Reiki for Self-Love and Healing the Heart

Article by Haripriya Suraj, Reiki Master

“Do you love yourself?” Try asking a few people this question and observe the varied reactions you get. Many people would openly display their shock at being asked such a question and look at you like, “What? Are you nuts?”

Other faces would reflect pain, like their heart was pricked and it hurt so badly. They will look at you like, “I wish I did. But I truly don’t.”

Yet others will give you a confused look and a sheepish smile, almost feeling ashamed to admit that they just might like themselves. They may even end their answer with a ‘but’ to make it sound more realistic in the worldly sense – “Yeah I do but then……”

Barely a handful of people will have a light in their eyes, a smile on their face and assert confidently, “Yes of course. I love myself!”

Why is this so?

Is it so difficult for us to love ourselves? What comes in the way? For many people, caring for others is a lot easier than caring for themselves. Forgiving others is much easier than forgiving themselves. Appreciating others is much easier than appreciating themselves.

We often set high standards for ourselves while we allow others more flexibility to be imperfect. It is equally important for us to love ourselves as we are. As always, this is easier said than done. What about all the conditioning we’ve been subjected to since childhood that told us we were not good enough and don’t deserve an ounce of love; the subtle messages from authority figures which conveyed that unless we achieved a particular goal or lived up to a certain standard, we did not deserve to be loved.

It’s just a whole lot of energetic trash that we must drop without second thought! That’s right.

Just look at a baby. What has a baby achieved in the worldly sense? Yet everyone feels love for a baby held in their arms. The baby is loved for being who he or she is – a human. The baby is loved merely for his or her presence in the world.

So is it with us. We deserve love just by virtue of the fact that we are here in the world. Love is our natural state and is meant to be shared freely.

However, we cannot expect the inhabitants of a love starved world to freely give of their love. How can they give it unless they have it in them? It’s as simple as that. So, it’s high time we stop stressing over the fact that people do not (or did not) love us as we deserve to be loved. Let us try to understand them instead. We can start loving ourselves for what we are. When we love ourselves, our vibration shifts and WE begin to spread more love in the world. People feel good being around others who love themselves as it helps them tap into their own innate state of love.

We have a huge reservoir of love inside us. We just have to make the effort to see. But for many of us, the pain of the past blocks the heart chakra and tapping into this state of love seems challenging. Logic alone cannot help open a blocked heart chakra. But logic is good because it can help us realise that we are suffering needlessly. It can help us take steps towards healing the pain. The pain must be healed so our inner love can shine through. The beauty of Reiki is that it assists with the gradual opening of the heart. With every degree that one is attuned to, the heart opens up just a little more, like a flower unfolding its petals in the light of the morning sun. Reiki is that sunshine that gently helps the petals of the heart chakra open up.

Reiki can help you love yourself.

Get started with loving yourself this very moment. Draw all the symbols that you’ve been attuned to on both your palms. If you haven’t been attuned to symbols yet, just rub your palms for a few seconds, hold your hands in prayer position and request Reiki to flow. Thereafter, give yourself a warm Reiki hug and tell yourself, “I love you.” Try to do this at least once every day and notice the difference in how you feel about yourself.

If you need more help with learning to love yourself, do check out the next article in this series which would include a short Reiki meditation to help us open up to loving ourselves.

Sending you love!

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Haripriya Suraj is a Reiki Master, Angel Healer and Starseed Lightworker. Reiki is her constant companion from which she derives peace and contentment. She is deeply connected with the Stars and Angels and they form an integral part of her Reiki practice. Her core mission is to help bridge the worlds of Spirit and Science and to help people connect with their unique soul missions. Haripriya offers Reiki healing sessions and training programs in Bangalore, India. Reach Haripriya at lightworkersonearth.com, whenspiritmeetsscience.com on email at [email protected] and on Facebook at Angel Light.