Exercise and A Massage

Thursday May 30, 1991

Arose today at 6:30 again. Ate my usual oatmeal and apple juice. We began our power walk with Jeanna just 6 of us. We walked along the beach. It was low tide and icky seaweed all over the beach. It was stinky. After awhile we cut up to the neighborhood streets; at 8:30 we did our aqua aerobics in the pool--Donna and I. Bob and Frank watched.

After awhile of sitting around the pool (me in the shade), we dressed and left for Paia, stopping for lunch in a shopping center Kahalua. Paia wasn't much. We drove to the plantation to check out pineapples--$3 each seemed too high.

At 4 p.m. I had a 1 hour massage. It was great! We spoke of healing. She used Reiki on me (laying on of hands). After I was dressed we hugged. She said she felt I was going to be well, but I should quit cokes and have massages regularly. It was a spiritual experience.

We dressed and went out for a great New York steak dinner, then to square dance. Danced one tip only, then they served dinner. It was their graduation. We went shopping again.

The walk on the stinky beach doesn't sound so great, but the aqua aerobics sounds like fun. I take it 3 times every week at my gym. The massage sounds heavenly. I looked up Reiki massage on Wikipedia and it says that "Mikao Usu originated Reiki in 1922 in Japan after a twenty-one day retreat on Mount Kurama, involving meditation, fasting, and prayer. Usui said that by mystical revelation he had gained the knowledge and spiritual power to apply and attune others to what is called Reiki.
He developed the Reiki Principles. Many Reiki teachers and practitioners aim to abide by these five principles, one translation of which is:
Just for today:
Do not be angry
Do not worry
Be grateful
Work with integrity
Be kind to others and to yourself.
Every morning and every night, sit in the Gassho position [hands held palm-to-palm] and speak these words out loud in your heart."

Those sound like great principles to live by. In fact, all of those principles are found in the Bible:

ANGER: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:19

WORRY: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

GRATITUDE: No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

WORK WITH INTEGRITY: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

BE KIND TO OTHERS AND YOURSELF: The entire law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself. Galatians 5:14