Article by Kriss Erickson
When I started teaching Reiki in 2008, I decided to write my own meditations for each Reiki level. I felt that would help the students have another way to connect to the Reiki energy in each level.
While taking yoga classes, a teacher showed the class three mudras that affect the breathing. I thought these would enhance Reiki II students’ experience and understanding of how to send Reiki over distance, which is one of the focus points of Reiki level II.
Before beginning the meditation, I describe the three mudras. Then they are incorporated into the meditation.
The first mudra deepens the breath to the lower belly. The first mudra is done by touching the thumb to the first finger. The second mudra moves the breath to the ribcage. This is done by touching the tips of all fingers together. The third mudra moves the breath to the upper lungs, what I call the “spirit breath”. This can facilitate connections to spirit guides and intuitive messages. The third mudra is done by folding the thumb into the palm and curling the fingers over it.
All mudras are done with both hands.
The meditation is below. I call it the “Butterfly Meditation” because in this case I have used a butterfly to connect to. You can use other animals if you like. Try it and see what you think. You are also welcome to use this meditation in your own Reiki classes and practice. The words in parenthesis are not spoken. They are just to indicate when the mudras are used.
Image by Alexas_Fotos
Reiki II Butterfly Meditation
1. As we begin our Reiki II meditation, let’s get ourselves into a comfortable position. Place your feet firmly on the floor. Feel the chair supporting your body. Feel the earth supporting the chair. Know that you are in a safe place. You can completely relax. No harm will come to you.
2. As we begin, let’s take a few moments to focus on our breath. Take a full, deep breath and hold it for a moment. Now slowly let it out. Sit in the stillness between breaths for a second or two. To deepen your breathing, touch the tip of your thumb to your first finger. Feel how your breath shifts to your lower abdomen (first mudra).
3. Take one more nice, deep breath. Hold it at the top of the breath for a second or two, then release, and hold the space of stillness for a second or two. Take one more nice, deep breath, holding the top and bottom of the breath as we have done.
4. Now that we’re relaxed and grounded, let’s make a connection. To make a connection, we will first picture a certain creature, then we will draw our presence closer to it by imagining how it feels to be that creature.
5. Today, let’s picture a butterfly. Your butterfly can be big or small. It can be colorful or plain. It can be any kind of butterfly you want it to be. We can each be a different butterfly and still be together because we are all linked by the same spirit energy.
6. As we are picturing our butterflies, watch as our butterflies glide from flower to flower. Watch how the wings spread as it rides the wind. See the delicate balance as the butterfly lands on a flower, folds its wings together and drinks the sweet nectar.
7. Now let’s connect to our butterfly. To connect to your butterfly, bring your awareness closer, as if you are using a telephoto lens. As your butterfly drinks nectar from the flower, bring your awareness closer and closer, until your breath brushes the butterfly.
8. Now hold your breath for a moment and let your awareness slip gently into your butterfly’s body. Let your presence be quiet and respectful, flowing into the butterfly’s awareness like a stream joins a river.
9. Feel your breath shift as you breathe through your butterfly’s abdomen. To feel this more deeply, touch all the tips of your fingers together and your breathing will automatically shift to your ribcage (second mudra).
10. Feel your vision shift to geometric patterns as you see through your butterfly’s compound eyes. Feel the softness of the flower petal beneath your butterfly’s six legs. Taste the sweetness of the flower’s nectar on your tongue as your butterfly drinks.
11. Now we are ready for a shift. Feel the muscles in your back respond as your butterfly flutters its wings. Feel yourself lifting as the butterfly soars into the sky.
12. Feel the air holding you up and the warmth of the sun giving lift to your wings. Know that you can go anywhere. You can land on the moon, or on any country or place you can imagine.
13. Know that though a butterfly’s life is short, that that is a good life. By sharing energy with the butterfly, you can experience many types of lifetimes on your life journey, and the butterfly can experience many lifetimes of experience in its few short weeks as well.
14. As your butterfly rises into the sky, you rise too. This rising experience can help you to contact your spirit guides. To breathe with your spirit breath, fold your thumb into your palm and curl your fingers around it. Feel how your breath shifts to your upper chest (third mudra).
15. This is your spirit breath. Let us rise for a few moments with our butterflies. Let us keep our awareness open and careful to welcome our spirit guides and receive any messages they have for us.
We’ll take five minutes to listen to our spirit guides.
——-WAIT FIVE MINUTES—–
16. Now our butterfly is landing. It rests on a wide green leaf and waits for our presence to recede. To gently remove your presence from your butterfly, touch the tip of your thumb to your first finger again and taking a deep breath, gently pull your presence back into your body.
17. Now relax your hands, wiggle your fingers and toes to gently bring yourself back to the present.
18. We thank the Universe for the ability to experience many lifetimes in one. We thank the spirit guides who spoke to us in this meditation. We thank our own spirits for being willing to experience what it is like to be a butterfly.
Namaste!
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Kriss Ericksonn is an Usui/Tibetan, Atlantean. Crystal, Karuna®, Ra-Sheeba and Lightarian Reiki Master Teacher, a certified Acutonics Practitioner and the founder of the Elemental Frequencies Dragon Reiki system. She teaches and shares Reiki from her home in Everett, WA. Kriss also creates energetic art that she sells at art fairs, composes original music and is a published author. Reach Kriss at www.risingspiralsreiki.com/ and at slverkriss@aol.com.
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