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The Kaizen of Reiki

If you have come across the word ‘kaizen’ before it will probably have been in the context of industrial quality control or personal development. “Kaizen” is a Japanese word that is usually translated as ‘improvement’, but it means more than that. The word has connotations of continuous, gradual, orderly and never-ending improvement, the willingness to constantly, relentlessly pursue improvement a small step at a time. The application of the kaizen principle is the reason why Japan’s economy was transformed after the Second World War. All workers were encouraged to make suggestions as to how quality and production could be improved, even by tiny, tiny percentages, but over time the effect of these tiny percentage improvements, applied consistently and built upon, transformed Japanese industry.

So what has this to do with Reiki? Well the word kaizen actually appears towards the end of the Reiki precepts. The line in Japanese is “Shin shin kaizen, Usui Reiki Ryoho”, which could be loosely translated as “Mind body change it for better Usui Reiki method”. So when Usui was talking about using his system to improve the body and mind, I get the impression that we are looking at a lifelong commitment to work with the system, to focus the energy on ourselves again and again, long-term, in order to produce small incremental improvements within ourselves, to dedicate ourselves to developing our effectiveness as a channel. But small changes build on previous small changes, an enhancement upon an enhancement leads to amazing development over time. And Usui’s original system gives us the solid, concrete techniques that we can use to develop ourselves: as channels, in terms of spirituality and in terms of intuition, to produce our own individual Reiki Evolution!

So how do we pursue our own kaizen of Reiki? How do we apply the concept of continuous and never-ending improvement to our practice of Reiki? Here are a few suggestions…

Root your practice of Reiki in daily energy work.

If you are serious about wanting to obtain the many benefits that are available to you through the Reiki system then you are going to have to work on yourself most days, ideally every day, and by doing so you will build up the beneficial effects of Reiki within you. It is not sufficient to use Reiki on yourself once a week, or to assume that if you treat other people occasionally then this is enough to give you the Reiki you need.

Your first priority should be yourself, and this means daily energy work. This does not need to be an onerous task, nor does it need to take a long time to carry out. Sometimes we decline to use Reiki on ourselves because we do not have the perfect opportunity, perhaps because we do not have, say, 30 minutes to work on ourselves. Yet even 10 minutes of energy work, when carried out consistently each day, would be far better and produce much better results than doing nothing for days, and then a great big blitz for a big chunk of time on a weekend to try and ‘catch up’. Spending even a small chunk of time working on ourselves each day builds up a momentum and stirs changes which build and build. Sporadic practice leads to some beneficial changes, but you are not maximising your Reiki potential.

So, how can we work on ourselves? Well, a good place to start would be to practise Hatsurei ho, a series of energy exercises taught in the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (the ‘Gakkai), an association set up after Usui’s death by the Imperial Officers who had trained with him for a while. ‘Hatsurei ho’ means something like ‘start up Reiki technique’ and consists of a series of energy meditations/ visualisations that focus on your Tanden (Dantien in Chinese) and which are designed to be carried out every day. The effects of Hatsurei ho are to:

    Clear and cleanse your energy system
    Help to move your energy system more into a state of balance
    Help to ground you
    Help to build up your personal energy reserves
    Allows you to grow spiritually
    Develop your ability as a channel for Reiki
    Help to develop your sensitivity to the flow of energy
    Help to develop your intuitive side

The exercises take perhaps 12-15 minutes to carry out each day, and can be fitted into the busiest of schedules if the will is there. We can all make this time for our Reiki practice.

But we should also focus the energy more specifically on ourselves, on our own self-healing, by carrying out a self-treatment each day. Whether you carry out the Western ‘hands-on’ method of treating yourself, or use the self-treatment meditation that Usui Sensei taught, you should focus the energy on yourself on a regular basis to help bring things into balance for you on all levels, and to help you to release things that no longer serve you: mental states, emotions, physical things. The energy will deal with many aspects of your body/mind, many deeply-embedded imbalances, if we give the energy the opportunity to do its work on us, digging deep and chipping away at the ‘baggage’ that we carry, over time.

We prefer to use Usui Sensei’s self-treatment meditation because it seems more intense and versatile, but all self-treatment approaches are valid. Usui’s Sensei’s system was all about spiritual development and self-healing, so Hatsurei Ho and self-treatment can lie at the very heart of your Reiki practice. You need to put yourself first, and the principle of kaizen means that by working on yourself consistently, great transformations are possible. You owe it to yourself to allow yourself to obtain the benefits that are available to you through Reiki.

Receive spiritual empowerments throughout your training and beyond.

Training with Usui was rather like martial arts training, where you were in ongoing contact with your teacher over an extended period of time. Part of your training involved receiving simple spiritual empowerments from Usui Sensei, repeatedly, at all levels. Each empowerment reinforced your connection to the source, cleared your channel for the energy, allowed you to develop spiritually and enhanced your intuitive potential. To echo this practice, Taggart sends out a distant Reiju empowerment every week, on a Monday, which can be ‘tuned in to’ by any Reiki person. You can find out about this, and what to do, by visiting this page of the Reiki Evolution web site:

Reiju Broadcast

On each occasion that you receive Reiju you are given what you need, and as your needs change from one occasion to another, this simple spiritual ‘blessing’ helps you to develop. A one-off attunement or empowerment does of course give you something permanent, and when you learn Reiki for the first time the attunements or empowerments that you receive provide you with the ability to use Reiki permanently, but it does not stop there: by receiving empowerments on a regular basis you are building momentum and allowing the energy to penetrate more deeply within you.

If we are committed to ongoing improvements within ourselves then we should make the time to receive an empowerment weekly. And again it is the regular commitment which is the key, the key to deepening your experience of the energy and its beneficial effects on you.

Work on developing your intuitive potential.

Mikao Usui’s original system did not focus very much on the treatment of others, and any instruction on treatments would not have involved slavishly following a set of ‘standard’ hand positions that you had to apply to everyone you treated. Usui’s method was simpler and more elegant. You allowed the energy to guide your hands to the right place to treat, different from one person to another, and different within the same person from one treatment to another. The way we have been taught to do this is through a ‘technique’ called ‘Reiji Ho’ (indication of the spirit technique’), a way of emptying your mind and merging with the energy, getting your head out of the way to allow intuition to bubble to the surface. The exciting thing about Reiji Ho is that it works for everyone, and with time – we come back to kaizen’s small incremental improvements – your hands will move more quickly, more consistently, more effortlessly, and you will start to attract more intuitive information. So every time we treat someone we should spend time cultivating our ‘Reiji’ state of mind, and gradually, gradually, we develop.

Learn to become the energies.

