All posts by taggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

What if my horse doesn’t like Reiki? – by Sarah Berrisford

October 31, 2016equine reikitaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

horse doesn't like reiki

When we picture sharing Reiki with our equine friends, we often imagine a perfect scenario. A beautiful, strong being standing next to us, both immersed in peaceful energy. But what happens when this picture doesn’t come into fruition? Many people are unsure of what to do when they think their horse may not want Reiki, so here is a quick guide to help.

When giving a horse Reiki I like to say “take as much or as little energy as you would like”. This is simply being polite; the horse will take as much energy as he needs. You can’t force Reiki on any animal. They can quite easily block the energy. If a horse blocks the Reiki energy, you will most likely feel a connection to Reiki, however, the energy may not seem to flow. You might also sense that the horse is not connecting.

It isn’t normal for any animal to block energy; they share energy with each other and read all species energies. There is usually something else going on if you feel that the horse is blocking you.

Here are the main reasons why you may find a horse is blocking energy or not connecting to you:

Over excited and doesn’t want to or doesn’t know how to come down from that state of mind and body.
Pressure. Particularly when treating your own horse, you can find that you ‘really’ want to connect. This feeling of needing and wanting, focusing all of your attention on the horse and his reactions, can make the horse want to keep his distance from what you are doing.
Has something else taking priority, for example, food.

There are a few simple methods that you can use if you find that a horse isn’t connecting.

We can simply visualise a ball of energy in the same area as the horse. Perhaps make a ball of energy in the corner of his stable and use your intent to say ‘the horse can connect to this whenever he is ready’. Spend at least 20 minutes sending Reiki to this beautiful ball of energy, making it powerful yet calm and a nice place to be. Often you will find that the horse connects during the time that you are building the energy ball.
Give the horse time – remember that it can take 15-20 minutes for the horse to connect, don’t be in a rush for reactions and connections, let them happen as they need to.
Do Reiki on yourself. Perhaps use the Hatsurei exercise for 10-15 minutes. Pay no attention to the horse whatsoever, whilst carrying out this exercise. By following this method you will find that the horse is interested in what you are doing because there is no focus on him.The horse is inquisitive and at some point during the meditation you will most likely feel him connect in to share Reiki.

When you are sharing Reiki with the horse, don’t worry about how he is reacting; many people focus too much on looking to see if the horse is relaxing into the treatment. Instead, focus on feeling the beautiful two way connection of energy, flowing between yourself and the horse.

Many younger horses and first time Reiki horses, won’t relax quite so much or they will go into a trance for a few minutes and then wake up and so on. This is completely normal. You will tend to find that these horses will soak up the energy once the treatment has finished and if you go and check in on them 10 minutes after the session has ended, they will probably be asleep.

So remember, if you hear someone say “my horse doesn’t like Reiki” or you are having issues sharing Reiki with your own horse; follow the guidelines above. As your treatments progress and the horse becomes used to receiving Reiki treatments you will find that he will begin to relax and connect as soon as you start the Reiki flowing.

Interested in learning more about Equine Reiki?

Sarah Berrisford specialises in writing about and teaching Equine and Animal Reiki. If you’re interested in learning more about working with horses and other animals, then follow these links:

Equine Reiki book or Equine Reiki eBook

Equine Reiki practitioner live training course

Equine Reiki home study course

Photo credit: Karsun designs

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Reiki Visualisation for Nervous Riders – by Sarah Berrisford

March 3, 2016animal reiki, equine reikitaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

reiki for nervous horse rider

The importance of visualisation

Visualisation is an important tool, not only in horse riding but also in everyday life. Many people visualise circumstances that they don’t actually want to happen. Unfortunately when we visualise something that we do not desire we are more likely to make it happen. This is especially important when it comes to horse riding.

Horses often pick up on the pictures that we are portraying, so we do need to be careful what we are asking them to do, even when we’re not aware of it!

Firstly, if you find yourself visualising a situation which you do not want to happen, think of erasing that picture or video in your mind and gradually replacing it with the situation and outcome you wish for.

When we work with visualisation for nervous riders it is best to start the technique whilst in a quiet place. Don’t put yourself in the scary situation and then try it out. First we need to train our minds to think positively.

For this exercise I will use a horse spooking, which makes the rider nervous, as an example.

