by Taggart King

Hi,

It's been a while since I spoke about my "10 Rules of Reiki" which I think are a helpful guide to getting the most out of your Reiki. So I thought it would be useful to run through them again over a number of weeks. Last time I ran through rule #4, and here's the fifth rule...

I’ve already spoken about the benefits that can come through the regular practise of Reiki, making working with the energy a regular part of your routine, trying to use the energy in some way each day. The benefits of Reiki build up cumulatively, and sporadic and irregular practice won’t be as effective in bringing you the very best that is possible for you through your Reiki. Like many things, you’ll get out of your Reiki what you are prepared to put into it, and Reiki deserves a little of your time each day. If you plug away, inch by inch, a few simple practices, a few simple routines, and make them a regular part of your daily and weekly routine, like brushing your teeth and brushing your hair – which you always make time for – then you’ll get the very best out of your Reiki.

And once you have established your routine with Reiki it’ll seem strange when you aren’t doing your daily self-treatment or energy exercises, or distant healing. It doesn’t take very long before your routine can just become part of who you are and it’ll be difficult to avoid using your Reiki in some way.

So how do we commit? How do we make that decision, that final decision that cuts away all other possibilities? Well I don’t think you need to make such a decision. You just need to focus on today, and do something with your Reiki today, and that’s all. And when the next day arrives, you repeat the process, doing something with your Reiki today. One day at a time.

But there is something that you can do that can help you ease into your Reiki routine: visualise yourself doing what you intend to do. Get yourself into a nice comfortable position and take a few deep breaths, perhaps do a bit of a self-treatment or part of hatsurei ho, to get the energy flowing, and imagine yourself doing what you plan to do: imagine yourself sitting down at lunchtime to do 10 minutes of distant healing, bring to mind how it will feel to send 15 minutes on a park bench just bringing the energy into your tanden and then flooding the energy out to the universe. See yourself sitting on your sofa, blissed out for a while with an impromptu Reiki session, imagine yourself drifting off to sleep with your hands on your heart and solar plexus. See yourself doing these things as if you were watching yourself on a video, imagine how these things will feel, notice how you look and how your body seems so relaxed as you use your Reiki. Imagine the benefits of doing this and see yourself experiencing those positive changes in the way that you behave and respond, those changes in the way that you feel about yourself and other people, changes in the way that you think. Just notice all those positive changes that come through your Reiki practice.

What you are doing here is mentally rehearsing what you days ahead, what your week ahead, will be like, and you are programming your mind to make these things happen, each day, to bring them to mind to remind you, to make them a priority. Do this regularly and you’ll be amazed by how simple it can be to ease into a really good routine with your Reiki.

Using Reiki with drumming is becoming increasingly popular, and I regularly hear people enthusing about how powerful and lovely this way of working is.

Did you know that we have Reiki Drum Technique courses running in Bedfordshire and Surrey, taught by Cathy Birkinhead and Alison Archehelizaga?

Here is a brief description of Reiki Drum Technique and how it is used, taken from our web site:

Reiki Drumming for healing and meditation is an ancient practice. In tribal cultures the power of sound over the body and spirit is well known, and now in the western world there is research supporting this – making this ancient wisdom more palatable to modern minds.

Research shows that brain activity is affected by drumming, and there are studies showing how the sounds of a drum can help with illness and emotional trauma. Group drumming has been linked with improving the immune system, helping Alzheimer’s patients, building self esteem, and supporting recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. These studies are hinting at what has been known by shamanic practitioners over the ages, and shamans today still know as they practice what is often known as medicine drumming.

Reiki Drum practitioners use the drum to introduce Reiki into the client’s body, shifting blockages and rebalancing the energy field. The bringing together of these two systems means that the energy of the drum becomes gentle, protective and works for the highest good of the client just as in a normal Reiki treatment.

The Reiki Drum Technique is the fusion of Reiki and shamanic medicine drumming. Popular in the United States, (where it was formed by Michael Arthur Baird of the Infinite Light Healing Studies Centre, and is known as Reiki Drumming TM) it is still very new to the UK.

The technique is broken down into three main types of session: the basic Reiki Drum healing, where the drum is used intuitively over the client’s body to deliver a deep healing treatment, followed by a hands-on Reiki session to fully integrate the work and ground the client; the mental/emotional reprogramming technique, where the intuitive drum treatment is combined with the use of powerful positive affirmations to support growth; and the Reiki Drum journey technique, where the practitioner uses the drum to take the client into a deep meditative state to receive insight, spiritual guidance and healing.

