There is no denying it, we are a very busy species. We are all to adept at not taking “time to smell the roses” as it were, or to simply slow down. And from a Reiki perspective, of course, the healing practice of Reiki allows us a moment to slow down. It allows us a place where we are able to just take a breather, take a pause, step away from our busy lives, and perhaps find a bit of stillness in our day.
Considering the traditional approach to Reiki here, where we sit down and do hands on healing on ourselves and on others. This is a moment to turn inward. And it’s a moment to recognize a sense of stillness. Indeed, this is how we heal. However, this healing process shouldn’t be just relegated to our Reiki practice. It’s not just a moment to set aside to find this place or this time or the stillness.
Indeed, Reiki can be viewed not simply as just a healing practice, but as a way of life. And if we work to cultivate the components of our Reiki sessions, beyond just the time that we set aside for Reiki, we might find that our practice can easily become our life and that our practice is far more than just healing, but actually a cultivation of a life based on stillness and peace.
And so in this article, I wanted to share 5 Reiki practices that helped us live in the here and in the now.
1. Be mindful
The first one that I would like to share with you is to be mindful. Now we all know this term, mindfulness and being mindful, but what does it really mean? And what are the benefits? Well, mindfulness is a focus on a singular thing. And so if we can cultivate our day from this perspective, to be mindful as much as possible, then what this means is that we are focusing just on what we’re doing right now. If you’re cooking, that’s your focus. If you’re reading, that’s your focus. If you’re walking, that’s your focus. Be mindful of where you are, and all the other distractions begin to slow down, and eventually fade away.
2. Slow down
That leads me into my second practice to incorporate Reiki into our daily lives, slowing down. We have so many obligations and expectations and demands on our time. But remember, you’re the governor of how you spend your time. You can decide where that time is spent, how quickly and frenetic it’s spent, or how quiet and relaxed it’s spent. So whatever it is that you’re doing, hopefully with the first tip in mind of being mindful, do that and slow down. So if you’re cooking, be focused on the cooking and slow down. Perhaps be focused on each ingredient that’s going into the cake or the dinner or the meal. Be fully present for it and just be a witness. Each and every step. pay full attention. Slowing down our normal routine starts to take away expectations and demands on us. It starts to put us in charge. And see if we can do this if we can be in charge of our expectations and demands. Then we have space connect to ourselves, to place ourselves first, and to simply breathe.
3. Just breathe
Breathing is my next practice. To cultivate Reiki in our daily life. Just breathe. You see we’re frenetic. We’re so busy, always moving, always projecting forward. And because of this, our breathing suffers. I can say with relative certainty that probably 60 to 70% of my clients have difficulty breathing, and I’m sure this will resonate with you as well. They have difficulty taking full breaths, slow breaths. And what does this say about our bodies? It says that we are in a state of latent stress.
And so if we’re able to turn inward into the breath, and slow down the breathing, then see we can be more mindful and more present as we cook and not only can we be more present in that moment, but by slowing down the breathing, we put our body into a state of parasympathetic awareness, lower heart rate, lower inflammation and that allows us to exist in a state that is calm and at peace.
4. Feel the calmness
And so my fourth practice to allow Reiki to permeate into our lives is then building off that breath as we breathe, build off of the breathing and we can begin to feel the calmness that it brings forward in our lives. We work to maintain that calmness for as long as possible. And so what I mean by that is, again returning to the idea of baking. If you’re being mindful of baking, and you’re slowing down to watch the ingredients or really be present for the preparation of the recipe, and you’ve allowed your breathing to slow down and your heart rate to slow down and everything to go into a relaxed state. Well then don’t allow that to only exist when you are baking, because of course at some point you’ll be finished with the recipe. Continue and allow these practices to move from one moment in your life to the next. As if you’re bringing them with you because they are you and they’re becoming you. And this is how Reiki becomes our daily practice.
5. And smile!
And the last tip is perhaps the easiest. And it’s simply to smile. If we can walk around with an internal and an external smile radiating as much as possible, if we can meet each day in each moment, with that energy that a smile creates and perpetuates, then we are walking with the radiance and love of Reiki, of all things.
And we all know that feeling, right? We all know that energy. We all know how your entire perspective changes if you are able to smile. If we can carry that energy of joy with us, then that’s what we’re doing. We are carrying joy and we are becoming Reiki.
Reiki is not simply a hands on healing process. It’s a process of quieting down the entire body, so that we can feel the joy of the universe, the love of the universe pulsating through our being. So we can be mindful of it. So we can slow down, so that we can breathe, so that we can be fully present.
Are these not the precepts in action?
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: https://rootsoflife.org/reiki-pilgrimage-kyoto/
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