Find somewhere quiet to sit, where you won’t be disturbed
Make yourself comfortable. Take some deep breaths. Close your eyes. Feel your body relaxing into your chair. Your shoulders relax down.
Allow your mind to become still, if any images come to mind, for example, your ‘to do’ list for the day, just acknowledge them and let them pass by. They aren’t needed at the moment.
Connect to Reiki in your preferred way.
Feel the energy filling your body.
Now begin to imagine the lead up to the situation you are going to focus on. Perhaps you are walking into a yard, or driving to a riding school. At this stage begin to go through your body and check how each part of your body feels. Can you feel any tension anywhere? Do your feet feel firmly connected to the ground? If you feel any tension or worry emitting from any part of your body, send Reiki to that part of your body.
Carry on visualising each step of the sequence which leads to the event you wish to focus on and checking through your body.
Now go back and imagine yourself in all of those situations being confident as you approach.
You will now be ready to work on the main issue.
Imagine getting on to the horse and having a lovely ride. See yourself smiling. Feel the reiki energy gently flowing through you and through the horse, filling you both with a loving calm energy.

Whenever possible take a few minutes to carry out this exercise. After this first session or if you find visualisation quite easy, you can spend a couple of minutes ten times a day. Every time you think of horse riding, change the picture you imagine to one of you and the horse enjoying the ride, being at one, connected.

Don’t worry if you find it hard to visualise at first, this will become easier with practice. Once you feel confident using this exercise, you can tailor make it to fit the area where you need more confidence.

You needn’t carry out the whole exercise every time to use it. Just the last few pointers will make a great difference to your horse riding experience and enjoyment.

If you do find yourself in a situation that is scaring you, think of Reiki flowing down through your crown, to your shoulders and arms, deep into your elbows and wrists. Think of the energy flowing through your torso and into your hip, down your legs and deep into your knees and ankles. You don’t need to close your eyes and start doing Reiki to do this. By simply thinking of Reiki and then turning some of your attention to these parts of your body, the Reiki will follow your intention.

Interested in learning more about Equine Reiki?

Sarah Berrisford specialises in writing about and teaching Equine and Animal Reiki. If you’re interested in learning more about working with horses and other animals, then follow these links:

Equine Reiki book or Equine Reiki eBook

Equine Reiki practitioner live training course

Equine Reiki home study course

Photo credit: Michael Chen

Reiki for Aggressive Dogs – by Sarah Berrisford

February 25, 2016animal reiki, meditation, reiki energytaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

reiki for angry aggressive dogs

Bringing peace to the household

One of the great things about Reiki is that it works just as well from across a room as it does being hands on. This means that if you find yourself in a situation whereby an animal is showing aggressive tendencies, there is no need to put yourself in harm’s way.

Aggression in dogs can happen for many reasons and can be directed towards many things. Today I’ll be talking about one of the most common issues I have encountered – when dogs are at war in the household!

Of course, we can simply send Reiki to the situation and circumstances. This is a very good starting point.

We can also look deeper into the issue and help the owner understand what is happening with their dogs’ energies, which is in turn affecting their behaviour.

Becoming aware of the dog’s energies

When an owner becomes aware of how the dogs’ energies change before the aggression is shown. They can often stop the undesired behaviour before it escalates into a full blown dog fight.

When one dog is attacking another in the household, it is important to take into account the energy of both dogs. You will often find that the dog who is being attacked isn’t acting in the correct ‘doggy manner’ – he isn’t portraying the energy that he should be. Perhaps his energy becomes nervous or over excited. This in turn can cause the other dog to ‘tell him off’. It is common for the issue to start with the dog who is being attacked. I’m not saying that this is his fault; in fact it’s not a case of blame at all. It is a case of one dog being highly sensitive, probably due to inherited factors.

From a dog training point of view it is important to only reward desired behaviour. I often see a dog ‘misbehaving’, said dog is then told ‘no’, he may then sit and the owner says good boy. This is rewarding the undesired behaviour.

When a dog has exhibited any signs of unwanted behaviour we must be careful to not give him a reward. For example, if I walked into my house and one of the dogs growled at another, I would send the growling dog out of the room and then ignore him until it is all forgotten about. When taking this approach it is also important to reward the good behaviour. So when I walk into my house and the aggressive dog doesn’t growl at the other I tell him he’s a good boy, stroke him etc.

