Reiki In Daily Life
Recently I was asked to speak about how Reiki influenced my day-to-day life. At first, I thought this was a fairly straight forward question and yet it gave me pause to reflect. I worked for many years as a practitioner in various clinics so at that time I was giving several treatments most days and also teaching. So I was very connected to the Reiki energy on a daily basis, so in all honesty I didn’t really think about it as a spiritual practice as such but just something I did.
In my early thirties, I experienced some serious trauma after a really bad car crash, my life fell apart and I had endure severe physical pain while getting back on my feet. I started attending meditation and yoga retreats, and then spent some years in an ashram. While I was staying in that community I learnt about “seva” or service. I had initially some resistance to this practice, especially as newcomers were expected to do very menial tasks, which could be quite arduous in the Indian heat. As time passed, luckily I began to realize that this form of “karma yoga” was really rewarding. I started to meet really interesting people, who taught me so much just in casual conversation or through coincidental meetings; which would lead me towards truly mystical experiences. I remember that our teacher would remind us of the importance of keeping good company, that the community was quintessential to developing good practice.
When I started teaching Reiki, I realized that all my actions were informed by this experience of service combined with the Reiki precepts, which had become an integral part of my personal spiritual practice. Reiki flowed and I found myself in diverse healing situations, some were quite testing but I soon realized that if I just said yes, doors would open to extraordinary experiences and again wonderful people started appearing in my life who led me to ways that I could follow a deeper process in my own healing journey, so that in my personal development I felt guided every step of the way.
I had learn to love myself enough to allow my own spontaneity or enthusiasm to flow without being defensive (in my childhood to speak, generally elicited disapproval). Much to my surprise in letting go of my fear, people started to engage more openly with me. I became more consciously aware that I simply could not fix everything, sometimes I just had sit with it, accept the status quo which was actually a great teaching in humility or surrender to what could be described as divine timing. Looking back I am glad I went through those painful experiences. I think it made it much easier for me to hear the teaching, reiterated by both Hawayo Takata, and Phyllis Furumoto about being kind to people. One of my teachers reminded us to always speak through personal experience, not in telling one’s own story in an egotistical way but just to remember how it feels to feel unhappy or angry. So being mindful of these issues my personal practice has been to try to be more open to criticism and basically kind to others because each and every one us has their unique experience which has led us to find a different way, or a spiritual path.
I am privileged to serve the Reiki Association as Membership Secretary, and through doing this work I have learnt so much from our members and the different elected councils and circle of service members, who raise different questions as we work towards responding to the needs of all of our members. The Association is first and foremost a circle of Reiki practitioners, some of whom are in public practice, for me however, the role of our non-for profit organization is about supporting the community to continue with the practice of Reiki. To follow the path wherever it may lead. On a personal level I feel so grateful to the Care service when they send distant healing to us in times of difficulty, and I enjoy the new webinars which allow for us to have contact with each other. I know I will get to actually meet many people I have met on-line at events or at the Gathering and this makes feel very connected to the wider community.
I have become so grateful to this gift of Reiki, which allows me to reach a still point through self–treatment and therefore pause for reflection. So where before, I self-treated to raise my energy, to feel more connected to a sacred space within me, or to boost my immune system, over the years it has changed to a place of contemplation. I feel a real sense of gratitude for this practice, which has stayed with me for nearly thirty years. I remember hearing the teaching “Let Reiki teach you” and it has, taught me so much and there is still so much to learn perhaps now more than ever.
