Category Archives: grow yourself

On The Hunt for Super Powers

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the all seeing eyeOn most of the group meditations debriefs, someone is disappointed and says: “I did not see anything, it was a failed meditation “. No, it was not. The purpose of meditation is not to have Hollywood-type visions. The purpose of meditation is experiencing the deeper potential that lies beneath our daily mind. And the merit lies not in the visual lucid dreaming but in the effort of training the mind to shut up 😀

Similarly, the internet is full of techniques for opening the third eye: meditations, how-to, ten steps for…, five steps for… For what? Actually, is there more to your motivation than just a plain intellectual curiosity?

energy experienceA few days ago, someone, sitting in the therapy chair, reported clouds of pink and white light during an intense energy session. It was the first such session and the first such experience. Quite amazed, the person was not, though, hungry for such imagery. This is quite a healthy attitude: expect nothing and work hard.

The plain explanation of the vision was that, due to the high level of energy used in therapy, the pineal gland, which is responsible for our extrasensory perception, opened up.

Now, cleansing the pineal is not a bad idea, since it seems that the human kind is evolving back to its original state and re-discovering lost senses. But making a total purpose of it is like wanting to drive a car without knowing where you are heading.

images (1)Trying to “see” might yield in seeing. Are you ready for what you are going to see? Do you have enough experience and energetic balance to be able to cope with some of the not-so-nice things you are going to notice?

Things might get even worse when this desire to experience gets to topics such as out-of-body experiences. Again, follow this meditation, that techniques, the other sequence of 7, 10 etc. steps… Do you know how to come back? Have you ever seen someone who is not able to come back and needs help from a master? We did. Actually, all these exotic phenomena are happening due to the raising of one’s energy to a certain level. Each chakra triggers a series of perceptions or powers, as it gets activated and starts to work at its full potential.

our of body

Sri Ramakrishna, one of great Indian Yogi masters, taught that these “powers”, or siddhis, as they name them, are a secondary effect of the energy raising in one’s body. And it is the energy raising that needs to be taught, practiced and mastered, for one very simple reason: constant training gets the practitioner to evolve in a gradual acquaintance with the states of consciousness associated with the raise of energy. It also works out a synchronous raise of the level of consciousness, absolutely necessary for coping with the wanted and unwanted aspects that might be perceived in these states of consciousness. And, finally, leads to what is called enlightenment, the Godhood-like state, the merger of one’s individual consciousness with the ocean of energy that we all come from and return to.

enlightenedMeanwhile, enjoy your blurry perceptions. They might not be visual, they might be just a mere knowing that this fact is one way and the other fact is different. They might be a hunch. They might be physical sensations like tingling, subtle changes in temperature, sensations of fluid running through and outside the body. They might be smells. We all have the capability of perceiving the world around us in a fuller, deeper way.  It can be practiced with diligence and consistency and then the results can be long-lasting, rewarding and enlightening. Don’t forget to enjoy the ride as these senses will rather become indicators of your level of personal development. No one needs individual fame. What we all really long for is a return of our bigger, extended, divine Soul.

Clean up your hard disk

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A beautiful girl walks by her: instantaneously, the mind starts judging: who is the prettiest girl in the world? Not me. Actually, she is comparing herself with a beautiful girl and produces a judgment. This judgment is like an internet cookie, is is meant to file the respective experience. In the filing process, the experience needs to receive a tag, and the tag says: I am not that pretty, they are so much prettier than me.

Something bigger than me.

A guy stops at the traffic light. Next car is an Audi, latest model. He feels humiliated, the other guy drives a better car. I do not deserve respect, he tells himself. He envies the product of that bank account which paid for the Audi. I am not good enough, he tells himself.

A baby knows first the mother. Her smell, the touch, her sounds. Mother means safety, something emotionally bice. One day, the Mama cookie issues the first no. The cookie library is struck by havoc: what is this???  We must file this in a new cookie, because it is different from the Mother cookie. And so on: along our lifetime, we develop an entire bank of cookies.  If the experience fits one of these cookies, it produces  an emotion, at a speed that is higher than Internet. Before our rational mind gets the message, the cookie bank makes one make a choice, already, by surfacing the emotion this bank considers adequate to the situation.

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The cookies dig, excavate to find your choices, so that they can produce the decisions they think you want. Sometimes, these decisions are lousy because they are produced by the respective emotions. Out of the emotional content of your hard drive, each time you experience something new, the cookie forest tries to connect with previous experiences. This instantaneous categorizing is the one making you receive, for the first time, a piece of information and decide whether you should be joyful or afraid. The system says if it is good or bad, and has continuously been doing this since your first gulp of air.