How to feel your pet’s energies

In order to help the owner feel the energy of their dogs, we can point out obvious physical signs, but we can also talk them through the following exercise where they firstly become aware of their own energy and after some practice they can more easily and readily perceive their pets’ energies.

Sit or stand comfortably
Close your eyes
Take a few deep breaths, each exhale brings your body to a calmer, more relaxed state
Continue breathing and relaxing for a few minutes
Become aware of the energy around your head – does it feel light/thick/heavy? Does it feel calm or erratic? Is there a colour that comes to mind?
Continue focusing one at a time on each part of your body – shoulders – arms – elbows – hands – torso – pelvis and lower back – thighs – knees – lower legs – feet.
Once aware of the energy around your own body you can think of calming it and bringing it to a nice feeling.
After a few times of trying out this exercise on yourself, you may be ready to try it out on your pets

It is important to do this exercise regularly. In return you will begin to pick up the energies of your dogs without having to try. You’ll simply feel it, rather than having to go through the exercise.

Once you are able to feel the energy of your dogs, you’ll be more susceptible to the energy changes that they have before an issue occurs. This meaning that whilst the dogs are still relatively calm , you can either send one of them out or ask them to sit and send them Reiki to calm the situation.

Interested in learning more about Animal Reiki?

Sarah Berrisford specialises in writing about and teaching Equine and Animal Reiki. If you’re interested in learning more about how to treat dogs and other animals, then follow these links:

Animal Reiki book or Animal Reiki eBook

Animal Reiki practitioner live training course

Animal Reiki home study course

Photo credit: bkang83

Energopsychograms for the Reiki attunements

February 18, 2016attunements, reiki energytaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

So this is my fifth post on the subject of energopsychograms, which started with What are energopsychograms?

I have talked about these special images and how they can be meditated upon to elicit a particular energy, just like meditating on a symbol or a sound can frame the energy in a particular way, or produce a particular Reiki frequency that you can experience in a distinctive way.

I have shared the images that represent the energies of CKR and SHK, and the state elicited when you use HSZSN, and I have published energopsychograms that represent the energies of the Reiki kotodama (sacred sounds).

In this post I wanted to share images that represent the essence of what is experienced/transmitted when you receive Reiki attunements at First Degree, Second Degree and Master level.

Above, you can see an energopsychogram that represents a Reiki First Degree attunement.

To meditate on the energopsychogram, just sit calmly with the image in front of you. Stare at the image. let it wash over you, defocus your eyes.

Notice the quality of the energy that is being elicited within you. What is the nature of the energy? Where do you feel it? How does it feel. Bathe in the energy of the image.

Second Degree energopsychogram

Here you can see the energopsychogram that represents a Reiki Second Degree attunement.

Master attunement energopsychogram

And finally, here is the energopsychogram that represents a Western Reiki Master attunement.

Over to you

Time to experiment, then!

Meditate on the energies of the three energopsychograms.

What do you notice?

Post your experiences below so we can all see how things went.

Author: Taggart King

Energopsychograms for the Reiki kotodama

February 11, 2016kotodama, meditation, reiki energytaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

So this is my fourth post on the subject of energopsychograms, which started with What are energopsychograms.

I have shared the images that represent the energies of CKR and SHK, and the state elicited when you use HSZSN.

In this post I wanted to share images that represent the sounds of the Reiki kotodama, Shinto mantras that pre-date the use of symbols within Reiki and which elicit earth ki, heavenly ki and a state of oneness. The names of the kotodama are: focus, harmony and connection.

Above, you can see an energopsychogram that represents the energy of the focus kotodama, which elicits the energy of earth ki,

To meditate on the energopsychogram, just sit calmly with the image in front of you. Stare at the image. let it wash over you, defocus your eyes.

Notice the quality of the energy that is being elicited within you. What is the nature of the energy? Where do you feel it? How does it feel. Bathe in the energy of the image.

Harmony energopsychogram

Here is the energopsychogram for the harmony kotodama, which elicits the energy of heavenly ki.

Connection energopsychogram

And here is the energypsychogram that represents the state of oneness that is elicited by using the ‘connection’ kotodama.

Over to you

Time to experiment, then!

Meditate on the energies of the three energopsychograms and conpare what you experience with the energies/state that you experience when using the corresponding Reiki kotodama.

