There are many words we choose to describe a certain thing or object, language constantly evolves and adapts. The word Earth though has always been the same describing what is beneath our feet, soil, food, grounding, stabilising and nurturing.
When we feel the earth soil beneath our fingers and hands, we feel the connection to all things, mountains, rivers, oceans, sky, moon, the list can go on forever. We also feel, or most of us feel, humble, we are so small in comparison to the huge earth, yet we think we are better than the earth, and thinking this way we are knowingly destroying its very foundation and essence. Maybe now we have had to slow down and have much more time to think, we will at last realise the destruction of our earth and stop now!
Within the System of Reiki at the second level (Okuden), the first symbol is introduced, the mantra of Cho Ku Rei, which means ‘direct Spirit’ and comes from old Shinto practices and is widely known as Earth Energy. Symbol 1 and its mantra does indeed remind us of the Earth, it also reminds us that the earth is powerful, and grounding, by feeling grounded we feel less fear and worry, enabling us to be more direct and honest it also reminds us of the Precepts, letting go of Anger and Worry.
The sun is shining today and there is warmth in the air, the seeds in my pots are poking their little heads up, people I saw today walking had a smile on their faces. So all is not serious, we have to move forward and embrace change, because change is inevitable, whether it’s physical or emotional, nothing stays the same. Our bodies and minds adapt, we could argue that change is not always a good thing. Take the Pandemic, some could say it is a disaster and some could say it’s a learning curve, I think the latter, it goes without saying that our thoughts are with all those that have lost loved ones. Nothing diminishes the serious effect this pandemic has had and continous to do so on all of us, but at the end of the day it is important for us to understand that our earth is the one stabilising factor. We must protect our forests, our woodlands and our green spaces, otherwise we will damage the course of our lives, earth and above all the natural world. So we need to respect the ancient teachings, and learn from the mistakes that are so prevalent now, money is not important, life is. I’m sorry to be so serious but we all must do our bit, now, this moment.
Let’s enjoy the Spring and new life, and above all enjoy the power our wonderful earth gives us.
When we label and attach meaning to anything its significance is largely built upon an experience, our exposure to that experience again and whether it is viewed as positive or negative. when we practice reiki, when we chant the jumon and picture the symbols we are creating an harmonic within ourselves that is mirrored back to us by all those we are intentionally or unconsciously connected with.
The pandemic has created time for many people and much of that time has been spent in nature. As a collective consciousness many many people have begun to recognise that there is no such thing as ‘Away’ (i.e. “Throw it away” ) and therefore we are compelled to re-use, re-purpose, up-cycle or donate.
Similarly, all experiences are neutral and we create a pendulum swing of perception moving through shades of experience. It is so important for us all to wake up, become wiser in our thinking and understanding. We can become change, it is the single greatest attribute of humanity to think, to dream and to create that change.
If we ever needed a lesson in our impermanence and the arrogance and ego that we can control everything, the last few days should have been enough to make folks wake up and see we are not in charge. The earth was in control but the increased force was a demonstration of human activity causing an imbalance and the earth reacting. With climate change comes more extreme weather of all types. We all need to wake up to the effect we have as even small changes by us all can make a collective big change to helping heal and look after our beautiful plant.