Category Archives: simplicity

Declutter your treatment rituals

declutter reiki treatment rituals

Time for a Reiki spring clean?

Reiki treatments are carried out in a lot of different ways and many rituals have been developed and passed on in different lineages.

Reiki has also been affected by the belief systems of people who are involved in other energy practices and it’s natural for Reiki teachings to become ‘coloured’ by a teacher’s personal quirks and idiosyncrasies too.

Trouble is, these practices end up turning into “this is the way that you have to do it” as they are passed on from teacher to student, teacher to new teacher, and that’s unfortunate since some people end up lumbered with quite complex rituals that they feel they have to carry out for a treatment to be done ‘properly’.

Reiki is greater than that.

Reiki works simply and intuitively and doesn’t need to be accompanied by a lot of dogma. There will be Reiki practitioners out there who treat their clients using a lot of rituals that other effective Reiki practitioners do not use, and there will be people out there using Reiki effectively while not carrying out stages and rituals that other practitioners regard as essential.

Let’s look at a few examples of ideas and practices that I regard as unnecessary.

If you were taught to do these things, why not experiment and find your own approach.

Keep at least one hand on the body at all times for fear of losing your connection

I have written about this one before, and if we can send Reiki from one side of the planet to the other just by thinking of someone, there will be no problem in ‘losing’ your connection to a client on a treatment table in front of you should your hands stray a few inches from their body.

‘Connection’ is a state of mind and comes through focusing your attention on the recipient. If you’re doing a Reiki treatment on someone then you are connected to them!

Treat from head to toe and then you must go back up the body from feet to head

Seems a bit clumsy to me, and is sometimes combined with the previous paragraph, so you end up with “always keep at least one hand on the body at all times and work from head to foot, and then back to the head again”.

The general approach within Reiki seems to be to work from head to feet, though working the other way might be the right thing to do sometimes.

My approach is to work intuitively so I don’t follow a set of rules that have to be applied to every client in the same way. Why should every client receive the same format of treatment? They have different problems, different energy needs.

‘One size fits all’ doesn’t fit very well with me.

Always throw out ‘negative’ energy at the end of treatment

If you believe that there is negative energy and if you believe that it will stay with the client (and presumably cause them problems) if you don’t throw it away, then I suppose you’d better throw it away.

And if you’ve got it on you before you throw it away then presumably you don’t want that stuff hanging around on you either, so you really need to throw it away.

But not everyone is taught that and not everyone does that, and some people believe that Reiki is a pure healing energy that is drawn by the recipient’s need, and gives the recipient what they need on that occasion, balancing and transforming in a way that is right for them.

And in that case, we wouldn’t need to think in terms of accumulating stuff that Reiki couldn’t get rid of, and dealing with it ourselves.

Always ‘ground’ the energy at the end of a treatment by putting your hands on the floor

Some people do seem to have quite a bee in their bonnet on the issue of grounding.

They put almost every malady down to not being grounded, and have their students frantically grounding themselves.

On a personal level, grounding is easy: go for a walk, do the washing up, breathe in some fresh air and you’re grounded. Hatsurei ho – daily energy exercises – grounds you.

I believe that giving a Reiki treatment is a grounding exercise.

So what is this ungrounded energy that you have to deal with when you put your hands on the floor – is it your energy, is it the client’s “ungrounded” energy, and what would happen if you didn’t crouch down and touch the floorboards?

Isn’t Reiki a bit more effective than that?

Does it really need us to come along and sort out stuff that it hasn’t dealt with properly?

Recite a set of words at the start of a treatment that ‘have’ to be said

Many people have a set form of words that they say to themselves to get them in the right frame of mind for carrying out a Reiki treatment, and I have no problem with that.

This can be useful and helpful.

But some people are taught that “these words are THE words” that you have to say at the start of the treatment, with the corollary that if you haven’t said them, or if you mess up the words, then the treatment’s not going to go properly.

If you’ve said a set of words time and again before starting a treatment, don’t you think your subconscious mind knows what it’s all about, and that you have that intention ‘programmed’ into you already?