If you don’t know the kotodama then compare the energies of these energopsychograms with the energies elicited when you meditate on the symbols: CKR, SHK and HSZSN.

What do you notice?

How does what you experience differ from the kotodama or the symbols, if at all?

Post your experiences below so we can all see how things went.

Author: Taggart King

Energopsychogram for HSZSN (Distant healing)

February 4, 2016distant healing, reiki symboltaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

So this is my third post in a series, which started with What are energopsychograms?

Energopsychogram meditations

To meditate on an energopsychogram, just sit calmly with the image in front of you. Stare at the image. let it wash over you, defocus your eyes.

Notice the quality of the energy that is being elicited within you. What is the nature of the energy? Where do you feel it? How does it feel. Bathe in the energy fo the image.

HSZSN energopsychogram

The image that you can find at the head of this page represents that which is elicited by HSZSN, often referred to as the distant healing symbol. The symbol does not so much produce a particular energy (like the earth ki and heavenly ki that are elicited by CKR or SHK) but introduces a state of oneness, a merging or disappearing that helps us to focus and send distant Reiki.

Why not carry out a distant healing session by starting with a meditation on the image above. Bathe in its essence for a while and then send Reiki to your intended recipient(s).

Over to you

What do you notice when you use the HSZSN energopsychogram?

How does it differ from distant healing mediated via the corresponding symbol, or the connection kotodama, if at all?

Post your experiences below so we can all see how things went..

Author: Taggart King

Energopsychogram for Heavenly ki

January 28, 2016meditation, reiki symboltaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

In my earlier post, What are energopsychograms, I talked about these special images and how they can be meditated upon to elicit a particular energy, just like meditating on a symbol or a sound can frame the energy in a particular way, or produce a particular Reiki frequency that you can experience in a distinctive way.

Energopsychogram meditations

To meditate on an energopsychogram, just sit calmly with the image in front of you. Stare at the image. let it wash over you, defocus your eyes.

Notice the quality of the energy that is being elicited within you. What is the nature of the energy? Where do you feel it? How does it feel. Bathe in the energy fo the image.

SHK energopsychogram

The image that you can find at the head of this page represents the energy of SHK, which is the energy of heavenly ki.

Why not compare its energy to that of SHK, the symbol. Click to find out how to : Meditate on the energy of a Reiki symbol.

Over to you

What do you notice when you meditate on the energy of the SHK energopsychogram?

How does it differ from the energy of he corresponding symbol, or of the harmony kotodama, if at all?

Post your experiences below so we can all see how the energy manifested itself.

Author: Taggart King

What are Energopsychograms?

January 21, 2016meditation, reiki symboltaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

About 13 years ago I was working with a lovely man in Moldova, Benedict Caraush. I was teaching him the Original Japanese Reiki methods and taking him through a distance Reiki Master Teacher course, and he was practising Reiju empowerments on his group of Reiki Master Teacher students.

One of his students had a special ability, a way of representing in graphic form the essence of an energy or an initiation.

This is what Benedict said at that time:

One of this people have the ability to channeling the information on the paper like a drawing – energopsychograma. Some time ago she made for me the energopsychograms for how works Reiki on 1st, 2nd and 3rd degrees when people are attuned Western style (Takata). Next week I hope that she will be able to do the same work for the Reiju for 1st, 2nd and 3rd degrees in order to compare. If you are interested to see it, just let me know and I can scan it when will have it ready and send to you.

Benedict kindly shared with me a whole series of images detailing different energies and in series of blogs I am going to share them with you.

What to do with energopsychograms

You will know by now that I believe that once you are ‘connected’ to Reiki then you can focus the energy in a whole number of different ways. You can use the Reiki symbols, like CKR and SHK, you can use channelled symbols or symbols from other traditions or sources (whether or not you have been ‘attuned’ to them) and you can use sounds, chanted either out loud or in your head.

All these things will frame the energy in a particular way, producing a particular ‘frequency’.

Energopsychograms will do this too, if you meditate on them.

Like carrying out a symbol meditation, meditating on an energopsychogram will elicit a particular energy within you, and doing so is a form of self-healing.

On our Second Degree courses we teach students to meditate, separately, on the energies of CKR and SHK because these symbols represent the energies of earth ki and heavenly ki in Usui’s original system, two fundamental energies, and in doing so you carry out a powerful self-treatment.

