One of the
things I encourage my students to do is to treat themselves with Reiki every
day. I have noticed that some of them
find it as difficult as I did to have a regular practice.
While I managed
to practise tai chi most days for a few years, I struggled for a long time to maintain
a daily practice of any kind. Perhaps
this came from my resistance to being told to practice my violin as a child,
but more likely it came from a resistance to where the practice would take me.
I cam across
a quote recently that resonated with me and may be relevant to this question: “The
more important an activity is to your soul’s evolution, the more resistance you
will feel” (Steven Pressfield). This
illuminated my awareness of what I had resisted practising: tai chi,
meditation, singing, violin and of course Reiki. All of these have the potential to bring me
into deeper connection with my whole self: body and soul. I haven’t always liked my body, so had no
particular desire to get to know it better!
However there
came a day when I was tired of trying
to practice and failing, and decided to
What I
discovered amongst other things was that the longer I maintained this practice
the easier it became to continue doing so.
I also found that the self treatment practice helped my treatment of
others; firstly because I was more calm and balanced myself and therefore a
better person to receive treatment from, and secondly because the daily
connection with Reiki enhanced my understanding of how it can work.
I am now been
fortunate to have a growing practice treating others, which I have also found
has made the work easier. Having treated
a couple of hundred people with many different problems I am now more confident
and again know more what to expect from Reiki (which is sometimes the
unexpected!).
It’s true of
any Art that practice is needed to really begin to find a way to connect with
and express your essential nature. I
remember seeing an exhibition of Picasso’s early drawings in France: he could draw
naturalistically really well and had clearly practiced a lot! I have a Reiki master friend who plays the
shakuhachi (Japanese flute) which is very difficult to master. He’s been playing it regularly for years and
still considers himself a beginner.
I also
remember learning to drive and how that took a lot of practice before I felt
comfortable. With many years of driving
behind me now (I passed my test the same year I became a Reiki master!) driving
is no longer the challenge it once was, thanks to all those miles.
So whether
you are a beginner or an experienced practitioner, whether you have learned
Reiki or your life art is something different I encourage you to just practice. The more you do the easier it will become and
the deeper your connection to your body and soul will be, bringing you joy and fulfilment.
