Does okiyome "work"? (Part 3)
The next question I want to raise is, does okiyome (or some sort of healing energy) actually exist, or is this a myth?
The information in the references I mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 suggests possible reasons why receiving okiyome can lead to the cure of physical ailments. Some sort of placebo or self-hypnotic effect could make okiyome bring about real cures even if there is no actual healing energy radiated from the hands. At times, too, observed improvement in a physical condition may not have been caused by receiving okiyome even though okiyome preceded the improvement (we shouldn't assume that A caused B just because B followed A).
However, the fact that we can imagine that many or most observed cures can be "explained away" in these way does not rule out the possibility that okiyome (or some sort of healing energy) exists and can also bring about cures. There are of course two aspects to consider: is it possible to radiate some sort of healing energy from the hands and, if so, is okiyome any different to the healing energy involved in pranic healing, Reiki, Jorei and other similar movements?
I remember conversations with a few kumite, when I was still a member of Mahikari, who insisted that they did not feel anything in their hands when giving okiyome, but the vast majority seemed to experience some sort of sensation (tingling and/or warmth). Even now, just thinking about okiyome, my hands start to feel the same as they did when I used to give okiyome. I find it hard to believe that we all just imagined those sensations...although I do recall hearing a statement, at primary kenshu, that we might feel tingling or warmth, or nothing at all, when giving okiyome, so the suggestion was there.
Some former kumite I've chatted with via email are convinced that all such sensations are meaningless, and that there is no such thing as okiyome or any other healing energy. Other former members are equally convinced that there is some sort of universal healing energy, but that it is an energy that anyone can radiate from the hands (or channel in other ways), and that Mahikari does not have a monopoly on using this energy. I know of one former member who now practises Reiki, and another who has gone on to pranic healing.
Dean and Jean Logan's Mahikari Information Site also presents this type of view. There are many experience stories appearing on that site from people who appear to agree with the view that a universal healing energy does exist (and that one doe not need omitama or Mahikari to use this energy). This does seem to be quite a popular view amongst former kumite...but is it a myth?
For many years after I left Mahikari, I tended to believe in the universal healing energy notion. Occasionally I would use either my hands or my mind to channel this energy to any unwell parts of my body...and it seemed to "work" just as well as okiyome. Even so, I was very aware that I did not know what I was doing, and I was understandably wary after my years of Mahikari experience, so I never attempted to direct this energy to anyone else. Now I wonder. After all the reading I've been doing lately, I think I'm more inclined to regard this "self-healing" process as some type of self-hypnotism, but I really don't know.
I think there is ample material so far, in these three posts, to question whether okiyome is what Mahikari claims it to be. But are we any closer to knowing for sure if or why it "works" (or appears to)? I don't know if it is possible to find any hard facts.
You've probably all heard of experiments concerning the use of okiyome to stimulate plant growth or inhibit putrefaction of food. These were an attempt to prove the existence of some sort of energy and, thereby, dispel the notion that physical cures were caused by the power of suggestion. In his books concerning Mahikari, Dr. Tebecis states that positive results that prove the existence of okiyome were obtained from these types of experiments. However, in an email to me, a former member with a scientific background reported that rigorous experiments failed to produce any evidence of change as a result of giving okiyome to plants and food. Incidentally, he did these experiments when he was a new and enthusiastic kumite, and he discarded the results and remained a member of Mahikari for many more years despite the "disappointing" results!
Do any of you have results from such experiments?
The information in the references I mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 suggests possible reasons why receiving okiyome can lead to the cure of physical ailments. Some sort of placebo or self-hypnotic effect could make okiyome bring about real cures even if there is no actual healing energy radiated from the hands. At times, too, observed improvement in a physical condition may not have been caused by receiving okiyome even though okiyome preceded the improvement (we shouldn't assume that A caused B just because B followed A).
However, the fact that we can imagine that many or most observed cures can be "explained away" in these way does not rule out the possibility that okiyome (or some sort of healing energy) exists and can also bring about cures. There are of course two aspects to consider: is it possible to radiate some sort of healing energy from the hands and, if so, is okiyome any different to the healing energy involved in pranic healing, Reiki, Jorei and other similar movements?