To find out more about our regular Reiki Drum Technique courses, just click on either of these links: Bedfordshire Reiki Drum courses and Surrey Reiki Drum courses.

Proper support and guidance is the key

Some people might think it strange that Reiki can be taught successfully through home study, and a few people have very strong negative views about this issue, even though they haven't experienced Reiki training via this method.

I have many years of experience now of supporting people through their Reiki training by this route now, and you tell me that home study is a fantastic way to learn Reiki, where you can take your time, work at your own speed, and enjoy weeks and weeks of hands-on practice.

The key to success with Reiki home study is to break the course down into manageable chunks, make sure that your practical energy work is the priority, to receive feedback from you at each stage of the course, and to give careful, attentive support (not just leaving you to get on with it!).

I received some feedback from one of my students recently which explains how it all works far better than I could, actually, so I am reproducing her feedback in full for you to read:

"The course content has been astonishing in terms of its quality and depth. The scope of knowledge and learning experiences it provides is a revelation, with many, many wonderful surprises that I could never have foreseen. For instance, some of the meditative experiences such as the Hara work and the energy ball self-empowerment. There are so many gems in there that I've brought into my everyday life and never wish to be without. Besides the actual learning aspect of the course, this is what has made the whole experience so life-enhancing.

"The course exceeded my expectations beyond any measure that I could sensibly express. When I compare the richness of my experience with those of friends and colleagues I feel very blessed indeed. I cannot believe how much I received in various ways, and all of this makes my course tremendous value.

"The course materials are jaw-droppingly good, literally. I still delight in reading through my manuals and seeing the depth of excellent quality content they contain. Without exaggeration I believe these manuals will never be bettered. As a teacher, trainer and journalist I recognise and appreciate good quality teaching materials, and these in particular are exceptional, wonderfully well written. Also, just the diversity of materials is impressive, right down to the shuffle cards. So much thought, time and care has gone into producing all of this, and the end result is superb. Incidentally, the CDs are a joy to listen to, and I will sometimes have one on in the background as I find them so relaxing. Clear, calm delivery; very natural and real, as if Taggart was there with you, teaching and guiding. Brilliant.

"The Home Study approach was perfect for me. I like to do things thoroughly, and I was able to spend weeks on each section of my course, repeating elements many times and doing more practical work than was required. Consequently, I believe I have spent the past 13 months genuinely learning, not rushing or cramming. My knowledge and experiences have been absorbed over time, and I can draw upon them as I go forward. All I've gained slowly over the course truly feels a part of me, and I believe I have a rich reserve of learning to support and inspire me as I continue my Reiki journey.

"The feedback I've received has without exception been thorough, thoughtful, positive and meaningful. It has also always been very prompt."

If you'd like to explore the idea of taking your time with your Reiki Master Teacher training, no matter where you are in the world, and with attentive one-to-one support, here's where you can find out more: Reiki Master Home Study.

"I have already done two full Reiki treatments on a couple of my friends who have been delighted with the results"

We receive a steady stream of testimonials from our stduents and I thought it would be useful to share some of them occasionally, so you can see what people think of their Reiki training with Reiki Evolution, and the support that they receive.

Here is a message I received from Barbara, who trained recently with Rhona Byrne, our trusted teacher in Surrey.

"As requested I am giving you feedback on the Reiki degree 1 course I took on March 8th. I think the course content is just right. The background of how Reiki came about was a real eye opener for me and to be able to trace the lineage back to Mikao Usui is fantastic. I did not expect to be given so much information about how Reiki had begun. I think that I only expected to be told what to do and how to execute the healing.

Being able to get the course material beforehand to read and listen to was excellent. Having the choice of either reading the handbook or listening to the CDs was amazing. I used both at different times during my pre course learning. I could choose which I wanted to do on any day before the live training day, which I found a better way of learning.

On the live training day there were just three students so to make it even between us our Reiki Master, Rhona Byrne , worked equally with us all for the one to ones. We had a great time. We laughed a lot and worked a lot. The day past so quickly. We three students exchanged email and phone numbers so we could stay in touch so that tells you how we got on. Two of us joined the online group the day after the course and have been in touch already. The fact that we can ask questions, chat to other like-minded people is great. It has been less than a week since I did the live course and I have already done two full Reiki treatments on a couple of my friends who have been delighted with the results.

Thank you for a brilliant course and I can't wait until I can do the second degree course with Rhona."

Barbara, West Sussex

If you'd like to explore the idea of taking your First Degree course with Reiki Evolution, we have a team of trusted teachers all over the country: Reiki First Degree Courses.