…that you are introduced to at Second Degree and Master levels. Usui’s system didn’t involve symbols as far as most of his students were concerned. Students were expected to carry out meditations over an extended period of time in order to learn to experience different energies and, at Second Degree, students were introduced to the energies of “earth ki” and “heavenly ki”, which represent two fundamental aspects of our being. By practising ‘becoming’ earth ki and heavenly ki again and again – a powerful self-healing practice – these energies became so familiar to the students that they could ‘connect’ to the energy direct without having to use a prop like a symbol. Usui provided some Shinto mantras for some of his students to use to invoke the energies, but it was possible to move beyond these mantras with time, too. In my article ‘A Simple Way with Symbols’ I describe a meditation that you can use to ‘become’ these energies.

But again we see that to obtain the greatest benefit, to enhance self-healing, to free up our practice and move beyond symbols, takes time and commitment. A quick meditation carried out a few times is not enough: Usui Sensei’s students spent 6-9 months meditating on just one energy, and this was done because the principle of kaizen – plugging away and developing by small amounts again and again – led to deep changes over time.

Live your life according to Usui’s guiding principles.

Usui’s simple principles to live by offer perhaps the best example of the principle of kaizen in our Reiki practice: Usui Sensei’s precepts are a work in progress. They are not something that you read through and think “OK, got that”: the precepts are simple to read and understand but they are something that you drip-feed into your daily life over time, more and more over time.

We may begin by thinking about the precepts when we first come across them on a First Degree course: we reflect on how they might impinge on our lives, our thoughts and emotions, our behaviour; we might imagine situations from that past that might have proceeded better had we exemplified the precepts, and we might imagine situations in the future and see ourselves behaving in a way that demonstrates that we are living the precepts.

But this initial surge of interest in the precepts is not sufficient to produce the beneficial changes that the precepts can produce in our lives.

To fully embrace Usui Sensei’s spiritual principles takes regular reflection and ongoing thought. On an ongoing basis we consider our thoughts and our behaviour, we reflect on the principles and what they mean to us. If we do this then over time we will find that living the precepts becomes easier, that our behaviour is modifying itself, that there are more permanent changes in the way that we react and behave and relate to other people. But this will only happen if we ‘chip away’ at our current behaviour patterns, using the precepts as our guiding light. There are no quick fixes: the precepts are not just for First Degree. The precepts are the essence of our Reiki practice.

Now, we do not need to be perfect, we do not need to beat ourselves up for not applying each and every principle on all occasions, but by dedicating ourselves, and by forgiving ourselves, and by trying to do a little better each day than we did the day before, we transform ourselves.

That is the key to our kaizen of Reiki: dedication and commitment, patience and forgiveness, and openness to the source. Long term.

Mindfulness and compassion

In this article I want to talk about Mindfulness and Compassion, which I believe are two essential components of Reiki practice. Whether we are treating others, working on ourselves, empowering others or living our lives with Reiki, we should grow to embody those two states, the essence of the Reiki precepts.

Mindfulness

According to Usui Sensei’s surviving students, Mikao Usui introduced his students to the practice of mindfulness at First Degree level, and emphasised this more at Second Degree level. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th Edition), to be mindful is to take heed or care, to be conscious. Mindfulness or being mindful is being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself, fully aware. Moments are like a breath. Each breath is replaced by the next breath. You are there with no other purpose than being awake and aware of that moment.

So mindfulness is a state of living in the moment, of being relaxed, calm and fully engaged in what we are doing. Mindfulness is being fully aware of what is happening right now and giving ourselves completely to our task without distraction. By learning how to enjoy and be in the present moment we can find peace within ourselves.

Like precepts, mindfulness is largely associated with Buddhism and it is a meditative practice that is not reserved for special meditation sessions: it is a practice that you can embrace as part of your daily life and when carrying out routine and mundane tasks.

The best guide that I have found to the use of mindfulness as part of your daily life is the following book, written by Thich Nhat Hanh: “The Miracle of Mindfulness” and I recommend that all Reiki practitioners and teachers obtain a copy and practise being mindful during their daily activities.

I believe that Mikao Usui’s precepts are all about mindfulness, and that when we are exhorted by the precepts to “just for today” release anger and worry, we are being guided to exist as far as we can in a mindful state. Anger and worry are distractions, you see, and if we can exist in the moment by being mindful then we will not dwell on the past and beat ourselves up for things that did not go the way we wanted, and we will not dwell on the future, perhaps worrying about things that have not yet happened. We can learn to release our attachments to the past and the future and just “be” now, content and accepting in the moment, by learning to be mindful.

Compassion

The final precept, that of being “compassionate towards ourselves and others” is for me an exhortation to be gentle with ourselves, to be patient, to be light-hearted, to not take ourselves quite so seriously and above all to be forgiving – first of all of ourselves but also of others. By accepting and forgiving ourselves we start to release our anger and our worry, and move towards a state of contentment in the moment.

The original system was a spiritual path, a path to enlightenment, and the precepts were what Usui Sensei’s system was all about. These principles are a foundation for everything we do with Reiki: the states of mindfulness and compassion arise from following the precepts and from working with Reiki.

For example, how do we feel when we carry out a Reiki treatment? Treating someone with Reiki is a special, special gift. We feel a closeness, an intimacy, a merging with the recipient; we receive trust and we experience compassion. Ideally we should just be there in the moment, with the energy, with the recipient, with no expectations. We do not treat someone with the intention to resolve their health problem or eliminate their headache. We just merge with the energy and allow Reiki to do its work; we create a sacred space for healing to occur. If our mind wanders, as it may do, then we notice this and gently but firmly bring our attention back to the present and what we are doing. We become one with the energy as it flows through us, we become one with the recipient, and we experience that blissful contentment in the moment. When we treat we are mindful: we are an observer, not a participant.

Though some are taught that you can hold a conversation with someone as you treat, or watch television at the same time, this really will not lead to the best being given to the recipient. To be the most effective channel we can be, we need to be there with the energy, fully and gently engaged in our work, giving ourselves fully to the task without distraction.

Those same principles apply when working on ourselves, whether carrying out Hatsurei ho or self-treating. The state we should seek to achieve is that of being fully engaged in the endeavour, of being with the energy without distraction, merged, aware and simply existing in the moment, with a gentle feeling of forgiveness, love and compassion towards ourselves.

So both Mindfulness and Compassion are fundamental to our life with Reiki, fundamental to the Reiki precepts, to working on others and working on ourselves. Not surprisingly they are also an essential component of the transmission of Reiki to another person through carrying out Reiju empowerments. Reiju is the ‘connection ritual’ that Usui Sensei used, and taught to his surviving students. It is simple, elegant and powerful, free from the clutter and detail that surrounds most Western attunement styles. When we perform Reiju we have no expectations: we are there in the moment with the energy, following the prescribed movements. We are relaxed and fully engaged in what we are doing, aware of what is happening right now, and we give ourselves completely to our task without distraction. That is the essence of Reiju, the essence of treatments, the essence of the precepts, and the essence of our life with Reiki.

The Reiki Precepts

reiki precepts principles gokai

What are precepts?

Mikao Usui gave his students a series of ‘precepts’ to follow.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th Edition) defines a precept as (1) a command, a rule of conduct, and (2) a moral instruction, and they are an important part of Buddhist practice.