And if this was not enough, there are subcookies, too. Filtered in categories. The biggest cookie, the one that wins, is the one that supplies the most emotional content. It is like advertising: the cookie decides who you are, how will you show yourself to the world, and this is how, according to the respective observation, it will dictate what kind of person will you be. The advertising appears from cookies, under the form of emotions.

Your hard drive has not been cleaned for a long time. It still contains all the cookies since you were a child. It would be great to have an adult bank of cookies, a sound mind bank of cooies or, even better,  a spiritual cookies bank. We are a computer with an operation system that no one updated in a long time. That is why people keep bringing the same things to the table, again and again, even if these things are not what they want. It is like they want to be constantly upset: every day, the same thing, reflecting onto themselves and therefore they get more of what they do not want.

If these cookies do not lead to behaviours able to express yourself the way you want to be, it is time for a clean up. There are several methods to do that: through rational thinking (men are the champions of that), through meditation, through starting to be honest with yourself, through therapy… If people can understand they function like a computer, they can become observers of this computer and not the operating system. They can choose  how to react, instead of whining. The observer observes the emotion and thinks: what is really happening here? Does this mean anything? Why am I feeling so uncomfortable? Why am I so suspicious?

Enter the system and delete, delete, delete. If you find something nice, full of love, keep those “good” cookies. What they do is like when you let someone merge the traffic when coming from a side street.Eventually, someone will let you, too, merge. The energy we radiate comes back to us, just like a cookie: you click it and the Univers sends you more. These are the good cookies. Print the image of  a Ferrari and work to get it: the chances to actually own one will grow. Working on the garage might also be a good idea 🙂 .

Many people do not see their beliefs, but they live those beliefs. The cookies becom beliefs, a set of rules you have created for yourself, subconsciously. the world around you, the people you meet, the situations. They create the “advertising” that calls for the next situation.

What we need is a set of principles to live by.  One that we set, not an external one or a subconscious one. We need to put a filter in front of the cookie that will have to pass those principles to be correctly assessed, canceled or recognized as important. But we will talk about these next time.

Mastery: a decision to continue one’s own evolution

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ochiul florii kanaloaThere are a lot of people carrying around a master’s diploma. And requiring for their mastery to be recognized. There is one saying coming from Don Beckett, ReiKi Master: a Master is just someone who decided to continue walking the Path. 

Well said. But what are the key features of Mastery, be it about spiritual teaching or carpentry work? How does a master look like? How can one recognize a true master and, more complex yet, how can one choose a master?

mastery

It all starts with following and living a set of principles. No matter these are the ten commandments, the five shamanic agreements or the seven Huna Principles, there must be a behavior foundation that creates a framework for all we think, say and do.We typically call this ethics.

The next big one is compassion. In the broad sense, we find it in “love thy neighbor” or Aloha or Be Kind to Others. But one key issue that usual occurs in the path to mastery is that we still do those things for ourselves, and not for others. One of the spiritual traps. If we heal, teach, protect, charge just for a personal benefit – be it money or fame, being in the center of attention or simply get remarked – the whole effort slides down the drain. Mastery is  for others and it has to be exercised with the two following bubbles in the chart:

download (1)One is humbleness. Ego has no room in a master’s behavior. The car, the house, the social status, the expected recognition – if they are still present and manifesting, it is the right time for pulling up our sleeves and starting to work on the Me, Me, Me issue.

Are you reacting emotionally to criticism instead of taking the information in to reflect on it and seeing what tiny or big thing you can improve? More work is needed.

download (2)The next one, really important, is to stay present in this world of now. Not on a mountain top. In our workshops and conferences we met people who displayed a balanced, loving, compassionate behavior in a meditation circle, and oozing frustration, anger and dissatisfaction immediately after the sessions ended. Mastery is displayed equally in the physical world and in manifesting emotions, in the mind, everywhere. A master has a consistent behavior, no matter it is about brushing teeth or offering empowerments.

This balance  is radiating out of the persons who advance on the path to mastery. People want to be around these persons. Attracting the ones desperately in need for affection or the ones wanting mental gymnastics for the satisfaction of the intellect only  is not it. When people genuinely feel good around you, it means you are on the right track. Not because of the way you do things. Your mere presence is radiating this balance, and people usually say they feel at peace, protected and satisfied.

Last feature and most important is excellence.  A master has to be brilliant at what he or she does. Many of our students want to start sharing something immediately after they have learned it – but the key is patient, consistent and diligent practice, to learn the behaviors or techniques, and to get a deeper understanding, valuable insights and a comprehensive vision on the respective topic.

You might want to try and practice each of the bubbles of about three weeks… and see what changes. And if you are looking for a master, here are the three key things to help you make up your mind:

1. There is solid proof of excellence. Clearly, there is a lot to learn from this person.

2. There is chemistry between you and that person.  And the chemistry is both ways. Masters do live in earthly bodies, they might have feelings. Students that drop our of their work with the master just because they did not feel loved enough have some serious topics for reflection… it is easy to point the finger at someone else.

