As the weather in South Korea starts to turn, so do the leaves. I have looked forward to this more this year than in the past. I wanted to see what autumn looks like in South Korea. It has arrived. Red, burnt orange, orange, yellow, ochre, green, and light green fill the streets of Cheonan. Today, being a sometimes-sunny, sometimes-cloudy day, I wanted to get out on Tang San Mountain with my camera and hiking shoes to enjoy the day. I did not leave my room till about 3:30, which was fine. It is getting dark around 6:00 these days, so I would have plenty of time to explore and take pictures of the trees and whatever else caught my fancy. I got some great shots of the top of the white cement apartment buildings, foreshadowing all the mountains in the background that surround the city of Cheonan. I had not seen this view before; it was the first time I made it to this trail. This trail was more vigorous and inclined, with better-unobstructed views of the city....
This past week I had the opportunity for a two-day spiritual retreat at Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. If you have never been there,
Portsmouth Abbey is on a beautiful campus next to the ocean sharing its property with
Portsmouth Abbey School....
I am very excited to be offering another First Degree Reiki Training in Providence. This training will take place from April 12-13 from 12:00-5:00. No experience is necessary; only willingness and commitment are required. Please contact me directly for more details, including location; either leave a comment or send me an email at
[email protected].
The fee for this two-day Reiki Training in Providence is $125. If you cannot afford the fee, please contact me privately.
More about Reiki and Reiki Training
Michael Swerdloff
Providence Life Coaching and Reiki Counseling
I have to admit that when I first saw the headline, David Romanelli set out to make meditation entertaining, and I cringed. I really did. The last few years have challenged me, observing many of our Sacred and Venerable rituals and practices become watered-down and made cute or sexy by Mother Culture. My immediate thought was simple, "Oh no, not meditation; please do not do this to meditation." This phenomenon has manifested in Reiki, Hatha Yoga, Qi Gong, Acupuncture, and many other traditional healing practices. Isn't it enough that almost every image of meditation has a very thin, white female with perfect hair and skin with no pores? Please, not meditation too!...
It’s now been forty minutes in an altered brain rhythm, slipping from below ordinary consciousness, even below psychic, all the way down to spiritual healing. It is a state where the ego does not completely rule words, thoughts, and actions. The shadow has quieted enough to allow the True Self to speak and be present. The answers are usually simple: a word, a phrase, or maybe even just a syllable. In this case, very simple: “Yes”. This is my life as a Reiki Practitioner.
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Whether Spiritual Teachers should accept payment is an issue that's been a point of inner conflict for me for many years. I have shifted from a firm "No"; I then adopted the principle that "I need to get paid, and my work is incredibly worthwhile". Most recently, I have shifted to somewhere in the middle, accepting that I am very valuable as a resource to the community at large and that work is important. With that said, there is some work for which I will not accept payment. Of course, anyone who has done any real spiritual work knows that there is always some form of payment that the student "pays". Payment may be in the form of servitude, Karma, or a sense of responsibility to others. The payment may not be directed to the Teacher, but a karmic exchange must take place....
Tibetan Buddhist Anyen Rinpoche to Visit Rhode Island at the Westminster Unitarian Church in East Greenwich, Rhode Island
, will host the Tibetan Buddhist Tulku, Anyen Rinpoche, on Friday, April 4th, and Saturday, April 5th....