We know that Mikao Usui was a Tendai Buddhist, and so precepts would have been an important part of his spiritual life. Lay followers of Buddhism generally undertake to follow (at least one of) five precepts, which are given in the form of promises to oneself: “I will (try) to…”.

Here are the five Buddhist precepts:

To refrain from harming living creatures (killing).
To refrain from taking that which is not freely given (stealing).
To refrain from sexual misconduct.
To refrain from incorrect speech (lying, harsh language, slander, idle chit-chat).
To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness.

So precepts are a list of guidelines for living your life. They are not framed in terms of “thou shalt not…” as in the Judaeo-Christian tradition but rather are a set of ideals to work towards, recommendations about thought and behaviour that you should follow as much as you can.

Mikao Usui’s rules to live by

Everyone who has learned Reiki will have, or should have, seen the Reiki precepts – Mikao Usui’s ‘rules to live by’ – and they are available in a variety of different forms in different lineages. Perhaps we should start by reading the text of Usui Sensei’s version:

The secret of inviting happiness through many blessings
The spiritual medicine for all illness

For today only: Do not anger; Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your work
Be compassionate to yourself and others

Do gassho every morning and evening
Keep in your mind and recite

The founder, Usui Mikao

A Western set of Reiki precepts

There is actually some difference between the precepts that Mikao Usui was teaching and the precepts that are quoted commonly in the West. For example, some Western versions of the precepts include an extra item: “honour your parents, elders and teachers”.

This is not original and seems to have been added by Mrs Takata to make the “list of rules to live by” more acceptable to her (largely) Christian American audience.

Where did the Reiki precepts come from?

There has been some speculation about where Mikao Usui’s precepts come from.

It has been claimed that they originate in a book that was published in Usui’s time, and it has been claimed that they are based on the edicts of Mutsuhito, the Meiji Emperor.

Certainly it seems that many Tendai and Zen Buddhist teachers were passing on similar principles in Usui Sensei’s time.

But now we know that Usui’s precepts were his wording of an earlier set of precepts that have been traced back to the early 9th century, precepts that were used in a Tendai sect of Shugendo with which Usui Sensei was in contact. These precepts were a way of addressing aspects of the Buddhist eight-fold path in a simplified form, and they are the very ‘hub’ of the whole system.

The precepts were the baseline, the foundation of Usui Sensei’s teachings, and it was thought that individual could achieve as much spiritual development by following the precepts as could be achieved by carrying out all the energy exercises.

Negative affirmations?

Incidentally, you may find some commentators saying that negative affirmations are not a good idea: such things are said to be more effective when framed in positive terms.

What we have presented to us in the precepts is just a quirk of translation from Japanese to English: the precepts are actually a recommendation that we exist in the moment in a state where we are free from anger and worry, a ‘worry-free, anger-free’ state.

For me, Mikao Usui’s precepts represent both some of the beneficial effects that Reiki can produce in your life if you work with the energy regularly, and they represent a set of principles that we need to follow to enhance our journey of self-healing and self-development with Reiki.

Try my ‘releasing exercise’

My main purpose in writing this article is to introduce you to a way of working with the precepts in conjunction with the Reiki energy.

This is something that I have been experimenting with: a way of directly experiencing the effects of a precept in terms of energy flow.

I would like to suggest that you do the following, for a couple of minutes at a time, twice a day, for a month: Sit with your eyes closed and your hands resting in your lap, palms up. You are going to be releasing energy through your hands.

Stage One

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and your hands resting in your lap, palms up. Take a few long deep breaths and feel yourself becoming peaceful and relaxed. Your mind empties. Say to yourself “I now release all my anger…”; say this three times to yourself if you like. Allow energy to be released through your palms, and be still until the flow of energy subsides. This may take a little while, particularly the first time you try this exercise.

Stage Two

Now say to yourself “I now release all my worry…”; say this three times to yourself if you like. Again allow a flurry of energy to leave your hands and be still until it subsides. Again this may take a little while, particularly the first time you try this exercise.

Alternatively, try carrying out the releasing exercise in time with your breath. Breathe in gently, say to yourself “I now release all my anger…” and then breathe out, allowing your anger to flood out of you on the out breath. Gently breathe in, and repeat.

Over to you

Why not try my releasing exercise for a few days na dsee what difference it makes to you.

And post a message below to let me know how you got on.

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Picture Credit: César

Reiki Evolution National Gathering 2011

Taggart KingHi Guys,

Well, that was an amazing day! On saturday October 29th we held the first ever Reiki Evolution National Gathering at Regent’s College in Central London. 80 Reiki Evolution students came together for a day of learning, fun, friendship and energy work, some coming from as far as France, Spain and even New Zealand! It was a real honour for me to spend time with such a lovely group of Reiki people and the day all seemed to end far too quickly: I could have camped there all weekend!
Continue reading Reiki Evolution National Gathering 2011

Back to basics: Reiki First Degree

People end up on First Degree courses for many reasons and come from an amazing variety of backgrounds, all attending for their own personal reasons. Reiki courses in the UK present a whole variety of approaches, some “traditional” Western-style, some more Japanese in content, some wildly different and almost unrecognisable, some free and intuitive, others dogmatic and based on rules about what you should always do and not do. Reiki is taught in so many ways, and students will tend to imagine that the way that they were taught is the way that Reiki is taught and practised by most other Reiki people.

What I have tried to do in this article is to present a simple guide to the essence of First Degree: what it’s all about and what we should be doing and thinking about to get the most out of our experience of Reiki at this level. My words are addressed to anyone at First Degree level, or anyone who would like to review the essence of First Degree.

First Degree is all about connecting to the energy, learning to develop your sensitivity to the flow of energy, working on yourself to develop your ability as a channel and to enhance self-healing, and working on other people. There are many approaches to doing these things, and I wanted below to touch on each area and to dispel some myths that may have been passed on.

Connecting to the energy

On your Reiki course you will have received some attunements or some empowerments. Attunements are not standard rituals within the world of Reiki and take many forms, some simpler and some more complex. They have evolved and changed greatly during their journey from teacher to teacher in the West. There is no “right way” to carry out an attunement and the individual details of a ritual do not matter a great deal. They all work. Equally, there is no “correct” number of attunements that have to be carried out at First Degree level. The number four is quoted often as being the “correct” number but this has no basis in Reiki’s original form, and whether you receive one, two, three or four rituals on your course, that is fine.

On your course you may have received some “empowerments” rather than attunements, though these are less common. The word “empowerment”, or “Reiju empowerment”, refers to a connection ritual that has come to us from some Japanese sources, and is closer in essence to the empowerment that Mikao Usui conveyed to his students. Again, there is no correct number of empowerments that has to be carried out. One is enough but it is nice to do more.

What we experience when receiving an attunement or an empowerment will vary a lot. Some people have fireworks and bells and whistles and that’s nice for them; other people notice a lot less, very little, or even nothing, and that’s fine too. What we feel when we have an attunement is not a guide to how well it has worked for us. Attunements work, and sometimes we will have a strong experience, but it’s not compulsory! Whether we have noticed a lot, or very little, the attunement will have given us what we need.

