked up the scent of the raccoon, trying to make his way under the car where he was last known to be. Up to that point, he displayed no awareness of the ‘coon. We started up the steps, leash in one of my hands and snow shovel in the other (to be returned to its proper place on the landing) and stopped about 2 steps up upon seeing our intruder again. This time he was laying/sitting on a top step, oblivious to us. My patented “HEY!” failed to rouse him. I put the shovel down, picked up some snow and tossed it at him He raised his head, gave us a bored look and laid back down. This sequence repeated three or four times before he got up and scurried up to the landing and out of sight. Whew! So back up the steps we went, dog leash in one hand, snow shovel in the other,

It was Getting close to the time to leave for work, so I was relieved. The coon’s lethargic behavior plus his being out during the day had me concerned about his health, rabies, etc. Anyway, up the steps we went when Whoa! Up on the landing, clinging to a rail, he was waiting for us. This time, Shadow definitely saw him. They went nose-to-nose. When he is in that mode, Shadow is too strong to control with one hand, but I was trying to pull him back. The snarling started. Having planned well in advance for such a thing, (ha ha!), I held the snow shovel between them. With a few more strong tugs on the leash, I got Shadow to follow me back down the steps to safety. Now what? “Hello, I can’t make it into work today because a raccoon is holding me hostage!” I don’t think that is covered in the employee manual. I figured my wife, Brenda, would eventually notice me MIA. After what seemed like an eternity, I saw her looking out the window and I motioned for her to go to the deck on the other side of the house. I yelled to her what was happening and advised her to get a broom to try and shush it away. She did just that, well, sort of. She came out the door, broom in hand, and immediately started sweet-talking the antagonist. Not what I had in mind. He wasn‘t going anywhere, clinging to the rail. At least now I had a buffer to get Shadow (and myself) inside. We hurried past as Brenda protected us with her broom and cutesy talk. Next challenge, we had to get back out to go to work. With all of us inside, except Rocco (the now-named raccoon), we could see him still clinging to the rail as we looked out the window. The snarling had stopped. We decided to make a run for it and hurried past the cling-on Rocco. He didn’t budge, thankfully.

We were pleasantly surprised upon coming home from work to not find the garbage can and its contents strewn all over the place. Rocco was gone as well.

Life in the big city holds many little surprises! Just another day in the life….. Some suggested he only came by to visit his cousin, Caribou Freddie (the ferret) ha ha! Others, (who? Me?) insist it was my animal magnetism!!! Either way, he brought some excitement to our little world in Caribou.

Blessed Be!

Forgive. To forgive is to pardon. To pardon is to let it go. To forgive, you must truly let it go. You are not just letting go of the circumstances or wrongs, you are releasing it all. It never happened once. It is forgiven. “True forgiveness does not even remember the injury.” (The Two Seekers)

Forgiveness is a gift that you give to yourself and to others. Forgive yourself. As stated by Robert Watts Jr. in “People Are Never the Problem,” to fully enjoy our potential and to increase the potential in others, we must learn to forgive ourselves and our fellow man. When we forgive others , we are forgiven for the things we do wrong. Forgiveness is the power to start over and try again. Forgiveness is the power to do better next time. Give yourself that chance.

To others, forgiveness is a gift because you are letting the other person take the “wrong” and are letting them release any fear or retribution. They can live in without hiding around a corner in fear. Fear causes many actions, anger and violence as well as illness and depression. The forgiven now feels like they can truly change because you have let go of the idea that they are bad. You release them from negative self-worth. You let them know that there is a clean slate and they alone have the choice to change or not.

Forgiveness can be one of the greatest acts of kindness you can commit. Let go of the past and not only will you grant peace, you will achieve peace.

Forgiveness does not mean you shouldn’t file the information as if it were a lesson. That is what it should be - a lesson for all concerned. Use it to protect yourself and be sure it is not something that will hurt you again or destroy anything you have worked for. If it happens again, you are in a position to say that the person is noteworthy of trust and should not be part of your life. They lack respect and you cannot put yourself in that situation to be misled again. That person can be forgiven, even again, but you can also ask them to move on in their own life if the wrong is bad enough. Only you can determine if and when that point is reached. It is also a point when you need to ask yourself if you contributed in any way in making certain things happen or led the person to think wrongly. There is always cause and effect and there could be something that leads them to repeat their mistakes. You do not have to forget, just let go of the emotion attached to you don’t become destructive, for if we do not practice forgiveness frequently, it can destroy us from the inside out and can also destroy those we love who are innocent bystanders.

Life is a wonderful roller coaster, full of ups and downs, filled with excitement and fear. We cannot and should not blame those who journeyed along with us, even if they pushed us off course. We have to find the lesson in where we are at the time and be thankful for being led to a place where we were able to experience it. Good or bad, we had an experience. If it was bad, be thankful for making it through and be thankful by forgiving them and yourself.

There is no need to wait to be asked for forgiveness, for at times the other person may not even realize they have offended you. Is there someone you need to forgive? Yourself? Today is a good day.

Forgive.

Blessed Be!