'master'
Just wondering what other Reiki Practitioners feel about using the word 'Master' ....
today I got chatting to this guy who is into energies and crystals etc and he was asking me lots of what I could only call 'challenging' questions to the point where I felt bombarded with it, and kept thinking every question was a trick question. Anyway I made the faux pas of saying I was a Reiki 'Master' realising even as I said it that he would criticise it and indeed he did.... argument being that Master is an egotistical word, people like to feel important blah blah blah.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't claim to be the 'master' of anything, but use the word in the sense as you would if you get a master of arts or business or whatever. It's just a figure of speech right? So why did I feel small for using it in that moment?!
Answers:
Hi there Star_dust. Try not to let this man's energy affect you. We are sent challenges to learn from them I am told but sometimes they can be a bit painful!
My understanding on the word 'Master' is the Eastern version of 'teacher'. I always tell my students and anyone else who asks that a 'Master' does not mean I am any better than anyone else, it just shows that I can 'teach' others. My journey is on-going and there is still so much to learn!I think it is down to the Western/Eastern interpretation of a word.
Spread the word, you will come across those whose path is a different one but you can still share and learn from each other in many ways.
Have fun!
Love and light
reikiangel
xxx
Answers:
Hi there
I just looked up Master in an online dictionary!
Master with a capital 'M' is regarded as:
2.religious teacher:a title used to address a man who is a religious leader or teacher
master with a small 'm' is the word regarded as being 'higly skilled' in something among other definitions.
I believe that a Reiki Master WOULD be highly skilled but not necesarily have mastered Reiki!
It doesnt hurt to be challenged on our beliefs at times. Yes it can be uncomfortable...but...it gives us the opportunity to re-examine our beliefs and see if they still hold fast ;) We are forever growing and expanding and our beliefs will also grow and expand - sometimes greatly and sometimes in very subtle ways. But without any 'challenges' we would have no need to test our inner knowledge and therefore run the risk of stagnating :-(
I hope you have recovered from your 'grilling' (((HUGS))))
Answers:
The man believing that the word "master" is egotistical, is basing that on his own egotistical beliefs of what a master is, not on your beliefs. Do you belief it is egotistical to call yourself a Reiki master?
I'm a Reiki Master myself but, as you'll see from my signature I don't put that label next to myself because I know that other people percieve it incorrectly, so I call myself a practitioner of Reiki, without specifying any "levels", especially as I believe that once you start on your Reiki Journey we are all practitioners of it, seeking to master the practice for ourselves.
I think the quote on this website says it all:
You could, if you prefer, use the label of Reiki Shinpiden which is the same "level" as master, but is what was poorly translated to "master" when Reiki came to the west.
Love and Reiki Hugs
Answers:
Star Dust, :)
Maybe Reiki is teaching you something?Pushing a button. Perhaps a need to be right or a sense of inferiority in the face of aggressive energies? One thing's for sure, it's an ego to ego thing and Reiki is above that and so are you. :)
Sometimes it's best just to smile and laugh at yourself for takingthese thingstoo seriously and maybe even too personally as well. Apart from the 5 Reiki principles which help us in these circumstances, there are also the 4 agreements which I'm sure you've heard about. One of these agreements is not to take anything personally.
Maybe just let the beauty, warmth, love and compassion which is Reiki do the talking. Sometimes when I meet these kinds of people and they say well Reiki and all this Alternative healing is crap, I just smile warmly and agree with them and say yes of course it is. Reiki is Reiki and it doesn't need me to "stick up" for it. I am not betraying Reiki nor myself when I do this. I am simply dropping the subject as the other person may simply want a good argument and I won't play ball with that. When we are ready, we ask about these things. When we are not, we like to argue and be right.
You and I have nothing to prove. The reason you feel small when you fall into this trap is because you are allowing your expansive energy to contract and allowing yourself to be "abused"..so you will shrink to protect yourself. In truth this person is doing you a favour, in a way pointing something out to you about yourself. If you can recognise and grasp what it is, you will be even further along the road to Mastery.