Intention is a very important thing with Reiki and I don’t think you need to keep on reminding and re-reminding yourself about what you want to happen.

Over to you

I hope the above comments have provided some food for thought and if you are currently using the practices described above, why not try a different approach, see what happens, and come to your own conclusions about what’s the best way for you to approach treating others.

Have you altered your own approach compared to what you were originally taught, and have you found that leaving behind some of those rules and restrictions has been fine?

Post a message below to let me know how your practice has become simpler over time.

Did you like this blog?

If so, you are going to love this book…

 

“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.

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

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Author:
Picture credit: Kevin Utting

 

Ditch the Dogma in Reiki Distant Healing

reiki distant healing ditch dogma

Find your own distant healing method

Distant healing is carried out in a huge number of ways in different lineages. There is endless variety.

Some methods are more complex than others, and some approaches are more dogmatic than others.

Some students are taught that if they do not carry out distant healing in a particular way then it will not work for them. This is unhelpful and Reiki is certainly not constrained by the details of man-made rituals.

So what do we need for distant healing to succeed?

What does distant healing boil down to?

What are the essential steps?

Well, there are no hard and fast rules associated with distant healing, other than:

  1. Knowing where the energy is going (setting a definite intent)
  2. Using HSZSN in some way*
  3. Allowing the energy to flow

*Even using HSZSN is actually optional, as you will have seen if you read my earlier “How to send Distant Healing” blogs.

This lack of certainty can be rather disconcerting for some people, and liberating for others, so you can choose your method according to your taste. If you prefer simplicity, boil your approach down to barest essentials, or if you like a ‘big event’ then make your ritual more detailed, more ‘High Church’.

So long as you know where you want the energy to go, and use HSZSN in some way if you want to, then the energy will get there.

You will find your own preferred technique

Remember that no one way is better than any other.

Some people feel more comfortable with a more detailed ritual, others are content to set a definite intent, use HSZSN to make the connection in some way, maybe, and they then blank their minds to allow the energy to flow, and visualise no longer.

Do what feels right for you.

Over to you

Is the way that you now practise Reiki distant healing different from how you were first taught?

How does what you do now differ? What method do you find most comfortable for you?

Please share below by posting a message.

Need some help with your distant healing?

reiki mp3 downloads distant healingIf you’d like some help with your distant healing, why not download my collection of Reiki distant healing meditations on MP3. They are suitable for all Reiki levels.

The meditations encompass the most simple approach ever… and more ritualised ones. Cup your hands, use some sort of a prop like a pillow or teddy bear, use a Distant Healing box or book and send to your future or past. All these meditations are right there for you to use straight away.

Just close your eyes and I’ll talk you through everything you need to do. Experiment with the MP3s and find out what works best for you.

Price: £13.49. Click to order via PayPal:

 

Author:
Picture credit: Parker Knight

How to send Distant Healing (Part 2)

reiki distant healing

Let’s explore Reiki distant healing

What I would like to do in a series of articles is to suggest some different DH approaches. Some may be familiar to you; some may be new. If you discover a new approach then try it for yourself and see how it feels, and come to your own conclusion about what seems the best way for you, the most comfortable ‘fit’.

Distant healing is a very important part of Reiki practice, of course, and is something that is not unique to Reiki. Distant healing (DH for short) is carried out in different Reiki lineages in different ways and there is no one ‘right’ way to perform this process. The important thing when carrying out DH is your underlying intent, and the details of the ritual that you use are unimportant.

Very simple DH

What I would like to share with you today is another simple version of DH.

It doesn’t involve symbols, it doesn’t involve complex imagery or long affirmations, though it does involve some imagining. This method cuts the process down to its essential parts.

How to do distance healing with Reiki

The bare bones of distant healing are to know where you are sending the energy – to set a definite intent – and to allow the energy to flow, and as you do that, it can be helpful to imagine something to help maintain your focus, or to focus your intent.

