INTRODUCTION
There are as many paths to enlightenment as there are people. Reiki is one of those paths and each person who practices it will walk the path in their own way. No one person owns it – it has been given to all of us as part of the essence of our human being.
Reiki is primarily perceived as a practice for healing the body, but it is also a method for healing the mind and spirit. Ultimately, Reiki has the power to reunite the trinity of Mind-Body-Spirit in their optimal state of harmony. All of us need to start the process of returning to that state of harmony. Reiki, with its power and simplicity and its methods for healing both the self and others, offers the way to start taking what I call the “the journey home”
THE MEANING OF REIKI
Reiki is one of the most ancient healing methods known to mankind. It originated in Tibet and was rediscovered in the early 1900’s by a Japanese priest named Dr Mikao Usui. The tradition of Reiki is referred to 2500-year-old writings in Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language. The Usui system of Natural Healing, named after Dr Usui, has been passed down by Reiki Masters since that time and is today practiced worldwide.
As humans we have Universal Life Energy all around us and within us. The Japanese word Reiki consists of two syllables: “Rei” which describes the cosmic, universal aspect of this energy and “ki”, which means the fundamental life force flowing and pulsating in all living things. This life force energy is given to us at birth. We bring with us a certain amount of “ki” to life, and we use it up in the business of ordinary daily life. We then have to create a daily supply of new energy. When we are unable to make up for the energy consumption for a prolonged period, we may become physically or emotionally ill. If our supply of life force energy is very low and depleted, we suffer from physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, and tend to be much more irritable, bad-tempered and depressed than usual.
WHAT IS REIKI?
Reiki is a natural and simple healing method which allows you to absorb more life force energy. The Reiki method vitalizes your life force and balances the energies in your body. This natural healing energy flows in a powerful and concentrated form through the hands of the Reiki healer. The laying on of the hands directs the healing energy into the body of the receiver. The Reiki healer is used as a channel to conduct the Universal Life Energy. As a result, no personal energy is drawn or drained from the healer, who is simultaneously charged and strengthened. (The Reiki healer does not remove energy to give them theirs. Reiki energy balances and harmonizes – when there is an imbalance, there is a potential for illness)
WHAT DOES REIKI DO?
Reiki usually helps healing of all kinds and relieves pains and acute symptoms very quickly. Reiki makes it way to areas of imbalance during a treatment. It also has a positive influence on spiritual growth as it works on many levels, Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being are all enhanced with Reiki energy. After a treatment, you may feel mentally much clearer about things and experience deep insights into particular questions or problems you are facing. Reiki then can help you to make the right changes and decisions in your life, if that is what you need or want to achieve.
Reiki affects each person differently, but it always acts wherever the receiver needs it most. However, there are common effects that everyone experiences. Energy used up in everyday life is replaced, so that when you feel exhausted or drained, the imbalance, which may adversely affect you physically, emotionally and mentally, can be put right.
If you suffer from stress, you may react with physical symptoms, such as headaches, stomach aches, frequent colds, kidney pains and general disorders. These symptoms are the expression of excessive negative stress, accompanied by an imbalance of the energy system. To relieve these symptoms your energy needs to restored. For example, a lowered immune system or a weak organ that is not functioning properly and needs recharging with extra energy. Reiki can balance the energies in the body, helping you to let go and relax, so reducing stress. At the same time, it promotes the development of positive reactions to stressful situations. In other words, not only the symptoms but also the causes can be healed.
Reiki strengthens and harmonizes the immune system. We continually use up life force energy without replacing it. Reiki helps us to replenish and add to our energy and, in this way, helps to create a healthy body
HOW REIKI AFFECT THE EMOTIONS
When you receive Reiki treatments or when you take part in a Reiki seminar/workshop, your emotions may be profoundly affected. Emotional “blocks” are often released and you come into closer contact with feelings that you may have suppressed in the past- perhaps sadness or anger. It is important to accept these “negative” feelings. They are energies which transform themselves into creative forces as soon as you “own” them and give them attention and expression. Reiki helps you to become more aware of inner processes, both emotionally and mentally. During a Reiki treatment, the mind and the process of thinking are relaxed. You will often feel clearer and might discover and dissolve negative beliefs about yourself and others that you have struggled with for many years.
