Just for Today - Reiki ~ no hand waving, hand positions, chanting, symbols, crystals, angels, guides or other additions.

Magnolia Stellata - A traditional Japanese symbol of gentleness

​I wanted to share a few thoughts that will hopefully be meaningful and helpful to you in your Reiki practice if you're a student, or perhaps inspire you to learn more about Reiki. 

A common misconception of Reiki is that it is a practice of ‘doing’ healing to another, or from a receiver or student’s perspective, being ‘done to’ – especially as it’s often thought about these days. Many authors and Reiki practitioners have stated that Mikao Usui did not intend the practice to be a healing practice (to be done to others) but a practice that helps us connect with the Reiki energy that already exists within us. One of the first things we learn is that when translated the Japanese word Reiki means 'universal life force' and that:

‘everything in the Universe contains Reiki’ and

‘the Universe is me and I am the Universe’. 

Despite appearing to be so incredibly simple there are lots of layers for us to discover and understand in Mikao’s teachings and we can be easily overwhelmed with all of those layers – we are all forever students. When we become overwhelmed it's good to come back to basics and remember that some of the most important Reiki teachings are the meditation practices which help us connect with our own spiritual presence and inner essence, and to discover that it has always been there. This is often described as ‘forgetting the self’ – the thoughts, beliefs, confusions, expectations, feelings, and 'noise' that can get in the way of being ‘in’ this moment and/or 'doing Reiki'.

The meditations, including each Reiki attunement/initiation or the Teacher/Master, do not ‘give’ us anything but rather help us to forget the ‘self’ and remember that we are Reiki now, in this moment. When we ‘forget the self’ and connect with our own inner Reiki we then 'become' Reiki. Our presence simply is Reiki and that can be a conduit for others to connect with their own inner Reiki. No hand waving, hand positions, chanting, symbols, crystals, angels, guides or other noise/additions (although these can become helpful tools in a student’s practice they are not Reiki). There is nowhere else to be and nothing else to do or achieve - not becoming 'spiritual'  or a 'spiritual master', no bliss, awakening, ascension. Just You. Forgetting the self and connecting with your own inner Reiki is what creates the healing space.

Reiki then is a practice of ‘forgetting the self’ (dropping it all) - first and foremost. It takes lots of practice, commitment, self reflection and honesty.

If with all the noise in the world out there recently you've forgotten about your Self and the meditations perhaps it's a good time for a little refresher/re-read of your manual and taking some time to sit with Reiki will help.  

When life and times are confusing or we feel stuck we Reiki students have the gift of Reiki practices and meditation to help us ‘forget the self’ (the fears, confusions, judgements, difficult feelings) and simply become Reiki.

Just for today ❤️

Adele ❤️