I remember thinking Reiki was the most incredible technique, simply because I was amazed by the ability to sense energy within myself and other people. I used to look forward to sessions, anticipating a wild and wonderful experience. It wasn’t just interesting because of what I felt, but also hearing feedback from clients always blew me away. Hearing what they saw, felt, and their own amazement validated the effectiveness of Reiki, and I knew that I wasn’t making it all up in my head. I couldn’t explain how it worked, but our experiences were the only proof I needed.
The Unpredictability of Reiki
I didn’t think it would be possible to learn more or to fall more in love with Reiki. Because energy works with each of us specific our own energetic standing, I could never predict what Reiki would reveal. That was part of what kept me diligent in my practice. I never knew what to expect, but I loved the sensations and the way my perspectives and understanding of what it means to be human cracked wide open. Reiki was showing me that we are so much more than I could have ever imagined.
I definitely wasn’t aware of how the movement of energy would cause such emotional release. I also hadn’t realized how much we repress and the effect that has on our minds and bodies. Slowly, Reiki was revealing the interconnectedness of our nature. It also started to expose our sensitivities to energy, including impressions from each other and environments. I started to recognize that we are separate from no thing.
Understanding Empathy and Energy
This was the key to understanding my empathic nature and how important it is to manage our own minds, emotions, and energies. I didn’t know that we had the tendency to match frequencies, rather than maintain our own energetic resonance. Reiki helped me realize the gifts of self-regulation, which changes the way we live and experience life itself.
It helped me learn what it means to be grounded, while simultaneously allowing openness of mind. I learned that I could acknowledge what I sensed from the outside, while choosing to manage my own energetic flow. Reiki taught me how to remain in my authority, becoming an empowered empath. This was life-changing, as I no longer avoid interactions because now I know, with presence of mind, I don’t have to act as a sponge.
A Shift in Perspective
Reiki also helped me recognize how much I criticized myself and others. I was selective with my compassion and forgiveness. I was rigid in my beliefs and understanding. But as I continued to acknowledge my own wounds, and I had the experience of witnessing clients beyond their own stories, my heart began to soften.
Working on other people was the main revealer for me that beyond our fears, doubts, and worries, there is light – there is love. I started to recognize this in every single person I worked with in session, which started to change the way I viewed myself and others outside of sessions. I began to have tremendous compassion for every being, as we all have stories, we’re all riddled with life experience, and we all are of the same Great Bright Light. We’re just trying our best to remember.
The Reiki Community
I’ve also fallen in love with the sense of community that I’ve been exposed to because of Reiki. Not only do we meet fellow seekers in classes, but we start making serendipitous connections with other people that are open to new ways of understanding what it means to be one with all and interested in healing.
Reiki seems to open an incredible portal or pathway, welcoming any heart that feels called to step into new experiences and awaken to our true nature. It’s an incredible journey, and most are unable to articulate just how wondrous it can be. All of a sudden, life feels different, I feel different, and I can’t say with certainty how it has all worked out, but it has been nothing less than magical.
The Challenges of Healing
The truth is that healing also has its challenges, but they’re necessary discomforts that can lead toward phenomenal growth. When I first encountered what I called becoming spiritually undone, I was angry with the universe. I felt betrayed because I was doing all of the things daily – meditation, Reiki, yoga… being kind. I couldn’t understand why I started to feel like I was falling apart.
That’s when the emotional gates broke open, and I was purging. I was healing. Hindsight, I’m deeply grateful for that level of transformation, but going through it, I was resistant! I felt like I was being punished in some way, and I was confused because I didn’t feel I deserved it. How could I be suffering when I was doing “the work”?
Fortunately, at some point, I surrendered. I started to realize that this was part of the healing. Because of how my path started with Reiki – freedom from anxiety, full of awe and curiosity – I didn’t know that the healing process wasn’t going to be anything other than fun. When I stopped feeling bad for myself, I was able to see that there was a lot to understand differently.
I was still carrying memories, emotions, and beliefs that needed acknowledgment, but in love. I needed to stop repressing and start nurturing. I had to learn what it meant to love myself unconditionally. I’m still working on it, but with this awareness, it’s much easier to forgive and have compassion.
A Deeper Understanding of Reiki
When I allowed healing in all forms, I then started to understand the various aspects within the system of Reiki differently. The Gokai took on new meaning. They weren’t unattainable ideas, but rather the keys to end suffering. And the symbols weren’t just air drawings to use in sessions, but the energetic medicine (lessons) to support myself in the process of healing.
Even laying of hands in sessions and practicing Enkaku – they weren’t about the magic of feeling energy move, but lessons in directing the mind and seeing another being as the Great Bright Light, just as I had to see and know myself.
The Ongoing Gift of Reiki
The beauty and gift of Reiki is that it continues to be a teacher. It will continue to support us in our efforts if we continue to practice. It’s that simple.
And while this has been a love letter to Reiki, in a way, it’s also a letter of encouragement for all of my fellow seekers and practitioners. Dare to keep following your heart into the depths of the unknown for the sake of your healing.
May you witness was Reiki is revealing to you, about you and life. May you acknowledge the ways that you’ve grown and continue to grow. May you find peace in Gassho and compassion – just for today.
Article by Yolanda Williams
Free eBook download: We’ve created an eBook with our best articles on this topic, and offer it for free to all our newsletter subscribers.
Yolanda is an intuitive, Self-Mastery Mentor, certified Reiki Master-Teacher and host of Reiki Radio podcast. She is also certified in Wellness Counseling, through Cornell University, using a blend of techniques to help clients and students achieve deeper connections with themselves, which facilitates new levels of self-awakening and reveals the dynamics of mind, body, and energy. Her methods have helped Reiki practitioners, globally, and she created an oracle deck for seekers and practitioners of energetic alchemy.
Yolanda trained with internationally recognized Reiki Masters in the lineages of Usui Reiki Ryoho and Jikiden Reiki®. She also trained with shamans and healers of various modalities, increasing her intuitive abilities and exploration of transformative self-observation. Through the podcast, Reiki Radio, she shares tools to support your spiritual journey, including interviews with healers and authors who practice various techniques. Her classes include Usui Reiki Ryoho, all levels, in San Diego, as well as mentoring and intuitive awakening courses, online. Her group classes, through The Alchemy Circle, are open to practitioners of all levels and lineages. Yolanda is also offering an application, The Energetic Alchemist app, which can be downloaded to access more Reiki Tools and tips for energetic alchemy.
Website: www.theenergeticalchemist.com
Facebook: The Energetic Alchemist
Instagram: instagram.com/reikiradio
Twitter: twitter.com/teareiki
Leave a Reply