The Serene Way

“Societal choices, more often than not, are the result of expediency, statistical fallacy, sentiment, political or media pressure, or personal prejudice and vested interest.”

David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D.

Power vs. Force

I received a comment after posting a blog titled ‘Acceptance, Compassion & Tolerance Out of Anger & Resentment”, which was the catalyst for this entry.

“I (Also) Noticed On The Front Page Of Your Website That You Are Selling SHEEP SKIN Mats! That Is Not AHIMSA And It Certainly Is Not Peaceful And Serene For The Sweet Innocent Slaughtered SHEEP! :/ ~::~”

Why use meditation mats that are made from sweet innocent loving slaughtered sheep??? That is bloody bad karma and just mean. It is ahimsa for me to point this out to you. Why seek to make money from industries of horrid cruelty?You are a spiritually intelligent being. You seek to embody goodness and loving-kindness towards all beings…I believe. To do so we must wake up from participating in cruelty towards other beings… right? We must have an empathetic loving awakened conscience of loving-kindness towards ALL Life as Divine Spirit.

In order to fully discuss this position, let’s look at a definition of ahimsa. Wikipedia describes ahimsa as follows: “the principle of non-violence can or should be applied to different life forms…”

This resource (Wikipedia) continues, “Jains go out of their way so as not to hurt even small insects and other minuscule animals and make considerable efforts not to injure plants in everyday life as far as possible. In accordance to this policy, eating of some foods, whose cultivation harms small insects and worms, as well as agriculture itself, is to be abstained from.”

Research and information gathered from texts such as ‘The Gospel According to Rama Krishna’, books by Swami Vivekananda, and other volumes of spiritual writings state that ahimsa—a yama of Yoga— is the practice of non-violence or harmlessness in action, word, thought, deed or emotion. All we do creates a karmic affect, no matter its desired intention.

It is evident that this ‘practice’ has different meanings and applications depending on the environmental/cultural experience and religious belief of the individual. There are levels of adherence to this practice. This is true for all ideologies; it is the depth of conviction to the belief, whether individual or group, that plays a fundamental role in their actions and reactions. We need look no further than organized religion to see how extremes in the attachment to dogma have created tension and segregation, leading to struggle, suppression and war.

Traditionally, meditation was performed on natural animal skin such as tiger or deer, as I have seen in pictures of gurus and swamis. This provided a softer cushion for a more comfortable way to maintain a meditative posture; it also created a synergy with the meditative process by providing a deeper, natural connection to earth energies, thereby intensifying the benefits of meditation. I have not read that these pelts materialized out of cosmic energy; the animals’ lives did end in some manner.

Historically speaking and according to evolutionary theory, man was a hunter-gatherer. Being of aboriginal heritage—Native Canadian M’ic M’aq—my family’s heritage and culture dictated that whenever an animal is taken for food, all parts of that animal are used in order to honour a manifestation of gratitude for that which the earth provides. As a child, I remember that after the moose hunt (which my extended family continues) the meat was canned or frozen, the antlers were used for the handles of eating utensils, and the hide for leather garments, snowshoes and various ties and bindings. All was treated as a gift from Mother Earth and what She provided for our sustenance.

The sheep in question are from my brother’s farm. He has a small flock, and his intention is to use the entire animal, in keeping with his cultural heritage, in order to provide for his family. The sheep run free in the pastures on 108 acres, eating grass and natural feed. They are tended with love and kindness. They are protected from coyotes by dogs, donkeys and a llama provided by my brother and his family. His wife is the ‘at home’ veterinarian who provides the occasional antibiotic to ensure the sheep’s health, and is doula or mid-wife during lambing season. In the winter, lambs that are born too small or too many at a time for a single ewe to care for are taken into the house, dried with towels, and bottle-fed—one of the great experiences I have had the pleasure to participate in.

Indeed, I take issue with commercial farming and the poor treatment of livestock for the gathering of wealth for the few. The treatment of animals on commercial farms is in truth a manifested aspect of profit and greed. I also take issue with the reckless harvest of animals of the sea for a singular use, such as longline net capture of sharks for the sole purpose of obtaining their fins, which some claim are an aphrodisiac. This materialistic approach has caused many problems. Commercial farms have created the need to regulate society’s food channels. Yet, with a single bacterial outbreak in an industrial processing plant, an entire food network delivers health hazards. Recently, an outbreak of listeriosis in a packaging plant in Canada played havoc on the food channel, resulting in a recall of processed, packaged meat. This past summer tomatoes had to be removed from the shelves due to problems at a processing plant in the United States. Both of these incidents also affected fast food outlets, including the corporate giant MacDonald’s.

I often think that we have formulated a hierarchy based on what we perceive as sentient beings. It is only our current perception that dictates these ideas; they continue to change and develop based on scientific research, which increases our understanding. There are many ‘seekers’ who have taken leave of society to live in renunciation in the wilderness. There, they develop the ability to listen to the wisdom of the tree and the messages upon the wind. There is even mention of those who can live on air alone; they receive sustenance from the energy inherent in everything that is, so highly developed is their connection to the divine source.