So you could try this:

  1. Close your eyes and take a few long deep breaths
  2. Focus your attention on your Tanden point
  3. Say to yourself that “this is to be a distant healing for the highest good of ….[the person’s name]”
  4. Imagine that the recipient is sitting on the floor in front of you
  5. Feel yourself merging with the recipient, becoming one with them
  6. In your mind’s eye, imagine or have in mind that the energy is flowing into the person’s shoulders
  7. Move on to imagine that you are going through a series of hand positions on the person’s head; go with whatever feels right or appropriate
  8. Finish with the shoulders again.
  9. When you are ready to bring things to a close, feel your attention withdrawing from the recipient by way of ‘disconnecting’ from them, take a few long deep breaths again, and bring yourself back

In this example we dedicated the distant healing to the recipient’s highest good, which means that we were neutral in the process, not directing the energy to achieve a particular result.

We approach distant healing in the same way that we approach treating another person: we have no expectations, we stand aside and we allow the energy to do whatever is appropriate for that person.

The energy is drawn through us according to the recipient’s need without any interference from us; we have no thought or desire about the outcome

Over to you

If this approach is new to you, why not try it and see how you get on, and let us know by posting a message below.

Need some help with your distant healing?

reiki mp3 downloads distant healingIf you’d like to learn more about how to do distance healing with Reiki,  or if you need some help with your distant healing, why not download my collection of Reiki distant healing meditations on MP3. They are suitable for all Reiki levels.

The meditations encompass the most simple approach ever… and more ritualised ones. Cup your hands, use some sort of a prop like a pillow or teddy bear, use a Distant Healing box or book and send to your future or past. All these meditations are right there for you to use straight away.

Just close your eyes and I’ll talk you through everything you need to do. Experiment with the MP3s and find out what works best for you.

Price: £13.49. Click to order via PayPal:

 

Author:
Picture credit: Tony Armstrong

How to send Distant Healing (Part 1)

reiki distant healing meditations

Lets’ explore Reiki distant healing

What I would like to do in a series of articles is to suggest some different DH approaches. Some may be familiar to you; some may be new.

If you discover a new approach then try it for yourself and see how it feels, and come to your own conclusion about what seems the best way for you, the most comfortable ‘fit’.

Distant healing is a very important part of Reiki practice, of course, and is something that is not unique to Reiki. Distant healing (DH for short) is carried out in different Reiki lineages in different ways and there is no one ‘right’ way to perform this process.

The important thing when carrying out DH is your underlying intent, and the details of the ritual that you use are unimportant.

Simplest distant healing method ever!

What I would like to share with you today is probably just about the simplest version of DH that you can find (I may be wrong here!). It doesn’t involve symbols, it doesn’t involve complex imagery or long affirmations.

It cuts things down to their bare bones, the essence of DH.

How to do distance healing with Reiki

The bare bones of distant healing are to know where you are sending the energy – to set a definite intent – and to allow the energy to flow, so you could try this:

  1. Close your eyes and take a few long deep breaths
  2. Focus your attention on your Tanden point
  3. Say to yourself that “this is to be a distant healing for the highest good of ….[the person’s name]”
  4. Focus your attention on the recipient in your mind’s eye/imagination
  5. Feel yourself merging with the recipient, becoming one with them
  6. Allow the energy to flow from you to them for as long as feels appropriate
  7. When you are ready to bring things to a close, feel your attention withdrawing from the recipient by way of ‘disconnecting’ from them, take a few long deep breaths again, and bring yourself back

In this example we dedicated the distant healing to the recipient’s highest good, which means that we were neutral in the process, not directing the energy to achieve a particular result.

We approach distant healing in the same way that we approach treating another person: we have no expectations, we stand aside and we allow the energy to do whatever is appropriate for that person. The energy is drawn through us according to the recipient’s need without any interference from us; we have no thought or desire about the outcome

Over to you

If this approach is new to you, why not try it and see how you get on, and let us know by posting a message below.