Since in Mikao Usui’s system you would have received empowerments from him again and again, it would be nice if you could echo this practice by receiving further empowerments (or attunements) and perhaps these might be available at your teacher’s Reiki shares or get-togethers, if they hold them. But it is possible to receive distant Reiju empowerments and various teachers make them freely available as a regular ‘broadcast’. This is not essential, and your connection to Reiki once given does not fizzle out, but it would be a beneficial practice if you could receive regular empowerments from someone.

Developing your Sensitivity to the energy

People’s experience of energy when they first start working with Reiki can vary. Some people notice more than others, particularly in the early stages, and if we perhaps notice less going on in our hands when compared with another student on the course we can become disillusioned to an extent: that little voice in your head says “I know Reiki works for everyone… but it’s not going to work for me. I knew it wasn’t going to work for me”. Well if this describes your situation then I can say to you that Reiki will work for you, and is working for you, and the vast majority of Reiki people can feel the flow of energy through them in some way, though your particular ‘style’ of sensing the energy may not involve the more usual heat, fizzing, tingling, pulsing etc. that many people experience. There are a few Reiki Master/Teachers out there who feel absolutely nothing in their hands, but this is not common, and Reiki is still working for them.

Sensitivity to the flow of energy develops over time, with practice. Some people are lucky enough to be able to feel quite a lot in their hands and in their bodies to begin with, but others have to be patient, trust that Reiki is working for them, and perhaps focus more on the feedback that they receive from the people that they treat, rather than what they feel – or don’t feel – in their hands.

It would be worthwhile if all First Degree students spent some time regularly practising feeling energy: between your hands, around your cat or dog or your pot plant or a tree, around someone else’s head and shoulders, over someone’s supine body, noticing any differences in the sensation in your hands as you move your hands from one place to another. Don’t expect to experience a particular thing or a particular intensity of feeling. Be neutral and simply notice what experience you have and how that experience might change from one area to another.

On some First Degree courses this process will be taught as “scanning”, where you hover your hands over the recipient’s body, drift your hands from one place to another, and notice any areas which are drawing more energy. This can provide some useful information in terms of suggesting additional or alternative hand-positions to use when you treat, and can suggest areas where you are going to spend longer when you treat.

Working on yourself

It is vital that after going on a First Degree course you establish a regular routine of working on yourself in order to develop your fledgling ability as a channel and to obtain the benefits that Reiki can provide in terms of balancing your life and self-healing. Most people decide to learn Reiki because they are looking for some personal benefits as well as looking to help other people, and the way to get the most out of the Reiki system is to work on yourself regularly.

On your First Degree course you will have been taught a self-treatment method, perhaps a Japanese-style meditation but more likely the Western “hands-on” self-treatment method. You will most likely have been given a set of hand-positions to use, but please remember that these positions are not set in stone and, particularly if some of the hand positions are quite uncomfortable to use in practice, you will develop your own style. It is fine to change the hand positions based on what feels right from one self-treatment to another, and you should do what feels appropriate. There is no “correct” set of positions that you have to use, and each hand-position does not have to be held for a particular period of time. Treat for however long you have time for, and however long feels right for each hand-position you decide to use.

Many people are taught that they have to do a “21 day self-treat”, and some people have the impression that they then do not need to self-treat any more. The “21 day” period has no real basis, and I can say that you ought to be thinking in terms of working on yourself long-term. To gain the greatest benefits from this wonderful system you need to persevere and make working with energy a permanent feature of your life with Reiki, a basic background practice, the effects of which will build up cumulatively as you continue to work with the energy.

You may have been taught a series of energy exercises and meditations called “Hatsurei ho” which comes from Japanese Reiki, and I can commend this practice to you. It is a wonderful way of grounding, balancing, and enhancing you ability as a channel, and should be a regular part of your Reiki routine.

Treating other people

First Degree is also about starting to work on other people, a process which also benefits the giver, so plus points all round really! A few students may have been taught not to treat others at First Degree, or for a particular prescribed period, but this is an unnecessary restriction and Reiki can be shared with other people straight away.

There are many different approaches to treating others, and we should not get bogged down with too many rules and regulations about how we ‘must’ proceed. Reiki can be approached in quite a regimented way in some lineages, and students may worry that if they are not remembering all the stages that they ‘have’ to carry out then they will not be carrying out the treatment properly. This is an unnecessary worry because treating other people is simple.

So here is a simple approach that you can use: close your eyes, maybe put your hands in the prayer position, and take a few long deep breaths to calm you and still your mind. You should have in mind that the energy you will channel should be for the highest good of the recipient, but there is no particular form of words that you need to use when commencing your treatment. Now we are going to focus your attention on connecting to the energy. Imagine that energy is flooding down to you from above, flooding through your crown, through the centre of your body, down to your Dantien (an energy centre two fingerbreadths below your tummy button and 1/3rd of the way into your body). Imagine the energy building up and intensifying there. You are filling with energy. Now direct your attention towards the recipient and imagine that you are merging with them, becoming one with them. Feel compassion and enjoy the moment.

You may now begin your treatment, and maybe it would be nice to rest your hands on their shoulders for a while, to connect to them and to get the energy flowing. What hand positions you use will vary depending on what you were taught – there are many variations – and they are all variations on a theme, a way of firing the energy from lots of different directions to give it the best chance of getting to where it needs to go. Hand-positions for treating others are not set in stone and do not have to be followed slavishly. They are just there as a set of guidelines to follow to build your confidence when treating others, and with time and practice you will start to leave behind these basic instructions and gear any treatment towards the needs of the recipient on that occasion, perhaps based on what you picked up when you were ‘scanning’ and perhaps based on intuitive impressions, where you feel drawn to a particular area of the body. Don’t try and work out ‘why’ you have felt drawn to a particular area of the body: just accept your impression and go with it.

Reiki is basically a hands-on treatment method, though for reasons of comfort and propriety you will choose to hover your hands over the recipient in some areas rather than resting on the body. I do not plaster my hands over the recipient’s face or throat, for example, because I think that this is uncomfortable and unsettling for the person you are working on.

You do not have to hover your hands for every hand position, as some people are taught, and equally you do not have to keep at least one hand in physical contact with the recipient’s body at all times, for fear of ‘losing’ your connection: your connection to the recipient is a state of mind, and where your hands are is irrelevant!

As you treat, you should aim to feel yourself merging with the energy, becoming one with the energy, to imagine yourself disappearing into the energy, and this can give you a quite blissful experience. Your mind may wander, particularly in the early stages of your Reiki practice, but you do not need to worry about this. If you notice thoughts intruding, pay them no attention; let them drift on like clouds. If you make a big effort to try and get rid of your thoughts then you will have in your head the original thoughts and then all the new thoughts about getting rid of the first lot of thoughts… you have made things worse! Just bring your attention gently back to the recipient, to the energy, feel yourself disappearing into the energy, merging with the recipient, and let the energy flow; your treatment can become a wonderful meditation.

