Healing Bad Habits with Reiki

Article by Angie Webster

Most of us have a bad habit or have had one at some point in our lives. We pick these up as coping tools as we go through life; our own ways of handling stress and the many difficulties that life brings. But as we begin to seek healing, we usually find that we reach a point where we wish to let go of the habits that are causing us harm. And if we can’t do that, we at least want to make peace with them so that the guilt and the desire to let them go doesn’t do its own harm.

Most of the time, when we begin to have regular Reiki, whether it is treatment from a practitioner or daily self-practice, we start to see many of our bad habits fall away on their own. As we heal many of our underlying issues and return to a more constant state of peace and calm, the need to rely on these old coping tools is no longer there. We may simply realize we are no longer doing the thing we once found so habitual, or that giving it up is much easier.

But there may some lingering habit that has really meant something to you in a way that you have a hard time defining. It may have become ingrained in you and feels like something that is more a part of you than a habit. Yet you know it causes you harm or limits you and you want to stop. Maybe a negative thought pattern that has become reflexive, or smoking or nail biting. Anything you are ready to let go of.

It can be effective to work with healing the mental and emotional layer, working with the head, the heart and the aura. But a very ingrained habit goes very deep. It will be within the memory of the cells, as well, so full body healing on a regular basis is important. Using all of the symbols is ideal.

It can be particularly effective to work with the habit by sending distant healing to the person (or yourself) to the time that the underlying pattern for the habit developed. It isn’t necessary that you know when this was. It isn’t usually possible to know, since the energetic pattern starts long before the habit behavior begins. Send healing back in time to the development of these energies to heal this underlying pattern at the origin.

I have done a lot of work with sending Reiki back to old issues to heal a present problem and I find it to be very helpful. I have done this with myself and with clients. There are a couple of very easy ways to do a distant treatment for a past situation. The first is to use an object as a representative for the situation you wish to send healing to, and send a distant treatment to it instead. I like using a large crystal for my representative object because the vibration of the crystal helps amplify the energy of the healing. But you can use anything you like, such as a piece of paper with the situation written on it, really anything. Use your imagination! The second is to simply hold your hands in a cupped way, as if you are holding an energy ball or a chi ball. Send distant Reiki to the chi ball in the same manner as you would the object in the first example.

Some emotional energies may come up for release as you do the treatment, and possibly some physical releases, as well. This kind of healing can move lots of energies so it is important to respect that, as with all healing sessions. Rest and drink plenty of water afterwards.

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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.