Why Spiritual Tradition Is Important To Me

In 1997, I took a Level 1 Reiki class in LaCrosse, WI. In 1999, I took Level 2. I did not go for Master Level.

The things that I was taught were EXTREMELY IMPORTANT about Reiki was as follows:

• The symbols are never to be depicted on paper or in any visual method, if they are drawn, they must be burned. 
• The most important thing is to honor your lineage. You should be able to trace yourself back to Mikao Usui (basically your master was initiated by ___, who was initiated by ___... and so on). If you can't do this, then you can't be sure you've been attuned properly are are not offering the minimal respect which the energy deserves. (I can trace my lineage: Me -> CN Rodgers -> Michael Hartley -> Phyllis Furumoto -> Hawayo Takata -> Chujiro Hayashi -> Mikao Usui)
• Master level involved living with a Reiki Master for something like a year

The things that I am finding in the 21st Century

• Books are publishing the Reiki symbols
• It's trendy to get them tattooed (this horrifies me)
• People don't know jack about their lineage
• You can become a master in one day!

Now... I believe that ANY path a person is led to, they are led towards that path for a purpose and it is right and good for them. I also believe that when you participate in a tradition, a ritual, or anything that has some type of history with it, it is a show of basic respect to adhere to the tradition as it has been laid out. Example: I went to a solstice drum jam last December. It was based upon Siberian Shamanism. We were blessed by the Reindeer Goddess. It was pretty awesome. Do I actually believe that I was blessed by a Reindeer Goddess? No, but I felt blessed and like a beautiful child of the universe, and if I was ever to participate in that tradition, I would participate with full adherence to the tradition. Tradition is important. It generates an energy of its own. 

I haven't made a secret of the fact that presently I am feeling drawn to Odin The All-Father. My actual belief is that God Is Really Big, I Mean, We Are Impressed Down Here, Let Me Tell You. So very very big that there is room for all interpretations. Spirituality is like a fingerprint. I can no more tell you how to perceive The Universe or All That Is, than you can tell me how to perceive it. I categorically reject most Judeo/Christian interpretations as not being relevant to me - but if I am in a situation to where I am in a church participating in some sort of thing, I am respectful of the thing and I don't bitch about it. I feel a very Pagan type of spiritual connection in my blood right now, so I roll with it. I have participated in some rituals and events. The respect and the honor of the previously established tradition provides a certain continuity of energy that reaches back before my time and reaches forward past my ending. It's a very groovy thing. 

So back to the Reiki thing - am I irritated that people are led to watered down versions of something which I was once a part of? Meh, maybe a little..., but that's my issue and I'm working on it. What really saddens me is that some of the basic tradition has been lost. Once an oral tradition goes by the wayside, it can never come back again. Change is a natural part of existence, but there is something to be said for honoring longstanding traditions.