It is not acceptable to chat to other people while giving a Reiki treatment. If you want to be an effective channel for the energy then you need to direct your attention to the work at hand and make sure you are not unduly distracted. For this reason, conversation between yourself and the recipient should be restricted. Reiki works best of you are still and focused, merging with the energy, in a gentle meditative state. Developing this state takes practice and you can’t do it properly if you are chatting.

You do not need to stay for a particular set amount of time for each hand position. Though it would be probably be best to stay for a few minutes in each position, if in a particular hand position you feel a lot of energy coming through your hands then you can stay in that position for longer – sometimes a lot longer – until the sensation subsides and you can then move onto the next area. Your hands can guide you. Work from the head and shoulders, down the length of the body, and it is nice to finish with the ankles. Many people are taught to smooth down the energy field at the end of a session, and that is a nice thing to do, but remember that you do not have to follow any rituals slavishly, particularly in terms of any sort of ‘closing’ ritual; you do not need to touch the ground, you do not need to say a particular set of words, you do not need to visualise anything in particular, and you do not need to make any ‘set’ movements of your hands or body.

The Reiki Precepts

On your First Degree course you will have been introduced to the Reiki Precepts, or Reiki Principles, Mikao Usui’s “rules to live by’”. Just in case you have been given a slightly distorted version of the precepts, here is a more accurate translation:

The secret of inviting happiness through many blessings
The spiritual medicine for all illness
For today only: Do not anger; Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your work
Be compassionate to yourself and others

Do gassho every morning and evening
Keep in your mind and recite

The founder, Usui Mikao

NOTE
The phrase “Be honest in your work” really means “be honest in your dealings with other people”.

Any reference to ‘honouring your elders, parents and teachers’ is a later addition to the list, and is not what Mikao Usui taught.

The precepts were the hub of the whole system, and it is said that as much spiritual development can come through following the precepts in your daily life as would come from any energy work, so they are important. If we can try to focus on living in the moment, not forever dwelling on the past or worrying about the future (fear is a distraction), if we can remind ourselves of the many blessings we have in our lives, if we can forgive ourselves for not being perfect and if we can see things from another’s point of view, if we can be compassionate towards ourselves as well as others, then we have gone a long way towards achieving a liberating sense of serenity and contentment. This is not something to be achieved overnight, of course: it is a work-in-progress.

Finally

Reiki has the potential to make an amazing, positive difference to you and the people around you. Remember that Reiki is simplicity itself, and by taking some steps to work on yourself regularly, and share Reiki with the people close to you, you are embarking on a very special journey.

How far you travel on that journey is governed by how many steps you take.

The 10 Rules of Reiki


In this article I thought I would set down ten things that you can do – ten principles to take account of – to benefit your practice of Reiki. This is not something that has come from Japan, or from early practitioners of Reiki: it is just something that I have put together myself. I hope that this article will be of interest to people at all Reiki levels.

(1) Reiki is all about you

Although Reiki is sometimes presented in the West as a sort of complementary therapy, a hands-on treatment technique, or a form of Japanese spiritual healing, that is not what Reiki is all about. If your practice of Reiki consists mainly of treating other people then you are missing the point because Reiki is all about you! Reiki is a personal practice for your self-healing and your spiritual and self-development. You are the priority here.

In Usui’s time the treatment of others was not focused upon or emphasised, in fact treatments were a bit of a distraction from the main thrust of his teachings, which Usui Sensei referred to as a “system to achieve personal perfection”. Right from the start, the system was about personal development, not working on others.

So to gain the greatest benefits for yourself through Reiki, you need to establish a decent routine of working on yourself in whatever way that you were taught. If you were taught Western-style then do your hands-on self-treatment regularly, if you know about Japanese-style Reiki then practise your Hatsurei ho; if you know about Usui Sensei’s original system then add his self-treatment meditation to your regular Hatsurei.

I know that some people seem to have the view that working on yourself is in some way ‘selfish’, but if you cannot look after yourself properly then how can you help other people? By working on yourself regularly you make yourself a better channel and more effective at what you do in terms of treatments, so there are plus points all round for those who make themselves their Reiki priority.

(2) Base your practice on the precepts

Usui Sensei established a simple spiritual system that was rooted in his precepts, his ‘rules to live by’. Rather than being an interesting set of instructions to read on a course and put to one side, Usui’s precepts are at the very heart of his system, and it was said that as much spiritual development could come through following the precepts as would come through doing any of the energy work. If we are consider ourselves as ‘practising Reiki’ then we will follow the precepts.

So we need to think deeply about the precepts and how they affect our lives. We need to consider each precept in turn and reflect on how that precept might impinge upon and guide our thoughts and behaviour and relationships and priorities. And we need to do this regularly, using the precepts as an ongoing source of guidance, the effects of which will make a real difference to us, and the people around us, over time.

The precepts are something that you we drip-feed into our lives, something that we refer to regularly and reflect on regularly, for our own benefit and for the benefit of the people with whom we come into contact.

(3) Practise mindfulness

Although not referred to on most Reiki courses, the practise of mindfulness was as important part of Usui Sensei’s system as were the precepts, and in fact mindfulness is hidden in the precepts! Mindfulness is a form of meditation that one can perform at any time, when carrying out ordinary, mundane activities like walking somewhere or washing dishes or sipping tea, and involves becoming consciously and fully aware of your thoughts and actions in the present moment, non-judgmentally, existing in the moment.

When you are living ‘in the moment’, fully engaged in what you are doing, fully aware of the present moment, then you are existing in a state where there is no anger and there is no worry. By not dwelling on the past or speculating about the future, by embracing fully the present moment, you are living the precepts, and mindfulness brings with it humility, honesty, compassion and forgiveness.

So mindfulness is a way of experiencing Mikao Usui’s spiritual principles.

(4) Work on yourself daily

Reiki isn’t something that you can pick up once in a while, play around with for a bit, and then drop again… not if you are looking to receive the many benefits that are available from the system, anyway. If you are looking for consistent benefits then you need a consistent practice. The precepts say “just for today”, and that is a good starting point: just do something with Reiki today. You can manage that. It doesn’t have to be hours and hour’s worth. Just do something for 10 minutes: you have ten minutes. Do something for 20 minutes. And if you don’t have ten minutes, get up 10 minutes earlier: problem solved.

Don’t worry about what you will do tomorrow: just focus on today.

When tomorrow comes, do the same. Just do something with Reiki, even for ten minutes. Don’t worry about tomorrow: just do something today.

(5) Commitment is the key

There are spectacular benefits to be enjoyed through practising Reiki, and all you need to do is to work with the energy consistently, focus on the precepts and practise mindfulness. The benefits build up cumulatively, you see, and sporadic and occasional practice isn’t enough if you want the very best out of your Reiki. You will get out of the system what you are prepared to put into it, so Reiki deserves a little of your time each day. You need to plug away at a few simple things, a few simple exercises or routines, and make them a regular part of your day, as regular a part of your routine as brushing your teeth or your hair.

