We wouldn't have minds if we weren't supposed to use them!

"Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish."

- Albert Einstein

My greatest blessing, as well as my greatest curse may be that I think too much!

My muse, when it comes to spiritual thoughts, is a very dear friend with whom I often have deep philosophical discussions that either directly or indirectly relate to spirituality. She is an amazingly talented physical therapist, and has recently been studying to be a Reiki practitioner. For those of you not familiar with Reiki, it is a Japanese holistic health approach based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. It is believed, and I am admittedly naive about all the nuances, that Reiki can be used to manipulate a patients “life force” (even remotely) and thus help the person being treated achieve an improved states of both physical and mental health.

I know this sounds crazy, but I have a very open mind about these things, having grown up in a house where my mother, a life-long Episcopalian, used to periodically talk to spirits and regularly consulted Tarot cards for insight; while my father, a life-long Catholic, fervently believed in ghosts and in praying to spirits of nature. As such, I have always sought to weave my own belief system into the tapestry that makes up the complex and messy thing we call “spirituality”, and so it was following my most recent lunch with my friend.

As Christians, we believe in a “life force” only we know it as that part of God we refer to as the Holy Spirit. We also believe that we can get guidance from the Holy Spirit as to how to live better lives, we do this through the use prayer; we even accept that prayer can have an effect over distance and time! We further believe that by following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we become better and happier people, and ultimately achieve a state of complete and eternal happiness we call “heaven”. Is this really so different from what Reiki teaches?

Jesus Christ was a complex mix of God and man that we know about only through the writings of a few people who knew Him. Who is to say that the casting out of the demons, the healing of the lame, the curing of the blind were any different than the much more subtle benefits that Reiki practitioners see in their patients? Who is to say that what Jesus was trying to teach us was simply to get in touch with that part of God that exists in each of us, and stay connected to it, and by doing so live a happier (and healthier?) life?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not by any stretch equating Reiki practitioners with Jesus, but I am saying that we often scoff at, rationalize and dismiss things we cannot begin to understand – but that is not to say that we should not at least try to understand them. The mysteries of God are only mysteries because we limit our minds.

Be open to everything, especially to the power of God to make our lives (and our health) better, if we will approach Him with open hearts and minds.

Peace to you all.