Reiki supports you in your spiritual growth. People who open themselves to Reiki and practice it can get to know themselves better and can experience greater consciousness, intuition, and self-awareness. The most frequent experience which arises during a treatment is the feeling of peace, relaxation and security.
IS REIKI ALWAYS SAFE?
The purpose of Reiki is to supply the body with additional energy which it can use for healing itself. Reiki can be used safely regardless of whatever illness the receiver is suffering from. Reiki makes no diagnoses and is intended to be used as a complementary healing method. In the case of acute disorders such as imflammations, influenza, colds, digestive disorders, gall or kidney stones, backaches and headaches, Reiki often acts very quickly and directly by easing the pain and accelerating healing.
Reiki can also be applied as first aid as it stops bleeding in open wounds and has a very calming influence on the nervous system, particularly when people are in shock after an accident. With Reiki, you can also provide relief from allergies, arthritis and other chronic disorders.
As Reiki supports and complements other medical and natural healing techniques, you can combine it with other treatments, for example with allopathic or homeopathic treatments, body therapies, counselling and speech-therapy and other psychological treatments. A Reiki healer is charged with energy and becomes a channel for Universal Life Energy. Reiki is a gift of the universe, and is available to us all.
THE EFFECTS OF REIKI
In summary, Reiki is all-embracing in its effect. It involves your mind, body and soul and then attempts to set all these aspects of your being into a harmonious balance. Your personal energy, as a giver, is not transmitted to the receiver during a treatment, you are merely a channel. If (without having attuned to Reiki) you try laying your hands on someone else, energy is still passed on, but at a much lower intensity than if you are attuned to Reiki. This is because Reiki is a highly powerful vibrating force, or light energy.
While the Universe Life Energy flows through you, as the giver, during the treatment, it is also fortifying and harmonizing you at the same time. You may also experience Reiki as a force which brings you more closely into contact with yourself, opening you up and allowing you to be more loving with yourself and with others. It is a unifying force which brings you closer to a condition of oneness and connection with the “whole”
So let me summarize the many benefits:
<Balances the organs and glands and their bodily functions
<Releases blocks and suppressed feelings
<Promotes natural self-healing
<Adapts to the natural needs of the receiver
<Balances the energies in the body
<Enhances personal awareness and helps meditative states
<Relaxes and reduces stress
<Promotes creativity
<Strengthens life force energy
<Treats symptoms and causes of illness
<Heals holistically
<Strengthens the immune system
<Relieves pain
<Clears toxin
Reiki is a simple technique anyone can learn. Most people experience a huge leap in personal growth after receiving the attunements. This feeling of such loving healing energy is a truly uplifting and empowering
experience. I WAS TOLD THAT REIKI WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE. IT DID. IT WILL CERTAINLY CHANGE YOURS
A REIKI BREATHING EXERCISE
If you want to experience a “taster” of Reiki before committing yourself to Reiki attunement or just to allow yourself to get an idea of what Reiki may feel like, try this exercise. The exercise will have the same relaxing effects as Reiki but without the added power and impact provided by the Universal Life Energy through attunement.
- Make yourself comfortable, either sitting down or lying on your back and close your eyes. Pay attention to your breath and follow its rhythm. Notice how it flows in and out. Now take three deep breaths
- Now put your hands on your body wherever you feel drawn to or where you feel tension. Use your intuition to locate the spot in your body that needs relaxation the most.
- Now direct your breath consciously and repeatedly to this place. Imagine that your breath is the Universal Life Energy which flows through you. Let it collect and expand under your hands. Notice how a feeling of relaxation and peace gradually spreads from that place beneath your hands throughout your entire body
- After a short while (about five minutes) place your hands on another part of your body. Once again breathe into your hands during the whole exercise. You may find that your breath changes in some positions as the body stores memories and experiences which may now be awakened. It is not necessary to consciously probe feelings or initiate stronger breathing. Just allow yourself to let go and plunge into this feeling of flowing.
- Move on to two further places on your body and charge them with energy
- Slowly open your eyes, stretch yourself, and return to your normal daytime consciousness. You will feel more relaxed, calmer and more centred.
If you would like to experience the wonderful energy of Reiki as a treatment, please contact CHRISTINE QUINLAN ON 966 795 103 or email me on…bodyharmony44@gmail.com
