Reiki Families: Sharing Reiki with your Children

I became a Reiki Master in 2001, two years before I gave birth to my first son. It has added so much more magic to my parenting journey that I could give birth to two wonderful Reiki children, whose parents are both Reiki Masters, and our children could receive the gift of Reiki from their very first moments of life in my womb. However, with the busy lives, we all lead nowadays it can become difficult even for the most dedicated amongst us to constantly find ways to encourage our children to use Reiki to support their daily lives.

I have devised a few tips in this article that I have used from time to time with my two sons who are now aged 10 and 5. They both are attuned in Level 1 Reiki and my 10 year old is attuned in Level 2 Reiki. These tips are suggestions based on my experience as a Mum over the last ten years, as a parent who enjoys sharing Reiki, meditation and developing spiritual awareness with my children. Of course, there are more detailed methods and games that have developed from more extensive research by writers in this area but the tips I am outlining are what I believe to be simple, practical and yet effective ways of integrating Reiki into a family’s way of living based on my own and my children’s experiences.

1. Reiki for babies – when I was breastfeeding my babies I would visualize the breast milk filled with Reiki energy and do the Reiki symbols on my breasts as my child was feeding. I would sleep peacefully with my baby feeding in my arms knowing they were receiving the goodness of breast milk but also the blessings of Reiki too! Mothers can also do this with babies who are being bottled fed too as I did this when I changed from breast to bottles too! You will never ever have them so close to you again so use this time to fill them with as much love and light as possible!

2. Reiki bubbles – Children and adults love bubbles! Simply blow lots of bubbles or if your child is old enough they can blow the bubbles too. As each bubble grows, imagine a magic light is blowing into the bubble..whoever bursts this bubble will release its magic and will receive a bubble of positive, loving energy!

3. Massage and touch are so important for babies as much as for adults. At bath time, Reiki the water or Reiki some massage oil and gently pour the water or oil over your baby. It is also helpful to say the symbols and the Reiki precepts aloud when bathing or massaging your child to introduce the words and language from as early an age as possible.

4. Getting creative with Reiki!

• Painting or drawing with toddlers or older children is a creative way of exploring the symbols, colours or chakras. Draw the symbols on a chart. Ask them what colours they would use to paint them. Have a chart on your wall for them to stroke the lines of the symbols. Chat together about what different types of energies or colours or temperatures etc that you all feel when receiving or sending the various symbols. Or if your child is like my second son, they will draw their own symbols too!
• As well as painting or drawing, other creative methods of working together could be to tell or write little stories together, writing meditations or affirmations. For example, by reading the five Reiki precepts ..”Just for today, do not worry …” etc children could write their own personal precepts or affirmations such as “…Just for today, I will believe I can do it “, “Just for today, I will share with my friends…etc”

5. Creating a room or space in your home is important in order to illustrate how important quietness, stillness and reflection are for our development. Luckily, I have a room in our home where I practice Reiki and reflexology and our children are free to use this room too. It is the only room in the house free from television, computers, noise or gadgets! It amazes me that my children from time to time will voluntarily walk away from their computer, x-box, television and choose to spend time in this room to do Reiki or meditation or to look through my decks of angel and tarot cards or sometimes just to read or relax. If you do not have space in your home to devote a full room for this then there are other ways of creating such spaces – a corner of the living room or a bedroom could be used or once a week or month all televisions etc could be switched off to allow for stillness and Reiki to flourish!

6. Reiki with pets or younger siblings: if your children are attuned in Reiki then the more practice they get the better. Allowing your child to share Reiki with a pet or other sibling is a wonderful way for them to bond with each other as well as sharing Reiki with a loved one! It also gives them confidence and trust in using the energy and a real sense of responsibility. At first, do not worry about the symbols being used for the various body parts, just allow them to place their hands on their pet/sibling in whatever way they are drawn to doing it and comfortable with it. Afterwards chat together about what they felt, saw or experienced. If they are old enough they can keep a journal to record their experiences.

