The External is a Reflection of the Internal – There is No Such Thing As Dark Energy

I’m often finding myself in conversations that surround the nature and context of energy (chi) and, in particular, how this energy can be either light or dark in nature. As a full time Reiki practitioner, much the same as many of you reading this, I am also further presented with numerous clients who experience this so called dark energy. Perhaps they are seeing spirits, feeling or seeing death and so on during a session with me, and this can be very confronting indeed, namely if this is their first exposure or experience with such events. I want to postulate here, however, that these experiences are nothing more than internal trauma that is seeking healing. There are no devils, dark energy, need to clean or balance anything, as all of life, at its purest sense is already in balance and harmony, it is in a state of universal energy.

Let us step back for a moment to both the meaning of Reiki and the precepts within Usui Reiki. Reiki, or universal life force, is just that, it is the pulsation of life and it is universal. Energy is just energy; it can change form (i.e. trauma vs. love) but cannot be created or destroyed. So if Reiki is a way to describe the very nature of this base energy that flows through and connects all life, then there is no way this can be “dark” in nature.

The pulsation of universal life is just love.

Another way to think of this is to reflect on the idea that light always dispels darkness, it does not work in reverse, so with light (Reiki), one returns to balance with the universal consciousness, that which is pure love.

Diving into the precepts of Usui Reiki one can see this further unfolding. Let us consider the idea of darkness to add further context to the precepts. If one is experiencing darkness in their external world (perhaps seeing terrible images, death, destruction, etc.) or if this is manifested in the individuals internal environment (psychosis, abuse, neglect, trauma of all sorts, etc.) then this will no doubt allow one to experience energy through a deeply negative lens. Now, this is much easier said than done mind you, but anyone who is capable to, in any stage of trauma or darkness, to come back to the light and to see it shine, then the darkness (which is really just their own experience) will begin to fade and dispel into the light.

Just for today I will not worry
Just for today I will not anger
Just for today I will be kind to all living beings
Just for today I will do my work honestly
Just for today I will be grateful

If one were to remain within these precepts fully, if one were to then just BE Reiki as opposed to viewing it as something that one is doing, then the internal environment must become further driven and guided by the natural great light within us all (indeed the meaning of the Reiki Master Symbol) and as such there is no room for darkness.

See, the darkness is really just individual perception of a given situation as the truth is that there can never be darkness, just light. Universal Life and Universal Love, that is all there is.

What is very true, however, is that we are suffering from a whole myriad of experiences that create resistance within us to this light. Take for instance someone who has their heart really “broken” in a divorce or the end of a relationship. This heartache is very real and the darkness there is also very tangible, however, for one to come back to balance and into the universality of our experience one must heal and release this pain. Reiki, of course, is a fantastic path to this release, but regardless of the path we are all working to move into an existence of less, not more, resistance to this flow of universal energy.

All energy flows via the path of least resistance; this is a standard law of our universe. It is our own trauma, however, that creates this resistance or what we may refer to as blockages.

At some point in all of our lives we find us in situations or patterns that just seem to continue to replicate resistance. For instance, one who finally emerges from an abusive relationship only to quickly find another abusive relationship, or one who only sees stress and friction at their work but won’t leave the job out of fear, the children of abusive parents often grow up to be abusive themselves, and so on.

This is the external environment mirroring the internal environment. If your internal is clouded by resistance, blockages, trauma, and so on, then we will seek out an external environment that mirrors this.

This mirroring action is beautiful indeed as it is providing endless opportunity to step away and heal from the trauma. After all, how can one heal from something that isn’t being experienced? However, notice what happens here within the healing process. As trauma is shed, one comes into deeper connection and balance with one’s own internal environment, one’s own internal flow of Reiki and this is the key.

The darkness is nothing more than a mirror to our own internal trauma, our own journey back towards the light, and it is this darkness that is giving us the clues as to where one may need to shine their own flow to dispel this darkness, onto their own internal being. The only demons, dark spirits, or dark energy that there can be is the resistance within us.

So what can be done within our practice of Reiki or everyday life to dive into this topic?

Quite simply just STOP. The more often your belief revolves around the idea of light vs. dark, me vs. it, trauma vs. freedom, then the more power you are actually giving to your own forms of resistance. So by further diving into your own light during your practice you are immediately removing yourself from the yo-yo of belief that one can oscillate between light vs. dark. If there is no dark then how can one enter into that space to begin with?

My position put forward here is simple, if one is just BEING Reiki, then you are just BEING the light, and in that light there is no space for darkness. There is no need to “clean a room of spirits” or ground yourself after a Reiki session because you may feel you took on someone’s negative energy. When confronted with infinite light, darkness (in all its perceived forms) must be non-existent. So whatever you are doing to shine your light, this is the path forward. Use the Reiki symbols on the Hara, blaze into your own practice of hands on healing, prayer, or whatever it may be to know that you are just freeing yourself.

Remember we are conduits of energy, nothing else, and a conduit acting as a perfect conductor (as difficult as that is, it remains the aim) will be nothing more than a connection into this pulsation of life.

Connect and just let go
Darkness is always dispelled by light
And when one smiles onto the world, the world will always smile back

Article by Bruce Taylor

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Bruce Taylor is a Reiki Master Practitioner and Teacher based in France. He has practiced Reiki since 2006 and his practice focuses on Usui Reiki Ryoho, having been trained in Kyoto, Japan.
He works and trains others globally both in person and via his online offerings found at www.rootsoflife.org
Further to that, he manages the Usui Reiki Ryoho Support and Community Group on Facebook which all are welcome to join (www.facebook.com/groups/129366524359731)
Bruce also manages his youtube channel where he focuses on Reiki and Holistic Wellness content (www.youtube.com/c/RootsofLife)
And as this is the 100th anniversary of Usui Reiki Ryoho, he is leading a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Reiki – Kyoto, Japan, as soon as Japanese borders are open again to tourism. For more information on this truly once in a lifetime celebration, please visit: rootsoflife.org/reiki-pilgrimage-kyoto