Need some help with your distant healing?

reiki mp3 downloads distant healingIf you’d like to learn more about how to do distance healing with Reiki, or if you’d like some help with your distant healing, why not download my collection of Reiki distant healing meditations on MP3. They are suitable for all Reiki levels.

The meditations encompass the most simple approach ever… and more ritualised ones. Cup your hands, use some sort of a prop like a pillow or teddy bear, use a Distant Healing box or book and send to your future or past. All these meditations are right there for you to use straight away.

Just close your eyes and I’ll talk you through everything you need to do. Experiment with the MP3s and find out what works best for you.

Price: £13.49. Click to order via PayPal:

 

 

Author:
Picture credit: Jeff Kubina

The Healing Age: Reiki To Go?

These days you find people searching, searching, searching. Looking desperately for the answer to life the Universe and everything. They can’t seem satisfied with their ‘lot’ in life. There must be something missing, something more, something that will make them feel whole, complete, happy.

We live in a fast food society where we want everything now and by golly we don’t want or expect to work for it either!

With the 2012 Era now in full swing, people are undergoing great changes, huge events in their lives that they would never have guessed could, or would, happen to them. Things that happen only to ‘others’ as they sit safely in their own little bubble of existence.

Well, here’s the latest news flash, if we haven’t already, we are all very soon going to experience our fears and our joys, our light side and our dark side, the good and the bad. This is unavoidable. We are all ascending, albeit at a different and individual pace. We are all part of that One Source that is experiencing itself in all its multi-coloured, multi-faceted glory!

So what does this have to do with Reiki?

Well, as with anything in this 21st century life of ours, there are sometimes some ‘fast food’ students who want it all and want it now. They want miracles in their lives to occur after just 1 empowerment or 1 or 2 self healing or meditation episodes and if it doesn’t work, then boy, they are mad, they feel cheated!

I will always tell students that the true learning (and miracles) come from Reiki itself after the training day.

Spiritual growth, which encompasses our personal healings, rarely comes with a flash of light and an epiphany! We are here to work, here to learn and this takes dedicated time and discipline from us.

Yes, we all know this and yet we still want it all now. We cannot believe we have to go through the mill to get what we want in life, good health, peace of mind and abundance.

I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but come on folks, if we could achieve spontaneous healings and enlightenment, then don’t you think we would have already?

Some people go to great lengths and elaborate rituals to induce a healing. The Truth is that all we ‘need’ is us and our trust in our connection to Source. In order to manifest our reality, we need now to draw on all our Spiritual resources, all our senses both known and as yet unknown.

We need to apply FEELING to our intentions whether we are healing or at a job interview. It goes even beyond mere human emotion stemming from ego. This is deep, deep Spiritual FEELING I’m talking about.  Feeling from that deep space within, that space which is Source itself. Knowing you are already healed and enlightened. Feeling that you already are.

‘Fake it ‘till you make it’ as the Americans say! SIMPLE

This is our path home, no matter which system you may decide suits you best, be it Reiki, Spiritualism, Shamanism, Buddhism etc and this takes your time and your patience with your own speed of growth, healing and change.

Reiki can assist us in getting to that deep place within. Simple connection and channelling of this high frequency energy can begin to turn our lives around, BUT, and there is always a BUT……this won’t happen if we pick Reiki up every few months (when we need it) and then we drop it again with reasons like:

“I just don’t seem to find the time”

“ I have too many other things to do”

“we were on holiday, you know how it is….”

NO folks, sorry but there really are no excuses. You either want change or you don’t.

Be honest with yourself at the very least 🙂

You cannot run a marathon without putting in some serious training.

So if you are truly serious about making changes for the better in your life, then put on your running shoes and get going!

Namaste

 


Debbie McDougall is one of the Reiki Evolution team of teachers offering training in the beautiful city of Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Debbie began her Reiki journey in 2004, eventually leaving the NHS in 2008 after nearly 30 years as a Nurse, and more latterly, a Midwife. Debbie has also trained in other forms of Holistic healing and runs regular workshops and groups aiming to empower others to heal themselves. She also runs Munay Ki workshops to pass on the beautiful and profound Ascension Rites of the Incan Shamanic lineages and writes her monthly ‘Earth Change Updates’ available on her website.

