Okuden, Going Deeper
In a recent e-mail, my friend Reiki-Master sister Sheila King wrote:
'Going deeply into your heart
Going deeply into your healing
Opening yourself to the light ...
'The Japanese word Okuden means 'the Deeper knowledge'. To take Second degree Reiki means to open to deeper levels of Reiki and to yourself. Reiki on all levels is like light in our lives, shining in all the dark corners, bringing us into alignment with our Higher Selves. First degree is like a flashlight shining within us. As we complete the shifting this illumination brings, we are ready to welcome the brighter stronger light that is Okuden. Initiation into Second degree gives us much more Light & energy to direct.'
With first Degree Reiki, we place our hands and the energy flows, beautifully, magically, what a blessing! It is unconsciously available at any time ... with Okuden, with deepening, we tap a more conscious way co-creating with Reiki! 'In Second Degree we use our minds to focus and our emotions to power our intentions through the Reiki Symbols and through the Quantum Field, always for the highest good with harm to none.' (Sheila King)
On Sunday four of my Reiki level 1 Students went deeper with Reiki, awakening to the brighter light of Okuden. When I took Second Degree Reiki in 1990, we first learned the three symbols, and then (gulp!) burned the papers!! Scary, but empowering! We were at the coast, & that night, I danced the symbols under the stars - WOW!
I am in an Intentional Creativity Teacher Training with Shiloh Sophia McCloud, & a recent project was creating a Medicine Basket, which holds the medicine 'tools' we carry.
Some of the inquiries are:
We had an opening circle & Red Thread Ceremony which reminds us we are all connected, AND that we are only responsible for our section of the thread. The Chinese myth of the Red Thread says that people who are destined to meet are tied together with an invisible red thread. The thread may stretch or tangle, but doesn't break. Reiki also comes to us from the Orient, so the thread weaves the stories together.
We moved to the table and began learning about the symbols & their uses. I brought Rice paper & Sumi stones & ink, to grind ink in the traditional Japanese manner. After working with each symbol for a time, we tore the paper into strips & pieces, & began gluing them on 12 x 18" drawing paper that would easily fit around a standard composition book. Next we began painting the covers (using fluid acrylics), first a medicine basket, (most students placed theirs on the front, one student chose to have a big basket that would stretch across both covers!) and then the surrounding area.
We had been thinking about & discussing our Medicine gifts - a listening ear, maturity to take things less personally, introspection, joy, compassion, knowledge ... and wrote some of these words on slips of the rice paper. One student had a stack with images she'd found online, and the Reiki Principles, which she collaged onto the cover.
We used mod podge at this point to affix the new slips, (some spilled out of baskets, others covered or surrounded them) and a dilute layer of paint. After the covers were done, I brought out the Sparkle Mod Podge - an easy way to add glitter without the 'mess!'
The three sacred symbols of Reiki two are 'keys' to the energy, not the energy! Okuden brings the gifts, and the responsibility, of using Reiki more consciously. The Power Symbol is used to amplify the energy passing through us, allowing us to focus more energy than previously. This symbol can be used to clear & bless a room, to empower the nutrition in food, & infuse more energy into the water we drink.
The Mental/Emotional (M/E) symbol is a wonderful tool for balancing Right & Left hemispheres of the brain, & for calming the mind and harmonizing emotions. I have used it to tap the body's innate wisdom, when something mysterious is going on (an area that's sore for 'no reason,' etc). It is also helpful when addressing past traumas, or a distant situation. It can be used to help 'seat' affirmations with which you're working, & to shift your mood. I've also used the M/E with cranky copy machines, and a friend kept his alternator going long enough to get back to town!
The distance symbol can be used to enhance 'prayer healing' and create a bridge. With its use, we transcend time, space & distance to bring comfort & balance to situations and beings around the globe. In a group setting, imagining this 'Reiki tower' in the center of the circle, we can 'beam' Reiki to other places & time. Quantum healing is possible! We can use the 'tower' when we hear a siren, when someone asks for prayers, healing or support. It can also help us send messages!
About 20 years ago, Anita my Reiki Mastery student and friend & I were invited on the spur of the moment to meet a couple from out of town for lunch. She called me, & we agreed to meet them at a local restaurant, so I began my 20 minute drive to join the party. On the way, I realized that place wasn't open on Monday - yikes! Now what? (no cell phones then!)... when I arrived, it was indeed closed, & they were nowhere in sight! ... I grumbled for a moment, then thought 'Oh! they went down the street' to another restaurant we sometimes visited.
When I walked in, Anita was beaming, & our friends (another Reiki Master and his wife) were bemused. They wanted to leave a physical note (which I somewhat expected!) but she smiled & said 'oh, we don't need to do that!' & proceeded to leave the 'note' on the Reiki tower!! She wasn't a bit surprised that I'd 'received' the message so easily, but they commented on it several times throughout lunch.
Like Takata, Anita & I used Reiki to find our way to new locations & enjoyed thinking up ways we could use the symbols. A few weeks before, she and students from her Reiki 1 class had been at the same restaurant, & they'd asked for more of the History of Reiki. She said 'Oh! I wish Nadya were here to tell this story' ... & I walked in! Synchronicity!