3. The master is available. Availability does not mean he or she will definitely reply all your 10 sms’s right now. And availability will also mean that the master will be there for you when you think you do not direction and support. The master is not a friend, but the most (com)passionate personal coach one could imagine. Between the helping, the encouragement and the spanking, this person will always be interested in your progress without having any interest in his or her own benefits.

Good luck . Practice. Keep walking the Path.

The Heart Shift

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fusing polarityDuring the past few weeks, people came in sessions questioning the events happening around them. Most of the times, the events were a perfect mirror of the person’s inner state, although they tended to blame others for what was happening . But this way of thinking  is a boomerang: what sets a person free is working out their environment with no judgment.

If we just stop and be mindful of these things, we will begin to communicate with our heart center. The key question we need to ask when something goes ballistic in our lives is

What is really happening here?

“What is happening” is the part that is taking over the mind. The ego of the mind is  gradually shrinking when exposed to continuous focus. And then, the miracle happens: here comes a point where the ego accepts the  reality of a non-dualistic way of being, so that it can join the heart.

This is creating a shift in consciousness.

If you look at the consciousness in the fourteenth century, compared to today, the capability of psychology and thought are much more tuned nowadays. Consiousness is always on the rise, always changing. You are always learning new things and dropping other old things.

But some people carry old baggage and try to code everything in front of them by dragging the past with them, unsatisfied, unhappy, wondering what happened to them. What are they carrying in those bags? Patterns and programs that people cannot break loose from. Learned from the life we are in. The part of infinity they lived through. This is a moment of infinity.

It depends on how courageous we can be to teach the truth, to educate (ourselves and others) takes courage to stand up to old beliefs. Put them under the microscope of truth: should I be thinking this way? Question your own ideas. When the hearts are engaged, the fusion begins to work on the ego. This is a heart-led revolution that is going on. The heart is transmitting, people are beginning to feel it. Some see it, and this way salvation will not come from without, but within.

Love your Self. Be comfortable with your Self. Be at ease with your Self. We need to de-stress in this modern world. Those quiet moments in nature or meditation are the most profound healing we can do for our bodies. Meditation does not mean lying down, you can do it while walking. Feeling that every soul on the street is part of your soul.

We are so not looking in the right direction, because we were taught this way. Illusion is created by misdirection, like magician work. When we think in the wrong direction, the illusion is created. We need to change our perspective, and approach life from a different perspective. When you watch a football game, you really do not think you can influence it? One may get excited, but is this really changing the course of the game? We must bevery careful as magicians, that we do not curse our football teams with negative thoughts, with gossip and complaining, criticizing. Get on with the game! Be in the next moment. Sports is about being 1-2 seconds ahead what is going on.

mscIf you are dragging the past into your anticipation you are cutting down your chances. I’d rather uplift everybody instead of blaming them.

So then, shift happens the minute you question beliefs and behaviors. What you experience from the outside world means nothing, except what you make it. God does not judge, and neither should you. Be free, relaxed and curious instead of exercising your old programming and projections, and watch your life taking a new turn, once lived from the heart.

Stuck in programs

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About one year ago, in a workshop in Romania, we met a beautiful woman. Amazingly beautiful and smart. Working for a bank, absolutely miserable because of not having a relationship. We worked with her in a private session and the physical result of that is that she finally moved the ring from the fourth finger of the left hand to free up the space for a new relationship. Before she left, she said: “I would give everything for a relationship.”

Yesterday, she showed up. She is deeply in love with a man – and her own words were broke, jobless, frustrated, desperate. I am stuck, she said. A torid love story took her out of her job in Italy and got her into the house of the current boyfriend (yes, she asked for a relationship and she got one). She is structured, he is not. He tends to start lots of  things and it gets difficult to finish them, therefore he is paid little and late. The financial insecurity is unbearable. A whole family lives in the same courtyard. Her beautiful nails are gone. She scrubs and cooks all day. She feels she has no energy and she cannot cry.

Where to begin with this situation that seems so familiar?

Exactly. What happens outside is a reflection of what we think about ourselves. How we feel inside. The roles in this couple had reversed. She is doing all masculine actions – looking for the money, organizing it, setting actions to clarify the legal status of the house, pushing her partner to accomplish more instead of supporting him. If the lion looks into the mirror and sees a ragged cat, that’s what he is.

What to do in such a situation? It is clear that everything starts from the way we think. If we keep thinking “I have no money”, “this relationship is not working “, “I hate this house”, this will give energy to the obstacle, not to the solution. Energy flows where attention goes. If your attention is going towards the blockage, you are just repeating and reinforcing the obstacle. Consolidating it. So, first action is to stop saying these words. Think about what you say, because it can be a blessing or it can be a curse. Stop cursing yourself.