All experiences like this are lessons. The trick is to see the lesson and yet, not takethe lesson personally but to be grateful for being ready to learn it.In that way we are thankful and we understand the Master's precept.."love thine enemy, do good to those who hurt you." Without these lessons we cannot grow. Best to be grateful for all our blessings...including lessons. They are blessings in disguise.;)
Bless
Answers:
Because he was putting you into your place beneath him? In hindsight do you feel the questions were degrading or was he challenging you to help you improve? I have only one certificate that says "Reiki Level One" and only one certificate that says "Reiki Level Two". However I have several certificates that read "Reiki Master" and "Reiki Master Teacher". Those certificates designate an official title which can be attached to my name. Technically "Reiki Master" is a certificate level title and if you have it then you do and it is your (legal) right to bear and promote it as you will. My personal belief and experience is that just because a person may possess a lot of technical knowledge about a subject does not mean that they can teach that to others effectively. I would hope that they can but by my experience that is not always the case. Lately I have been socializing outside of the Reiki community and have had similar experiences. Those experiences have given me more to contemplate during my meditations which have allowed me to explore myself to an even greater degree. Since this guy was battering you with "academic" questions I'd like to bring up the human gene pool for a moment. Our species has been known to produce some pretty intelligent human beings. Geniuses. The thing about these geniuses is that they are not exclusive to the upper most class of western society. Parents of normal intelligence and sometimes lower than average intelligence produce children who become geniuses. Why is that? I have absolutely no clue. But that's the way that it seems to work. One of my recent realizations is that being a Reiki "Master" is a skill. No matter what a person does, no matter how little or how much academic knowledge that person possesses, the ability to awaken what is understood to be "Reiki" energy within others is present. Even with those who practice Reiki and don’t feel hot hands or any other of the many common symptoms. No matter how much you do or do not know, you can always awaken "Reiki" within others. Even if you don't feel anything during the attunement process, you can make a difference. It is no different than parents with a low IQ producing a child genius. You have a powerful skill. Although you may never entirely understand it (I certainly do not) you will be able to help others with it. No one can ever take that away from you.
Answers:
Hi Star Dust,
I am a 'Reiki Master' too and proud of it. I never thought i would be 'good' enough' to be a Reiki Master, but in doing Reiki 1 and 2 I have worked hard on myself to reach the 'Masters Degree'. It's not always as easy journey and as you know we continue to learn as we move on down our path. I am doing a spiritual path as well so the two entwine. What i have learnt is that no one can make you feel anything. If that man intimidated you and made you question yourself then it's your self doubth speaking. I can relate to that because I found myself getting annoyed that some skeptical friends were challanging what i believe in etc, but when i bought it back to myself i realized that it was my doubt in my ability that was the issue. None of us are perfect but the important thing is that our intention to help and heal others is honest and true and comes from the heart.
Love & Light
Raphael
Answers:
Wow! what a response, thanks all for the insights and thoughts on the subject of Reiki 'master' (capital or non capital m ... hmmm :))
In hindsight I can see that this man's intention was indeed to 'challenge' me, I think that he saw it as doing me a favour to make me think about things differently (he is a reiki master himself), and this is his style of teaching he tells me. And of course I have learned a valuable lesson from it, but I won't be in a hurry back there for more!
When I say I am a Reiki Master I say it also because I am so happy to have this experience in my life and to be on a healing path. I don't say it because I think I am the Master of anything, but I do like the idea of a master being a teacher.
Having lived in Asia I became aware of how much more respectful asian (to generalise) culture is, with bowing and deferring to seniority, using titles of respect etc.It seems western society (again a broad generalisation i know) has difficulty with this.
I will continue to use thephrase Reiki Master, and if anyone else has a problem with that, thats their issue not mine!
Reiki hugs to all!
Star_dust
Answers:
the term master is an oriental term that means teacher...which is more applicable in our society.....those who adhere to 'master' seem to be on an ego trip IME......quiz a few who use either and you will see what i mean, i also used the term reiki master for a while and my humilty suffered.
Answers:
The correct word for Teacher in Japanese is Shihan. Assistant teacher is Shihan-kaku.
The term "Sensei" is used, respectfully, by the student of the teacher - not by the teacher.
Just thought I'd throw in my tuppence-ha'penny worth...
Answers:
I have picked out five of the first ten.
Nothing egotistical about any of them, they are not Japanese andthey can all apply.
So IMHO if you are as it saysbelow then call yourself MASTER and be proud of it.
