We are Reiki Practitioners, Masters and Teachers but most of all we are Human.
Reiki and how this is taught and practiced has changed over the last decade. I remember when I trained we were taught in quite a strict way. This included one set of Reiki hand positions for self-healing and another set for treating others, learning Reiki symbols and how to use them with rituals and phrases for before and after healing such as how to ask for guidance and permission.
Energy and the way we work with energy has changed over the last decade or so. It is stronger and much more intuitive than it has been ever before. We as Reiki practitioners, masters and teachers were ready for this and we have started to evolve with the change of energy.
We should give ourselves a break, be nice to ourselves and can start to ‘go with it’ but what does that mean?
Through teaching the day courses for practitioners and masters on animal Reiki healing, I have met a lot of people who have trained with their own local Reiki Masters. I respect these Reiki Masters and think that we as a collective do a wonderful job in spreading the Reiki healing love. We introduce Reiki to others and show people how it can enrich their lives. What I have found is that there is a lot of insecurity and worry about doing ‘it’ wrong or ‘it’ not working and other kinds of limiting beliefs.
What I would like to share here, and what I teach people when they come to any of my courses, is the following four important principles:
Reiki does what it needs to do: You set the intent and Reiki will do the rest, so no need to worry. You cannot do it wrong. Some people might get bored with the answer to the questions connected to most of the limited believes. But the answer is simple: Trust. Set your intention and follow your intuition. If your intentions are set, Reiki will do what it needs to do.
Stop trying so hard: It’s a natural feeling to want to do well. We learned Reiki because we want to heal, and we want to get the best results. Reiki is meant to be enjoyable and not something we should worry about or feel it is hard work. Don’t take it too seriously. There is so much more benefit if Reiki is practiced out of love and compassion, in a light hearted and gentle way. Have compassion for yourself and for others.
Let go of any expectations: You might have heard someone talk about seeing colours during a Reiki healing session; or those giving or receiving Reiki having strong feelings or sensations. Some people talk about having visions when they do a Reiki healing session or they talk about the feelings in their hands when working with Reiki energy. If you don’t have these experiences or the same experiences as others, that does not mean you are ‘not doing it right’ or that it doesn’t work. It doesn’t mean you are in any way or form less ‘good’ at giving Reiki.
Everybody’s experiences are individual. These might change over time but trying to force seeing, feeling or experiencing things is not going to help. Reiki flows best when you are chilled and relaxed. Reiki energy will flow where it’s most needed. It is not you, but the energy that will determine where the Reiki healing is most needed.
Notice your experiences and if there is nothing to notice, notice that there isn’t anything to see or feel. Trust, just trust.
Let you mind wander: Do you have a wandering mind during Reiki? It doesn’t matter. This is not going to stop the energy from flowing, and it won’t mess up the session. Don’t worry! Pay your wandering thoughts no attention, don’t focus on them and just let them pass. Gently bring your attention back to what you are doing and that is all you need to do.
As you can see from these four important principles. It’s important to release the worry. If you worry, it is the worry that will stifle the flow of energy - not the wandering mind or whether you see colours or not; not whether or not you have tingling in your hands or have visions.
In the same vein, it is okay to miss parts of your usual routine, such as asking for permission, hand positions and the Reiki symbols. Missing a hand position or messing up a symbol will not stop the benefit of the healing session, because with your healing intent, Reiki will give what the recipient needs.
Something else about hand positions; hand positions can be very helpful when you first start with Reiki as they can give confidence and security, while getting used to working with the healing energy. It also gives you something to ‘do’ or concentrate on while healing yourself or others. But, and this is might sound controversial, you don’t have to use the hand positions if you don’t feel they are for you.
Back in the day when I was trained in Reiki, 14 years ago, hand positions were important and the practice of Reiki quite rigid with rules and to do’s and don’ts. But as I mentioned earlier, the universal energy and how we work it with has changed, and we now practice Reiki based on intent and intuition.
As Reiki Practitioners we are channels for the healing universal energy and we interpret what is needed and act as a channel for energy to flow where it is needed. Our job is to trust and be that channel. Seeing colours might mean that the energy is focusing on a particular chakra at that point, but as Reiki works on so many levels it may not mean that at all. Reiki works on physical bodies, the mind, emotions, spirit, the past… and even on things that haven’t surfaced yet. This means we have no idea of what Reiki is doing, other than the knowledge that Reiki energy is giving the recipient what they need. So stop trying to interpret the meanings of experiences and be what you are: Be the channel.
What does it mean to trust in your intuition?
When working with Reiki energy we need to follow our intuition, but that is easier said than done. We all have intuition. You might not have noticed the messages before but they have always been there. When you are starting to pay attention to your intuition, you might wonder if you’re making it up. The answer is: yes, in a way! Nobody is giving you this information but you your true-self, also known as your higher-self. These messages can come in all sort of ways: you might be drawn to move your hands to a particular area of the body while healing; or some people may have visions, words or physical movements to communicate intuition. They might not make sense to you, but that doesn’t matter: go with it and trust your intuition.
Reiki is a simple, you connect to the energy and you let the energy flow, may that be hands on or off. The rest is optional, not compulsory. The processes, visualisations, set phrases and routines all optional. Be you and experiment with what works for you: declutter your practice and follow your intuition.
One of the things you could take from this is that to start practicing Reiki you just need an attunement and that’s it - off you go, as everything else is optional.
Reiki is a way of living, not just a hand-on healing practice but a lifestyle. When a person starts of on their Reiki journey, the attunement is a small but nevertheless marvellous part of the training. The growth a person undertakes when starting on their Reiki journey needs to carefully be supported and guided by a Reiki Master. This will take place over a period of time, in order to build confidence and knowledge, and to be able to integrate Reiki into their daily life. In my experience, people that learn Reiki through ‘light-touch’ courses such as day or weekend course (don’t even start me on online courses!) - have not been set up for success. This is because it takes time and practice to understand and learn what Reiki is and what its lifestyle is all about.
I teach each Reiki level over 5 weekly sessions, where I teach everything from the old and the new of Reiki healing, including hand positions, phrases etc. During the sessions we concentrate on the development and journey of each student in a small group. Through this they get support from me as their Reiki master but also from their peers.
The most important part of the course is to teach that there is no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ within the practice of Reiki, and that it is all about trust, intent and intuition.
Get in touch if you'd like to find out more about my courses or have a browse on our website.
