Greetings from Sedona

Greetings from Sedona…

How blessed I am to have the unique opportunity to stay with a lovely Reiki family here in Sedona. I met Cindy Terrell in New York a few years ago. She is from Oklahoma but has followed her heart and moved to Sedona, She asked me to come stay with she and her family and the bonus has been that I am also spending time with an extended Reiki community. We are truly people from all walks of life, different personalities, jobs, and dreams and yet the common element is Reiki. The love is incredible. I have had time to be sourced by Sedona and the people here and am pleased to let you know I have started working on a mentoring program for all levels of Reiki people… I will tell you more about it later however it will include meditation CDs, online support and more, so stay tuned.
I have also been making beautiful prayer beads. I am using them as a meditation tool, each bead is charged with the energy of Reiki and ONE. I pray into the beads as I make them. I will be offering them for sale later. Sedona has been very good for me.

Last Sunday we went to see the Grand Canyon after stopping to see the sacred White Buffalo in route. Cindy is a wealth of knowledge and is pure 100% fun. The Canyon is breath taking in its beauty. She leads meditation groups there and I can see why. To have the time to sit and be still in a space such as that is awe inspiring and humbling just the same. And I have seen so many wonderful creatures. A Hummingbird is bound and determined that I see him everyday. He stops right in front of my eyes daily and often brings another hummingbird with him. Praying Mantas, quail, hawk and eagle all are near me…they are all Creators messengers. Whew I am being asked to be still and see Creator in all things, and there is many!

I will be in Australia In September and early October teaching several classes and then on to Asheville North Carolina in late October for a ONE class. Asheville is known as the Eastern Sedona. It is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains and beautiful. You might consider making a trip for the class and to check Asheville out. Please contact Martin Doyle at phone 828 253 1113 or on revmartindoyle@aol.com

The Texas Reiki Retreat at Canyon of the Eagles Lodge in November is filling up fast. If you are interested please contact Annamarie at avireiki@yahoo.com to register. The Retreat is on Veterans Day Weekend November 11, 12, and 13 at Canyon of the Eagles up in Burnet, Texas overlooking beautiful Lake Buchanan. You need to register as soon as possible. They are accepting payments made through pay pal. You will still need to contact Annamarie and get a registration form. We will be taking a trip by boat to see the eagles nesting. I will be teaching a ONE class on the Sunday. You can register for the ONE class by following this link: http://www.wisechoices.com/paypal.asp. The Retreat and One course are not limited to Reiki people from Texas…we are a welcoming bunch so you all come, you hear!


Here are some articles I think you will enjoy. You are most welcome to send in articles you have written to me that I may use sometime.

I will write again next month from “Down Under”

Love and Blessings,
Mari



Putting Yourself First
Meeting Your Own Needs
In life, we are encouraged to think of others first. It is seen as a virtue to selflessly address the needs of parents, children, friends, and loved ones, before or sometimes at the cost of our own needs. But this virtue, like any, is best and most meaningful in moderation. Overly caring for others can easily be an unconscious cry for love or a crutch. Devoting all of your time to others can stand in the way of you caring for yourself. Taking care of yourself can feel selfish while taking care of others can seem easier than dealing with your own issues. But addressing your own needs first in some cases is beneficial and vital not only to your own health and well-being, but to your ability to care for others when needed.

We often find ourselves faced with too many responsibilities and those most readily given up are often those most important to us. Ask yourself why. Do you feel the need to prove yourself by being selfless or hope your sacrifice will be acknowledged? Do you feel selfish for wanting things for yourself? Or is it simply more stressful to contemplate your own needs, because they are the ones requiring the most personal effort on your part? Selfless dedication can be frustrating when we don't find the appreciation or love we desire, which ironically leads to putting more effort into others. But when you care for yourself, you affirm your own worth and boundaries. Don't be afraid to put yourself first now and then. Listen to your inner voice and be fair to yourself as well as to others. Have the courage to face your needs and issues head on without putting them off by helping someone else with theirs.

Avoiding caring for oneself is often indicative of great internal struggle. It can be helpful to recognize that you are as deserving of care as any other human and that you, too, function best when your needs are met. Try, when possible, to do something special, take a break, ask for help, and to give your own needs the attention they deserve.
Reprinted from OM with permission

Reservoir Of Strength
The Third Chakra
When individuals experience difficult times, they often find that they possess a previously undiscovered reservoir of strength. In ancient Vedic texts, the third, or Manipura chakra (when healthy) is the seat of that strength, bolstering courage and determination in times of stress and uncertainty. This chakra radiates from the base of the sternum, governing our emotions, will, and ego. When balanced, it blesses one with a profound drive to succeed, authority, integrity, and self-respect. It is active, rather than passive, and helps in the achievement of tasks both great and small. The Manipura chakra may be visualized as a bright, cheerful yellow and is associated with the sunflower and amber.

Because of its connection to the ego, when the third chakra is in a depleted state, it is common to experience feelings of inadequacy, doubt, and rejection; depression and lethargy; and intense worry. Too much energy focused in the area leads to the desire to exert inappropriate control over one's environment. A well-developed Manipura chakra empowers you to grow in positive ways and inspires you to act on your desires. It is possible to exert a balancing influence over the chakra by bringing fire into your life in the form of candles or hearth fires, wearing yellow clothing, and doing exercises that strengthen the muscles of the abdomen and teach you to breath deeply using the diaphragm. You can stimulate an under-active third chakra by burning cinnamon or carnation incense, using peppermint or lemon essential oils and Ginkgo biloba or milk thistle, and exposing the chakra to tiger-eye. The simplest and most potent method of opening and energizing the chakra is relaxing your emotional center. Laugh and cry more often, let yourself be more sensitive, and embrace your raw emotions.

Living with a repressed Manipura chakra is like existing automatically, without vitality. Its qualities can be the cause of overwork and excessive perfectionism, but this chakra is more often the seat of free will, goals, personal power, and decisiveness. When nurtured, it can lead you to new heights of spirituality and balance in all aspects of your life.
Trying to Control the Soul

We often think we can control love. And then we catch ourselves asking the completely useless question: "is it really worth it?"
Love does not bother itself with that question. Love refuses to be priced like some piece of merchandise. One of the characters in Bertold Brecht’s play "The Good Person of Szechuan" tells us about true love:
"I want to be next to the one I love.
I don’t care what this will cost me.
I don’t care whether this will do my life good or bad.
I don’t care whether this person loves me or not.
All I want, all I need is to be close to the one I love."
Copyright @ 2005 by Paulo Coelho