Learn Reiki - Feb 21 and 22 in Singapore

Get fit for life with REIKI. 
Use your hands to boost your immunity, prevent illness, heal injuries, remove stress from your life, and much more. 
REIKI WORKSHOP in Singapore Feb. 21 and 22. Email terataii@gmail.com to book your place now.

TERATAII newsletter - booster Jan issue still available

As promised, the January issue of the Terataii newsletter is a bumper issue, twice the length of the usual newsletter.

Email terataii@gmail.com for a free copy of this e-newsletter.

Read about:

SMART New Year resolutions and how to keep them! Look beyond the usual "losing those extra holiday pounds" - reach for something meaningful.

The energy system of the CHAKRAS.

Another Reiki principle for life and what it means.

Value your life - it is a precious gift.

Also in the January issue: Terataii takes stock of its own activities in 2011 and looks ahead to 2012. Coming this year:
- Pamposh (me!) will be a guest on the Slice of Life radio program (Singapore) of Feb 3.
- Reiki Level 1 workshop Feb 21 and 22 - book your space now!
- Individually-designed personal development programs with Pamposh (again, me!) suited to your own aspirations and goals.

Some Thoughts on Meditation

People turn to meditation for many reasons – health, calmness, spirituality – and follow many different paths, including Zen, Vipassana, Shamata etc. In the end, it does not matter much why one comes to meditation – it always benefits us in the most holistic way and for our own highest good.

The really good news is that you can start where you are and do as much as you want. Many people who start with just 5 or 10 minutes a day find themselves drawn into a longer practice as they begin to enjoy the meditation itself as well as the benefits it brings.

So, how do you start? Which particular meditative practice do you choose? "Just as there are many different paths you can take to climb a mountain, there are a variety of seemingly 'different' meditation techniques that you can follow," says spiritual teacher Vikas Malkani in The Little Manual of Meditation. He points out that all paths lead to the same destination.

Choose the path with which you are most comfortable. Some may find comfort in familiarity, especially when they start. Someone who has been brought up as a Christian, for example, may start their practice by deeply contemplating a Christian prayer, line by line, to fully understand its meaning. Or they might try a mantra meditation by meditating on a word that expresses a core Christian value, such as love.

Sufi masters recommend meditating on "Allah." Equally, one could meditate on each of the 99 names of God, contemplating the quality it represents.

India has given us the syllable Aum (or Om), a popular, non-denominational choice for mantra meditation. Mantra meditation focuses on a single word or a short phrase chanted repeatedly. Sanskrit mantras produce vibrations in the body that add to the value of the meditation.

A few ground rules apply to all forms of meditation. Find a clean and quiet spot where you are not likely to be disturbed, preferably close to nature.

The spine should be straight but not rigid. The head, neck and spine should be in a line. Most meditation is performed in a seated posture. In the Indian tradition, this is usually the Lotus position, but if this is difficult you can sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. The idea is to choose a position that you can hold for the duration of the meditation. The eyes are either closed or the gaze is lowered. This helps you cut out the external world and move within.

When you are ready, cleanse your body and spirit with a few deep breaths before going on to your chosen meditation.

Note: If you're based in Singapore and looking for some help in starting a meditation practice, please email terataii@gmail.com.

Reiki Feedback from Clients

Some Comments on Reiki by Clients of the Terataii Centre:

After distance Reiki for a 19-month-old boy, message from his aunt:
"Thanks so much. Somehow something amazing must have occurred last night/today because A… is now out of the ICU (intensive care unit). The doctors really were amazed at his recovery – it is completely beyond their expectations. He is now on the pediatric floor instead of ICU, and will make a full recovery with time."
The little boy had fallen head-first on a concrete surface from the second floor.

 After a first session of hands-on healing:"Yesterday when I left your house, the first session, I felt so good, so happy, so light, I felt very, very good. I really want/need to do more."

After hands-on healing:
"Thank you for another wonderful session. I know that the positive changes in my life are a result of your help to improve my connection with my true self."

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The Self-Esteem of the "Trailing Spouse"

An issue that comes up quite often in my counselling and Reiki practice is self-esteem and self-value. In my own limited experience, low self-esteem seems to be more common among women than among men. Sadly, some kids struggle with this issue too.

I see this outside my work too, especially among Singapore’s rather large population of “expat wives.” Often, it seems to me, the problem starts with labels such as that. We accept the labels other people apply to us and then slowly, insidiously, they become part of our own self-image. So a journalist, counsellor, engineer, home-maker gets reduced to being something only by virtue of her relationship to her husband.

The most shocking label I’ve come across is “trailing spouse.” Spouse, ok, but why should they “trail?” I first came across this phrase several years ago when someone asked me if I was a trailing spouse. Needless to say, I was horrified at the idea of anyone trailing. I mean really – people walk, run, drive; they accompany their spouse, or even perhaps “follow” them; but why in heaven’s name would anyone trail?

You might think I’m getting all worked up over a simple term. But it is a well recognized fact that language reflects – and affects – the way we think of ourselves and others. This is why the feminist movement has gone to such lengths to change – or supplement – terms that in the past assumed the male gender for people who chaired commissions or committees, spoke for a company, etc. So now we refer either to chairpersons (or simply “the chair”) or to a chairman or a chairwoman, as the case may be. And the same with a spokesperson, or a spokesman/spokeswoman depending on the gender of the individual in question.

And yet, we allow people to address us as “trailers.” Worse, we apply this term to ourselves! I came across the obnoxious “trailing spouse” term again recently, this time applied by a group of women to themselves. Ironically, they had gathered to discuss the changing roles of women at home and in society.

Ladies – and gents – please don’t do this to yourselves - or others. Stand up for yourselves. Ladies, value yourselves enough to be seen (and, in a similar vein, be a "chairwoman," don't hide behind a “chairperson”) - and to be seen to go through life with dignity.