Energopsychogram meditations

To meditate on an energopsychogram, just sit calmly with the image in front of you. Stare at the image. let it wash over you, defocus your eyes.

Notice the quality of the energy that is being elicited within you. What is the nature of the energy? Where do you feel it? How does it feel. Bathe in the energy fo the image.

CKR energopsychogram

The image that you can find at the head of this page represents the energy of CKR, which is the energy of earth ki.

Why not compare its energy to that of CKR, the symbol. Click to find out how to : Meditate on the energy of a Reiki symbol.

Over to you

What do you notice when you meditate on the energy of the CKR energopsychogram?

How does it differ from the energy of he corresponding symbol, or of the focus kotodama, if at all?

Post your experiences below so we can all see how the energy manifested itself.

Author: Taggart King

Reiki is not all fluffy bunnies

January 14, 2016reiki sensations, reiki treatmentstaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

When Reiki shifts up a gear

We know what Reiki tends to do for people, don’t we? People end up chilled, calm, serene, content, better able to cope, more positive.

Reiki brings balance, perspective, and if you add in a regular focus on the Reiki precepts, and the practise of mindfulness, then you have a really powerful system for positive change.

But it’s not all happy bunnies and smiles: Reiki can produce powerful effects and elicit powerful shifts in a person.

When someone comes for a Reiki treatment, they will usually have a wonderful experience. They will feel more relaxed than they have for a very long time, they will drift, or float, or sink, they will bliss out on those boiling hot hands, they might have rainbow light shows, or tingles, a lovely experience.

But it’s not like that for everyone.

Sometimes a person can just feel generally ‘unsettled’ during a treatment. They don’t relax, they don’t necessarily experience anything powerful, but they’re not calm and relaxed and peaceful, as most people are. So what is going on here?

Well, they are having a definite experience, the energy is doing something for them, and what it is doing is coming through as that sense of being unsettled.

The energy will provide the recipient with a variety of sensations or feelings, and they are just what that person needs to experience to best shift what they need to shift to move on, a side-effect, in a way, of the energetic work that is going on within them.

Often it’s a lovely experience, but not always.

Emotional shifts

Sometimes Reiki can produce powerful emotional effects in a short space of time, as people release what they need to release to move on with their lives.

It’s as if all this deeply-embedded stuff is bubbling to the surface to be released.

So I have had people literally wailing on the treatment table, and it’s not uncommon to see a silent tear or two pass from someone’s eye as they’re treated.

And although it’s not nice to see someone in distress, it seems that these emotions, although powerful at times, are experienced in a positive way by the client, where there is a sense of relief that they are just letting go, moving on from what they are experiencing on the treatment table.

So don’t worry if someone becomes emotional when you treat them. This is common. It shows that things are moving, shifting, and that’s what you and your client want.

By the end of the session, everything will have calmed down and your client will feel much better. The treatment will have come like a breath fo fresh air, like a cleansing breath that has flushed out accumulated gunk.

And while your client may sometimes feel a bit shell-shocked by what they experienced, they will have left stuff behind and moved on in some positive fashion.

Physical shifts

While the ’emotional release’ is probably more common than its physical counterpart, sometimes a client will experience more physical sensations, for example pain. It’s not uncommon for someone with arthritis, for example, to experience a short-term intensification of those joint pains, while they are receiving their treatment, though the pains then subside and often improve subsequently.

I have treated people with metal plates inserted into their bones, where the area has ached during a treatment, for example.

Aftershocks

A Reiki treatment is rather like dropping a pebble into a pond: while there is the initial splash, during the treatment – an intensification of things – the energy will also produce ripples that carry on, with peaks and troughs. So it’s not uncommon for a client to experience some emotional ups and downs in the days after a treatment, with physical effects like better sleep, or disturbed sleep, aches and pains, feeling full of energy, or feeling tired and wanting to change gear and slow down for a while.

These things are all side-effects of the energy working to bring things into balance for that person, giving them the opportunity to re-balance, to reinterpret, to reconsider, to achieve a new state of wellness.

Over to you

What powerful effects have you or witnessed when giving a Reiki treatment? What did your client experience and how did that help them to improve things subsequently?