7. Connecting with their angels and guides. I actually cannot really suggest many ways of helping a child to connect with angels or guides as such as both of my children just automatically seemed to do this from a really young age! And all children do, so maybe it’s a matter of reminding ourselves or them about doing it as certainly they do not need to learn it as a new skill! My 10 year old spoke about Arch Angel Michael from a really young age and before he could speak he would go to statues in churches or cards in shops with Arch Angel Michael on them. He has a really special connection with Michael and he asks him for help when he needs it with school work or sporting events etc. My second son who is 5 years old speaks of fairies and Masters all the time. He seems to have a special connection with Dr Usui I think as since about 3 years old he referred to “the Master in the Temple” as helping him. When I visited Mount Kurama in 2013 and showed him photos of me standing outside Kurama Temple he said “that’s the Temple my Master lives in” as if he had also visited him there too, and who knows he probably did! So I would say that it is important to allow your child to develop a connection of their own rather than “telling” them to pray to Jesus or Buddha or whoever, though it can be helpful if they need some guidance firstly to mention such figures.

8. Sending Reiki for your child’s personal issues such as to their sporting events, exams, to a sick member of the family, or to any issue that worries them. When there is something important going on for your child that causes any type of stress or worry then this is an ideal time to sit down together and send distance Reiki. This helps them to feel they are not powerless in the situation and also helps reduce stress and worry for them. Having a Reiki box or Reiki list can be a great idea here too. Encourage your child to select issues to put in the Reiki box or list. It can also be effective if they make a box themselves too!

9. Reiki and family bereavement/loss. All families will encounter times when they have to deal with a bereavement, separation, loss of a family member or pet. These moments of pain and confusion are very important times for the family to draw on the comfort of Reiki for support. Even if the family are feeling tired and emotionally unable to connect with the energy at this time it can be so effective to simply light a candle and make an intention together. Sending Reiki to the person who has departed can be very comforting also and diminish any fears the child may have of death or loss.

10. Share your spiritual experiences with your children. Talk to your child about your experiences of receiving attunements and if they have been attuned encourage them to share their stories also. Chat to your child about experiences you have had during Reiki, meditation, card readings etc. And most importantly, chat to your child when you feel unhappy with Reiki too! For many months I felt I had “lost” my connection with Reiki and it was during a transitory period of emotional instability! Interestingly enough, my children kept requesting Reiki from me at this time. I was honest with them and said” Im not sure I can do Reiki right now”. But with their insistence I actually did Reiki with them and they in fact were the ones who helped to guide me back into practicing Reiki and trusting Reiki again. My sons have really taught me so much and we all have so much to learn from our children that it makes our relationships with them one of constantly giving and receiving and teaching and learning in a lovely symbiotic cycle. Truly, my sons are my true Masters!

Final tips and points for Reiki parents!

• Go with the flow: Do not feel that you have to constantly practice Reiki and speak about Reiki to your children. Go at their pace. Sometimes weeks pass in my home and my children appear to be not practicing Reiki or discussing it. Then, they ask for a Reiki treatment or decide to meditate and it gives them so much comfort. It isn’t about preaching or forcing them to use it, its all about allowing them the space to learn and use it when it is right for them. And of course, it goes without saying they can decide not to use Reiki at all and be assured that their decision is perfectly acceptable by you too!
• And most importantly for parents and especially new Mums, (who will forever hold a special place in my Reiki practice), it is so important to self Reiki every day and/or send Reiki to any parenting worries you encounter. Personally, after my first son’s birth, I neglected my own self care and became burned out very quickly. An important and valuable lesson to learn that has helped me now to have a smoother parenting journey! Taking care of ourselves and allowing our children to see us practicing Reiki are probably some of the best ways our children will learn from us. After all, they can only be, what they see  🙂

Article by Reiki Master Yvonne Brewer

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Yvonne Brewer lives in Cork, Ireland. She is a Reiki Master and Reflexologist and Mother to two sons. She is a graduate of University College Cork with a Bachelor of Social Science (1994) and a Masters of Social Science in Youth and Community Work (1996). Motherhood has brought her down a creative path and in 2013 she published an e-book “Breathe and Bloom. Soul Mother Meditations” and currently is working on producing a collection of poetry.
Yvonne also wrote an article for Reiki Rays in 2014 “Reiki Families: Sharing Reiki With Children.” Contact Yvonne on facebook https://www.facebook.com/yvonnebrewery or email brewer_y@yahoo.ie