Secondly, it is clear that the situation is one of lost femininity, so the prescription was about recovering it by focusing on what is feminine. Compassion, gentleness, intuition, softness, support, beauty, teaching. These are the elements of homework.

Thirdly, about applying all these: behaviors change in time. It takes at least 21 days for the mind to learn a new behavior, and up to 6 months to automate it. So, when you want to start working on something, choose one thing – such as looking at what you say – and practice that for at least three weeks. Assess the result and continue without slashing yourself if you are not up to par. Do not embark in tasks that produce a lot of discomfort. Choose methods and tools that speak to your heart, know that they are taking you on a journey of rediscovery and allow them so work on you like water: gently infiltrating, expanding, penetrating and finally mastering your new structure. It is a mental make-over, work it out gradually and patiently.

Make sure you have a supporter or a coach to assist with encouragement and support through moments of crisis or breakdown. And enjoy every bit of the process, because it leads you to a better you. A more authentic you. Good luck and congratulations for the courage to change something.

ReiKi: rediscovering the Usui method

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ReiKiMuch has been written about ReiKi, so much that it seems almost impossible to avoid being redundant. However, after years of practicing and teaching this wonderful system, a refreshed view on this method becomes capital.

We are so into the techniques and forms associated with ReiKi that sometimes we really need to go back into the philosophy of it, in order to penetrate the deeper levels of this onion-like approach to personal enlightenment – because ReiKi was not called a healing method until the death of its founder, Mikao Usui. The first written inscription saying “healing” is the one of the Master’s tomb stone, set in 1926… he never mentioned it during his years of practice.

Most of the practitioners in the world today are heirs of the Takata line. Some of the advanced masters, among which my master, felt something was missing. In the ’90’s, a Canadian origin master, Dave King, and his colleague, Melissa Rigall, researched the method with direct disciples of Usui: it looks like the original method was dedicated rather to spiritual evolution than to healing. In 2000, Chris Marsh, a British Master, got in touch with one of Mikao’s first students, a Buddhist nun, aged 106 at that time (it is known that his students lived for 95 years or more, which shows the effectiveness of this system in reprogramming all bodies), Chris got to know another 11 direct disciples of Usui, all over 100 years old…

Where is all this information coming from, and how is it possible that such essential , critical information could be so contradictory when we look at the “traditional” Takata descriptions?

Don BeckettI owe this to my beloved late master, Don Beckett, who showed me the most authentic version of Usui. I got several initiations from several masters, but Don was the one that stripped all the unnecessary form off the attunements and teachings and reloaded them with content. Rather than a therapy, Rei Ki, as the name says, is the connection between the divine energy (Rei) and the personal energy (Ki or Chi). An invisible channel of light that brings what we could call the Breath of God, flowing into the personal spark of divinity in each being, activating it and igniting an irreversible evolution process. Usui called it ” a method for reaching perfection”. Both Dave King and Chris Marsh confirm, after talking with direct disciples, that Usui never named the method Ryoho.

Another important piece of information comes, as well, from the first-hand students of Usui: the attunements were performed frequently in Usui’s dojo  – actually each time someone came to see Usui – through a method named ReiJu, The Offering of the Spirit. Again, I was fortunate to learn and be able to apply this method, taught by Don at the master level. It is a full energetic reprogramming of the bodies, bringing them closer to the original state of perfection, and the ideal support of the attunements for Shoden, Okuden and Shinpiden – the three levels that Mikao taught. It is like a carrier wave that implements precisely, gently and in a powerful way the light codes allowing the practitioner to connect to the Source, channel Light and work with various aspects of the frequency of the Source.

ReiJu is my favorite tool and when things are serious I am starting the session, like Mikao did a century ago, with a ReiJu, which works like an open attunement. I get myself ready for important days, such as teaching days, starting with a self Reiju: this technique that seems to come from the Tendai buddhist Qi Gong type practices is an all powerful procedure and its result fully depends on the intention.

So… the Gakkai was started by the group of Imperial Marine officers that were close to Usui and not Usui himself… there are magic, powerful techniques that should be taught in order to completely restore the potential of this method… and less drawing of symbols and more focus on intention are the way to practice this wonderful method Usui downloaded in his moment of satori, brief enlightenment, on Mount Kurama, after 21 days of fasting.

And ReiKi is actually the awakening and establishing of the connection between the human self and the Divine Self, Higher Presence, I AM presence – the superior component of the Being, known under so many names. The rest is just a pletora of positive secondary effects. 🙂

For those interested in exploring more this approach, Don’s book is available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Reiki-The-True-Story-Exploration/dp/158394267X