Ignore anyone who says that being proud is egotistic; being proudis a trait of God and man.
a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something:
a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science:
a person whose teachings others accept or follow: a Zen master.
a person whose teachings others accept or follow:
a worker qualified to teach apprentices and to carry on a trade independently.
today I got chatting to this guy who is into energies and crystals etc and he was asking me lots of what I could only call 'challenging' questions to the point where I felt bombarded with it, and kept thinking every question was a trick question. Anyway I made the faux pas of saying I was a Reiki 'Master' realising even as I said it that he would criticise it and indeed he did.... argument being that Master is an egotistical word, people like to feel important blah blah blah.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't claim to be the 'master' of anything, but use the word in the sense as you would if you get a master of arts or business or whatever. It's just a figure of speech right? So why did I feel small for using it in that moment?!
Answers:
Hi there Star_dust. Try not to let this man's energy affect you. We are sent challenges to learn from them I am told but sometimes they can be a bit painful!
My understanding on the word 'Master' is the Eastern version of 'teacher'. I always tell my students and anyone else who asks that a 'Master' does not mean I am any better than anyone else, it just shows that I can 'teach' others. My journey is on-going and there is still so much to learn!I think it is down to the Western/Eastern interpretation of a word.
Spread the word, you will come across those whose path is a different one but you can still share and learn from each other in many ways.
Have fun!
Love and light
reikiangel
xxx
Answers:
Hi there
I just looked up Master in an online dictionary!
Master with a capital 'M' is regarded as:
2.religious teacher:a title used to address a man who is a religious leader or teacher
master with a small 'm' is the word regarded as being 'higly skilled' in something among other definitions.
I believe that a Reiki Master WOULD be highly skilled but not necesarily have mastered Reiki!
It doesnt hurt to be challenged on our beliefs at times. Yes it can be uncomfortable...but...it gives us the opportunity to re-examine our beliefs and see if they still hold fast ;) We are forever growing and expanding and our beliefs will also grow and expand - sometimes greatly and sometimes in very subtle ways. But without any 'challenges' we would have no need to test our inner knowledge and therefore run the risk of stagnating :-(
I hope you have recovered from your 'grilling' (((HUGS))))
Answers:
The man believing that the word "master" is egotistical, is basing that on his own egotistical beliefs of what a master is, not on your beliefs. Do you belief it is egotistical to call yourself a Reiki master?
I'm a Reiki Master myself but, as you'll see from my signature I don't put that label next to myself because I know that other people percieve it incorrectly, so I call myself a practitioner of Reiki, without specifying any "levels", especially as I believe that once you start on your Reiki Journey we are all practitioners of it, seeking to master the practice for ourselves.
I think the quote on this website says it all:
You could, if you prefer, use the label of Reiki Shinpiden which is the same "level" as master, but is what was poorly translated to "master" when Reiki came to the west.
Love and Reiki Hugs
Answers:
Star Dust, :)
Maybe Reiki is teaching you something?Pushing a button. Perhaps a need to be right or a sense of inferiority in the face of aggressive energies? One thing's for sure, it's an ego to ego thing and Reiki is above that and so are you. :)
Sometimes it's best just to smile and laugh at yourself for takingthese thingstoo seriously and maybe even too personally as well. Apart from the 5 Reiki principles which help us in these circumstances, there are also the 4 agreements which I'm sure you've heard about. One of these agreements is not to take anything personally.
Maybe just let the beauty, warmth, love and compassion which is Reiki do the talking. Sometimes when I meet these kinds of people and they say well Reiki and all this Alternative healing is crap, I just smile warmly and agree with them and say yes of course it is. Reiki is Reiki and it doesn't need me to "stick up" for it. I am not betraying Reiki nor myself when I do this. I am simply dropping the subject as the other person may simply want a good argument and I won't play ball with that. When we are ready, we ask about these things. When we are not, we like to argue and be right.
You and I have nothing to prove. The reason you feel small when you fall into this trap is because you are allowing your expansive energy to contract and allowing yourself to be "abused"..so you will shrink to protect yourself. In truth this person is doing you a favour, in a way pointing something out to you about yourself. If you can recognise and grasp what it is, you will be even further along the road to Mastery.
