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What is Church teaching on yoga and reiki?
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JimR-OCDS
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LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION*
16. The majority of the great religions which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,"18 neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew. Among these one might mention first of all that of the humble acceptance of a master who is an expert in the life of prayer, and of the counsels he gives. Christian experience has known of this practice from earliest times, from the epoch of the desert Fathers. Such a master, being an expert in "sentire cum Ecclesia," must not only direct and warn of certain dangers; as a "spiritual father," he has to also lead his pupil in a dynamic way, heart to heart, into the life of prayer, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Bold is my emphasis. This is the same as doing gym-yoga exorcises.
ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION*
16. The majority of the great religions which have sought union with God in prayer have also pointed out ways to achieve it. Just as "the Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,"18 neither should these ways be rejected out of hand simply because they are not Christian. On the contrary, one can take from them what is useful so long as the Christian conception of prayer, its logic and requirements are never obscured. It is within the context of all of this that these bits and pieces should be taken up and expressed anew. Among these one might mention first of all that of the humble acceptance of a master who is an expert in the life of prayer, and of the counsels he gives. Christian experience has known of this practice from earliest times, from the epoch of the desert Fathers. Such a master, being an expert in "sentire cum Ecclesia," must not only direct and warn of certain dangers; as a "spiritual father," he has to also lead his pupil in a dynamic way, heart to heart, into the life of prayer, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Bold is my emphasis. This is the same as doing gym-yoga exorcises.
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Akita Suggagaki
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From that same document:
"28. Some physical exercises automatically produce a feeling of quiet and relaxation, pleasing sensations, perhaps even phenomena of light and of warmth, which resemble spiritual well-being. To take such feelings for the authentic consolations of the Holy Spirit would be a totally erroneous way of conceiving the spiritual life. Giving them a symbolic significance typical of the mystical experience, when the moral condition of the person concerned does not correspond to such an experience, would represent a kind of mental schizophrenia which could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations.
"That does not mean that genuine practices of meditation which come from the Christian East and from the great non-Christian religions, which prove attractive to the man of today who is divided and disoriented, cannot constitute a suitable means of helping the person who prays to come before God with an interior peace, even in the midst of external pressures."
Part of the attraction to "New Age" is that it can make us feel so good. So these things can help us calm down and relax but that is not our goal. Our goal is a complete transformation that includes our moral condition.
I liked this also:
"9. If the perfection of Christian prayer cannot be evaluated using the sublimity of gnostic knowledge as a basis, neither can it be judged by referring to the experience of the divine, as Messalianism proposed.9 These false fourth century charismatics identified the grace of the Holy Spirit with the psychological experience of his presence in the soul. In opposing them, the Fathers insisted on the fact that the soul's union with God in prayer is realized in a mysterious way, and in particular through the sacraments of the Church. Moreover, it can even be achieved through experiences of affliction or desolation. Contrary to the view of the Messalians, these are not necessarily a sign that the Spirit has abandoned a soul. Rather, as masters of spirituality have always clearly acknowledged, they may be an authentic participation in the state of abandonment experienced on the cross by Our Lord, who always remains the model and mediator of prayer."
We love our consolations, don't we? Give me the warm fuzzies so I feel holy.
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Akita Suggagaki
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And speaking of "emptiness"
19. Therefore, one has to interpret correctly the teaching of those masters who recommend "emptying" the spirit of all sensible representations and of every concept, while remaining lovingly attentive to God. In this way, the person praying creates an empty space which can then be filled by the richness of God. However, the emptiness which God requires is that of the renunciation of personal selfishness, not necessarily that of the renunciation of those created things which he has given us and among which he has placed us. There is no doubt that in prayer one should concentrate entirely on God and as far as possible exclude the things of this world which bind us to our selfishness. On this topic St. Augustine is an excellent teacher: if you want to find God, he says, abandon the exterior world and re-enter into yourself. However, he continues, do not remain in yourself, but go beyond yourself because you are not God: He is deeper and greater than you. "I look for his substance in my soul and I do not find it; I have however meditated on the search for God and, reaching out to him, through created things, I have sought to know 'the invisible perfections of God' (Rom 1:20)."21 "To remain in oneself": this is the real danger. The great Doctor of the Church recommends concentrating on oneself, but also transcending the self which is not God, but only a creature. God is "deeper than my inmost being and higher than my greatest height."22 In fact God is in us and with us, but he transcends us in his mystery
19. Therefore, one has to interpret correctly the teaching of those masters who recommend "emptying" the spirit of all sensible representations and of every concept, while remaining lovingly attentive to God. In this way, the person praying creates an empty space which can then be filled by the richness of God. However, the emptiness which God requires is that of the renunciation of personal selfishness, not necessarily that of the renunciation of those created things which he has given us and among which he has placed us. There is no doubt that in prayer one should concentrate entirely on God and as far as possible exclude the things of this world which bind us to our selfishness. On this topic St. Augustine is an excellent teacher: if you want to find God, he says, abandon the exterior world and re-enter into yourself. However, he continues, do not remain in yourself, but go beyond yourself because you are not God: He is deeper and greater than you. "I look for his substance in my soul and I do not find it; I have however meditated on the search for God and, reaching out to him, through created things, I have sought to know 'the invisible perfections of God' (Rom 1:20)."21 "To remain in oneself": this is the real danger. The great Doctor of the Church recommends concentrating on oneself, but also transcending the self which is not God, but only a creature. God is "deeper than my inmost being and higher than my greatest height."22 In fact God is in us and with us, but he transcends us in his mystery
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The body is the temporary dwelling.
