Advice comes from many sources, including, perhaps most importantly, from your own direct experience and ongoing practice. Therefore, one primary gentle suggestion is to solidify your commitment to yourself to set aside time each day to sit in stillness with a formal, dedicated practice of Reiki meditation, contemplation of the Reiki Precepts, and practicing hands-on healing of self and others. This will help build mindfulness and self-awareness, and a solid platform on which to stand.
Secondly, as a Reiki practitioner, you are being of service to others in helping to alleviate the multiple dimensions of pain, suffering, and distress they are experiencing. So keep a sharp focus on being of service to others and less of a sharp focus on the self as a novice healer. Over time, you will certainly gain the competence and confidence that you are seeking.
Third, I encourage you to purposefully cultivate that beginner’s mind and sustain that state of mind ongoing. A beginner’s mind is the optimal state of mind for all of us. Being open and flexible; listening with big ears and seeing with big eyes; cultivating non-judgmental compassion for anyone who comes into the space with you.
Fourth, on a very practical level, maybe you will consider meeting with other Reiki practitioners, participating in Reiki Shares and Reiki Circles, perhaps volunteering your services as a Reiki practitioner in your community. All of these activities will build competence and confidence and develop your “street cred” as a Reiki practitioner.
Every single one of us started as novices. I strongly feel that sticking with the self-practice, dipping your toes into your community, keeping the focus on being of service to others, embracing the beginner’s mind of open non-judgment and compassion will build your trust in your capacities as a Reiki practitioner.
With Care,
Elise
* This article is part of our Ask RMT project where experienced Reiki Masters answer questions from members of our Reiki Rays community. You can find our Ask RMT series of articles here.
Article by Reiki Master Elise Brenner
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Elise Brenner (Pronouns: she/her), PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Departments of Public Health and Sociology at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts, Reiki Practitioner & Teacher and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, is committed to wellness equity in all of the services she provides. The owner of Brenner Reiki Healing in Newton, Massachusetts, Elise provides comprehensive training in all levels of Reiki, having trained physicians, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, teachers, and people of all ages and backgrounds. Brenner has provided Reiki training for staff at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center staff, Edith Nourse Rogers Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, MA, and Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Brenner is the co-author of the 2022 book, Reiki: A Self-Practice to Live in Peace with Self and Others, published by John Hunt Books.
Elise has a clinical Reiki and Mindfulness practice in which she provides individualized Reiki and Mindfulness sessions to people who are experiencing physical, mental, and emotional distress. Brenner further provides Reiki and Mindfulness outreach workshops and presentations to organizations, incorporating mind-body skills for the staff and populations they serve, including the Livestrong Program at the YMCA; Harbor Health Elder Service Plan in Boston; support groups for survivors of domestic abuse; support groups for individuals struggling with Vestibular Disorders; psychosocial support groups for cancer patients; support groups for carers of those with chronic conditions.
As an anthropologist, Elise Brenner has researched cross-cultural healing practices, thereby enriching the scope and depth of her Reiki and Mindfulness practice. Elise savors time in the woods and has begun to compose eco-poetry.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.BrennerMindfulPaths.com
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