And once you have established a regular habit of working on yourself with Reiki then you will find that it is difficult to stop: you will find that you really miss your hatsurei session or your self-treatment if you miss a day. That is the sort of position you are looking to get yourself into and by committing yourself to working with Reiki each day, even if it is a little inconvenient, you will reach that point.

(6) Don’t try too hard

While we do need to commit ourselves and establish a decent routine of working on ourselves in order to obtain the many benefits that are available to us through Reiki, we should at the same time make sure that we do not try too hard, work for too long, or take our practice too seriously. Reiki is best enjoyed in a gentle, laid-back and light-hearted fashion rather than in a fists-clenched, furrowed-brow, tense, ‘ready for a lot of hard work’ sort of way. We do not force Reiki and we do not force a fierce practice on ourselves.

Reiki is rather like a flowing stream of water, and we are a rough rock sitting in that stream. The rock will become smooth, of course, but this will be achieved gently, through having the water flow consistently, and this will be done in its own time.

We might read about some of the experiences that other Reiki people might have when working on themselves, or receiving attunements/empowerments, or treating others (seeing colours, feeling particular things) and we may not notice all these things ourselves; we may notice very little. We may then think that if only we tried a bit harder then we would notice these things and then we would then be ‘doing it properly’.

But trying hard and trying to force things is the best way there is to put a great big block on your progress. You will progress fastest when you give up trying and just be. Stand aside (metaphorically), do the exercises, treat people, and don’t think or worry about what you do or do not experience. Be a bystander, be neutral and empty, have no expectations. That is the best approach, the approach that will lead you to progress at the right speed for you.

(7) You don’t need to be perfect

Along with the need to be relaxed and laid-back and light-hearted about your practice, you should also make sure that you are not beating yourself up for not being perfect! You do not have to be perfect in order to obtain benefits for yourself through Reiki, or to treat other people successfully. No-one else is perfect, so you don’t have to be either.

So perhaps your mind wanders when you do a treatment or work on yourself. So what? This happens to everybody else. Don’t worry about it (there is something in the precepts about worrying). It you make a big thing about it and try through ‘force of will’ to have an empty mind, you have just made things worse: now you have two lots of thoughts… the first thoughts and then all the new thoughts about getting rid of the first lot of thoughts! Don’t worry. Pay the thoughts no attention. Let them go. Bring your attention gently back to what you were doing. Feel the energy flowing through you; imagine yourself merging with the person on the treatment table. Over time your mind will settle, and you’ll spend more of your time in a nice empty meditative state, but thoughts may well intrude again, and some days will probably be better than others. That’s ok. You’re human. It will sort itself out with time.

(8) Don’t keep trying to puzzle out ‘why’

To get the best out of your Reiki I recommend that you don’t spend too much time trying to puzzle out why you are – or are not – experiencing a particular thing. Don’t keep trying to work out what a particular colour that you or the recipient saw during a treatment means, or ponder the significance of a colour that you saw when self-treating. Don’t keep wondering what a particular sensation in your hand means or why you felt a lot of energy flowing into a particular area of someone’s body, or why you didn’t feel any energy flowing into a particular place. It doesn’t matter.

Your head can really mess up your experience of Reiki if you keep on frantically thinking about, analysing and questioning things. Don’t think! Just be. Empty your mind, merge with the energy, if you are treating someone then merge with the recipient, and let it happen. Follow the flow of energy when you are treating, yes, and allow your hands to stay for longer in areas where more energy is coming through, but don’t start frantically trying to puzzle out what is going on: Reiki works on lots of levels and you won’t know what’s happening so you may as well give up thinking about it and let go: enjoy the process, enjoy your treatments and give up the mental effort! It makes it so much easier that way!

(9) Trust your intuition

Along with not questioning everything that you feel or don’t feel, you should also not keep on doubting the things that you are feeling and noticing. If you feel something, you feel it: you are not making it up. You cannot make yourself feel something.

So if you notice that energy is flowing into you more strongly in a particular area when you are self-treating, accept that and go with it, self-treating for longer there than in other positions. The same applies when treating someone else: if you feel that there is a ‘hot spot’ or ‘fizzy area’ then accept the sensations and treat for longer there. You are not making it up.

Neither are you making it up if you feel strangely drawn to a particular area of the body. You are intuitive and you can work intuitively straight away. All you need to do is to stop second-guessing and doubting yourself, be still, and simply accept what comes to you. It doesn’t need to make sense. Don’t try and puzzle it out: just accept it and treat in the way that feels appropriate.

(10) Ignore silly rules and restrictions

While we are making sure that we are not cluttering our practice with endless thoughts, questions and doubts, we should also thrown out as unnecessary the various rules, regulations and restrictions that we may have been taught. Reiki does not need to be controlled, blunted and restricted by man-made rules that have no basis. Reiki is safe and Reiki is simple, and simple approaches are usually the most effective.

So we do not have to slavishly follow a prescribed set of hand positions when treating ourselves or other people and we do not need to say a set form of words for our Reiki to work. We do not need to follow ritualised sets of hand and body movements in a particular sequence to be able to treat someone and we do not need to refrain from treating people with various medical conditions. Reiki is safe and Reiki is adaptable. It allows many different ways of working that are all valid. There is no ‘one’ way that Reiki has to be used, and we should ignore admonitions that we should ‘always’, or ‘never’, do a particular thing.

So, to get the most out of your Reiki, I recommend that you make a commitment to yourself to work on yourself each day as your top priority, but not beating yourself up if you miss the occasional day. Use Hatsurei ho and self-treat, focus on the precepts and drip-feed mindfulness into more and more of your daily activities. Don’t try too hard though: be light-hearted and forgiving towards yourself because you don’t have to be perfect. Try not to clutter your mind with lots of thoughts and doubts and questions: just be neutral, have no expectations, be empty and content. And make sure you keep it simple.

Forgiving

We all have the ability to forgive; however, many people hold grudges or find it very hard to forgive others and themselves. In some circumstances this is quite understandable, but, no matter what the circumstances, one must remember that if you haven’t forgiven someone it isn’t them that suffers but you.

 It is you that the anger tears away at and tries to pull apart. The person who has done wrong to you doesn’t have to live with the same feelings and hatred that you are holding, close to your chest and in your energy system.

The point of being unforgiving is valid in our lives so that we do not repeatedly become hurt by others, however, by forgiving someone, you don’t have to invite them back into your lives and have conversation and tea! The forgiveness I am talking about is letting go of the wrongs that have occurred to you and accepting what life has given you. Sometimes we can be so obsessed with what has been taken away that we dwell on what has been stolen from us instead of focusing on what has been given to us and the happiness that it has bought.

If we are consumed with unforgiving thoughts and actions it will be very hard to put ourselves in the mind set that is needed for Reiki. A calm, relaxed attitude, living in the now.