The carnal brain journey into one's self misses the point.
When does the real (spiritual) being get nurtured?
The carnal brain journey into one's self misses the point.
When does the real (spiritual) being get nurtured?
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JimR-OCDS
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Whenever we turn to God, with our whole heart, our whole soul and our whole strength.
Union with Christ is more than just reeling off prayers memorized by rote. It requires our
entire being,
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Indeed, it is important to turn our whole being to God.
When occult practices are used, God isn't turned to.
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Remember when Peter was called the rock one sentence by Jesus then Satan the next? It's like that with all humans. When looking at worldly practices like Reiki and Yoga, this is something one must discern.
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JimR-OCDS
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Not even close!
Peter words were trying to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem to die.
Doing Yoga exorcise doesn't deny Jesus's death and resurrection. Only an ill formed fundamentalist would believe
it to be satanic.
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Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you're not thinking about God's concerns but human concerns.”Not even close!
Peter words were trying to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem to die.
Doing Yoga exorcise doesn't deny Jesus's death and resurrection. Only an ill formed fundamentalist would believe
it to be satanic.
The underlying issue is regarding fulfilling God's will or your own. Still relevant.
In general, if one is to use what Reiki and Yoga represent in a "Vatican 2" way, then what would the Christian form look like? It would at least follow the will of God. Would it not?
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Akita Suggagaki
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Reiki and yoga are different. I don't think Vatican 2 can accommodate Reiki. It can accommodate touch and prayer but Reiki involves more than just touch and prayer.
Yoga has many aspects. Touching your toes is very different than praying to Shiva.
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Yeah, replacing the Tao with the Holy Spirit would mean completely destroying the energy construct it uses.
... and then it would no longer be reiki.
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Akita Suggagaki
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I've experienced something like that, but it results in a lot of issues that would drive most people insane.
I wouldn't recommend it for mass application.
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In general, my thoughts on Yoga after the discussion is that stretches have no real impact on others unless you become a human pretzel, some of those poses can infuse non-christian energy into the body - not recommended to take it too far.
For Reiki, any application should probably be part of a religious order like with the special division for the exorcists. The reason being is there are a lot of issues involved with "re-purposing" the aspects of Reiki with Christian aspects instead. Since switching up the energy construct to convey the Holy Spirit to others (instead of the Tao) would involve something like the sacraments, priest level believers should probably figure something out first.
For Reiki, any application should probably be part of a religious order like with the special division for the exorcists. The reason being is there are a lot of issues involved with "re-purposing" the aspects of Reiki with Christian aspects instead. Since switching up the energy construct to convey the Holy Spirit to others (instead of the Tao) would involve something like the sacraments, priest level believers should probably figure something out first.
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JimR-OCDS
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First off, Reiki and Yoga are not the same. Reiki is New Age, and most likely not true as has been proven over the years.
Yoga on the other hand is ancient and existed before Christ.
For us Americans, we do mostly "gym yoga," which is exorcise, nothing more.
Intention of whom you worship makes all the difference and not the position your body goes into during
exorcise.
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JimR-OCDS
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The Tao, which means "the way," existed long before Christ revealed that He is the way and the truth.
Did all the people who practiced Taoism hundreds of years before they had knowledge of Christ, end
up in Hell?
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JimR-OCDS
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Years ago, a nine year old child ended up doing a school project where he proved Reiki is bogus.
His mother was a registered nurse and helped with the experiment.
I don't remember all the details but he had so-called reiki experts come in and from a blind curtain before
them, they stuck their hands through, and he placed one hand under either of the experts hand. They
were unable to successfully tell which hand his and was under. He did this several times with each of the
experts and the failure rate was over 95%.
His mother was a registered nurse and helped with the experiment.
I don't remember all the details but he had so-called reiki experts come in and from a blind curtain before
them, they stuck their hands through, and he placed one hand under either of the experts hand. They
were unable to successfully tell which hand his and was under. He did this several times with each of the
experts and the failure rate was over 95%.
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Akita Suggagaki
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Infuse non-Christian energy? Is it either / or? Can energy be neutral?
I think it would really be stretching the concepts to integrate Reiki into Christianity. Like radiation therapy. Reiki (if it works at all) does so by manipulating the material realm, body energy. If is effective, like radiation therapy, I would have no problem with it as a non spiritual intervention.
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