I remember conversations with a few kumite, when I was still a member of Mahikari, who insisted that they did not feel anything in their hands when giving okiyome, but the vast majority seemed to experience some sort of sensation (tingling and/or warmth). Even now, just thinking about okiyome, my hands start to feel the same as they did when I used to give okiyome. I find it hard to believe that we all just imagined those sensations...although I do recall hearing a statement, at primary kenshu, that we might feel tingling or warmth, or nothing at all, when giving okiyome, so the suggestion was there.
Some former kumite I've chatted with via email are convinced that all such sensations are meaningless, and that there is no such thing as okiyome or any other healing energy. Other former members are equally convinced that there is some sort of universal healing energy, but that it is an energy that anyone can radiate from the hands (or channel in other ways), and that Mahikari does not have a monopoly on using this energy. I know of one former member who now practises Reiki, and another who has gone on to pranic healing.
Dean and Jean Logan's Mahikari Information Site also presents this type of view. There are many experience stories appearing on that site from people who appear to agree with the view that a universal healing energy does exist (and that one doe not need omitama or Mahikari to use this energy). This does seem to be quite a popular view amongst former kumite...but is it a myth?
For many years after I left Mahikari, I tended to believe in the universal healing energy notion. Occasionally I would use either my hands or my mind to channel this energy to any unwell parts of my body...and it seemed to "work" just as well as okiyome. Even so, I was very aware that I did not know what I was doing, and I was understandably wary after my years of Mahikari experience, so I never attempted to direct this energy to anyone else. Now I wonder. After all the reading I've been doing lately, I think I'm more inclined to regard this "self-healing" process as some type of self-hypnotism, but I really don't know.
I think there is ample material so far, in these three posts, to question whether okiyome is what Mahikari claims it to be. But are we any closer to knowing for sure if or why it "works" (or appears to)? I don't know if it is possible to find any hard facts.
You've probably all heard of experiments concerning the use of okiyome to stimulate plant growth or inhibit putrefaction of food. These were an attempt to prove the existence of some sort of energy and, thereby, dispel the notion that physical cures were caused by the power of suggestion. In his books concerning Mahikari, Dr. Tebecis states that positive results that prove the existence of okiyome were obtained from these types of experiments. However, in an email to me, a former member with a scientific background reported that rigorous experiments failed to produce any evidence of change as a result of giving okiyome to plants and food. Incidentally, he did these experiments when he was a new and enthusiastic kumite, and he discarded the results and remained a member of Mahikari for many more years despite the "disappointing" results!
Do any of you have results from such experiments?
posted by Anne at 4:31 AM
1 Comments:
There are several kumite at the dojo I used to attend who claim they had success in such expiriments. They claim that a plant that they gave okiyome to grew and flourished, whereas a plant that received no okiyome, but lived in the same conditions withered and died. I don't know if they actually conducted these expiriments themselves or if they just received the expirieince story via headquarters and believed it. As we all know headquarters is not beyond lying and altering stories to make them suit Mahikari. A healing energy, huh? I don't know. When I gave okiyome I did sense something in my hands, a warmth or as you put it, Anne, a tingling. My personal belief about that is this, as a believer in astrology among other things, I am also a believer in the human aura. All humans have an aura and it stretches about five inches off the surface of their skin. Depending on your personality, health, etc...your aura takes on a certain color or colors and a vibrance. I have learned how to see the aura through years of practice and have found that I have a very intense red aura. Red as you can probably guess is a very hot aura that produces a lot of warmth. Other colors such as green, blue, purple, violet, grey, black...produces a cool aura, which cold explain the tingling or cool sensation while giving okiyome. You can tell whether your aura is hot or cool by placing your hands an inch apart from each other palm facing palm. Do not allow them to touch, just feel the energy that gathers there. I think two auras touching one another, or over lapping could produce the sensation we feel while receiving and giving okiyome. Some auras clash...have you ever felt drained when a certain person enters the room? Or have you ever instantly disliked someone and were unable to pin point why? Some auras just instantly clash and if you were receiving okiyome from a person that had an aura that didn't mix well with yours...I suppose they could cause you to fell pain or ill after receiving okyiome. That's just my opinion. If you want to know more there is a book called How to See the Aura by Ted Andrews that is an excellent beginner book.
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