___________________________________________

Passage taken from ‘The Handbook of Equine Reiki’ by Sarah Berrisford, Epona Equine Reiki Centre.

www.epona-equine-reiki.co.uk

When we need to adapt…

reiki 1 training course first degree classes

Sometimes our bodies simply say NO! Enough is enough.  If we don’t listen to what our higher self is trying to tell us then it will act and ensure we have to listen!  So we’ve two choices.  We can bemoan the fact that we are laid up incapable and worry and beat ourselves up for what we may see as our own inadequacies. We can gnash our teeth and wail about the things we are not getting done. We can wallow in self pity and become angry and frustrated but what would all these emotions  achieve exactly?  Would they make ourselves feel better, or simply produce a further dip in our spirits?

We could, on the other hand, surmise that whilst there may not be an apparent reason for our circumstances, nonetheless there is a reason and we can choose to go with the flow instead of fighting against it.

I’d like to share this little story with you, though not I hasten to add for a sympathy vote! Two days ago I was lamenting how little time I had to accomplish everything that needed doing.  My work is at its busiest (not that I’m complaining), the kids need running around here, there and everywhere, paperwork is piling up, household chores have had to be put on a back burner, my studies aren’t getting the attention I feel they need and my weekends are filled with ‘duties’ when surely my time I felt, could be better spent elsewhere. I did start to wonder who was actually in control here,  if it’s not me, then who is?

Yesterday, we travelled twenty miles in one direction for an appointment, turned around and travelled sixty miles in the opposite direction for another commitment  and inbetween all this had various stops to make to fit in other tasks. That morning my lower back started to niggle away at me but guess what? There’s simply no time for that nonsense, I thought, so I ignored it and carried on. Gradually the pain worsened, yet still I smiled and shrugged it off. I laughed at the way I was beginning to walk, cracked ‘old age’ jokes and ignored what my body was trying to tell me.  That was until 4.30am Sunday morning when my back went into spasm and seized up completely!   I couldn’t even writhe around in agony.  I wish I could end my tale by saying I channelled Reiki and lo and behold my back was cured.  The pain, however, was all encompassing and even though I made a squeak for help, I knew deep down there was a lesson here I needed to learn.  Would that lesson be learned if I instantaneously got the pain relief I needed?  Sadly, I think not.

So yesterday I was literally helpless but I still had a choice.  I could watch the dross on the television or I could connect with my higher self, pin back my ears and listen.  I could give my mind and body the attention it has been demanding.  I could work with the beautiful healing energies of Reiki, I could meditate on self healing, I could practise mindfulness and I could use the five Reiki Precepts as they should be used.  And so I did.  Whatever life throws at you, the precepts are a comforting guideline that we can adapt to our present circumstances.  For me,  in the here and now,  just for today…

I will not anger… I will accept that I need to rest and recuperate.

I will not worry….  about all the things that were planned for today, the places I needed to be, the things that simply had to be done because that will not alter my position.

I will be humble… I will accept that there are things I cannot do for myself today; that I have to rely on my family to do things for me.  So just for today I release the control freak as she cannot do anything better than anyone else 😉

Today I will be honest in my work. I will admit my current capabilities and not take on too much, or actually anything at all, I will accept I can do no other.

Today I will be compassionate to myself, as well as others. I will listen to my body and I will allow it to heal.   I will not beat myself up that I chose to ignore the warning signs, I have learned by my mistake!

In future I will not ignore my own needs and understand that if I do, I do so at my own peril.  Can you say the same?   It may be said that hindsight is a wonderful thing, I think a little foresight would serve us better ! 🙂

Reiki Blessings to you all,

Ann xx


yorkshire reiki courseAnn Halstead is one of the Reiki Evolution team of teachers offering Reiki training near the beautiful Summer Wine country in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.  Ann and her husband Jonathan also offer psychic development workshops and spiritual counselling.

Ann’s website can be found here:  www.holistic-wellbeing.co.uk

Just For Today, I Am Free From Worry…

reiki precepts principles gokai

Some years ago, I attended a Reiki gathering at West Wittering, Sussex………… There I met many other Reiki practitioners and am still in touch with Diane  Thompson from Reiki Evolution all these years later……

One of the guest speakers was a Reiki Master from the Caribbean………… tall, slim, very energetic and with a smile that lit up the room……….

He spoke for an hour on one precept:  “Just for today I am free from worry”…..

“What is worry”?   He asked us to define this…… several hands were extended nervously as three or four people tried to do this………..he thanked them all graciously and then added his own considered definition:

“Worry”, he said, “is an unnecessary expenditure of energy over a situation we have no control over”…………… He repeated this slowly………..

“Take an example” he said…………. “If you have carefully done a pile of washing, put it all on the line outside to dry, and then you have gone off to work.   What happens if it starts to rain while you are 30 miles away?  Do you sit at your desk and worry about it?  Is there any point?  Does anything change?   So you see my friends, worrying about it does not bring your washing in!  However, if you have a kindly neighbour who you can telephone, you might be able to redeem the situation……”

This is what happens in our lives – a problem arises and usually, we worry about it and get nowhere.   Instead, if we can send Reiki to a family member in hospital instead of worrying about it,  that would be more productive, and beneficial.

So, stop and think whether you can do something about a situation (sending Reiki, for example) before expending your energy unnecessarily……….

Each time I read the Five Precepts, I am humbled by their profound simplicity and relevance in our lives today……..

How can anyone have worries when there is delicious ice cream to be had at Buckingham Palace!


hertfordshire reiki coursesHannah Shine is one of Taggart’s Reiki Evolution team of teachers, based in Essex/Hertfordshire.   She is also a multi therapist, practising from her home at Hatfield Heath.   Her Reiki courses are run from her beautiful summer house in her relaxing garden. Her therapies include homoeopathy, reflexology, Bowen technique, head massage, body massage, kinesiology, EFT and many others.  She is currently doing a cognitive hypnotherapy course at the Quest Institute.

 

 

 

 

Intention in Reiki work

do reiki attunements work

It never fails to inspire me how this word *intention* can be so subtle, yet so powerful.

Apparently, in the non-physical realms, (for use of a better word), as we think , we are there, as we intend, it happens etc. etc………………

I have worked with the Universal energies for many years and I can still be absolutely amazed at how powerful our intentions can be.

It is us who make it complicated and complex.

At times sometimes we can feel very much on our own,  especially if you are like myself, and don’t experience any whistles and bells  with angels floating around the room!

Initially it is wonderful to get proof when we first start to work with Reiki, but like most things, it balances out and starts to calm down. The *honeymoon phase* may be over for a while, but rest assured, it will return when you are least expecting it.

This is what I love about channelling this energy, it surprises us time and time again.

We don’t always get what we want though. It can manifest in many different guises, and that is why it is very helpful to be open, to be alert and to surrender to what the energy is presenting to us.