Debbie’s website can be found here: www.heaven-wisehealth.co.uk

For the SoulGroup Facebook page click here

 

 

 


How to allow your Reiki to flow more strongly

reiki energy exercises kenyoku joshin kokkyu ho

If you are at the beginning of your Reiki journey or at a point where you aren’t sure if your Reiki is flowing strongly, don’t worry. What I usually say to people practising is to ‘Let Go’ and ‘Let Reiki’. Simply, just let Reiki do what it needs to do, and where it needs to go. We are the channel not the source. Easier said than done when you’ve been amazed by how the Reiki 1 course changed your perspective on life and now as you are excitedly telling others about Reiki the next thing you know they want to experience a treatment from you !

How does that work?

Initially, I believe, while giving a treatment, this beautiful healing energy connects with that person’s higher self–the ‘self that in its wisdom knows exactly what, where and how much it needs. As you already know, Reiki only works when its for the person’s highest good which always needs to be our intention at the beginning of a treatment. Again, we gently remind ourselves that we are the channel, not the source. If we can get our head / ego out of the way, this beautiful healing energy will always flow much more strongly. Remember, it’s not Us / I that is the healer/doing the healing– that’s the Ego speaking.

The example I give in my classes says it best (all Reiki 1’s will have heard this), it was when I gave my very first treatment after my Reiki 1 course in 2004. Firstly, I was thrilled that someone accepted, and then all of a sudden, these thoughts and this pressure of questions dawned over me- What if I do it incorrectly? What if they don’t feel anything? Can this really work?

The Treatment

Through the better part of my first treatment those were exactly the question’s that would come into my mind. My first client had never had a Reiki treatment before, and she was looking for anything that would give her some relief of the pain caused by her severe arthritis for which she was taking morphine. During the treatment, I carefully moved to each of the hand positions as I was taught, trying hard not to be worried but at the same time continually visualising the energy flooding through my crown and into my tanden and then out of my palms. Well, one can guess that after a while, one can become quite tired, really tired with all this constant visualising, so about 50 minutes later I finally relaxed and said to myself, I’ve tried my best and I’m feeling a bit tired but desperately hope it went all right.

The Feedback – Moment of Truth

When I asked the client to come round when she was ready, I was relieved but shocked to hear all the wonderful experiences she had, as well as the heat, colours and energy flowing and how much calmer she felt. I wasn’t prepared, however, for her following comments, where she said that it was only in the last 10 minutes she had felt a surge of wonderful healing energy come over her which she thought was totally amazing and which had made her pain subside. I’m certain my jaw must have dropped but so did the penny. Just as my manual and teacher had said.

“Remember to relax, let go, merge, breath and become one with the energy” I didn’t think it could be as simple as that.

Warmest wishes,

 

 

Irene Forsyth

York Reiki courses

 

Keeping it simple

Reiki has certainly been transformational in my life. Since around 1995, my life was turned around and I was, and still am on a very gentle and simple way of life. Don’t get me wrong, I have had many challenges coming in, which would have sent me to *ga ga land*,  but on reflection of these times, I know that I have been sustained and protected by these awesome energies.

Even when I am not aware of this,  Reiki is always there in the background. Like a *silent witness*, standing back and permitting me to make the mistakes I need to experience, in order to evolve and grow.

What is a mistake?  I believe it is a great opportunity for learning. I am still learning not to beat myself up, when I make wrong decisions etc. I am my own harshest critic really! I tell my students that we are Spiritual Beings having human experiences, not human beings having the odd Spiritual experience.

Ah yes, I should apply this to myself, but coming from a Western culture with a human brain which can chatter ten to the dozen, telling me all sorts of nonsense, I then need to get back to simplicity, and remind myself that I will never reach perfection in this life.