All experiences like this are lessons. The trick is to see the lesson and yet, not takethe lesson personally but to be grateful for being ready to learn it.In that way we are thankful and we understand the Master's precept.."love thine enemy, do good to those who hurt you." Without these lessons we cannot grow. Best to be grateful for all our blessings...including lessons. They are blessings in disguise.;)
Bless
Answers:
Because he was putting you into your place beneath him? In hindsight do you feel the questions were degrading or was he challenging you to help you improve? I have only one certificate that says "Reiki Level One" and only one certificate that says "Reiki Level Two". However I have several certificates that read "Reiki Master" and "Reiki Master Teacher". Those certificates designate an official title which can be attached to my name. Technically "Reiki Master" is a certificate level title and if you have it then you do and it is your (legal) right to bear and promote it as you will. My personal belief and experience is that just because a person may possess a lot of technical knowledge about a subject does not mean that they can teach that to others effectively. I would hope that they can but by my experience that is not always the case. Lately I have been socializing outside of the Reiki community and have had similar experiences. Those experiences have given me more to contemplate during my meditations which have allowed me to explore myself to an even greater degree. Since this guy was battering you with "academic" questions I'd like to bring up the human gene pool for a moment. Our species has been known to produce some pretty intelligent human beings. Geniuses. The thing about these geniuses is that they are not exclusive to the upper most class of western society. Parents of normal intelligence and sometimes lower than average intelligence produce children who become geniuses. Why is that? I have absolutely no clue. But that's the way that it seems to work. One of my recent realizations is that being a Reiki "Master" is a skill. No matter what a person does, no matter how little or how much academic knowledge that person possesses, the ability to awaken what is understood to be "Reiki" energy within others is present. Even with those who practice Reiki and don’t feel hot hands or any other of the many common symptoms. No matter how much you do or do not know, you can always awaken "Reiki" within others. Even if you don't feel anything during the attunement process, you can make a difference. It is no different than parents with a low IQ producing a child genius. You have a powerful skill. Although you may never entirely understand it (I certainly do not) you will be able to help others with it. No one can ever take that away from you.
Answers:
Hi Star Dust,
I am a 'Reiki Master' too and proud of it. I never thought i would be 'good' enough' to be a Reiki Master, but in doing Reiki 1 and 2 I have worked hard on myself to reach the 'Masters Degree'. It's not always as easy journey and as you know we continue to learn as we move on down our path. I am doing a spiritual path as well so the two entwine. What i have learnt is that no one can make you feel anything. If that man intimidated you and made you question yourself then it's your self doubth speaking. I can relate to that because I found myself getting annoyed that some skeptical friends were challanging what i believe in etc, but when i bought it back to myself i realized that it was my doubt in my ability that was the issue. None of us are perfect but the important thing is that our intention to help and heal others is honest and true and comes from the heart.
Love & Light
Raphael
Answers:
Wow! what a response, thanks all for the insights and thoughts on the subject of Reiki 'master' (capital or non capital m ... hmmm :))
In hindsight I can see that this man's intention was indeed to 'challenge' me, I think that he saw it as doing me a favour to make me think about things differently (he is a reiki master himself), and this is his style of teaching he tells me. And of course I have learned a valuable lesson from it, but I won't be in a hurry back there for more!
When I say I am a Reiki Master I say it also because I am so happy to have this experience in my life and to be on a healing path. I don't say it because I think I am the Master of anything, but I do like the idea of a master being a teacher.
Having lived in Asia I became aware of how much more respectful asian (to generalise) culture is, with bowing and deferring to seniority, using titles of respect etc.It seems western society (again a broad generalisation i know) has difficulty with this.
I will continue to use thephrase Reiki Master, and if anyone else has a problem with that, thats their issue not mine!
Reiki hugs to all!
Star_dust
Answers:
the term master is an oriental term that means teacher...which is more applicable in our society.....those who adhere to 'master' seem to be on an ego trip IME......quiz a few who use either and you will see what i mean, i also used the term reiki master for a while and my humilty suffered.
Answers:
The correct word for Teacher in Japanese is Shihan. Assistant teacher is Shihan-kaku.
The term "Sensei" is used, respectfully, by the student of the teacher - not by the teacher.
Just thought I'd throw in my tuppence-ha'penny worth...
Answers:
I have picked out five of the first ten.
Nothing egotistical about any of them, they are not Japanese andthey can all apply.
So IMHO if you are as it saysbelow then call yourself MASTER and be proud of it.
Ignore anyone who says that being proud is egotistic; being proudis a trait of God and man.
a person with the ability or power to use, control, or dispose of something:
a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science:
a person whose teachings others accept or follow: a Zen master.
a person whose teachings others accept or follow:
a worker qualified to teach apprentices and to carry on a trade independently.