Live the 5 Reiki Precepts. Be mindful. It is all happening NOW1

Be childlike and trusting and put no conditions on anything!

When something does manifest, for heavens sake *trust* what you are being shown or given. Your intuition is never wrong. It is the language of the Soul basically!

Sometimes we think it is wishful thinking, we are imagining things, or it’s my mind playing tricks.

Our Western chattering minds can tell us all sorts of untruths about ourselves, that we are not developed enough, that we cannot sense anything, and that everyone else is getting something except little old me!!!

Getting our heads out of the way for a start is a good thing, asking Reik to assist us to be more open and trusting helps.

You know, we are Light Beings having a human experience while in body. So why, as a Spiritual Being can’t you believe in yourselves? You come from Light and you will go back to Light.

{You have just forgotten this temporarily}

You are part of the whole Universal Cosmos. And it is awesome, is it not? You are Reiki, (and Reiki is just a word which came up later in Usui’s time on earth)  but now you know this *consciously* due to the courses we offer at Reiki-Evolution.

O.K. I have went off track and twittered on a bit,  and I want to keep my message simple and uncomplicated.

Reiki is meant to enjoyed, not endured!

My students are very precious lovely Souls, who yearn for deeper and further knowledge, and I always talk a lot about Intention at the courses I host.

What I put out, comes back to me. I am very much aware of these Universal Laws, therefore it is important to keep our thinking as kind and loving as we can. Example if we put out aggression, if we are judgemental of others etc, then that’s what we’ll come up against.

Intolerant and unkind people! Usually with unbalanced egos!

But yes, they are learning too and have a right to be here

We are all playing out a drama prior to an agreement we made at some point!.

For some it is challenging and painful, while others seem to skate through life. Who said life would be fair anyway? We create our experiences, consciously or unconsciously.

 

 

A number of years ago, I had a student who completed all of her Reiki training with myself. This lady was paralysed from the waist down, due to a major road accident years before.

She gets around very capably in her *jet set buggy* and has the most beautiful and positive attitude to life. Nothing is a problem she can’t overcome. She has walked the road of the *suffering* so to speak, and life’s challenges will not hold her back from what she has to do.

She runs Reiki courses on a regular basis.

Now, remembering that this lady cannot stand, has no physical power from the waist down, manages to transmit the most powerful Western Reiki attunements at her Master classes, purely by *Intention*

She also transmits the Reiju Empowerments very beautifully, while sitting in her chair, all by *Intention* (And Usui Sensei did this also!) Without any rituals. All pure Intention!!!

I have received from her and have experienced her transmissions, and have been witness to the uplifting and wonderful energies when she is working.

This is *Intention* at work. She believes, *no she knows who she is* . A Lightworker!, following her inner guidance.

And can I say that this Soul could teach us all about *humility*

She works quietly and powerfully.

 

Another example I would like to share with you is about a student of mine who came along to do her Reiki Two with me a few months ago.

In the afternoon when we were going through the level 2 techniques etc, I was explaining to  her the *many hands* method.

She brought in her ethereal hands and was being gently guided by the energies. She then asked me if it was O.K. to direct some of these energy hands to *her own back* which was painful and uncomfortable. I noticed that she had been stooping a bit.

“Well, why not, I said, “we are all working as one, we are one, we are connected together as one energy, yes bring some of these hands around to your own back, and intend that the Reiki energy flows into your own back.

(I was very tempted to put my own hands on her back, but wanted to see what would happen)

Lo and behold, after a few moments she started to feel a warmth coming in, like a soft soothing balm being applied to the affected area, just being in the moment and experiencing this was a very powerful revelation for her and the other students.

Yes, we are all one!

 

This is the power of *Intention*

No doubting, just trusting and being open to what is. It. may not always be what we would expect, but Reiki only works for the greater good of all concerned.

I wish each of you a magical and transforming Reiki journey.

May your path be strewn with opportunity and growth, and of course much joy!

Like the Angels, lets take ourselves *lightly*

 

Warm Wishes

Margaret  Craig


glasgow reiki course scotlandMargaret Craig is one of the Reiki-Evolution team of teachers offering Reiki training at all levels in and around Glasgow and beyond since 2001.

Margaret has a nursing background which she discontinued a number of years ago. She is trained in many of the Complementary Therapies which she also practices. Hypnotherapy and Past Life Regression work also keep Margaret very busy in her Holistic practice.

Glasgow Reiki courses

Being Compassionate to Yourself…

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Whilst teaching Reiki First Degree, one of the subjects I love discussing is Mikao Usui’s Precepts.  For all intents and purposes there are five fairly simple rules that we Reiki folk attempt to live by but I have to confess, in the western world, it isn’t always easy to rise above our frustrations and remain calm or unconcerned about the challenging situations we may find ourselves in.  One precept that I find always leads to an interesting conversation is:

Just for today…

Be compassionate towards yourself and others.

Sounds such a simple precept doesn’t it?  Or does it?  The general consensus of opinion is that we seem to find it easy to show compassion towards others but not to ourselves! Why is that? Why do we find it so difficult?  Healers are compassionate people by nature; isn’t that what draws us to Reiki along with the desire to help others?  Yet even the most compassionate amongst us can still find it difficult to show the same kindness to themselves as they would to others.   Why is it when we are emotionally wounded, or when we’ve made a mistake (we are human after all!), we find it so difficult to give ourselves a pep talk or words of reassurance?  Would we treat our friends and loved ones with such negativity? Is it really far easier to punish ourselves than to treat ourselves with kindness and understanding?  Sadly, many people I speak with seem to agree that it is.

In Reiki we begin to learn and understand the power of intent. We know we can send healing energies across the globe, into infinity and beyond if we so wish.  Reiki will penetrate even the strongest of walls.  We are beginning to discover through quantum physics that thought is an incredibly powerful process which can produce astonishing results on the body and as such if we choose to continue to be negative towards ourselves on a frequent basis, then what effect are we having on our health?

To give you an example, the Japanese scientist Dr Emoto Masaru has conducted many experiments with water.  He subjected some samples of water from various sources to loving words and thoughts.  Other sample were subjected to negative thoughts and words of  hostility.  The water  from each of the samples was then frozen and the crystals they formed were photographed.  Amazingly, the water that was treated with love and kindness formed spectacularly beautiful ice crystals and the water that was treated with cruelty produced deformed and irregular crystals.   So here’s the thing and I’ll leave you with this thought:

Water constitutes approximately three quarters of the human body.  If water is so dramatically affected by positive and negative thoughts, just what exactly are we doing to the health of our bodies, minds and subsequently our souls if we struggle to treat ourselves with compassion? 

So….. just for today:  be compassionate towards yourself and others.

Much love to you all,

Ann x

yorkshire reiki courseAnn Halstead is one of the Reiki Evolution team of teachers offering Reiki training near the beautiful Summer Wine country in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.  Ann and her husband Jonathan also offer psychic development workshops and spiritual counselling.

Ann’s website can be found here:  www.holistic-wellbeing.co.uk

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

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