 

During some of my challenges which I have experienced, it has been an *hour at a time*, not a day at a time. Yet these 5 beautiful Reiki Precepts keep me on an even keel most of the time. I am functioning in a far from perfect human vehicle, which can feel overwhelmed at times by earthly life.

I believe we are here to experience every emotion there is on earth. The soul yearns for these opportunities in order to develop and evolve.

I have spoken about challenges. The joys of Reiki far from surpass this. There is meditation, where I can be taken to the most beautiful realms of peace, the daily energy work and the simplicity.

My experiences as Reiki Master/ Teacher bring me an abundance of like minded people who come to train with me,  and in this I am blessed! It is a 2 way process, I learn from my students and each of them brings along their own unique gifts.

The Universal Reiki energies supply me daily with all of my requirement.

 

I could go on and on, but I’m sure you know what I am trying to convey. Words are always inadequate, are they not???

 

Warm Wishes

 

Margaret Craig

Reiki courses in Glasgow

Standard Hand Positions or Freestyle?

how to start a reiki treatment advice

One of my favourite topics when I’m teaching my Reiki First Degree students is the subject of ‘standard hand positions’ or ‘freestyle’ treatment techniques.  By this I mean whether to work on a client with the 12 standard hand positions taught on most Reiki courses, (often, it seems as the be all and end all of conducting a Reiki treatment), or whether to go with the energetic flow of the treatment and flow through an intuitive, ‘freestyle’ session. I have seen therapy centre and health spa websites which describe Reiki as a treatment whereby the practitioner channels Reiki into the client in 12 different positions… fair enough, if that’s the system their Reiki practitioners choose to work with. But… guess which style of treating I prefer? I’m a person who doesn’t cope too well with the grind of a dictated routine; I’m creative and intuitive, and I’m afraid that I have a relatively low boredom threshold. Some or all of these qualities probably apply to you as well, so perhaps you can see where I’m going with this. Following 12 standard hand positions is great. To begin with. While you’re learning Reiki it’s a really sound idea to give some standardised treatments, it truly is. You really should know what they are and get comfortable with them. The hand positions are pretty convenient, they work well on clients on a treatment couch, and they are the basics that you ought to know. Definitely. But don’t feel that is all there is, please! Those hand positions can start to feel mighty restrictive when everything in your head, or indeed your hands, or heart, is telling you that the Reiki needs to flow to a different area from those standard positions.

Far more fun is there to be had, far more opportunities for amazement and challenge and ultimately learning, are to be gained by going where the energy guides you. I love the feeling of exploring the client’s energy system and supporting it by providing the Reiki as I feel it flow more strongly. I love not knowing where I will be lead for that period of time. Trust me, you have the ability to feel the flow of Reiki, to notice the varying qualities of what you are feeling in your hands. I’ve seen it hundreds of times on my Reiki courses; students are regularly startled by what they find they notice, even on day one of working with Reiki. They very quickly learn to be guided in this way. I really hope that, if you’re a Reiki person, you’ve had this experience as well.

My favourite way of working on clients is by what I call ‘listening with my hands’. I always advocate for my students to listen to their intuition because, yes, that’s what is directing you, along with being merged with the energy of the person before you. Now there are so many ways that intuition can manifest itself that I can feel another blog, or even a book coming on! But hey, you don’t have to call yourself clairvoyant, be a medium or read the tea leaves to be able to pick up intuitive information from the person you’re treating with Reiki. I have had a lifelong a passion for psychic work and have had a wonderful range of formal and informal teachers over many years, but I still maintain that anyone can learn to listen to their intuition during a Reiki treatment, with none of this kind of experience, training, or background whatsoever. And through my experience of working with my students, this has been born out over and over again. The approach is really very simple when you’re starting out: where your hands feel busy with energy, that’s where the client is drawing more Reiki through you, so stay there longer. Where your hands feel nothing much, move on and scan somewhere else until you find a busy area. Go with your gut instinct. With practice, this simple method alone will grow and evolve into a more sophisticated, intuitively informed treatment approach. And your approach will quite possibly be unique to you once you’ve learned to listen to the language through which your intuition is communicating. Keep an open mind, and explore what happens when you go with your instinct.