What have you experienced for yourself when receiving a Reiki treatment that would consider to be a powerful experience, and how has that helped you?

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Liberate Your Reiki!

“Whether you are at Level 1, 2 or Reiki Master Teacher Level (regardless of the Reiki flavour you are trained in), this book is very much for you! Within hours of starting to read this book, it has rejuvenated and enriched my own practices with a wealth of information and useful examples too.

The more you read the more you’ll have those wonderful ‘aha’ moments. I know I am already benefiting personally from the knowledge I’ve gained, but so will all my family, friends and clients too. Thank you Taggart for creating this incredible, uniting, enlightening book.”

Heidi Gaffney-Evans

Liberate Your Reiki!

86 Articles About Reiki: One Inspiring Vision

In this Reiki book you will find 80+ articles about Reiki, written by Reiki Master Teacher Taggart King. You will discover how to set your Reiki free, free from the constraints, dogma, rules and regulations of Western-style Reiki courses. Get back to Reiki’s original Japanese method and embrace simplicity, flexibility, creativity and intuition.

This book is suitable for people at all Reiki levels: beginners, those who are developing their Reiki, and Reiki Masters/Master Teachers. You will find advice about self-treatment meditations, energy exercises to build your ability as a channel, you will discover how to work with your intuition and embrace the power of intent.

Explore different distant healing methods and discover the beauty of Reiki’s original Japanese form. Learn how to use creativity and visualisation to enhance your self-treatments and treatment of others, and ditch all the silly rules and regulations that stifle the practice of Western Reiki in many lineages.

Finally, read Taggart King’s “10 Rules of Reiki”, the essential principles for a powerful and fulfilling Reiki practice.

This professionally-printed Reiki manual has 370 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 370 pages.

Price: £15.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £12.49

Author: Taggart King
Photo credit: Orin Zebest

Reiki treatments & winning the lottery

January 7, 2016reiki courses, reiki treatmentstaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

Let’s talk about cause and effect

Sometimes I am asked by my students about things that happen to a client after they have had a Reiki treatment. The questions are usually framed in terms of:

“After the treatment, this happened… is that the Reiki?”

“I gave someone a treatment and the next week x happened… was that the Reiki?”

Sometimes my response is [shrugs shoulders]… maybe, or “who knows”… sometimes I will say “probably” or “could be”.

And that’s about as far as I can go because (1) I don’t have a crystal ball and (2) not everything that happens to a person after they have had a Reiki treatment, or been on a Reiki course, is a result of the Reiki that they received or were initiated into.

Reiki and the lottery

So someone goes on a Reiki course and the next week they win the lottery. Is Reiki responsible for this? Has the universe conspired in such a way as to bring that person their winning numbers because they decided to learn Reiki?

Someone has a Reiki treatment and the next week they get run over by a ‘bus. Is the Reiki responsible for this event?

The answer is no: not everything that happens to a person after Reiki is because of the Reiki.

Because things occur randomly: unusual things happen to people sometimes, things appear out of the blue.

And because we seek to fnd an explanation for the things that happen to us in our lives, we try and attach that happening to something, something different or new that we have done or experienced.

How do we know whether something was because of the Reiki?

You don’t.

Not in an individual case.

You can only look at a group of people and see what sort of things they tend to experience after receiving or learning Reiki, and you can find themes emerging, experiences or happenings that seem to turn up again and again and again.

And then when that happens to another student, you can say, “yes, that probably was the Reiki”, but you’ll never know absolutely definitely because the thing they are reporting may have just happened anyway.

So what does Reiki do for people then?

Whether you receive a course of treatments or if you are learning Reiki for yourself, you should find that Reiki helps you to feel more ‘laid back’ – calm, content and serene – and you should find that you feel better able to deal with stressful situations or stressful people, and that you feel more positive and better able to cope.

If energy levels are low then they can be boosted; if spirits are low then they can be lifted.

This ‘Reiki effect’ seems to be noticed in most people who learn Reiki and work on themselves regularly, or in people who receive a course of Reiki treatments.

To find out more about these effects, and others, click here: What can Reiki do for me?

The decluttering effect

One of the things that I have noticed, based on my experiences when teaching students through my Reiki Home Study Courses, is the “decluttering” effect that Reiki can have on many people.