With Second degree comes more power, & more responsibility. We are invited to use this power with the intention that it go to the highest good for all concerned. May it be so, and may Reiki bless your journey!
'Going deeply into your heart
Going deeply into your healing
Opening yourself to the light ...
'The Japanese word Okuden means 'the Deeper knowledge'. To take Second degree Reiki means to open to deeper levels of Reiki and to yourself. Reiki on all levels is like light in our lives, shining in all the dark corners, bringing us into alignment with our Higher Selves. First degree is like a flashlight shining within us. As we complete the shifting this illumination brings, we are ready to welcome the brighter stronger light that is Okuden. Initiation into Second degree gives us much more Light & energy to direct.'
With first Degree Reiki, we place our hands and the energy flows, beautifully, magically, what a blessing! It is unconsciously available at any time ... with Okuden, with deepening, we tap a more conscious way co-creating with Reiki! 'In Second Degree we use our minds to focus and our emotions to power our intentions through the Reiki Symbols and through the Quantum Field, always for the highest good with harm to none.' (Sheila King)
 |
| Collaging Medicine Basket covers |
On Sunday four of my Reiki level 1 Students went deeper with Reiki, awakening to the brighter light of Okuden. When I took Second Degree Reiki in 1990, we first learned the three symbols, and then (gulp!) burned the papers!! Scary, but empowering! We were at the coast, & that night, I danced the symbols under the stars - WOW!
I am in an Intentional Creativity Teacher Training with Shiloh Sophia McCloud, & a recent project was creating a Medicine Basket, which holds the medicine 'tools' we carry.
Some of the inquiries are:
- What will you be known for?
- What Healing tools & remedies do you offer?
- What is in your medicine basket?
We had an opening circle & Red Thread Ceremony which reminds us we are all connected, AND that we are only responsible for our section of the thread. The Chinese myth of the Red Thread says that people who are destined to meet are tied together with an invisible red thread. The thread may stretch or tangle, but doesn't break. Reiki also comes to us from the Orient, so the thread weaves the stories together.
We moved to the table and began learning about the symbols & their uses. I brought Rice paper & Sumi stones & ink, to grind ink in the traditional Japanese manner. After working with each symbol for a time, we tore the paper into strips & pieces, & began gluing them on 12 x 18" drawing paper that would easily fit around a standard composition book. Next we began painting the covers (using fluid acrylics), first a medicine basket, (most students placed theirs on the front, one student chose to have a big basket that would stretch across both covers!) and then the surrounding area.
 |
| Medicine Basket Reiki Journal Cover |
We used mod podge at this point to affix the new slips, (some spilled out of baskets, others covered or surrounded them) and a dilute layer of paint. After the covers were done, I brought out the Sparkle Mod Podge - an easy way to add glitter without the 'mess!'
The three sacred symbols of Reiki two are 'keys' to the energy, not the energy! Okuden brings the gifts, and the responsibility, of using Reiki more consciously. The Power Symbol is used to amplify the energy passing through us, allowing us to focus more energy than previously. This symbol can be used to clear & bless a room, to empower the nutrition in food, & infuse more energy into the water we drink.
The Mental/Emotional (M/E) symbol is a wonderful tool for balancing Right & Left hemispheres of the brain, & for calming the mind and harmonizing emotions. I have used it to tap the body's innate wisdom, when something mysterious is going on (an area that's sore for 'no reason,' etc). It is also helpful when addressing past traumas, or a distant situation. It can be used to help 'seat' affirmations with which you're working, & to shift your mood. I've also used the M/E with cranky copy machines, and a friend kept his alternator going long enough to get back to town!
The distance symbol can be used to enhance 'prayer healing' and create a bridge. With its use, we transcend time, space & distance to bring comfort & balance to situations and beings around the globe. In a group setting, imagining this 'Reiki tower' in the center of the circle, we can 'beam' Reiki to other places & time. Quantum healing is possible! We can use the 'tower' when we hear a siren, when someone asks for prayers, healing or support. It can also help us send messages!
 |
| "Reiki" |
When I walked in, Anita was beaming, & our friends (another Reiki Master and his wife) were bemused. They wanted to leave a physical note (which I somewhat expected!) but she smiled & said 'oh, we don't need to do that!' & proceeded to leave the 'note' on the Reiki tower!! She wasn't a bit surprised that I'd 'received' the message so easily, but they commented on it several times throughout lunch.
Like Takata, Anita & I used Reiki to find our way to new locations & enjoyed thinking up ways we could use the symbols. A few weeks before, she and students from her Reiki 1 class had been at the same restaurant, & they'd asked for more of the History of Reiki. She said 'Oh! I wish Nadya were here to tell this story' ... & I walked in! Synchronicity!
With Second degree comes more power, & more responsibility. We are invited to use this power with the intention that it go to the highest good for all concerned. May it be so, and may Reiki bless your journey!
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