The vast subject of working with intuition is something I’d like to tackle in subsequent blogs, so please watch this space. In the meantime, (if you don’t already,) please, listen with your hands as a starting point for developing your own freestyle Reiki treatments. If you’ve never tried it before, you have an exciting journey ahead of you! Just get your hands on some folks and put in some regular work. You’ll teach yourself so quickly, and in any case, the Reiki will flow to support your learning. And you’ll always find giving a Reiki treatment an adventure. Trust the intuitive process and enjoy the ride!

 


kent reiki training courses

Louise Heseltine is one of the Reiki Evolution team of teachers, running courses in Kent.   Louise began teaching Reiki in 2005 and has worked as a complementary therapist, offering Reiki, aromatherapy (Tisserand trained), reflexology and Indian head  massage. Louise also runs Reiki Retreats and has taken Reiki people to Egypt and run regular retreats to Spain to develop their healing  skills.

Her website can be found here: www.silvermoon.org.uk.

Click here to ‘like’ Louise’s Facebook page!

Be like water

reiki simplicity bruce lee

“Be formless, shapeless… like water”
“True refinement seeks simplicity”

 

…if you are wondering who said these things, you might be surprised to hear that they were spoken by Bruce Lee, film star and famous martial artist who developed Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts method that took the best approaches from different fighting systems and synthesised them into a flexible and effective fighting art. Jeet Kune Do is referred to as a “style without style” where, unlike more traditional martial arts which Lee saw as rigid and formalistic, JKD is not fixed or patterned: it is more of a philosophy with guiding thoughts, a “style of no style”. Bruce Lee often referred to JKD as “The art of expressing the human body” in his writings and in interviews.

And those comments got me wondering about Reiki, especially when Lee identified three different stages that someone’s practice could go through. He said that before training, people had a natural ability, something that was unformed and unfocused; training begins and the student learns how to follow the instruction, they are restricted to the framework that they are taught and many practitioners might not move beyond that stage, following the system almost by rote. The third stage is where the practitioner moves beyond the rote learning to embrace simplicity and flexibility.

So how does that echo one’s development with Reiki? Well before some people learn Reiki, they already have a healing ability, maybe unstructured or unconscious, unfocused, but a natural healing ability nevertheless. We have taught many such people, who have found that Reiki gives them a framework or a structure to work through, focusing and channelling and enhancing what they already had.

The student learns a particular approach, with some rules and standard hand positions and in some lineages quite a long list of things you can and can’t, should and shouldn’t, do with Reiki. Some practitioners remain at this stage, following the instructions they were given and remaining content with that way of working.

But you can move beyond that framework, simplifying your practice, altering what you do to the needs of the recipient. You can embrace intuitive working, where you leave behind those basic rules to go ‘freestyle’ and, where Lee describes his system as “The art of expressing the human body”, we could see intuitive working as “The art of expressing the energy”. Here we are empty and formless, flowing like water to where the water wants to go, joining with the energy and following it, directing the energy to where it wants to be directed, emphasising aspects of the energy that need to be emphasised. We stand as a flexible conduit between the source and the recipient, empty, formless, fluid.

I believe that clutter-free Reiki is the best Reiki, and that by cutting away the rules and the dogma we can ‘refine’ (to use Lee’s word) our Reiki practice. Emptiness is the goal here: no planning, no thought about what you might do, just being there with the energy and the recipient; your treatment has no form, no structure and you simply follow the flow of energy, becoming the energy, merging with the recipient, with no expectations other than to just ‘be’.

 

Picture credit: IQRemix


If you like the sound of this approach then you might consider doing some training with Reiki Evolution. We have live Reiki courses running throughout the UK and Taggart teaches one-to-one through his special Reiki Home Study courses. For more information, click on the links below:

Live Reiki courses
Home Study courses