A tree is alive—it has a series of capillaries that carry nutrients throughout its body, similar in function and design to the human lymph and digestive systems. Firstly, in terms of the lymph system, it has circulatory vessels without a central pump which regulate defense mechanisms. Secondly, like the digestive system, fluid is moved by a process of contraction called peristalsis. A tree has life, it exists, it is energy. The same can be said of all plants. They react to external stimuli: lower vibrations limit growth, whereas higher energies accelerate it. If you sing to a plant it will respond positively with growth; if you yell at it, so too will it wilt.

Man, in being a form of compressed energy, is in essence the same as a potato, a carrot, an apple or bacteria, only differing in the form of the expression of that energy. Anything we ingest is an aspect of energy, which is necessary for cellular metabolism and the continuance of a physical form. All life forms must absorb energy in order to sustain their life cycle. The process is consistent and paramount for all life—energy, in some form, is assimilated and then expunged to return into the fold of a universal balance.

Our current perspective deems an animal closer to our own existence. It is our own ego-centricity and the rationalization of projecting human characteristics onto other life forms that creates an imposed judgment. Pulling a carrot out of the ground ends the life cycle of that plant, the same as ending the life cycle of any other organism, whether or not we currently consider it to be sentient. If one is sacred, then all is sacred.

On a Path to Light, only when we accept all forms of energy as equal will we truly realize that all life is sacrosanct, and to be accepted as a blessing.

© T.S. (Tim) White, 2008

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www.TheSereneWay.com

To be continued…

With a further discussion of commercial farming and Ahimsa

World Talk Radio - Amendments to the Food & Drugs Act

Reiki questions

I’m interested in learning Reiki however I feel half sceptical about the subject. If you don’t mind, I was hoping you could give me some reassurance.

What influenced you to learn Reiki?
What is the greatest reassurance for you that Reiki is effective?

Great questions!

I too hold a healthy scepticism about Reiki and most things, to be honest. The possibilities of things beyond our current knowledge base hold much interest as well.

I was first introduced this alternative therapy about 20 years ago and the mind, body, spirit or energy connection has always been something I’ve been drawn to since being a child. The search for answers to life mysteries was probably the leading influence in beginning this journey. I started my Reiki training prior to a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Disorder. Having been a certified aerobics instructor and personal trainer along with my professional dance experience gave me a great understanding of the physical systems of the body, yet dealing with stress and the effects of emotional turmoil a bit beyond my ability to cope.

Obtaining a Yoga designation and deeper research, I found that scientifically there was a connection to thought and its effect upon the body. There seems to be little question in scientific circles and research that stress has a tremendous impact upon the physical body, as I learned first hand dealing with IBD.

Firstly, in being able to relax the body as is part of Reiki, engaging the relaxation response upon the physical system, which brings more blood to the digestive organs and more oxygen to all physical systems, thus there is an increase in immune function and the digestive process which allows the body to assimilate nutrients more effectively. The body itself generates various energies in its daily function, heat, electrical and biochemical. Heat generated through the light touch or radiating from the hands, again brings greater blood flow to those areas, thus there is an effect upon the muscles of the body, relaxing and again increasing blood flow. The relaxation of the muscles helps to open the nerve channels within the body, thus increasing the ability of the body to respond to nervous stimuli, therefore an increase in this transmission to the brain and being more relaxed the mind is better able to react appropriately.

Science is now beginning to understand quantum effect. Thought and energy do have an effect upon our physical selves. When we walk into a room we may feel certain energies, welcome or otherwise, with our friends and family we can sense their moods and react accordingly. There are a couple of books that show how mood can affect the freezing of water and how different crystallizations are obtained based on these emotions. The emotions created by thought are radiated like the heat of our bodies, heat becomes light, whether perceptible to our senses at this time or not. Now, we have both energy and light that have an effect upon us. This gives some plausibility to the existence of energy systems in the body, as with acupuncture which stimulates channels of energy which can be understood by relating them to the nervous channels and the plexi of the physical body, thus chakras, meridians or nadis associated with them, are not quite so improbable.

Lastly, in researching energy and matter, we find that all things are matter. This matter is a compressed from of energy (all energy being equal with atom formations) and has a gravitational pull. Even as small as our bodies may be we too have this energy as well. So like the moons effects upon the oceans of the earth, so too is it possible that we can have an effect upon others based on this premise. Reiki being Japanese for universal (Rei) energy (ki or chi), we are merely connecting to that which we are all part of or are composites of energy which forms matter.

I have been symptom free of my IBD for over 2 1/2 years with my self Reiki sessions and Yoga practice. I volunteer at a cancer support centre providing Reiki and those clients certainly feel more relaxed and comfortable at the end of a session. It may not cure, but it certainly improves their feeling of well-being.

My life has completely changed for the better that is only a reassurance for myself. It is only through direct experience that we can understand for our self whether something is to be part of the path we follow.

May your journey on a path to light be one of ease!
 

©T.S. (Tim) White
March 30, 2008