You arrive at the office in the morning with a splitting headache. Although one pill follows the other, nothing seems to help! If only you could take your head off, store it somewhere, and carry on! Aysen, the woman sitting opposite you, walks over and says, “Look, I’ll help!” She then places her hands on your head! You stay in that position for a while, hoping you won’t become the office joke. The office boy passes, also hoping all is well. As you wonder why Ceyhun hasn’t called, even though the last date went well, you suddenly realize the headache has gone! Filled with the joy of this discovery, you ask, “Aysen! What have you done? It’s gone! What the hell did you do?” She just smiles at you knowingly.
When you push the matter further, she informs you, “They call it Reiki. I learned it from a friend. It’s supposed to be good for pain, etc., but I’ve been told it can do much more.” This naturally piques your interest, so you ask, “How can I learn this too?” Now, before Aysen replies, let me take over and explain to you in detail what energy and healing are all about.
Am I Going to be an Energist?
Many people are interested in such topics, aren’t they? You’re surrounded by people involved in Reiki, bio energy, yoga, and other topics you can’t even pronounce. If you’re interested as well, you wonder where you start, whether to bother starting, and whether it’s all just an old wives tale? You’re at a loss. You just follow a friend who takes you to someone with a kind smiling face who trains you. You try to understand and you feel great, especially when you gain your certificate. In the days that follow, you work with enthusiasm, don’t you? Now, back to deciding whether to call Ceyhun or not! When you get a headache occasionally, you place your hands on your head, and in time all is forgotten. This whole process becomes a topic in conversations: “Yes, I know it. I even practiced for a while. In fact, right before you are the techniques that can take you far, but you’re not aware of this yet.”
Let’s Look at the Advantages of Energism…
What lies beneath practices such as Reiki, yoga, tai chi, and qigong is the balanced flow of what we call life energy, the “Ki.” In the western world they try to cure illnesses with medicine, but this is not so in the east! Aside from the physical body, every person has a body of energy as well. Life energy flows from this to the physical body through channels. Even though we cannot see it, everything is made from energy, including thoughts and feelings. Negative thoughts and feelings have a lower frequency and are therefore heavy. They sink, and this low energy blocks the flow of life energy in the spiritual body. When the flow of energy stops, sickness arises. In fact, sickness is the way our body tries to tell us that there is a blockage. You have to be able to read the messages.
Western medicine diagnoses perfectly most of the time, but the root of the problem is explained like this: “It’s because of what you have eaten and stress!” Eastern medicine, on the other hand, looks at the diseased part of the body and tells you what kind of emotional or intellectual problems you are experiencing. It helps the physical body with treatments while providing ways to attack the root of the problem. For example, acupuncture is an eastern medical technique that treats patients using needles that are inserted into the skin to stimulate points, correcting imbalances in the flow of energy through channels known as meridians. Reiki is a healing practice that similarly aims to balance the flow of energy. In Reiki, palms are used instead of needles. Once the blockage is resolved, the flow of qi is possible again, and the physical body heals itself. Practices such as yoga, tai chi, and qigong all work under the same principle. These do not use either needles or palms, but they instead use movements and bodily positions to enable the healthy flow of qi.
You Are Only Beginning…
These practices are not limited to healing, although healing is one of the initial results of practicing these techniques. Just like the Latin saying, “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a sound mind in a sound body), you need a healthy body to delve deeper. The picture changes as you go deeper into any technique. At one point, you will reach the stage where you start your journey of getting to know yourself. You start with questions: “Who am I? What am I doing here on earth? Why am I here?” You end by trying to find the inner you, just like in Yunus Emre’s poem! This is a spiritual voyage to discover the inner you. All these techniques will be the framework helping you to discover that inner you.
The path to truth varies, and in this sense, no technique is any better than the others. Everyone chooses the path they feel is right for them, and you don’t even have to choose a path at all. You cannot assume you will never discover yourself without choosing a path because the universe never forces one. These techniques have developed over countless years of practice, and they can only make the voyage easier. The choice is yours to make.
What Should I Look out For?
One fact must never be overlooked: People who claim their approaches and teachings are the only valid ones are on the wrong track. Any teaching that limits you and places the guru at the top might sound fine at first because you are still at an inner loss, yet as you progress, difficulties arise. In these groups, the followers soon end up as bait for the guru’s ego. It is hard to see this, especially when a whole room of people are blinded by love for their leader. The path to truth can never be limited, and the real master is the one who makes new masters out of his students. The real masters help their students to excel themselves.
You should also remember that these techniques are not alternatives to conventional medicine; they are complementary approaches. The best results are achieved by combining the techniques of both east and west.
Here’s an example. I was playing football when I fell and hurt my finger, which swelled up. Instead of applying an ice pack and visiting my doctor, I chose to use Reiki on it. If I had done the former first and then applied Reiki to aid the healing process, all would have been fine. Instead, my actions healed me, but they left me with a crooked finger. Since then, when my children are sick, I take them to the doctor first, and then use Reiki to aid the healing process. Hence, I doubt any claim that overlooks conventional medicine. I disregard discrimination and exclusivity and choose to be complementary and supplementary.
What About the Cost?
Another thing to be careful of is the expense. Courses typically cost a set fee, and this has been a topic of discussion. Let me give you some advice: Just like in everything else, there is a distinction between a person charging you for teaching something well and the person who charges you just to make money. In the western world, it is hard to find committed teachers, because energy courses have become a fruitful sector. However, if you are genuinely interested, the universe will guide you to the right master. On the other hand, if you believe you will get something just by paying for it, you may end up being cheated.
What You Wish for is What You Will Get
We should never overlook that masters need to live as well. The supermarkets will not offer them free food because of all the students they have enlightened. Instead, they will ask if they want to pay by cash or credit card. They do not ask for payment for teaching you—they ask for a fee in return for their work.
How Do I Know Which Technique is Right for Me?
First and foremost, don’t jump into the first technique you come across. I have already told you this is a sector, and it works according to market forces. Every day, new techniques appear with new names. Unfortunately, capitalism has long since discovered spiritual healing and the profits that it can bring. It goes unnoticed that, since everything is made up of energy, each technique has a different energy frequency that affects everyone differently. This is why it’s wise to search and question, such as by researching the master and what his training is like. Only after a thorough investigation should you join, or you will fly from one to another like a butterfly, losing your sanity on the way. Be warned.
Intuition is the best guide for your decision. As you travel along the path to getting to know yourself, you will realize how your intuition has developed, because it is also the voice of your soul. The soul knows what is best for the soul. If during training you do not feel right, such as getting bored or frustrated, you should never force yourself. For example, I love football, but I know nothing of volleyball. Someone else may feel the opposite. They are all sports, and you take up the one you like and makes you feel good. However, some types of training make you face things you have been avoiding, and it is important here to discover the reason behind your reluctance. In these cases, again avoid forcing yourself. If you are not ready to face certain matters, give it more time. The right time will come, and in the end you will face whatever it is. As for disciplines that seem really unsuitable for you, I recommend you stay away from them. Your intuition again will tell you where the problem lies and the reason for your reluctance. If you listen to your soul’s voice, you will learn to hear it better.
Having Mentioned the Voice of Your Soul…
I want to repeat once more that these techniques are only the first stage of your voyage. As you continue training, the techniques turn into teachings and become your guide. This is true for Reiki, yoga, and other ancient teachings. What is important is what you want and how much you want. The answer will be given to you according to your wishes.
May you have a safe journey.