Reiki seems to cause people to want, or to find, a simpler way through their life, and that can involve ditching things: ditching household clutter, ditching unwanted commitments and habits, clearing out cupboards and spare rooms, simplifying your life on lots of levels.

Over to you

So, what things have you experienced as a result of receiving Reiki treatments that you are fairly certain are because of the Reiki?

What changes occurred in your life after you learned Reiki that you’re fairly sure are because of the system that you learned?

How has Reiki changed things for the better for you?

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

Liberate Your Reiki!

Heidi Gaffney-Evans

Liberate Your Reiki!

86 Articles About Reiki: One Inspiring Vision

Finally, read Taggart King’s “10 Rules of Reiki”, the essential principles for a powerful and fulfilling Reiki practice.

This professionally-printed Reiki manual has 370 A5 pages, a glossy soft cover and we will send it to anywhere in the world!

Read the contents list before you order, if you like, by clicking on this link: Table of contents

Book: 370 pages.

Price: £15.99 + p&p

Or Download a PDF version now for only £12.49

Author: Taggart King
Photo credit:

Reiki for Stress

December 17, 2015meditation, mindfulness, precepts, self healingtaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

Can Reiki help with Stress?

In my last article I was talking about how Reiki can help with Anxiety and while stress and anxiety are often lumped together as if they were the same things, there is quite a difference between these two experiences in terms of what’s going on.

Where anxiety is a fear of an imagined future, where you feel frightened about things that are yet to happen and may not actually happen, with stress you are reflecting on how you believe you’re going to be able to cope with different tasks or events. Stress is all about “I can’t do this”, “I’m not going to be able to do this”.

So stress is all about how competent you believe you are and becoming frightened about letting yourself down, or letting other people down. Stress is about losing face, not succeeding in a particular task or goal, it’s about fear of showing that you’re not good enough.

Using Reiki for Stress relief

So can Reiki help with stress and, if so, how does that happen?

Well, I think it comes down to the three powerful aspects of the Reiki that we introduce to students on our First Degree courses: mindfulness, the Reiki precepts and regular energy work.

I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about mindfulness because I have written about it before on this blog, but when you are mindful you are fully engaged in and engrossed with the task at hand, whether that doing the washing up or going for a walk. You become fully aware of the experience of you doing the task, living fully in the present moment, with no thoughts of the future or the past. You might notice the flow of energy through your nostrils, the feeling in the soles of your feet as you walk, the sounds of birdsong, the myriad of colours that are before you, the sensation of soap suds on your fingertips, the swishing of the water. You notice your thoughts pass by like clouds.

In doing so you start to come into contact with a still, calm centre that we all have within us if we give ourselves a chance to experience it, that place from which we can observe, non-judgmentally.

It is in this still place where we can let go of those feelings of stress, setting us free, and the more we practise mindfulness, the more often and more easily can we ease into that helpful state.

If you’d like to investigate mindfulness and meditation further, I can recommend this site: Headspace.

You can also take a look at this article: Mindfulness: An Everyday Guide.

The Reiki precepts and stress

The Reiki precepts (or the Reiki principles, or ‘Gokai’) are a simple set of ‘rules to live by’ that were established and taught by Reiki’s founder, Mikao Usui. There were said to distil the essence of Tendai Buddhist teachings into a simple set of guiding principles that anyone can follow.

The Reiki precepts emphasise humility and compassion: compassion for ourselves as much as compassion for others.

So how can we be compassionate towards ourselves and how can that help with stress? Well, we can forgive ourselves, we can give ourselves a break and forgive ourselves for not being perfect. If we expect ourselves to be perfect then no matter how hard we work, no matter how much we achieve, no matter what we do or try to do, we will never be happy.

So we can give ourselves some self-love and understanding, we can nurture ourselves, and the best place from which to do this is from that still, calm centre that we gain a glimpse of when we are mindful.

Reiki energy and Stress

Tying these strands together – the mindfulness and the compassion and self-forgiveness – is the use of Reiki energy on ourselves.

By having a good, regular routine of working on ourselves using Reiki – by carrying out daily energy exercises and some form of self-treatment – we nudge our energy system more into a state of balance, bathing us in calm, helping us to fully experience that content, still core, and putting us in the best possible position to really benefit from this wonderful system.

Oh, and I just wanted to mention that although in this blog I am talking about learning Reiki as a way of managing your stress, receiving Reiki treatments on a regular basis is also a wonderful way of experiencing the powerful balancing effect of this simple hands-on therapy.

Time to learn Reiki?

learn reiki south london — Learn Reiki with Reiki Evolution

If you haven’t learned Reiki yet, and you are interested in experiencing the benefits of Reiki for yourself, why not enrol on one of “Reiki for beginners” courses (Reiki First Degree).

You’ll discover how mindfulness, the Reiki precepts and a regular routine of self-treatments with Reiki can make a tremendous difference to you.

You can attend a live Reiki course with one of my team of trusted teachers at locations all over England and Scotland, or you can enrol on my Reiki First Degree home study course.

Reiki for Anxiety

December 10, 2015meditation, mindfulness, reiki courses, reiki energytaggart@reiki-evolution.co.uk

Does Reiki work for Anxiety?

I think a lot of people come to Reiki wondering if it can help ease their anxiety, and I think that there is a general sense that Reiki can help you to become more calm and chilled. So is Reiki good for anxiety? Will it help you to let go of those worries?

Well in my experience, yes, Reiki does really work to help reduce anxiety and there are three ways that it does this, I think.

Through mindfulness
Through the use of the Reiki precepts
Through meditating on and using the Reiki energy

What is Anxiety?

When we worry, we are thinking about the future and what might happen to us or the people we care about. We imagine a frightening or unhappy future and that makes us scared.

And since we have fairly prehistoric brains and responses, we respond to this future threat like it was some sort of sabre-toothed tiger in front of us: we go into ‘flight, fright or freeze’ mode, with elevated heart rate, high blood pressure and the like. Long term, this is not good for our bodies since our immune system is dampened down and blood is rerouted away from our digestive systems, so we end up run down, prone to infection and with digestive disturbances.

All because we are responding to an imaginary future.

How can Reiki help Anxiety?

There are two important aspects of Reiki training that work together to ease anxiety: mindfulness and the Reiki precepts. I’m not going to go into detail about these in this blog, since I have spoken about them elsewhere, but these two aspects of Reiki training very much work with each other to reduce anxiety.

The Reiki precepts start with the phrase “just for today” and that emphasises the idea of mindfulness, where you are fully immersed in the moment, fully engaged with what you are doing. “Just for today” exhorts us, just for this moment, to be content, to be compassionate and forgiving of ourselves, to be aware of the many blessings that we have in our lives.

If you are mindful then there are no thoughts about the past or the future: you are embracing the present moment, and when you do this it’s not easy to worry (because you can only do this when you send yourself off into an imagined negative future).

Although mindfulness isn’t emphasised or even mentioned on a lot of Reiki courses, it is an important part of the original system that Mikao Usui taught and is something that we explain and encourage as soon as you start your Reiki training with us.

Reiki energy and Anxiety

But beyond the practice of mindfulness, and the benefits that come when introducing the Reiki principles into your daily life, there is something else going on too. because when you are ‘connected’ to Reiki, when you are aware of and working with the energy through daily energy exercises and meditations, changes take place within you that very much echo the benefits of mindfulness and precepts-work.

Reiki, in itself – Reiki, the energy – helps people to feel more calm, content and serene, better able to cope with difficult situations and people. Working with Reiki helps you to come back into contact with that core part of you that is balanced and centred, a still foundation that can weather the storms that life often throws at us.

Do you already have Reiki?

If so, and if you feel that there is still a bit more work to be done in terms of leaving worry behind, there are a couple of techniques I created that I think will be of great help to you. You can read about them in other blog posts. Here are the links you need:

These exercises allow you to use the Reiki energy as a ‘carrier’ to disperse or dissipate any accumulated worry, and also help you to set a new course, so you respond differently in the future. These exercises are deceptively powerful and should be carried out for several weeks to gain the full benefit from them.

Time to learn Reiki?

If you haven’t learned Reiki yet, and you are interested in experiencing the benefits of Reiki for yourself, why not enrol on one of “Reiki for beginners” courses (Reiki First Degree).

You’ll discover how mindfulness, the Reiki precepts and a regular routine of self-treatments with Reiki can make a tremendous difference to you.

You can attend a live Reiki course with one of my team of trusted teachers at locations all over England and Scotland, or you can enrol on my Reiki First Degree home study course.